Chapter 8
The next morning, Devlin followed Jenni to the greenhouse that was in the lions’ private area. She opened the door and the scents of earth and flowers filled the air around them. She grabbed two baskets and tools and handed him one of the baskets and a pair of shears.
“First, we’ll harvest the prickly pear, and I’ll show you how to clean it in the house.”
“I’ve never had that before,” he said.
“It’s part of our ceremony. It’s delicious, but it’s a hassle to clean.”
She cut the pears from the plant and put them in his basket. Then she led the way to a table that held rows of lilies.
“These are Impala Lilies, which are native to Africa. We plant them in cycles so that at any given time, there are enough blooming for a mating ceremony. Before our people used greenhouses, the flowers would be cut and dried and saved for later use. It’s much nicer to use fresh flowers, though.
“The number of stems relates to the members of our immediate family. I’m counting my pride as my immediate family instead of my biological family. You have both parents and your sister and her mate, which means we need eleven stems for each bracelet, and we’ll make two of them for me to wear.”
She began to cut the stems and urged him to do the same. He set the basket of prickly pears down and used the shears on the plants, snipping off the pretty flowers until they’d collected twenty-two, laying them gently in her basket. They put the tools back on their hooks and returned to her house, where she showed him how to safely peel the thick outer skin of the prickly pear and prepare it for that night.
“I wanted to talk to you about the marking.”
“Marking what?” he asked.
She flashed him a grin. “Me marking you. With my fangs.”
He stopped, knife poised above the fruit. “You want to put your fangs in me?”
“Yes. Me and my lion do. Tonight, after we hunt and have the ceremony with my pride, they’ll leave us alone in the paddock so we can solidify our mating. After we make love, my fangs will elongate and I’ll bite your neck.”
“Sounds painful.”
“I promise that I’ll be gentle, and hopefully you’ll be really blissed out on the after-sex glow and won’t feel it as much.”
“I like that idea.”
She exhaled like she’d been holding her breath. “Good. I have fast healing, so you can bite me but it won’t scar like my fangs will in your flesh. I hope you don’t feel bad about that.”
He hummed, turning his attention back to the fruit. “Will your lioness be upset?”
“No, of course not. You’re my soulmate. That you aren’t a shifter doesn’t matter to me.”
“Good. I just don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out on anything because I’m human.”
“I don’t, I promise. I’m so happy to be with you. All the other stuff is just unimportant details.”
“I’m happy to be with you, too.”
When the cut fruit was cooling in the refrigerator in a bowl, they sat on the couch and she showed him how to braid the flower stems into a bracelet. By the time they were finished making the two bracelets, the sweet scent of the flowers was all over them, and he thought he’d never be able to smell the flowers again without thinking about how beautiful she was and how deftly her fingers worked the flower stems.
“Ready for lunch?” she asked.
“Truthfully? I’d rather take you to bed.”
She purred. “I’d love that, too, but there’s time for that tonight. If we don’t go to Caesar’s, he’s going to come here, so we might as well just go.”
He chuckled. She put the bracelets in the refrigerator, covered with damp paper towels to keep them from wilting, and then they walked to Caesar’s home. The pride was gathered in the kitchen at an enormous table.
“Have a seat,” Caesar said.
The table was set with platters and trays of food, from grilled meats to roasted vegetables. He sat next to Jenni, with Caesar on his right at the head of the table. The dishes were passed around, and he and Jenni filled their plates. While they ate, the pride asked him questions about his life in Rhode Island and shared the history of the pride with him.
“What are you going to tell your parents?” Amadeus asked.
“I don’t have a clue. Trina told them that her job at the shop came with an apartment, and so did Lexy. I don’t think I can say I have one of the apartments in the park if I’m not actually working here, and it also would look really weird I think.”
“How would it be weird?” Caesar asked.
