by R. E. Butler
Deneeta hid her smiled. “It’s true. Welcome back, Rhapsody.”
“We can go to the trailer now?” Kelley asked.
“She probably needs to rest in her shift through the night. When she wakens, if she’s still having residual pain from the claw marks, I’ll make her a poultice to help.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Ready to go, sweetheart?”
She yowled and rose to her feet. Her legs trembled and her body swayed, and he wasted no time lifting her into his arms. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, dragging her fang lightly along his skin. A purr made her chest vibrate and he grinned as he carried her out of the big top.
“You’re safe forever now, sweetheart. But just promise me that you’ll never throw yourself in front of me like that again. I’m the one who is supposed to protect you.” He kissed her head. “But thank you, love. Thank you for trying to save me. You’re the best mate a male could hope for, and I’m so glad you’re mine.”
She yowled again, her whiskers tickling his skin.
He would never forget nearly losing her, but they’d survived and he knew that nothing would ever separate them.
* * *
Rhapsody woke as she shifted from her panther. She rolled onto her back and stretched, letting out a quiet squeak at the twinge in her joints. Kelley loomed over her, his face a mixture of concern and relief. Neither spoke for a moment and then they hugged tightly, his strong arms around her as if he’d never let go, and she really didn’t want him to.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his face buried in her neck and his voice muffled against her skin.
“I’m alive and I’m in bed with my favorite male on the planet, so pretty good.”
He eased away from her with a chuckle. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Do you remember what you promised last night?”
His teasing smile eased away as he stared at her intently. She knew exactly what he was talking about. “As I recall, I just made a cat noise at you, I didn’t promise anything.”
“Rhapsody,” he said sternly.
She placed her hand on his cheek, the rough stubble abrading her palm. “I hope to crap that we’re never in a situation like that again. But you have to know that I love you, and if someone was trying to kill you, I will absolutely try to save you.”
His upper lip curled and he growled softly. She loved that he was picking up some of her habits, like growling when he was being serious. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“I don’t want you in harm’s way.”
“Then let’s not make any more enemies, okay?”
“Be serious, sweetheart.”
“I’m very, very serious. You’re asking me to suppress a natural instinct. So stop it. Just trust that we’ll both keep each other safe, and don’t get all macho on me.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “I’m very macho.”
Laughing, she kissed him and hugged him tight. “I wouldn’t change anything about you.”
“You’re perfect the way you are, too.”
A thought crossed her mind and she went very still, her whole body tight with worry. “What if something happened to the baby?” She started to panic, her heart pounding and her eyes stinging with tears.
He snarled and lifted from her. “Let’s go see Deneeta. You can take a pregnancy test again.”
She nodded and sat up. It took longer for her to get up and get moving because there was still some residual tingling and pain in her arms and legs, but she was alive so she wasn’t complaining. As she looked at herself in the mirror over the bathroom sink, she stared at the place on her chest where Nyle’s claws had shredded her skin. There was only the faintest of marks left behind, pale pink streaks that didn’t show the pain that she’d endured.
“You can shift again, it might make them fade even more,” Kelley said as he came to stand behind her in the tiny bathroom. He rested his hands on her waist, his fingers pressing lightly. “But I don’t mind them. They’re a badge of honor.”
She leaned against him and stared at the marks between her breasts. “Do you think so?”
“Absolutely. My soulmate is a warrior and a survivor. I’m the luckiest male on the planet.”
She stared at the marks, but didn’t feel any shame to see them. She’d almost died trying to save her mate. She’d keep the scars because it meant she survived. The alternative wasn’t anything she wanted to dwell on.
“I love you,” she said, meeting his gaze in the mirror.
The smile she loved the most, the one that made his eyes dance, greeted her. “I love you, too.”
After cleaning up and getting dressed, they stopped at his parents’ trailer, where she got two big hugs from Rowena and Donovan.
“Thank you for what you did,” Donovan said.
“Well,” she said, giving Kelley a nudge with her elbow, “I just got him. I wasn’t about to let him go.”
Rowena grinned. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. We’re on the way to Deneeta’s.”
Rowena’s brows rose. “Is everything okay?”
“I just want to be sure that the baby wasn’t harmed.”
“Of course. When you finish at Deneeta’s, we have some things to discuss with you both.”
“We’ll come back when we’re finished,” Kelley said.
They headed to Deneeta’s trailer, and before they could knock, she opened the door. “I was expecting you.”
“You were?” Rhapsody asked as she followed her inside.
“Any pregnant female would worry about her young in a situation like that. I have a pregnancy test for you to take.” She opened a cabinet and handed it to Rhapsody. “I want to tell you that I don’t think you need to worry. I spoke to the girl, Luna, last night at length about the poison and antidote, and after some research I don’t think it harmed your baby, but there’s nothing wrong with making sure.”
“Thanks,” Rhapsody said. She took the test into the bathroom, feeling an odd sense of both hopefulness and worry. When she finished using the bathroom, she put the cap on the test and set it on the counter, and washed her hands. “Kelley?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?” he called through the door.
