Page 23 of Lucius

“Yes. Jupiter is head of security in the park, and I’m also on the security team as is Amadeus. Now tell us exactly what happened, Sidney.”

She looked past Jupiter to the exit, and he narrowed his gaze and shook his head slightly as if warning her not to make a run for it.

She couldn’t figure out why she felt so unsettled all of a sudden. She was scared at what she’d witnessed when she’d woken up and she was worried about Lucius. But everything about her current situation made her feel entirely uneasy.

Exhaling sharply, she put her bag on the nearest table and said, “I woke up in bed with a lion. I got dressed and ran from the apartment, but I heard it behind me. I heard it roar and then what sounded like the door splintering when it was hit. I was trying to leave, but Amadeus brought me here. I just want to know if Lucius is okay. Why isn’t anyone really talking to me?”

She rubbed her arms as a chill wove down her spine.

Turning slowly, she looked out the large windows into the darkness of the park, and there, standing like some kind of mythical beast come to life, was the lion she’d been in bed with.

He roared so loudly that she could feel it in her heart and it made her eyes sting with fresh tears.

What the hell was going on?

And why was no one surprised to see a lion through the window?

Lucius woke thinkingit was storming because there was a sudden flash of light. He sat up and saw Sidney holding her phone with the flashlight pointed at him.

And then she screamed.

It was such a terror-filled sound that his lion immediately went on alert for danger.

She slammed the bedroom door and ran screaming out of the apartment.

He rose to his feet but they were paws, and that’s when he realized he’d somehow shifted in his sleep and not woken up during the process.

It seemed impossible, but here he was in the fur and his mate was scared to death.

He roared, wanting to tell her to wait and that she shouldn’t be afraid, but he knew she’d hear the roar and be even more scared. He had to get to her before she got hurt or lost in the park.

Leaping from the bed, he moved to the door and pushed it with his paw, but it was latched. It was unfortunately a knob type and not a handle, and he didn’t have the dexterity to twist it. Roaring again to alert anyone in security about the situation,he did the only thing he could think of and backed up, bracing himself for a run at the door.

He hit it with all his weight and force, and it cracked but didn’t open.

With a snarl he backed up again and crouched down, his muscles tense and his whiskers twitching. He leaped at the door and hit it again, and this time as the damaged door took his full weight, it splintered and fell apart and he tumbled into the hall.

He could see the front door was open, and when he picked up Sidney’s sweet scent mixed with fear and the saltwater of tears, he let out another roar for help. Padding through the front room and through the door, he lifted his muzzle and inhaled, following her scent.

He also picked up the scent of Amadeus and knew that his brother wouldn’t let her leave the park, but would be most likely taking her to either the employee cafeteria or the security office.

It was late and the park was dark, but he had no trouble making his way through the park as he followed Sidney’s scent. He paused near the security office and didn’t hear anyone inside, so he suspected Sidney and his brother were in the employee cafeteria. The windows were made of one-way glass so he was unable to see inside, but he could feel a pull to the building and knew his soulmate was inside.

Moving close enough to the building for the motion detector to kick on, he positioned himself in front of one of the windows and bellowed out a roar for his mate.

Sidney.

The cafeteria door opened and his dad walked out, closing it quickly behind him.

“Morning, Son.”

Lucius snarled and lifted a paw to gesture toward the building.

His dad crossed his arms across his chest. “You fucked up. You shifted while you and Sidney were asleep and you scared the hell out of her. Thankfully, Amadeus was patrolling near the apartments and caught her before she went screaming through the park and left. He called Jupiter to gather the alphas and brought her to the cafeteria. Now she’s not just scared, she’s angry and wants to leave, but she also wants to make sure you’re okay.” He looked over his shoulder and then back to Lucius. “She cares for you a great deal, that’s clear, but this is a full-blown disaster…you know that, right?”

Lucius nodded and grumbled out an apology, hanging his head. His claws flexed against the pavement, scraping loudly.

His dad ruffled his ears. “It’ll be okay. The alphas want to talk, so I’ll call them out here and your brothers can keep an eye on your mate. Don’t do anything stupid.” He turned to go back into the cafeteria and then turned back for a moment. “I mean, don’t do anythingmorestupid.”

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