“Well, truthfully it’s kind of odd to have room and board with jobs nowadays. I haven’t heard of anything like that outside of the big theme parks, and they don’t have apartments in a converted barn, they have dormitories.”
Xavier said, “We hadn’t thought about that. It does seem kind of odd.”
Caesar said, “It’s important for the mates to live at the park, so we created the apartment building so that if any parents or family members came to visit, they would be able to show them an actual place.”
Jenni had explained that there was only one real apartment in the barn. The other two were simply facades. He thought it was damn lucky that his and Trina’s parents, and Lexy’s parents, hadn’t wanted to see their apartments at the same time, or they would have been in trouble.
“We need to address this with the council,” Lucius said. “The more soulmates that are found, the more we’ll have a need for a cover story. It could get messy really quickly.”
“How are you finding your soulmates now?” Devlin asked.
“Our people rely on our beasts to help lead us to our soulmate,” Caesar said, leaning back in his chair. “For many years, none of our people were finding our soulmates, so several months ago the council decided to create a VIP tour for single males and females in the tri-state area.”
“Oh,” Devlin said. “I wondered why there was only one person in the Jeep last night. Win said they were special tours, but I’d never heard of such a thing. Now I get it. By having the individual tours, if one of the patrons happens to be a soulmate, the shifter would know and you’d be able to deal with it.”
Jenni nodded. “So far, only two mates have come from the tours – Celeste and Adriana.”
Celeste smiled from across the table. “They thought more mates would come from the tours, but so far not so much.”
“How many tours are there a day?”
“We run them Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from four to eight p.m.,” Xavier said. “We take turns with tours and handling security for the park. We can’t all be in the paddock all the time, or something could go wrong and no one would be there to handle it.”
“You can meet your mate in person, though, right? You don’t have to be in your shift.”
“We recognize our soulmate in any form. Like how you and Jenni were immediately drawn to each other,” Jupiter said.
“Even though I’m human,” Celeste said, “I was smitten with Jupiter from the moment I saw him. It was weird to feel connected to a lion, and of course he tried to take the fence down with his claws when he saw me.”
Everyone at the table laughed.
“I’m going to talk to the council at our next meeting about the housing situation,” Caesar. “I don’t think it’s enough anymore to have the barn.”
“Have you thought about building an actual dormitory on the property?” Devlin asked.
Caesar’s brows rose. “No.”
“The more mates that come here, the more chance for family to come along and want to know more, too. It would be easy enough to build a simple dormitory structure, somewhere on the park’s property but not accessible by any patrons. I was actually thinking about buying a house somewhere near here, and just using it as an address and a place for my family to come visit.”
“We could buy a development outside of the zoo,” Jupiter said. “That way if any mates have jobs outside of the zoo, they don’t have to explain why they are living in the zoo.”
“No, it needs to be on our property, the council would never go for something off-site. But,” Caesar said, rubbing his chin in thought, “the park owns the properties on either side and behind the park. The properties were bought so that no one could build anywhere near us, and if we ever needed to expand, we could. The land is there to use.”
“It would be a shame to lose all that hard work we put into the fake apartments,” Mercer said, “but it seems like being prepared in advance is better than having to rush.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” Jenni said. “Plus, if anyone finds their soulmate, they’d have a place to go to take their soulmate for privacy if they needed it.”
“It’s not if, it’s when we find our soulmates,” Javan said with a grin.
Jenni nodded. “Right. When.”
“I’ll convene the council to discuss this idea, but I think it has merit.” Caesar lifted his glass and said, “A toast to Jenni and Devlin. May we all find our soulmates.”
The lions lifted their glasses in cheer, and Jenni kissed Devlin and smiled. “I’m so happy you came to see your cousin’s shop.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
* * *
Devlin looked at the black leather pants that Jupiter had brought for him to wear for the mating ceremony. He tugged them up his legs and fastened them, then he sat on the bed and reached for his shoes.