“Do we have any gummy fruit snacks?”
There was a significant pause and she opened the door and looked at him. “You want fruit snacks?” he asked.
“Sure. I like the red ones.”
“Is that a craving?” he asked with an amused smile.
“Oh, maybe!” she turned around and picked up the test, letting out a happy woo hoo when the screen read “pregnant”. “Yay! Our little one is still there, I’m so happy.”
“He’s a fighter, like his mama.”
“Or she,” Rhapsody said.
“We’ll have to think of a good strong name for a boy or a girl.” He pulled her close, enveloping her in a hug that she felt all the way to the center of her being. He whispered, “Sweetheart, I’m so thankful you’re safe and our child is safe.”
Her eyes pricked with tears. “Me, too.”
“I heard the woohoo,” Deneeta said. “I’m glad that your baby is okay. How are you feeling?”
“A little achy but good in general.”
“Do you want anything for the pain?”
“No thanks.” She looked at the healer for a moment and said, “Why did they have an antidote?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Kelley asked. “It was a dangerous poison.”
“Yeah, I know, but if they were trying to just kill you, why bother with an antidote?”
He hummed. “Maybe they were going to offer the antidote for me in exchange for you agreeing to be his mate? I hope you would have told him to go to hell.”
“Well, I might have said yes so he’d save you and then maybe me and my cat would have gone all crazy on his ass and killed him.”
He laughed. “I bet you would, my fierce panther.”
“Thanks, Deneeta,” she said, giving the healer a hug.
“Anytime.”
As they left her trailer and returned to his parents, Rhapsody asked, “Why do they want to see us again?”
“Don’t know. After we’re done with them, though, we’ll see if there are any fruit snacks. If not, I’ll make a run to the store for you.”
“Aw, I have the best mate.”
They walked into his parents’ trailer and found them sitting at the kitchen table. “Well?” Donovan asked.
“Baby’s good and so am I,” Rhapsody answered.
“I’m so relieved,” Rowena said.
Kelley pulled out a chair for Rhapsody and sat next to her. Rowena offered her decaf coffee and she accepted a cup.
“What’s up?” Kelley asked as he took a cup of regular coffee.
“First, we’re all very thankful that all three of you are safe and healthy,” Donovan said.
Rhapsody smiled and looked at Kelley. She was very grateful for that, too.
“And second, we wanted to talk to you about the two panthers – Luna, and her brother, Diego.”
“What about them?” Rhapsody asked.
“You can come out,” Rowena said loudly.
Rhapsody looked over her shoulder and saw Luna leading Diego by the hand as they left a bedroom at the back of the trailer.
“This is our son, Kelley, and his soulmate, Rhapsody. This is Luna and Diego Martin. They’re cousins of Nyle and Norris.”
“Thank you for telling the elephants about the antidote,” Rhapsody said.
The siblings sat next to Rowena. Luna said, “It was the least I could do. I wish I’d known what they were going to do. Maybe I could have stopped it.”
“We’re glad you’re okay,” Diego said.
Kelley looked at his parents. “What’s going on?”
“They’re all alone in the world now. Luna’s only fifteen and Diego is eleven. We’re going to invite them to join the memory. Felicity has two extra rooms in her trailer, and she’s going to let them stay with her. Before we invite them, though, we wanted to make sure that you were okay with it. We wouldn’t want you to be upset that they’re living with us,” Donovan said.
“I thought the panther clan was pretty big,” Rhapsody said to Luna.
“It was until about a year ago,” she said, “when about half of the clan was wiped out. They were out on a hunt and stumbled into some hunters’ blind. They were killed because the humans thought they were real animals. Alpha Mayella died.”
“Norris and Nyle’s dad?” Rhapsody asked.
Luna nodded. “The clan has some laws about being alpha, and one of them is that he must be mated within a year or he’ll forfeit the title. I was the only unmated female in the clan, and too young to be mated. I believe it was Nyle who remembered you coming to visit, and Norris decided to try to take you for his mate. The brothers told our clan that you were his arranged mate and he was going to retrieve you.”
“My parents didn’t promise me to him,” Rhapsody said. “I don’t believe it for a second.”
Luna shrugged. “The clan believed it. I think Norris and Nyle were lying so much that they started to believe it, too.”
“Were you at the zoo when they tried to break in and Norris was killed?” Kelley asked.
“No.”
“So Norris was killed and Nyle took over.”
“Right, but he was so angry at Norris’s death that he said you were now his promised mate and he’d kill anyone who tried to come against him.”
“Maybe you know…why did they have the antidote?” Rhapsody asked.
“Because the poison they use is so strong that he would have needed to take the antidote himself just from it being on his claws.”
“Our family’s gone now,” Diego said. His thin shoulders were hunched and his eyes were bloodshot. “If you say you don’t want us here, I don’t know what will happen to us.”
Kelley said nothing.
Rhapsody looked at him and then at the two kids. “Can you guys excuse us for a minute?”
“Sure,” they said together as they stood.
