Cael (Were Zoo Book 11) by R. Butler (best ereader for pdf .txt) 📕

“Oh? What did she say?”

“She asked if I was aware of how fast we were moving,” she said with a light laugh. “And when I told her that I did, but that I also loved you and knew we were meant to be together, she said she was happy for me and would be there to help pack.”

“Do you think she’s worried about living alone?” he asked.

“I think a little, but she wouldn’t tell me if she was. She’s kept so much of how she feels about us being on the run close to the vest, even with me. I know she’s tired of always moving, always looking over her shoulder, but she’s afraid to relax and let down her guard.”

“Well, I’m not sure she should relax too much. I mean, we have no idea if your father is still looking for you or not. It would depend on his motivation.”

“What do you mean?”

Cael parked in front of the little house and turned off the engine, then faced his mate. “There must be a reason he’s kept after you for such a long time. Would even the most dedicated stalker follow you through countless states over two decades? It kind of boggles the mind. So to me it means that he’s been told he has to take care of you by a higher-up in his group, most likely his alpha. If it’s a direct order, something may hinge on it like a move to a higher rank or something of that nature. He may have no choice but to obey.”

“Why couldn’t he just say no and leave us alone?”

“You’re human, at least mostly, so you don’t understand what it means to be under the authority of an alpha. Once we align ourselves to an alpha, it makes it nearly impossible to ignore orders.” He touched the side of her neck. “Remember when you bit me the first time we made love?”

She nodded.

“You told me you couldn’t help yourself, that you felt like your bear wanted you to mark me so everyone would know that I was mated.”

“Right. And?”

“Imagine if you were a full bear. That compulsion you felt to do something your bear wanted to do was too difficult for you to ignore, so double that compulsion in your father and involve his alpha and you’ve got a recipe for a male who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Even if he doesn’t agree, he might not be willing to risk exile from his group or something worse.”

“Worse like what?”

“Death.”

“You’re saying that maybe his alpha told him to find and kill me or he’d be killed?”

Cael shrugged. “It’s all speculation at this point, sweetheart. Even if I could speak to him, I doubt he’d tell me about the inner workings of his shifter group or his motivation for hunting you all these years.”

She blew out a breath and looked toward the house. “I want my mom to be safe.”

“Then we need to figure out how to get her to the apartment in the park.”

“Okay. I hope we can do that sooner rather than later.”

“Me too.”

They got out of the SUV, and she unlocked the door, calling for her mom as they walked inside. The cozy two-bedroom house smelled like fresh baked bread and seafood.

“In the kitchen, honey,” her mom called.

They walked into the kitchen and found her mom ladling soup into bread bowls and setting them on the butcher block table. Novi hugged her and Cael greeted her.

Novi said, “Did you make lobster bisque in bread bowls for us?”

“I did. It’s your last night here, I wanted it to be special.”

Novi looked at Cael. “It’s my favorite meal. We lived in San Francisco for a year and Mom took me to this amazing restaurant for my eleventh birthday, and I got lobster bisque in a sourdough bread bowl. It was amazing. Mom worked on the recipe for years to make it like that place did, and it’s my birthday meal now.”

“That’s neat, I just get a giant bag of Reese’s Cups in the mail from my parents,” he said. “They’re my favorite.”

“I’ll remember that,” Novi said.

He pulled out her chair and they sat, digging into the steaming bowls of thick soup and dunking in torn chunks of the bread bowl. He’d never had anything so good, and when Lori offered him another bowl, he jumped at the chance. While they ate, they talked about Novi moving into his place, which they were careful to refer to as an apartment and not a house, the new job waiting for her in the security office, and her sadness at turning in her notice at the thrift store.

“It’s always sad to say goodbye to good bosses,” Lori said. “I’m sure you will be missed there. But how exciting to get to work at the park and see the animals every day. And your boyfriend.”

Cael nodded. “I’m looking forward to that too.”

After they finished the meal, he did the dishes while she and her mom went to pack. He could hear their low voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. When the last dish was dried, he put the towel on the edge of the sink and followed the voices to her bedroom. Novi had him carry her packed things to her car. They spent a few hours packing and talking, and by the time they were all yawning, they’d gotten her packed up.

Novi hugged her mom at the door. “Thank you for being so kind.”

“How else would I be?” she asked with a raised brow.

“I don’t know, you could give me a hard time about moving in with Cael when we haven’t known each other a week.”

“I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, honey.