“No shoes,” Jenni said, coming out of the bathroom. She was wearing a long, black t-shirt that barely covered her cute butt.
“Tell me again why we have to wear black and no shoes?”
“First of all, it’s tradition, and secondly, it keeps us from drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves while we’re in the paddock. We are going to have a bonfire, but the black clothing helps to obscure us.”
They stopped in the kitchen and she carried the flowers and he carried the bowl of cut prickly pears, and they left her house and headed to the far side of the pride’s private area. There was a security door, which he hadn’t noticed when he’d checked the area out before.
“This leads directly up into the storage building in our paddock. Each group has their own paddock entrance, too.”
They climbed a set of stairs and then she entered a code into another security pad, which unlocked the door in the ceiling. She gave the door a push and it opened fully, and he couldn’t see anything beyond the door except darkness. She led him into the shed and turned on a soft, low light. After she closed and secured the door in the floor, she said, “I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what, sweetheart?”
“I know this is all new and probably very strange to you, and I’m glad that you’re not resistant to the traditions of my people. It means the world to me that you’re willing to do all this for me.”
“I’m crazy about you. I would absolutely do anything to make you happy.”
She purred softly and even though he couldn’t see her well, he could tell she was smiling. “I’m happy now that you’re in my life.”
She moved to the shed’s door and opened it, stepping outside. He followed, watching as she extinguished the light and then shut the door. He handed her the bowl of fruit and lifted her into his arms. Even though she’d said she could walk, Jupiter had mentioned that he’d carried Celeste, and Devlin wanted to do that, too. Plus, he’d take any opportunity to hold her. In the distance, he could see the faint glow of a fire, and he followed it. It was tempting to look down and try to see where he was going, but he wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway, and Jenni promised that there were no holes or objects laying around in the paddock.
When he reached the fire, there were eight figures around a bonfire, with a dark colored fur rug on the ground next to it. Devlin set Jenni on her feet and smiled at the group. Everyone was wearing black, including Celeste, who stood in Jupiter’s arms.
“Alpha Caesar,” Jenni said, “I present my soulmate, Devlin, to you.”
Caesar joined them. “Welcome, Devlin. As alpha, it’s my honor to welcome you to our pride. Do you come tonight of your own free will, to accept Jenni as your mate?”
“Yes,” Devlin said.
The pride growled in approval.
“Prepare for the hunt,” Caesar said.
Jenni stepped a few paces from the bonfire and Devlin joined her, watching as she pulled off the t-shirt. Jenni shifted, and Devlin watched in fascination as she turned from beautiful woman to stunning lioness. He stroked the soft fur on the top of her head, rubbing her ears lightly, and smiling as she tilted her head in encouragement.
They joined the pride once more, and Caesar handed Devlin a hunting knife in a sheath, which he secured to his waistband.
“Prove yourselves worthy of each other,” Caesar said. “Good luck.”
Xavier appeared with a small cage holding a brown rabbit. He opened the cage and lifted the rabbit out, setting it on the ground. In a heartbeat, the rabbit took off into the darkness. Jenni growled and followed after it with Devlin on her tail. With the starlight and moon providing some illumination, he was able to see Jenni’s shadowy form as she chased the rabbit, and he stayed as close as he could. Jenni snarled, jumping to the side, and he saw her hit the ground and roll, her claws digging into the earth. He saw the rabbit head his way, and he lunged for it, grabbing a leg as it darted away from him. He landed on his knees, not letting go of the rabbit, which squealed in desperation. Jenni growled and joined him, and he held the wiggling creature up to her. She snagged it in her jaws and bit down, ending its life swiftly.
Devlin smelled blood as she opened her mouth and he took the rabbit from her. “That was cool as hell,” he whispered, stroking her head. He’d expected to just watch her stalk and kill the rabbit, but he’d actually been able to help out.