“Oh, would you go check at the food tent and see if they have any gummy fruit snacks?” she asked.
Luna’s brows rose. “What kind?”
“Any kind, but hopefully they’ll be red.”
She looked at Rowena and Donovan who smiled kindly. “Go ahead, we’ll come find you when we’re done here,” Rowena said.
When the kids were gone, Kelley looked at his dad and said, “You believe them?”
“Yes. They’re scared, but they’re not lying.”
“I’m okay with them being here,” Rhapsody said. “If she hadn’t stepped up and said where the antidote was, I’d be singing with angels right now.”
Kelley sighed. “I’m fine with it, too. It’s not their fault that their alphas were jackasses.”
“Excellent,” Donovan said. “Thank you both for being gracious.”
“Before you go, I have something for you,” Rowena said as she stood and hurried into one of the bedrooms. She returned a moment later with Rhapsody’s outfit from the night before.
“She fixed it?” Rhapsody asked as she stood and took the outfit.
“She cleaned and mended it. We still have shows today, and it’s your last day here, so we all wanted you to be able to be part of the show.”
“But only the matinee,” Donovan said. “For the evening shows, we want you both in the center ring with me, helping me as co-ring masters.”
“Really? That would be so cool!” Rhapsody said.
“Wow, Dad, thanks,” Kelley said. “You’ve never let anyone stand in the center ring with you but Mom.”
“Well, it’s a special occasion. Not only are you having a baby, but you’re all alive and well, and it’s your last night here. It should be celebrated.”
“With a big party afterward, of course,” Rowena said.
Rhapsody hugged Rowena and then Donovan. “Thank you so much. I can’t wait.”
“We knew you’d love it,” Rowena said. “Now, I bet you’re both ready for breakfast.”
“And fruit snacks,” Rhapsody said.
“Just don’t do anything weird with them, okay?” Kelley said as he held open the door for them.
“Weird like what?”
“Like putting them in your eggs or something.”
“Well that just sounds gross,” Rhapsody said, making a face. “But they might be good with yogurt. Or on ice cream. Oohh, ice cream!”
Kelley put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close with a laugh. “My crazy sweetheart.”
“Just a few minutes ago I was fierce and a warrior. Now I’m crazy?”
“The best mates are always a little bit crazy,” Donovan said. “Trust me.”
“Hey!” Rowena said. “Take that back.”
“Never,” Donovan said, tweaking her side until she screamed in laughter, then he chased her all the way to the food tent.
“I hope in the future that you and I are having as much fun as they are.”
“They’re a great example for what a happy mating looks like.” She caught a glint of humor in his eyes and hopped out of the way of his tickling fingers. “Don’t make me laugh! I might pee!”
He snorted. “Okay, okay. No tickling. For now.”
As they made their way into the tent, Luna met them with a tub of gummy worms. “They only had these.”
“Hey, these will do just fine. But I need ice cream, stat,” Rhapsody said.
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Kelley said as he darted off in search of ice cream.
“Thank you, Luna.”
The young female nodded with a smile. Rhapsody joined her in-laws at their table and opened the tub. The gummies tasted like fruit punch, and she was pretty sure she was going to finish the whole tub. “This has been an amazing week. Fun and exciting, and a little crazy dangerous at the end. Thank you for having us.”
“Anytime. And if you ever want to run away and join the circus, you and Kelley and your young are always welcome,” Donovan said.
Maybe someday they’d join up with the circus. She wouldn’t mind traveling and putting on shows. But for now, she was happy to go back to the safari park with her mate. Home was where he was, and he was happy there, which meant she was, too.
“Who knows what the future will bring?”
Kelley set a bowl, spoon, and tub of vanilla ice cream in front of her. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything.”
Chapter 15
Kelley had enjoyed staying with his family for the week, but by the time Sunday morning rolled around, he was very ready to go home. Rhapsody was entranced by the circus, and his family and friends had happily welcomed her, but she was ready to go home, too. He hadn’t told any of his own memory the news about their coming child, and he couldn’t wait.
Saturday had been a whirlwind. After the matinee performance, he and Rhapsody spent the day with his parents, who took them shopping for the baby’s first outfit – an adorable yellow and green striped onesie that would be fitting for a boy or a girl. During the evening performances, he and Rhapsody donned ringmaster costumes and stood in the center ring with his father. Kelley could recall as a child helping his dad in the ring, but this was a whole new level of special treatment, and both he and Rhapsody had a ball. Before the last show was over, his father called the whole memory together in the center ring – those in elephant form and those in their human form – and they circled him and Rhapsody and gave them a special goodbye. The elephants stood on their hind legs with their trunks in the air and trumpeted so loudly that the center beam wobbled. Kelley was supremely touched by the show, and Rhapsody had teared up.
The circus was a very special group, and he was so glad he’d had a chance to share the experience with his mate.
Rhapsody walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed next to the open suitcase. He found the socks he was looking for and pulled them out, then closed the case. “Just a sec and I’ll be ready to go to breakfast. I’m sure you’re starving.”
