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Lucius found out her phone was with his dad for safekeeping, so they went to his house where Sidney sent her mom a text, which she showed him as she typed, tilting the screen so he could see. He hated that she was being treated like a criminal who couldn’t be trusted, but rules were rules. All in all, she seemed to be taking things in stride and he was grateful for her change of heart.

“Okay, she’s pissed I’m not coming home today,” she said with a sigh as she read her mom’s response. “I think tomorrow is going to be a battle with her. I’m not in the mood at all.”

She handed the phone to Caesar and said, “You can turn it off. I told her I’d be back when I’m back and that she needs to accept that I was due for some time off and I’m enjoying myself.”

Caesar pressed the side button and the phone turned off. “It’ll be here when you need it again. Sorry about all this.”

“Don’t be,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I spend too much time on it anyway.”

In the market, Lucius and Sidney grabbed breakfast from the counter, where he introduced her to Alpha Joss’s human mate, Jeannie.

“Welcome,” Jeannie said as she took their orders for the special of the day, which was banana walnut pancakes with warm syrup and fresh churned butter. “If I can answer anything for you about being a human among shifters, just reach out. I’m happy to chat. In fact, the mates all get together a few times a month to hang out, so you’ll be invited to that next time.”

“That sounds great, thank you so much.”

They sat at a long table where his brother Amadeus and several of their friends were also seated, and he introduced her to everyone. They got coffee and orange juice, and when Jeannie called their order, he grabbed it and brought it to the table.

“This looks amazing,” Sidney said.

“Nothing but the best for our people,” Amadeus said. “The bears handle the food for park visitors and employees, but Jeannie was working in the food service industry before she met Joss, so she’s working with them. Lexy is human and she’s mated to Win, one of the gorillas, and she’s a baker. She runs the candy shop along with our resident lioness, Jenni, plus Lexy’s friend Trina, who is also human and mated to Justus over there, who’s a bear.”

Justus waved from the end of the table.

“Jenni is the only lioness?” she asked.

“Yep,” Lucius said. “She’s mated to Devlin, who’s a human.”

“So who is left without a mate in the pride?”

“Our dad and Amadeus, plus Javan and Xavier,” Lucius said.

Amadeus grumbled, “I need to find my soulmate like yesterday. Do you have any sisters, Sidney?”

She smiled. “Sorry.”

“Crud.”

“What do the lions do?” she asked.

“Security,” Lucius said. “Our pride isn’t too large, but Jupiter runs things and our dad is his backup. There are wolves and bears who also work in security.”

“That’s wild,” she said. “So are there humans who work here who aren’t mates?”

“Nope,” Lucius said. “Mercer, who’s also a lion, has a human soulmate named Rhomi. The alphas let her work at the park before they were mated and she knew the truth, but she had limited access in the park. It’s not something that would normally be done.”

They ate and talked, his friends sharing stories about shifting and hope for finding their soulmates, and then her sharing her sketches from the day before.

“Wow, you’re really good,” Amadeus said. “And I’m not just saying that because you’re my sister-in-law.”

“Thanks,” she said and then pushed her plate away. “I’m stuffed.”

“I’ll finish it,” Lucius said.

“You’re still hungry? There were eight pancakes on your plate!”

“You bet,” he said. “Shifters always have huge appetites. Plus I’ll need my energy for shifting.”

“Speaking of shifting,” his dad said as he stopped next to the table. “When are you going out?”

“As soon as we’re done with breakfast.”

“Okay, so the tours start at noon today, which means you need to be back in the maintenance building before eleven or you’ll be stuck for the day in your shift.”

“That’s no problem,” he said. He looked at his phone. It was just after eight, which meant he should have no trouble shifting at eleven, and if he wasn’t ready yet, he’d just hang out in the shed until he was.

“We should get going?” she asked.

“Yep. I texted Jupiter and Celeste to meet us up there.” He finished eating the rest of her pancakes, and then they took the dishes to the cleaning station. She put her crossbody bag over her shoulder and took his hand.

On the way out of the marketplace, they stopped at a small market run by two wolves named Anke and Zeger, who greeted her warmly. Lucius told her that they could get her anything she needed. Then he introduced her to Celeste’s best friend Adriana, who did manis and pedis in a small salon, and Dani, who was mated to gorilla shifter Neo, and ran a small makeup shop.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Dani said with a warm smile. “If you’d like to come hang out with me, I can give you a mini facial and get whatever products you like. I’m putting a bag of supplies together for my friend Tris.” She fluffed some tissue paper and gently placed it between packages of face wash and body wash.

“Does she live here?” Sidney asked.

“She lives in Little River with her mate,” Dani said. “So I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like, but Little River isn’t too far away. She lives on a farm and is the caretaker for the guys who own it.”

“That’s really neat. I hope to meet her someday, and meet everyone else too.”

“The park is a really wonderfully welcoming place,” Dani said. “Holler at me anytime.”

“I will, thanks. It was so nice to meet you.”

“You too!”

Lucius led her out of the market, down the hall, and back into their private living quarters.

“What did you think of the marketplace?” he asked.

“Everyone is so nice! I can’t believe there’s a nail salon underground here, plus a makeup store and a market too, not to mention the food. Which was amazing. This place is awesome.”

“I’m glad you like it,” he said. “The alphas want to make sure we have everything we need here.” He used the code to unlock the door that would lead to the maintenance shed in the lions’ paddock.

The door to the shed was open and Jupiter was staring down at him with a smile.

“I wondered when you were going to show up.”

“I had to finish her pancakes. She only ate three.”

“They were huge!” Sidney said. “But so good. And he showed me the nail salon, market, and makeup shop too.”

