Jupiter (Were Zoo Book 2) (10 page)

He hummed. “That’s a good idea. I
hadn’t really thought about it, but there will be times when we’re
around humans.”

She looked down at their linked
fingers. His hand was much bigger than hers, and he was stronger
than her several times over thanks to his shifter nature. But he
held her hand firmly but gently, as if he were afraid he’d shatter
her bones if he squeezed too hard. His long legs would have made
her need to jog to keep up with him, but he shortened his stride.
He did things like that for her all the time. She wasn’t sure he
even realized how he fit himself to her, but she was very aware of
it.

When they reached the security office
where they were supposed to meet Adriana and Zane, she pulled
Jupiter inside, moving to the corner so that they were mostly out
of sight of the men working in the other room where the monitors
were.

“
Is everything all right?”
he murmured, his brow drawn in concern.

“
It’s good, really good. I
just wanted you to know that I love you. I know we’ve only been
together for a few days, but–”

Her words were cut off when he growled
softly and pressed his lips to hers in a searing kiss that went
soul-deep. He drew her close, his arms like steel bands around her
waist as a happy purr rumbled in his chest. He didn’t even need to
say that he felt the same way about her, because she could feel it.
Whatever the connection they had because they were soulmates, she
knew in her heart that his feelings were as real and deep as hers.
She could feel how much he cared for her.

“
I love you too, sweet
soulmate,” he said, gazing down at her with the golden eyes of his
beast. “My life was empty until I had you in my arms. Whatever the
future holds for us, I’m grateful to have you as my
mate.”

“
Sorry to interrupt, but
Zane and his mate are on their way,” Javan said from the
doorway.

Jupiter kissed her once more and said,
“Thanks. Let’s go meet your bestie’s soulmate.”

“
And then later, we can do
that idea with the nakedness and lack of sleep,” she
added.

He purred, and Javan muttered, “I hope
I find my soulmate soon.”

Celeste saw Adriana walking with a
man, and she rushed out of the office and embraced her bestie.
Jupiter growled in annoyance; she knew it was because she hadn’t
waited for him.

Adriana looked happier than she’d ever
seen her, and Celeste knew that she looked the same. As they
embraced, Celeste felt like laughing and crying at the same
time.

“
It feels like a week since
I saw you. Are you okay?” Celeste asked.

“
I’m great now. How are
you?”

“
Having the adventure of a
lifetime!”

Adriana held out her hand to her mate
and said, “Zane, come and meet my best friend.”

Celeste motioned for
Jupiter, who stalked out of the office looking disgruntled. He
caught Celeste around the waist and spun her away from the others.
“Would you please
not
run off like that? It makes my lion tense.”

She snuggled into his embrace,
grinning up at him.

He grunted. “If you want to play chase
later, we can do it at home. For now…just don’t do that.
Please.”

“
Chase?”

He purred, and she shivered. “You, and
me in my shift,” he whispered, “after the park is closed. Then you
can run all you like.”

She rolled her eyes and gave him a
playful swat on his shoulder. “Sorry, I was just excited to see
Adriana.”

They moved closer to her friend and
Jupiter extended his hand to Adriana. “It’s nice to meet you. If
you’re ready, we have reservations.”

It hadn’t escaped Celeste’s notice
that Jupiter had not let go of her. When Adriana raised her eyebrow
in question, she shrugged. “He’s an overprotective nutcase. Ignore
him.”

Jupiter growled. “My
wife
thinks I worry too
much.”

“
Wife?” Adriana
asked.

“
It’s better than the ‘m’
word out in public,” Celeste explained.

Their small group left the park in an
SUV. Jupiter drove and Zane sat in the passenger seat, while
Celeste sat on the second-row bench seat with Adriana. They both
talked at the same time, their words blending together. Adriana was
happy for Celeste, and Celeste was happy for her bestie. She
couldn’t believe how strange it was that both of them had come to
the park and wound up with mates.

“
Have you thought about
doing nails here?” Celeste asked.

“
Like in the
park?”

“
No, I mean like setting up
shop down in the market. Although there are only four unmated
females, there are over a dozen mated females here in the park. I
bet they’d enjoy not having to leave for manis. Eventually there
will be more mates, anyway.”

“
Would you work with me on
scheduling and supplies?”

“
Of course!”

Jupiter cleared his throat and said to
Zane, “Celeste would like to have lunch twice a week with
Adriana.”

Celeste winked at Adriana, who was
grinning.

“
In the market? That’s
totally doable. Is Celeste going to work security with you?” Zane
asked.

He shook his head. “I’d be too
distracted.”

Celeste giggled. “I
am
hot.”

Jupiter’s cheeks turned
pink, and Zane looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. “I
meant, little love, that I’d be too worried about your safety to do
my job correctly. But you
are
hot.”

Celeste clicked her tongue and started
to laugh, Adriana joining in. When they’d both settled down,
Adriana explained to Zane about the idea of setting up a nail salon
in the market.

“
What do you think?” she
asked Zane, reaching forward and putting her hand on his
shoulder.

“
I think it’s a great idea.
I know you wouldn’t want to hang out in the house all the time, or
with me in the garage.”

“
I’d like to do that
sometimes, but I really love doing nails.”

“
It’s just like your dream
of having your own place,” Celeste pointed out.

“
I know. It’s all because
of my sexy mate,” Adriana said.

Jupiter parked in front of the Mexican
restaurant. Zane commented that the VIP tour program was a
success.

