Chapter 6

August listened intently as Ginny spoke about her family history. Her grandfather was a murderous asshole, killing his own children and grandchildren in order to remain alpha. It positively boggled his mind.

He'd thought he had a good idea of her history from what Jupiter told him, but now he knew the full story, and it was unbelievable what she'd endured.

"The males that found me in the woods, I believe they were waiting near the park, and when I stole the SUV, they caught up to me so fast. I couldn't shake them. I thought they were going to run me off the road, so I exited abruptly and they still caught up to me."

"You were going to shift and run?" Atticus asked.

She nodded and brushed at a few tears. August put his arm around her, his gorilla hooting in displeasure at how upset she was.

"That was the plan," she said. "Well, I wouldn't call it a plan. I was running on fear and adrenaline. When they surrounded me, they told me they were going to take me to my grandfather so he could kill me himself."

"Let me get this straight," Atticus said, rubbing his chin, his brow furrowed. "Your people's laws include one with an age restriction on the alpha position."

"Right. Seventy."

"Then the position passes to his heir, male or female?"

"Yes, in age order. My uncle was the eldest of two. My dad thought something funny was going on when my aunt and uncle died in what my grandfather said was a hunting accident. I don't know if he knew for sure it was my grandfather or if he thought something else was going on, but he spent the next several years being very careful and surrounded by people in the pack he trusted. It was a year ago when he and my mom died, and then my brother died just a few weeks ago." Her voice hitched at the end, and the fresh saltwater scent of her tears made August's heart ache.

Atticus sat back in the chair and scrubbed his face. Lori sniffled and leaned on him.

"So your grandfather is a murderer and a psychopath. We shouldn't put it past him to try anything. We've changed the security on the exterior walls by adding more cameras and motion detectors, and we've increased security patrols too. We believe the jackals scouted the park from within during normal business hours, which means they had no trouble buying tickets and coming into the park, so they weren't suspicious in their behavior at all. It's not like we can go around sniffing patrons to see if they're jackals."

"What does that mean for us?" August asked.

"It means you two are grounded for the foreseeable future. No hanging out in the park where patrons are at all."

Ginny chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't want to disrupt everyone's lives."

Atticus shook his head. "You and August are soulmates; that makes you part of our band, and we take care of our own. Trust me, I had to battle with polar bears to keep Lori safe, and they're a lot bigger than jackals."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "Polar bears? And what's a band?"

"Yes, polar bears, and a band is what a group of gorillas is called. Like elephants are a memory and wolves are a pack."

"Got it," she said. She looked at August. "I don't want anything to happen to you because of me."

He brought her hand to his lips and closed his eyes for just a brief moment as he inhaled her sweet scent. Shit that was a bad idea, his whole body was strung tight as it was from being so close to her.

Down boy.

"It's okay, I promise," he said, laying their joined hands on his thigh. "We need to let the security team and the alphas decide what's best for everyone, and that means you and me too. We'll be safe down here. Maybe your grandfather will get tired of trying to get to you."

"That would be nice," she said, but it was clear from her tone that she didn't believe it would happen.

August wasn't sure it would either, actually. Her grandfather had spent years trying to eradicate his family line so he could stay alpha. Ginny was the last one, unless she had children with August.

Maybe that's what her grandfather was doing by going after her…ensuring that there wasn't another generation.

He shared his thoughts, and everyone was quiet.

"Well, hell," Ginny said. "I never thought he was taking me out just because I could have kids too. I guess that makes sense. I mean, I'm gone from the pack, I ran away. When you said that, I realized that he does have the power to exile me from the pack based on my absence and declare me unfit to be alpha. But if I had a child, by rights he or she would be alpha once they're old enough to shift. My kids would be a threat to him, even though they're not born yet."

August let out a low, deep growl, his gorilla vibrating with rage.

How dare her grandfather plan to kill his children before they're even born!

She put her hand on his shoulder and the anger leaked from him with her gentle touch. "I don't know how to fix this problem with my grandfather except that we may just have to wait it out until he dies or someone else kills him. The males closest to him would turn on him in a heartbeat if they thought they could take over."

