Chapter 9

“Ouch, dang it, stop head-butting me!”

Melody turned down the volume on the TV and rose to her feet. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and after spending a good portion of the morning tossing and turning, she’d camped on the couch and hoped Jasper would come find her.

He still hadn’t.

“I said stop, oh my gosh!”

Curious at the feminine voice coming from outside and what head-butting had to do with anything, Melody walked to the door and opened it.

A teenage female had a small goat on a lead and was dodging its head while it tried to take her out from the knees.

“Jonas!” the girl shrieked with a laugh.

“Are you okay?” Melody asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

“Oh! Hi! I’m okay, it’s just this little guy keeps trying to head-butt me. I’m Luna. Who are you?”

“I’m Melody, a friend of Jasper’s.” Maybe.

“Oh, cool. I work in the petting zoo after school. Mercer and Rhomi work in the petting zoo too, and after Rhomi nearly got taken out by Jonas and his hard-headedness, I thought I’d take him for a little stroll in the secure areas. I can walk all the way from the petting zoo to the apartments and around to the safari tour without coming into contact with any park patrons.”

“Neat. Can I pet him?”

“Sure, just watch out for him—he’s sneaky and a stinker.”

Melody joined the pretty blonde female and the cute little goat, who was black and white with pale eyes. He bleated as Melody squatted down, then tried to head-butt her hand when she petted him.

“Cute,” she said, feeling the coarse fur on his head. He closed his eyes with a little hum and moved closer to her.

“Aw, I think he likes you.”

“I’ve never been to a petting zoo before. I’m sure Jonas is a big hit.”

“He hits stuff all right,” Luna said with a laugh. “Are you going to be here for long? You could come hang out. We’ve got other baby animals and small animals for the kids to pet and feed. We just got a pig that was surrendered to an animal shelter because they thought he was a teacup pig but they found out there’s no such thing when he gained a hundred pounds.”

“Oh my!”

“He’s sweet. His name is Norman.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. My family needs help and I came to talk to Jasper about it. I’m from Pennsylvania.”

Melody felt Jasper before she saw him, and she petted Jonas on the head and rose to her feet. He came into view wearing all black and looking sexy and dangerous, a potent combination.

He slowed his stride when he saw Luna and the goat, his gaze darting between the two.

“I see you made a friend,” he said.

“Hi, Jasper,” Luna said. “Jonas and I were just getting some air. He’s a troublemaker.”

“I’m going to take Melody to the cafeteria, maybe you guys can catch up later.”

“Come by the petting zoo anytime,” Luna said.

“Thanks for letting me pet Jonas; hope he stops causing trouble.”

Luna waved and walked away, leaving Melody and Jasper.

“Are you ready for me?” she asked when the silence stretched as he stared at her with a blank face.

“Yeah.” He glanced at her still in her pajamas and said, “I’ve got clothes for you in the cafeteria. We’re going there to meet with my friends and a couple alphas to plan the trip. Did you sleep well?”

“No.”

“Me neither.” He jerked his head to the side. “Let’s go. There’s lots to plan.”

“Okay.”

She turned and pulled the apartment door shut, then walked alongside him as he led her through the park back to the cafeteria.

Chatter between them was painful, like they couldn’t even make small talk easily. By the time they reached the cafeteria, she was thankful for something to occupy them, even if she knew the mission ahead was dangerous.

After a quick introduction to the alphas, she dressed in leggings and a T-shirt, then joined the group around some tables pushed together and got to work making a plan.

Free her parents.

Then she’d talk to him about the future.

Whatever that might be.

Melody’s leg bounced as she stared out the window at the darkness that blurred by. They were close to the pack, and her nerves grew steadily worse the closer they drew. It didn’t help that Jasper was driving and she was in the second row by herself, the silence between them like a wide gulf.

A lion male named Lucius was in the passenger seat, and he and Jasper were talking quietly about the plan, but she wasn’t included in the conversation. She’d been part of the planning process because she knew the woods surrounding the pack well and Jasper had been gone for years, but she wasn’t supposed to leave the SUV once they were there.

Jasper had clearly wanted her to stay behind, but he hadn’t asked her to, and she appreciated it. She didn’t want to get into an argument with him about why she needed to see that her parents were free.

But while they were foremost on her mind, she was also non-stop thinking about Jasper and what would happen when he did what he promised—set them free.

Jasper pulled to a stop and turned off the SUV lights, plunging the nearby woods and road into darkness. She knew where they were by the GPS map that glowed a dull blue on the dashboard—about one mile from the back of the prison.

Lucius climbed from the SUV and shut the door gently, leaving her and Jasper in darkness once more.

“You can get behind the wheel,” Jasper said. “We may need to leave quickly and it’s better for someone to be prepared to drive than for us to scramble.” He looked at her in the rearview, his face covered with shadows.

“Okay.”

“Stay put. Don’t leave under any circumstances.”

“I hear you.”

They both got out of the SUV and she shivered, not that it was cold—it was warm and humid—but because she was nervous about everything that was going to happen.

Jasper put his hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be fine. We’ll get your parents and get back here. Then we’ll head back to the park as fast as possible.”

“We?”

She gazed up at him, wishing she could really see him clearly.

He waited a beat, then said, “I want you to come back to the park with me because we need to talk, and I think your parents need to be part of that conversation too.”

“They might not come, they might stay and fight.”

“That’s on them,” he said with a shrug. “This is not my fight. Your parents were always good to me, and I owe your dad.” He gave her a narrowed look. “Stay the hell put.”

“I will , geez.”

He gestured behind the wheel, where the engine hummed quietly. Behind her was another vehicle with someone behind the wheel. She climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled it forward.

“Listen,” he said gently, “I’m trying to stay focused on the job ahead. By all accounts, this Ludo character is unhinged and dangerous, and that puts my friends at risk. But I’m not mad at you because I think we were both coming from a place of misunderstanding earlier. We didn’t talk, we kind of shouted at each other, and nothing was resolved because we didn’t have time. So just trust that I do want to talk about our past and I do know that you’re my soulmate, no matter that seven years have passed. Just give me time to get there, okay?”

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

She very much wanted to hug him, but instead she nodded. “Thanks, Jasper. You’re mine too. Be safe.”

He nodded and shut the door quietly. She put the window down and said in a loud whisper, “Be. Safe.”

“I will , geez,” he parroted back at her, and she grinned.

He disappeared into the trees with his friends.

She put the window up and adjusted the seat so she could get close to the pedal and steering wheel since he was quite a bit taller than her, and then she settled back in the seat.

Be safe , she urged silently, as she stared into the darkness and waited.