“
I agree. My brothers are
eager for next weekend and the chance to see more VIPs. There’s
talk of increasing the number of tours so more females are coming
through.”

Jupiter got out and opened Celeste’s
door, holding out his hand for her. She took it and walked with him
up to the sidewalk, where they waited for Zane and
Adriana.

“
I’m so happy you came on
the tour, sweetheart,” Zane said after kissing Adriana.

“
I’m glad I did, too. It
was the best decision I ever made.”

“
Um, excuse me,” Celeste
said. “It was
my
brilliant idea to come here, so you should thank me. A lot.
With chocolates and that body wash I like.”

“
Thank you for your most
amazing idea,” Adriana said. She turned to Zane and said, “I
wouldn’t have found my other half without you.”

Celeste looked up at Jupiter. “I
didn’t think my other half would be so furry.”

He chuckled and kissed her.
“Or mine so fur-
less
.”

* * *

Jupiter sat on his dad’s couch with
the other pride members, except for Jenni, who was talking quietly
with Celeste in the kitchen about shoes or clothing or something
else girly. He was thankful she and Jenni got along so well,
because he’d worried about her not having any females to talk to
except Adriana.

Turning his attention to his dad, he
said, “She’s going to call her parents tonight and tell them that
she got a new job here at the zoo and it comes with living
accommodations.”

His dad nodded. “That explains
quitting her old job and moving. But what about your
relationship?”

“
Tonight she’s going to lay
the groundwork that she met me and really likes me. Then we’ll plan
to meet them at their house for dinner in a week or two, and she’ll
explain about our relationship moving forward. She said her parents
would be skeptical if she simply showed up with me and said we were
getting married.”

Xavier snorted. “Shifters are so much
easier. They understand soulmates and instant connections, and
would think it was strange to not be with each other right
away.”

“
It’s not a hardship to
deal with this because of her. I honestly don’t mind. I just want
her to be happy, and I want her parents to like me and trust that
I’m the right male for her.”

“
Man,” Mercer
said.

“
What?”

“
Man. Humans don’t call
each other male and female, they say man and woman.”

“
Right, right,” he said,
sighing. “Anyway, hopefully this will work.”

“
What’s the worst-case
scenario?” Amadeus asked.

“
They could disown her.
Although it would seem like that’s ideal because we wouldn’t have
to deal with them, it would disappoint her, so I’m hoping they
don’t.”

“
They’ll want to come see
her place, right?” his dad asked.

“
She thinks they will. When
we went to lunch with Zane and Adriana, Zane reminded me of an
empty barn where the petting zoo used to be. He thought we could
convert it into apartments, and that way whenever her parents want
to come visit, they can actually come into the park and see a place
that appears to be hers.”

His dad hummed in thought as he lifted
his cell phone from the coffee table. “That’s a good idea. This may
be an issue we have to deal with going forward, with mates’ family
members wanting to see where they live and work. It’ll be easy
enough to figure out jobs for the mates to say they’re taking in
the park, but living arrangements where family members could come
and visit are an entirely different situation.”

Jupiter sighed in relief. He’d been
very hopeful to have his dad’s support, and although he hadn’t
really doubted Caesar would back him up in whatever way he needed,
it was still nice to know. “We were going to walk over there and
take a look at the barn.”

“
We’ll come with you.
You’ll need all hands on deck to convert an old barn into what can
pass for living quarters,” his dad said.

“
Thanks,” Jupiter
said.

“
You’d help us if the
situations were reversed,” Javan pointed out.

“
Definitely.”

After getting Celeste and Jenni from
the kitchen, the pride left his dad’s home and walked toward the
stairs that would lead them into the employee cafeteria.

“
Are all the houses like
yours and your dad’s?” Celeste asked.

“
Yes,” Jupiter said. “When
we first came here, this was just a large, empty room. We planned
small homes and built them from scratch, deciding on three
bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room in each
home.”

“
The other shifter groups
have different kinds of homes and décor in their private areas.
Like the gorillas’ homes are all built on fake tree platforms, and
the interior walls of the wolves’ homes are covered with natural
stone to mimic a real den. It’s pretty neat,” Jenni
said.

It took them twenty minutes to get
from the cafeteria to the barn. Caesar used a master key to unlock
the padlock that kept the chain around the door handles locked. The
interior of the barn was stuffed with old equipment and signs for
the petting zoo. Amadeus, who enjoyed building things, went to work
measuring the interior of the barn and calling out measurements to
Jenni, who entered them in her phone.

“
Why did the petting zoo
close?” Celeste asked as she looked around, without leaving
Jupiter’s side.

Javan laughed. “The animals
did
not
like the
wolves, who ran the exhibit. The animals would be fine until one of
the wolves would step into the fenced area, and then they’d flip
out.”

“
Even in their human form?”
she asked.

“
Yep. Normal animals can
sense our beasts. If the bears had been in charge of the petting
zoo, or the elephants, it might have worked out, but their groups
aren’t as large as the wolves and they didn’t have people to
spare.”

“
That’s too bad. I like
petting zoos, they’re fun.”

Jupiter winked at her. “You can pet me
anytime.”

She blushed as she laughed. “You’ve
got a one-track mind.”

Amadeus snapped the end of the
measuring tape into place and said, “We could build three
apartments in here and have a central room, maybe set it up like a
game room or gathering room. We could finish one apartment so it’s
realistic, and then just do the façade for the others; that way
we’re not wasting time on places that won’t be used.”