Chapter 16

August was beginning to hate the monitors in the security office. He did, however, enjoy hanging out with his soulmate. They were in the security office from before the park opened until they'd had no patrons through the gates for an hour in the evening.

He felt closer to her every day, as they talked quietly and stared at screens. He had only a few things to look for: one of the males in the jackal pack had white-blond hair that was always in a ponytail, another had a thick scar on one cheek, and another was built like a tank, as she explained it, tall and broad and very strong.

In the last week, she hadn't seen anyone she knew, and he hadn't seen anyone fitting those descriptions.

He didn't want to hope that it was a good sign because she was certain her grandfather wouldn't give up.

He leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "It's about dinnertime, sweet thing."

"It's four forty-five," she said. "Dinner gets earlier and earlier with you."

"I can't help that you're irresistible," he said.

"So are you, but we told Justus we'd be here until six."

"He won't mind. Hell, I remember when he and Trina got together he spent quite a lot of lunch hours with her. And as long as we're together at the house, you're safe. We can always come back here and watch the footage if anyone comes through the gates."

She glanced at him, and he couldn't tell if she thought it was a good idea or not. Then she stood abruptly. "You make a very good case for an early dinner."

He stood and followed her out of the office, his gorilla hooting in happiness.

"I heard," Justus said when August knocked on the open door. "Have fun."

"Thanks, man."

August stepped from the security office and looked around. There were patrons walking around, but not many because the day had been gray and rainy, and only now was starting to clear up.

He inhaled, picking up the scents of humans and food, but not anything out of the ordinary like a jackal.

Turning, he opened the door and took Ginny's hand.

"Let's hurry," she said.

"You read my mind."

Ginny writhed on the bed as August played with her.

He could kiss her for hours, for days, and never get enough. She was addictive to every single one of his senses.

He'd never get tired of how soft her skin felt or the way she moaned his name when she came or the sweet scent of her pleasure.

He slid an inch more into her, his thumb firmly pressed to her swollen clit, her skin flushed and dewy after he'd brought her to a crashing climax with his tongue.

His body was on fire. He wanted to fuck her hard and fast until they were both sated, but he also wanted time to stand still so he could just be in this moment forever.

This point in time, when her pussy was clutching him like a fist and he was two seconds from coming.

He gritted his teeth and slid all the way inside her. Her whole body jolted and her head kicked back as the motion made his thumb move on her clit. Her knees dug into his hips and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the mattress above her head.

She was a feast for his senses, and oh, how he wanted to fucking park himself like this forever.

Wiggling his thumb just a little bit, he was rewarded with her snarl.

"Just making sure you're still with me, sweetheart," he teased. He flexed his hips to pull out, leaving just the tip inside her heat.

She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head to look up at the ceiling.

"I'm here, I promise."

"Look at me, love," he said, his voice suddenly low with his beast.

She tipped her head down and gazed at him with irises dancing with the amber of her jackal.

She was right there.

Such a fucking sexy female.

All his.

He held her gaze as he plunged in again, but this time he wasn't teasing. He stroked in and out of her, gripping her hip with one hand and using his thumb on her clit to drive her to another peak of pleasure.

He could feel how close she was, feel the utter inferno that was going to consume them both.

What a fucking way to go.

With every ounce of self-control he possessed, he held back from coming until she exploded around him with a sharp cry. As her back bowed, and the sound of fabric tearing filled the air, he let himself go into his own pleasure, fucking her fast through the sheer bliss, making his skin tingle and his vision blur.

He roared, his gorilla riding under the surface and pulsing against his skin.

Letting go of the bruising hold on her hip, he planted his fist next to her head and leaned down for a kiss. They were both panting hard.

She cupped his face tenderly and gave him a sweet, soft smile.

"August, I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Ginny," he said.

They kissed again, tongues tangling, and then he dropped to the mattress next to her with a gusty groan.

She settled her hands over his as he rested one on her belly. His mind immediately strayed to the conversation they'd had earlier about having kids. Neither of them were using birth control, and it had been a choice they made the first time they made love. She could've become pregnant that first time, and already be carrying his child.

He didn't care when it happened, he was excited to start a family with her. Especially since she didn't have a family anymore.

"I was just thinking," she said with a rough voice. "That I don't think we'll make it back to the security office within our hour dinner break."

He grinned and snuggled a little closer to her. "I think they're surprised we go back to work at all after dinner. Being newly mated makes it hard as hell to leave the house."

She yawned and murmured, "Yeah it is."

"Do you want to just rest?" he asked.

She shook her head and yawned again, and then her breathing evened out and she relaxed fully, her head tilting to the side as her eyes drifted shut.

Well, they wouldn't be going back to work for a while.

He'd let her sleep.

Then they could look through the footage when she was rested.

She'd been through so much lately and should rest when she needed. They were safe in the private living area no matter what might happen topside. No one could get to them, and he'd be damned sure to keep her safe no matter what anyway.

He sent a quick text to Justus to let him know she'd fallen asleep and they'd check out the footage when they were able to, and then he snuggled back up to her and closed his eyes, following her swiftly to sleep.

Neither of them had woken up until the morning. August hadn't thought he was that exhausted, but he clearly was.

They were eating breakfast in the marketplace while Ginny watched the video of the gates from the time they went to dinner until the park closed on a tablet.

Her fork dropped, clattering to the plate. She pressed the screen to pause the video and backtracked. Her head lowered and she stared intently.

"Sweetheart?"

"I…I must be seeing things." She rewound the footage again and watched it. Then a third time. "My mind's playing tricks on me."

"What do you think you see?" he asked.