"Wouldn't they still need to take you out, though?" Atticus asked.

"Not necessarily. If a person kills the alpha of the pack, they become alpha and a new line of succession takes over with that person's family. They're loyal to my grandfather, though, so I don't think anyone would try to take him out unless he was injured or incapacitated."

Atticus stared at them for a moment and then nudged Lori, who wiggled from his lap and stood with a stretch. When Atticus stood, August and Ginny did too.

"We're going to leave you two to get to know each other better. You can feel free to go to the marketplace and get Ginny whatever clothes and things she needs, but she's not to be given the codes to any of the private areas until you two are officially mated."

"Understood," August said. "I'll take a couple days off, if that's okay."

"Of course."

"Maybe we can have a band get-together for dinner tomorrow night?"

"That sounds great," August said when Ginny nodded at him.

Lori gave Ginny a quick hug. "Welcome home, Ginny."

"Thanks, Lori. Oh, wait, do I need to call you guys alpha?"

"No, we're not that formal," Atticus said.

August walked his alphas to the door and let them out, then shut it and turned to face his mate.

She stared at him in silence, then slumped back to the couch with a groan.

"That was hard as hell."

"Talking about your past?"

"Yeah. For the second time. I hate telling people how crazy my grandfather is. I mean, imagine that someone who should love you actually wants you dead. Enough that they're watching and waiting for you to fuck up so they can slit your throat. I just…I wish he'd let me be."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know that doesn't mean much."

"No, it does. I appreciate it. I'm actually surprised you didn't listen to my story and run away screaming."

He grinned. "You're not crazy and you can't control who your family members are. It's shitty all around, but you're a survivor and you're not alone. You've got me, the other gorillas, and the rest of the shifters that live here."

"Lions, tigers, and bears, right? Oh my," she said with a chuckle.

He echoed her laugh. "Close. Lions, bears, wolves, elephants, and then we have some other unique shifters—two albino does, an owl, a red fox, and a black panther. There's also a herd of stallion shifters in Little River, but they keep to themselves."

"Geez, I've only ever been around jackals."

"We're very unique. The alphas all knew each other and decided to bring their people together to create a place where they could live and work in secret. It's pretty ingenious to use the park and the safari tour as a way to be out in our shifts without humans knowing."

"Very."

"Are you hungry or thirsty?"

She patted the space next to her on the couch. "Not right now. Come sit and tell me your history."

"You just want to know I've got as crazy a backstory as you do."

He sat next to her on the couch, breathing a sigh of relief when she snuggled right up to him and rested her head on his chest. "It would be helpful if I wasn't the only one with a psycho coming after me."

"Well, sorry, sweet thing, but my family isn't crazy or murderous."

"Dang it."

He kissed the top of her head with a snort.

"But my parents aren't together and never were. They were arranged by their alphas to have a child, and while it was suggested that they mate, neither were interested. I lived with my mom, and my uncle taught me everything I know about fixing stuff, then I came here and joined up with Atticus's band. There wasn't anything for me back with my mom, and I wasn't ever close with my dad."

"Are you close with your mom?" she asked.

"Not really. We chat a few times a year, on birthdays and major holidays. Atticus and the band took me in and have become my real family, though."

"Oh?" She tilted her face to his, and he was mesmerized by her beautiful eyes.

He gazed down at her, his gorilla making sweet but inappropriate comments in his head.

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes going just a shade darker.

"August?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" He tucked a lock of silky, dark hair behind her ear, and she shivered at the soft touch.

"I'd like to kiss you now."

He snarled softly and lowered his head until his lips met hers. They froze like that, lips pressed and not moving, until she tilted her head and parted her lips on a sigh.

He kissed her sweetly, then deeply, stroking his tongue against hers until he felt like his whole body was going to combust from the heat that built inside him. But he'd gladly burn up to keep kissing her, keep holding her curvy body against his.

What a strange day.

A broken security bar. A car chase.

A daring rescue in the forest.

And now, holding his soulmate in his arms and discovering that she did really taste as good as she smelled and her lips were just as soft as he imagined.

It was a pretty damn good end to the day.