Page 14 of August

“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.

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