He carried the rabbit back to the bonfire, unable to stop the grin. It was exhilarating. Jenni shifted back into her human form and put on the black t-shirt, joining him next to the fire. He’d never butchered an animal before, so he gave it to her and watched as she efficiently skinned and cleaned it, threading the carcass onto a long piece of metal, which she laid over two other pieces that were imbedded in the ground on either side of the bonfire. She attached a turning handle, and he added more wood to the fire at her direction.
“It takes about forty-five minutes to cook,” Jenni said.
“In the meantime,” Caesar said, “We’ll do the other part of our ceremony.”
Jenni took his hand and led him to the fur rug. They knelt on it and faced each other. Caesar picked up the bracelets from where Jenni had set them down.
“Impala Lilies come from Africa, the place of our shifter ancestors. It’s important that we hold tight to the traditions of our people so that we never forget what we are or where we came from. The fierce beasts that prowled in the darkest nights cherished their mates above all else. It’s because of these fierce protective instincts that our beasts must mark our mates, a visible claim that not only permanently imprints the mate’s scent on the skin, but also scars it.
“Devlin, do you accept your place at Jenni’s side as her beloved mate? Do you swear to protect her to the best of your abilities, as well as any young that you might have? Do you welcome the marking from her beast tonight, knowing in your heart that this is truly the first night of the rest of your mated life?”
“I accept Jenni, her beast, and her marks.”
Caesar placed the bracelets on Jenni’s wrists and she pushed them up past her elbows.
Devlin lifted the bowl of prickly pears and held it in his hands.
“Jenni,” Caesar said, “do you swear yourself and your lioness to Devlin? Do you promise to make his life as sweet as the prickly pear, as lovely as the lilies, and to protect him with claw and fang as long as you live?”
“I swear,” Jenni said.
She picked up a piece of fruit and fed it to Devlin, and then he fed her a piece. They took turns, until the bowl was empty. He set it on the ground away from the fire. Caesar placed his hands on top of their heads and smiled down at them.
“I welcome you, Devlin, to the pride, and declare this night that when Jenni has marked and mated you, you will be as a lion in the pride, honored and accepted. The pride will stand with you. May your cubs be as strong and fierce as their parents.”
The lions roared in approval, Jenni lifting her head and joining in. Devlin loved the sound, one of welcome and approval. When the rabbit was finished cooking, he and Jenni shared the meat with each other, and also the pride. Then each pride member dropped a lily on the rug as a token of their approval and a blessing on the mating. They disappeared quickly into the darkness.
“I think we’re alone now,” he said.
“Hold on,” Jenni said, tilting her head and listening. In the distance, he heard a very faint clang. Then she smiled. “Now, we’re alone.”
He cupped her face and kissed her. “I’m so ready for tonight.”
“Me, too. You’re wonderful, and I’m honored and lucky to have a soulmate as amazing as you.”
“I’m the one who’s lucky and honored, Jenni. You’re more than I ever hoped for or knew I even needed. I’d be lost without you.”
“Neither of us will be lost, again.”
They stripped each other quickly and made love, their bodies joining together again and again. When he was entirely, blissfully worn out, he offered her his neck. She purred, flashing her sharp fangs a moment before she pressed them into his flesh. He’d expected it would hurt, like being stabbed by two needles, but all he felt was pressure and then a sweet connection that bloomed between him and his mate.
He’d never known that soulmates were real. He’d always suspected they were born more of fantasy and dreams than reality. But he believed in them now, because he was holding his soulmate in his arms, feeling her soft skin and her warm heat, and the thick fangs in his neck. She lifted from him, lapping at his wound with a stuttering purr. He turned his head and bit her, knowing that it was only symbolic because he didn’t have real fangs. She writhed in his arms with a happy sigh.
“I’m utterly yours,” he whispered against her skin before kissing the mark he’d made. “One hundred percent.”
“Me, too. I can’t wait to see what our future holds.”
“A lot of love,” he promised. “And a lot of happiness.”