Chapter 20

M aggie had been shooed away from the grill where Alistair and the other men were cooking a meal for their memory's party ahead of the joining ceremony. She sat around a firepit that the guys had hauled over from an old storage barn, with Rhapsody and her little Khap, and Novi. The two women had quickly become like a second family to Maggie, and even now she counted them closer than any friends she'd had over the years.

She didn't make friends easily. It came easy to some people, like Penny, who picked up friends everywhere she went. But it never was that easy for Maggie.

Except for now, when she'd found Alistair and his people were a package deal: Kelley the animal handler and his beautiful mate, Rhapsody, and adorable son, Cael the vet and his sweet mate, Novi, and Indio, who grumbled good-naturedly about being the last single male in the memory.

Alistair told her that he'd waited his entire life for her, that being forty and single was a milestone he hadn't expected to reach. It was so strange to her to think that they'd been living in the same state since he came to the park, and that they'd been so close but yet so very far away. If she hadn't come to the park with her class, they might never have met.

That was a life she didn't want to contemplate.

Alistair's warm hand rested on her shoulder, and she tipped her head back to look up at him.

His eyes were glowing in the flickering firelight.

"Dinner's ready, my mate. What can I bring you?"

"One of everything," she said.

He nodded, his face lit with gold and shadows, his elephant letting out a low rumble. When he returned a few moments later, he set a plate on her lap and took the seat next to her with his own plate.

Around the firepit, Kelley, Indio, and Cael joined them and plates were handed out to everyone.

The wafted steam from the plate filled her senses and her stomach growled.

"Thank you for cooking for us," she said.

"It was my pleasure."

She loved how he said the word pleasure. Like he was just daring her to consider all the things that pleasure could mean.

She held his gaze for a moment, something hot and unspoken settling between them, and then she turned her attention to her food. If she didn't stop ogling her sexy mate she'd never eat, and then they'd never get to the ceremony.

Her stomach flipped.

She was about to be the first human alpha female of an elephant memory that any of them knew of. There was so much she needed to learn about their people and about being a leader, this introverted woman who hadn't known shifters were real two weeks ago.

The secret lay heavy in her heart. It was so important, so gravely important that it remain a secret from the general human population. Now that she knew the truth and loved Alistair with every inch of her being, she also loved the memory and the people who called the park home.

She would never betray their trust.

And she'd do her damnedest to be the best alpha female that any memory had ever had.

Alistair lifted his bottle of water. "I want to make a toast." He waited for everyone to put down their plates and lift their drinks. He turned his head toward her and smiled. "To the best thing that could possibly happen to a shifter: finding their soulmate. I was half a male, just existing and not living, and then I met Maggie. My life is infinitely better with you in it." His voice lowered a little as he dropped to his knees in front of her, the water bottle in one hand and something shiny in the other. "Maggie, sweet female and holder of my heart, will you do me the honor of not only being my alpha female, but also my wife? Will you marry me and make me the happiest elephant on the planet?"

She stared at the ring as he held it, the firelight dancing on the surface of what looked like several cut stones.

"Yes!" She nearly shouted the word, and then giggled as tears sprang to her eyes. He slipped the cool metal on her finger and pulled her into his arms for a deep, long kiss. The others clapped and whistled.

"I asked your dad," he whispered against her lips. "He and your mom gave me their blessing."

Her heart clenched as she gave him one more kiss, and then buried her face in his neck. "Thank you," she said, the words muffled against his warm skin. He smelled like charcoal and smoke, like home and love.

"I love you, Maggie-mine," he said.

"I love you too."

He kissed her hands and then took his seat next to her. "Let's eat," he said. "We've got an alpha welcome ceremony to get to."

She tucked into the food that the guys had prepared: steak, mac and cheese, and grilled veggies.

The group talked about the VIP tours and Indio finally finding his soulmate, everyone hoping it would be in the near future. Maggie knew he was worried he might be waiting years to find his soulmate, like Alistair had waited for her. She didn't really understand what it was like to have an animal dictating her love life, because humans dated and fell in love without ever giving any creature any notice.

But what she did understand was that finding Alistair had been a long and twisty road, filled with potholes and landmines. It was honestly a miracle that she'd come to the park when she did, that he'd been where he was so they would cross paths. To think she might never have met him if she'd made different choices: stayed in a toxic relationship, chosen a different substitute teaching assignment, or not taken Alistair's phone number the day they met.

Maggie tilted her hand so the firelight bathed her skin in orange and amber and she could see the ring a little better, the entire surface covered with small stones that glittered like stars.

"It's an eternity band," Alistair said. "I wanted something that meant forever, and I can't think of a better word than eternity."

She smiled so big that her cheeks hurt.

Leaning over, she kissed him, tasting the hint of smoke and meat on his lips. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Alpha."

He let out a growling, happy sigh. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, sweet alpha mate."

"Man, I need to find my soulmate. Like yesterday," Indio said.

The others chuckled, and Maggie smiled against Alistair's lips. "She's out there somewhere," Alistair said as he leaned away from Maggie. "Whenever she shows up, it'll be the perfect time."

"I hope it's soon," Maggie said, smiling at the young male across the firepit from her.

He nodded. "Me too. I'll keep my fingers crossed she comes to the park soon."

The others talked about finding the other half of their heart, and Maggie was once more in awe that there was an entire group of people, a secret society of sorts, living in disguise at the Amazing Adventures Safari Park, and how very close she'd come to never meeting Alistair at all.

If Rhapsody hadn't purchased a ticket online and climbed the fence to run to Kelley, if Novi hadn't gotten a ticket for the VIP tour in the mail addressed to someone else, then their lives would be quite different now.

"It's funny how one choice makes all the difference," Maggie said. "If Alistair hadn't come here with Indio, then Kelley and Cael might never have come either."

Cael lifted his bottle in the air. "I'll propose another toast." He waited while everyone got their drinks once more, then he continued, "To Alistair, who decided one day that coming to New Jersey was the best idea he'd ever had, and his willingness to bring along his nephews. Thank you for coming here."

"To Alistair," the others said.

Maggie lifted her bottle of water higher and tipped it toward her mate.

"I'm glad for the choices that brought us together," she said. "I wouldn't change a thing."

"I wouldn't either," he said. "You were worth the wait."

Thank you so much for reading Alistair! I hope you enjoyed hanging out in the park with the shifters! The series continues with Book Twenty—Jasper—coming January 3, 2025 and available for preorder from your favorite retailer HERE !

If you loved Alistair, you'll love my sexy series about wolf shifters finding their truemates in The Wolf's Mate Generations series starting with Lyric & The Cats (Book One) which is FREE everywhere! Grab it from your favorite retailer HERE .

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Read on for an excerpt from Jasper…