Page 47 of Alistair

“What? I’m human.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’re my soulmate.”

“How does that happen?”

He opened a door in the floor and said, “I’ll tell you all about it. But first, I want to show you my real house.”

“Underground?” She peeked down the stairwell.

“Yep. It’s worth it, sweetheart. I promise.”

“I trust you.”

She really did. It might have been a weird and bumpy road to get to this place, but she loved Alistair. It was new love, early love, but it was love all the same.

She had no regrets in breaking down the walls she’d erected around her heart to save herself from heartbreak.

He was worth the risk.

When Alistair woke up Sunday morning, in his home in the elephants’ private living area with his beautiful soulmate in his arms, he couldn’t have been happier. The last week had been a wild ride from start to finish, and he never expected it to take the turns that it did. He still couldn’t believe that he was lucky enough to have won Maggie’s heart.

She had every right to be wary of males since she’d been so badly hurt and betrayed in the past. He was thankful she’d taken a chance on him with her heart. He wasnotgoing to let her down.

There were still things to talk about and figure out, like living arrangements and what they would tell her family, and he wanted to reach out to Auden and Jess about Maggie possibly joining them in the aviary to run classes. Plus, there was a school in the park for the shifter kids, although there weren’t many young right now.

There was also the thought that they’d been having sex for the last day without protection. He definitely would love to have a child with her, but only when she was ready and the time was right for both of them.

When she woke a little while later with a hum that turned into a yawn, he smiled at the cute way she squeaked as she stretched, her toes curling as she straightened her legs.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning.” She rolled over to face him with a big smile. “I really like it down here.”

“Yeah?” He rubbed his hand up and down her bare back.

“It’s quiet. And even though the other houses are close, it still feels really private. I liked the apartment too, though. But this house is really awesome.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The three-bedroom home was in the center of a U-shaped layout of houses in the large room that had sand-colored flooring and walls painted like the savannah. The other shifter groups had their own private living areas decorated to match the natural surroundings their beasts enjoyed. Savannah for the lions, forest for the bears and wolves, and jungle for the gorillas.

The other homes in their area were similar, with two or three bedrooms and a family room, kitchen, plus two bathrooms. There were six homes, which meant that two were empty in case they had more elephants join the memory.

The guys were building a playground in one section of the open space for Rhapsody and Kelley’s little boy, Khap. Cael’s mate, Novi, was pregnant. Alistair hoped that someday the living area would be filled with children’s laughter and the memory would expand with more members. It was the smallest of the shifter groups that called the park home.

“We got distracted from our chat last night,” he said as he kissed her forehead and inhaled her sweet scent.

“You’re the one that kissed me first,” she said.

“I didn’t hear you complain,” he said, arching a brow.

“I willnevercomplain about that, I promise. I don’t even remember what we were talking about when you started taking off my clothes.”

“You were taking too long.” He chuckled. “We were talking about your job.”

“Oh, right. I should check my messages.” She sat up and lifted her phone from the side table where she’d left it charging last night. “Nope, no available jobs for me or messages from the school district.” She put the phone back on the table and snuggled back into his arms with a happy sigh. “Let’s talk about jobs.”

He pulled her closer and closed his eyes for a moment, his elephant blasting out a happy call in his mind. “Well, you know that I’m a vet tech here and help with the animals. Along with feeding them and cleaning the paddocks, I order food and supplies for the norms and also the petting zoo. The aviary and bird hospital handle their own supplies.”

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