Page 16 of Run Free

“Thanks,” I said, referring to the discs. “But you only listed four and you said five.”

He rose to leave. I didn’t think he was going to tell me, but he stopped at the door without turning around. “Clara. Clara was the fifth. I’m sorry.”

“Shit,” I said, as he walked away. Alfred and Miriam were still there. “Get out,” I barked at them, and they quickly waddled away. I wasn’t in the mood for company.

It wasn’t that I wanted Clara for a mate. I didn’t. I didn’t want any female, period. In the brief time I’d known her there were two things painfully clear: Clara was full of compassion and she had a good heart. I knew those videos would have upset her. My instincts told me to go to her, but that would only make the situation worse.

If I’d ever had a moment’s thought about taking her as my mate, it all changed now. It wasn’t possible. All she would ever see is the broken man in that cage. I couldn’t live with her pity.

I made a plan. Burn the discs, destroy the hellhole I had survived, and then run. Run free, like I was always meant to be, and never look back.

Clara

Chapter 10

I stared down into the eyes that haunted me. I liked to draw when I was stressed. It was sort of my outlet. I hadn’t done it in a long time, but on the paper before me was an uncanny resemblance to Gage that now stared back.

His scent still permeated the air and seemed to be everywhere. I didn’t even know how it was possible, or if it was just my imagination. It had been a few days since I’d left him in that cabin refusing to return with me. Was I going crazy? Is this how Lizzy had lived while separated from her true mate for over a decade? I cried at night just thinking about all the pain she must have gone through. I had heard her story, but I didn’t really connect with it, until now.

I had told Dave that Gage was a disappointing coward. How very wrong I had been!

I was angry when he refused to come back with me. He was supposed to be my mate. He should be driven to be near me now that he had my scent, but that hadn’t happened. Then Alfred led me to the video footage and my entire world collapsed around me while I was watching it.

The torture they’d put him through slayed my heart. I alternated between anger and grief. Gage wasn’t a coward, he was the strongest man I’d ever had the privilege of meeting. I didn’t want to be in this place of death, so I couldn’t blame him for refusing to return. I could only blame myself for walking away without listening to him.

My one piece of happiness since I’d returned had been the spider monkeys. Rick had told me they wouldn’t be ready before the weekend, but they surprised me by coming in days ahead of schedule. Now if I could just get him motivated to finish the tiger enclosure, I could relax.

The monkeys were basically harmless, but they had been driving everyone crazy inside one of the operating rooms we were able to close down. We simply had no other place to put the little guys, and it was far from ideal. We could all relax a little with them safely back in their home.

The tigers were in another room being kept under heavy sedation. I couldn’t afford for them to wander free, and I was going to exceed budget from the medications if I didn’t get them out of there soon. Rick was the leader of vector two. He was a huge pain in my ass. I had stopped myself numerous times from calling Jacob and having him fired.

No matter what, he wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t get him to understand that yes, the elephants are very large, but they are all docile. They can tolerate simply being tied up by a rope for a few days. They weren’t going to eat anyone, for crying out loud! The tigers, on the other hand. . .

I took a deep breath. The stress of the job was really weighing on me. I had been locked up in the clinic for nearly every second of every day. I didn’t have to be, though. Everything was under control and we were in the repair stages now. I had most of the teams ahead of schedule and I knew Jacob was proud of the job I was doing. So why wasn’t I happier about it?

I left the clinic and was blinded by the bright sun. I stretched, trying to work the kinks out of my system. Turning to the right I could see the monkeys happily playing. I headed there first to check on them.

“Hey, little guys. How are you today?” I asked in a soothing voice. They shrieked back, jumping up and down and swinging from the ropes. Everyone looked healthy. I hated seeing any animal in a cage, but I would make certain they were safe and cared for regardless.

I walked over to the elephant enclosure and sighed. Rick still had his full team working on it. “How’s it coming?” I asked him.

“Oh Clara, hey. It’s coming along nicely. We had a few setbacks. The wall is crumbling in three places. My guys are patching it now. I think it will probably only put us behind two days.”

“Two days? And you can’t spare anyone for the tiger enclosure during this? Can’t we split the team and hit them both?”

“It’s more efficient this way, Clara. I know you’re in charge of the project, but you need to let me lead my vector. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know what I’m talking about. Dividing doesn’t speed up anything. We’re more productive this way,” he insisted.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way. Just keep me posted,” I said, feeling defeated.

I moved on to the other vectors. Every single team except Rick’s was working hard to clean, repair, secure, and replace the animals.

With the final updates from vector one in and having walked the entire perimeter of the zoo, I decided to take a break and maybe a shower. I just wasn’t ready to return to the clinic. I needed the outdoors and fresh air.

As I walked around the path from the clinic to the back of the zoo, I passed the tiger enclosure. I stopped when I heard voices. Curious, I walked over to it and looked down. Alfred, Miriam, Byron, and Tatum were laughing and talking as they worked. My eyes welled up with tears. They all knew how important it was to me to get the tiger habitat ready for their release. I knew they must be doing this for me.

“Fearless leader, what’s next?” Byron asked dramatically.

“It’s looking fantastic in here. By tomorrow morning, Byron and I will shift and do a check in our fur. I know we aren’t tigers, but our leopards should be equally capable of finding any areas of concerns,” Tatum said.

---