She turned the tablet toward him and pointed to a person in the crowd entering just around the time they left the security office. He was wearing a baseball cap pulled low on his head and non-descript dark clothing.

"What about him?" he asked. "The footage is too grainy blown up to make out any facial features."

"I don't know," she said. She sat back and rubbed her eyes. "My jackal is telling me it's my brother, but he's dead so it can't be."

"What makes you think it's him?"

"It can't be," she said earnestly. "But it's the cap. It looks familiar."

"I can't make it out at all," he said, staring at the screen. It looked like a dark cap with some kind of insignia on it.

"I can't really either, but something is familiar."

"Let's go check out the footage on the monitors. The resolution on those screens is better and maybe we can get a better angle."

"It can't be him," she said, looking up at him as he stood.

"I know, sweetheart, but maybe one of your grandfather's cronies is wearing his hat to try to make you come out of hiding."

"Oh," she said, frowning. "I hadn't thought of that."

"It's just a guess. Unless your brother had a hat that no one else had ever bought, then either some random person is wearing it or someone is wearing it on purpose to draw you out."

"I don't like any of those options," she said, shivering.

"Come on, sweets, we'll get to the bottom of it."

He grabbed their plates and put them on the counter to be cleaned, and then he picked up the tablet and took her hand. She was quiet as they walked out of the marketplace and made their way topside. It was still early, so no humans were in the park yet.

He had the code to the security office, and it was dark when they got into the building. He shut and locked the door, then turned on the lights and booted up the computers in the office.

Ginny saw something on the footage last night so we're in the office to check it out on the monitors, he wrote in a text to Jupiter, Justus, Caesar, and Atticus.

What did she see? Jupiter texted back.

It was too grainy to really see, but she thought a male wearing a baseball cap reminded her of her brother. The cap, specifically, looked familiar to her.

There was a pause, then Justus wrote, I'll come up to the office and look for other footage from the different cameras. Another angle might clear things up.

What could it be if her brother is dead? Caesar asked.

A coincidence with a human wearing the same cap, August texted, or someone from her pack trying to lure her out with it.

I want to say coincidence is more likely, but it's best to be cautious considering how dangerous her people are, Jupiter said. Keep me posted.

August tucked his phone into his pocket and told Ginny about the text conversation.

"They probably think I'm nuts." She used her foot to make her chair move back and forth.

"No one thinks you're nuts," he said, dropping into the chair next to her. "It's why they wanted you to watch the gates, because it seems likely they'd try to get in that way again, among the humans."

She turned to him and put her head on his chest with a groan. "I hate this."

"I know," he said, kissing her head. "I hate that you're going through it."

The computers beeped as they finished booting up. The front door unlocked and August leaned over to look out of the room, watching as Justus walked in and shut the door.

"Anything yet?" Justus asked.

"They've just now booted up," August said.

"I'll get the other monitors going and pull up the camera feeds. If you can't see enough from the gate views, we can follow him through the park and maybe get a better view of his face."

"Thanks, Justus," August said.

August sat back and watched as Ginny looked through the footage, finding the male in the hat after a little diligent searching. She blew up the video, but it blurred the images too much, so she shrank it back down to normal and stared at the screen.

"It's just…the way the guy is walking looks so familiar to me. But I think it's the hat. Which doesn't mean anything, like you said, but I can't shake this weird feeling."

"The other cameras are up in here," Justus called.

August and Ginny walked into the other room where Jupiter had pulled up video footage from when she'd seen the male in question.

Ginny stood and watched the screens, arms folded and lips pressed into a thin line. August watched the screens as well and saw the male in the dark hat and clothes. He was definitely walking suspiciously, but the details of his face weren't visible with his head turned down as if he was actively avoiding the cameras.

"Okay," Justus said, clicking the mouse around on one of the screens, "so it's this guy, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny said. "With the hat."

"Let's follow him in. I've got the cameras all cued to the same time so we can see where he goes."

Using a slow speed, they watched as the male walked into the park, stopped, and looked around. He moved a few steps toward the aviary, then changed his mind and turned the other way, heading toward the security office.

He was halfway to the building when he froze and didn't move for several moments.

"What's he looking at?" August asked.

"Hmm?" Justus asked.

"He looks like he saw something. What's in his eyeline?"

"The security office," Ginny said.

"No, it's that female in the pink hoodie," Justus said. He tapped one of the monitors with his finger.

The male backed away and ducked into a small crowd, then left the park.

"Holy crap," Ginny said.

"What?" August asked.

"I don't know who that guy was, but that's the mate of one of my grandfather's top males. Her name is Celia and her mate is Diedrich. He's…he's a bad male."

They all stared at the screen, where a female watched as August and Ginny left the security office and walked into the employee cafeteria.

"I don't remember seeing her when I stepped out of the building," August said. "I looked around. I scented the air."

"Maybe she masked her scent," Justus said. "And she just looks like a normal female. But that male saw her and left, which is weird."

"Did you see what car he got into?" Ginny asked.

Justus pulled up the parking lot footage and after a few minutes of searching said, "No, he ducked around different cars like he was trying not to be found. Shit. I wish we had better resolution, but with his head tilted down, we still wouldn't be able to see enough of his face to make any kind of match."

"She's not worried about being seen," August pointed out.

"No, she's not," Ginny said. She leaned against him, her gaze riveted to the screen. "Oh gosh, what if there were others in the park and we just didn't know? What if we nearly walked into some kind of ambush?"

August put his arm around her as his own thoughts rolled through all the terrible possibilities.

"I'm calling the alphas," Justus said. "You two probably need to get out of here, back underground where we know it's safe."

"Yeah. Thanks, man," August said.

He took Ginny's hand and led her from the office.

What the hell were they going to do?