Page 44 of Lucius

But he had something important to do, and he only had this bit of time to take care of it.

After dropping off the trio at the aviary, Lucius and Jupiter headed to the employee lot.

“Hey, guys, pop in here for a minute,” their dad called from the employee cafeteria.

Lucius and Jupiter walked into the cafeteria where their dad and the other alphas were waiting.

After greeting the alphas, Lucius said, “Jupiter is going to accompany me on some errands. Justus and Benjamin are also going to follow us. I left Sidney with Rhomi and Celeste, and they’re going to hang out in the aviary after the show with Jess and Auden. So that’s my news, what’s up with you all?”

Caesar smiled at him. “Since we’re doing the mating ceremonies this weekend, I wanted to be the first to tell you that once you’re fully mated according to our people’s traditions, Sidney will be able to have access to the park including codes to our private areas. She’s proven that she cares for you and is intent on keeping our secret.”

“That’s awesome, thanks,” Lucius said. “She’ll be happy. She understood that she was a stranger and needed to earn the trust of the alphas, but it’ll be nice for her not to feel like she’s being constantly watched.”

Alistair nodded. “She’s been really gracious in accepting our laws, and it’s a testament to your bond as soulmates.”

Lucius looked at the group, because he felt like there was something more going on. His dad smiled and said, “I was telling the alphas about Sidney’s artistic talents, and we had a couple thoughts about her working at the park. We wanted to run them by you so you can talk to her and see what she’d like to do.”

“Really? She can do her art at the park? In what capacity?” His lion let out a happy chuff in his head. He knew that Sidney wanted to do her art for a living, but he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to help her make that a reality.

Caesar looked at Joss, who said, “We have a couple of thoughts, which you can discuss with her and let her decide what she’d like to do. We’re really flexible in this aspect because we’ve never had an artist soulmate who was talented enough to work for the park. So the first option is that she could set up a small artstation in the gift shop and draw a few hours a day. We could sell her drawings, and even make prints of them and frame them.”

Lucius hummed. “That sounds amazing. What’s the other option?”

Marcus said, “If she wants to do her art out in the park where people can see her, we can set up a station by the security office and she could draw outside, maybe do caricatures if that’s something she wants to do.”

“In the gift shop,” Caesar said, “she’d be with Sarah and Requiem, and if she’s near the security office, she could be on your schedule so you’d be around her. Either way, we’d love to offer her drawings for sale in the gift shop. I think the patrons would really love that.”

“Wow,” Lucius said. “Thank you all for thinking of ways to incorporate her into the park. I think she’ll be thrilled to be able to sketch for the park and sell her drawings. I’ll talk to her about it after I meet up with the girls later on.”

“There’s no rush,” Joss said. “You two are mating this weekend and should take time to enjoy each other. Your shifts will be covered by the security team, of course, for however much time you’d like to take off. When she decides what she’d like to do, just let us know and we’ll get things set up for her.”

Lucius shook the alphas’ hands. “Thanks so much, this is amazing.”

Caesar walked him and Jupiter outside. “Has she heard from her mom?”

“No,” Lucius said with a sigh. “She keeps hoping she’ll reach out, but she said her mom is pretty stubborn and was clearly very hurt by the argument, so she’s not sure how long it will take for her to realize that Sidney was right to put herself first for a change.”

“Hopefully her mom will realize that it’s not worth losing the relationship over and can come to terms with Sidney’schoices, but sometimes parents don’t do the right thing. Present company excluded.”

Jupiter snorted so hard he coughed.

Caesar growled at him and Jupiter took a large step back. “Sorry, you’re always right. Of course.”

“Damn straight,” he said with a laugh. “Good luck with your errands. I’ll see you later.”

Lucius and Jupiter walked away from the cafeteria toward the employee parking lot, where Justus and Benjamin were waiting as their escort.

“Do you know what you’re going to get?” Jupiter asked as they reached one of the park’s SUVs with the logo emblazoned on the side.

“I think so,” he said. “But I’m trying to keep my mind open to whatever they have on hand. I think when I see it, I’ll know which one to get.”

“I’m happy for you,” Jupiter said. “Having a soulmate is the best feeling on the planet.”

Lucius couldn’t agree more.

Meeting Sidney was definitely the highlight of his life.

Sidney absolutely loved watching the bird show again. Maggie and Jess were so knowledgeable and shared about the different birds that called the sanctuary home. At the end of the show, they did a Q&A for the audience, and then the crowd dispersed.

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