Lucius lowered the door into the floor and said, “Sidney, this is my brother’s mate Celeste.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Sidney said.

Celeste gave her a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you too. Welcome to the family.”

“Lucius said you’re having a baby, congrats.”

Celeste settled her hand on her bump and grinned. “Thank you. We’re excited even though I’ve got swollen ankles and an insane craving for steak.”

“I don’t mind that part,” Jupiter said with a smile. “Steak for every meal is right up my lion’s alley.”

“Dad reminded me to be back in here by eleven when everyone else will come out to get ready for the tours today,” Lucius said. “Can you keep an eye on the time for me?”

“Sure thing,” Jupiter said.

Lucius held out his hand to his mate. “Come on, sweetheart. They’ll stay in here until I’m in my shift. Jupiter doesn’t want Celeste to see anyone else’s junk.”

“Damn straight,” his brother said with a growl.

Celeste hugged her mate with a chuckle. “Yours is the only junk I want to see.”

Lucius pushed the heavy doors of the shed open, let his mate out, and then closed it behind them.

“Now remember that I’m still me.”

“Okay?”

“I mean, even in my lion shift, I can understand you, but I won’t be able to speak to you and I can’t change back right away. I just don’t want you to get scared.”

“I think waking up with your paw on my stomach was enough scaring to last a lifetime. This is going to be a cakewalk.”

He grimaced at the reminder that she’d been terrified. He undid the button of his jeans and paused. “Are you going to be okay sleeping with me tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Did you want me to sleep on the couch or something?”

“No, I just don’t want you to be scared to wake up like that again.”

“You’re not going to eat me, right?”

His mind blanked out for a moment. What?

Her cheeks pinked. “I mean, as a lion you’re not going to hurt me?”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “My lion would kill to keep you safe and wouldn’t dream of hurting a hair on your head. I’m still me and still in control of everything, I’m just a lion.”

“Okay, good. Then yes, I will happily sleep with you tonight, especially if you’re interested in a repeat of last night.”

“Did you tell her that we have really good hearing?” Jupiter called through the shed doors.

“Oh crap,” Sidney said. “Sorry!”

“No worries,” Jupiter said. “It takes getting used to.”

“I just want to point out that I wasn’t eavesdropping,” Celeste said.

“Throw me under the bus, why don’t you, woman?” Jupiter said with a growl, and then Lucius heard the distinct sound of his brother and his mate making out.

Good grief.

He stepped close. “I’ll definitely, happily, and eagerly give you a repeat of last night.” He whispered in her ear, “You taste amazing and I love how you sound when you fall apart.”

She bit her bottom lip. “You better shift, Lucius. You’re too tempting like this.”

“As my soulmate wishes.”

He stepped back and stripped, a little sexier than necessary to give her a good show, which he could tell she appreciated because he could smell how turned on she was. When he’d put his clothes to the side of the shed, he let his shift come over him, going from two legs to four paws.

He stretched fully, his claws sinking into the dirt and his tail whipping back and forth as he yawned.

“Oh.”

He froze mid-yawn, jaws wide and fangs surely gleaming in the sunlight. Was she going to pass out?

“You okay out there, Sidney?” Celeste called. “It’s okay, he’s still himself, just furry.”

The shed doors opened and Sidney looked back at them, and then at him.

“I was just shocked to see it happen. It’s one thing for the lion to become a guy, but a totally different experience the other way around. I wasn’t sure I believed my own eyes last time, but I sure as heck do now. Holy crap. You’re a lion!” She dropped to her knees and held out her hands, and he moved slowly to her, lowering his head so she could pet him.

She sank her fingers into his thick mane, then scratched his ears. He rolled to his side and she stroked her hands down his side with a smile.

“My boyfriend is a lion. Or wait, I guess the right word is mate.”

“Yep,” Celeste said. “But we don’t use that word when we’re away from our people, so boyfriend is fine. Or husband, when the time comes.”

“You guys get married?”

Sidney stood and Lucius rolled to his feet.

“If the couple wants to,” Jupiter said. “You two can discuss that when you’re ready for it. For now, how about we walk around the paddock and you can ask us any questions you’d like. Then I heard you wanted to sketch for a while, so there’s a great shady place under that tree by the pond that you can hang out with Lucius until he’s done with his shift.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said.

He walked with her, occasionally bumping against her as they made their way around the large paddock. She asked Jupiter and Celeste questions about being soulmates and having a baby, about what it was like to be a shifter, and some of the dangers that they’d faced in the park.

By the time the two of them were settled under the tree in the shade and Jupiter had excused himself for a bit to take Celeste back to their home for a nap, promising to return before eleven when he needed to shift back to human, Lucius was positively falling for Sidney.

She was inquisitive and sensitive, and she clearly was open to learning about him and his people. He loved how her mind worked and how concerned she was that the park and its shifters were safe.

She sat a few feet from him and sketched him as he lounged near the pond, the sun dappling his fur with gold and shadows from the tree above.

“I had the best time this morning,” she said as she sketched. “Thank you for this. Thanks for taking the time with me to help me understand how serious everything is here. I don’t feel like a prisoner, I feel like I’m being brought into the most special, secret group on the planet and that I’ve been given a tremendous opportunity to find my soulmate and make a life with him.”

She smiled at him, and he purred loudly.

“When you’re human, I’d like to talk to you about the future, okay? I have some questions, especially about how you can’t live anywhere but here.”

He nodded, his tail flicking in the tall grass.

“In the meantime, lemme get back to this sketch. You’re a freaking handsome lion, Lucius. Plus, you’re sexy as hell as a human.” She gave him a sexy smile before turning her eyes back to the sketchbook. “I can’t wait until you’re human again.”

He couldn’t either.