Page 9 of Jasper

Ifhe could.

She wasn’t so sure she believed that he’d left to protect her, or that he’d come help her family against the usurper, but if her dad thought he would, then she’d at least try.

You better not let me down, Jasper.

Jasper madehis third pass around the interior of the park, hugging the walls and looking for anything out of the ordinary. Although there wasn’t anything worrying at the moment—no one trying to take over or find someone or harm a park member—the security team still had to function as if somethingcouldhappen at any time. Because you just never knew when the shit was going to hit the fan.

He passed by the paddocks that made up the safari tour, starting with the norms—non-shifting animals. He stopped to look into the paddock, but even with his enhanced eyesight he couldn’t see much save for the dark shadows of the animals as they moved around. Most were sleeping at this point; it was late as hell.

He made his way past the other paddocks, which were empty because they were reserved for the shifters to use during the tours to give the illusion that the park was full of wild animals, until he stopped at the elephant paddock.

He could see the flickering of flames from a bonfire as they celebrated Alpha Alistair’s mating to his human soulmate Maggie, a substitute teacher who’d come into the park with her classroom and found her soulmate—and the truth of shifters.

The problem with dating humans was that the secret couldn’t be shared until the couple were in love, as a way to ensure they valued the protection of their soulmate above all else, even keeping the secret from their families.

He envied Alistair, who was embarking on a journey with his soulmate, while Jasper was stuck in neutral.

His walkie squawked.

“Jasper,” he said, turning from the festivities as the elephant memory celebrated the mating with a party.

“It’s Amadeus. There’s someone at the front gate for you.”

“What? For me?”

He turned from the elephant paddock and walked down the path heading toward the front gate.

Amadeus’s voice was low when he continued, “Yep. A female.”

What?

“For me?”

Jasper quickened his pace, his wolf curious.

“Yeah.”

“I’m on the way.”

His mind spun over who could have come to the gate looking for him. Everyone he knew was at the park, except for his former pack. Those people heknewbut they didn’t know him anymore. Being exiled meant they treated him as if he were dead, so no one could contact him without severe consequences from that dickhead alpha, Daniel Grimes.

When he reached the front gates, a sprawling wrought iron monstrosity that had silhouettes of the park animals across the front, he saw Jupiter and Amadeus on the park’s side of the gates.

On the other side was a figure in the shadows.

As he approached the trio, he got a hint of cinnamon in the air, and a memory he didn’t want to see again popped up inhis mind: a moonless night, a sky full of stars, and the broken promise that made him feel like half his bones had been replaced with lead.

Then he heard a voice he never thought he’d hear again. “Jasper?”

He knew the eyes that he couldn’t see right now were an intriguing shade of violet.

“I need your help.”

He stopped in his tracks a few feet from the gates and stared through the thick bars.

She was as petite as he remembered her being, a full foot shorter than him. He inhaled and picked up her sweet cinnamon scent; the main reason he never had anything with cinnamon in it was because it made him ache in the center of his chest.

“Melody?”

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