Justus

by R. E. Butler

  Trina eyed the taffy pulling machine. “That thing looks like it could take off a few fingers.”

  “I’ll handle that. I’m experimenting with flavors anyway, so you can be my taste-test guinea pig. I was actually thinking about animal-shaped gummies, which would be a hit with the kids. They’re easy to make and I have some really cute molds for them already.”

  “How about chocolate covered pretzels? I’ve always liked those,” she offered.

  “Great! I’ve got all kinds of candies and sprinkles for toppings. See? We’re already working so well together.”

  “I’ve got the job?” Trina asked.

  “Of course. Was there any doubt? Ever since we were kids and had our lemonade stand, I’ve wanted us to work together.”

  She laughed at the memory. “Me too.”

  Lexy hugged Trina. “Thanks for coming here, bestie. I think you got more than one piece of good news, right?”

  Trina’s cheeks flamed. “I’m not used to feeling so strongly about a guy I just met.”

  “I was that way with Win. Part of me felt things were moving too quickly, but I couldn’t help myself. I just wanted to be with him. The thought of letting him go just tore me up inside.”

  “Justus said we were soulmates.”

  Lexy smiled. “I think that’s pretty damn cool.”

  “Me too.”

  After Trina filled out the paperwork for the job, she told Lexy about the apartments that Devlin had gone with her to see.

  “I know the complex you’re talking about,” Lexy said, twirling a pencil between her fingers. “It’s nice and close. But would you do me a favor and hold off on signing a lease with them?”

  “Um, okay, but why?”

  “Can you just trust me?”

  “You know I do.”

  “Good.”

  “You’re being all mysterious.”

  “It’s one of my charms.”

  Trina snorted and then laughed. “You’re so charming, Lex. I can’t wait to work with you.”

  “For me. You work for me.”

  “Bossy, bossy.”

  “Damn skippy.”

  Lexy glanced at the clock and saw that it had been nearly an hour since Justus had left. Her heart thudded in anticipation.

  “Before I forget, you have to stop at the security office on the way out. They’ll want to take your picture for your ID badge. That will make sure that whoever is at the front gates will let you in, and you won’t need an escort.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks again for the job. I’m really looking forward to working for you.”

  Lexy clicked her tongue and then started to laugh, and Trina joined in. She knew that the two of them would have a great time working together. In spite of Devlin thinking that being a cashier at a zoo sweets shop was beneath her, she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do. And it had the added benefit of bringing her and Justus together. Even without the job, she still felt like she’d stumbled onto something great with him.

  * * *

  Justus didn’t want to leave Trina, but he knew it was wise to talk to Marcus. His alpha would give him the advice he needed to not muck things up with his soulmate. He knew for damn sure that he wanted to claim her, but without explaining his shifter nature he was as good as lying. And that was not acceptable.

  Jogging to the commercial kitchen, he found Marcus talking to several of the bears.

  “I need to talk to you,” Justus said.

  “Yeah? Let’s go into the stock room,” he said, gesturing to the open door at the back of the kitchen.

  Justus led the way, his bear agitated at being away from Trina for even a few minutes.

  “I found my soulmate,” he blurted as soon as Marcus shut the door.

  His brows rose. “Well, damn. That’s great news! But how did you meet her? The park isn’t even open yet.”

  “She’s Lexy’s cousin. I went to the front gates to escort her for a job interview, and I could hardly keep my bear in check. I don’t know what to do.”

  Marcus hummed but said nothing for several minutes. Justus paced the length of the stock room, past the metal shelves full of cooking and baking supplies. His mind was spinning, split between his duties to the sleuth and his new, beautiful soulmate.

  “I need to speak with the council,” Marcus said finally, after what felt like an eternity.

  “Okay.” Justus felt a little disappointed. He’d hoped that Marcus would have an amazing piece of advice.

  Marcus clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, this is something to be celebrated. The council and I were speaking recently about how to handle the situation when a soulmate is discovered. Until now, we haven’t had the best of luck in this situation, you know? I think we have an idea that will work, but I need to check first. Where is your girl now?”

  “Trina’s in the candy shop with Lexy.”

  Marcus lifted his cell from his front pocket and began clicking the screen. “The alphas are on their way to the meeting hall. Let’s go.”

  Within minutes, Justus was standing with his alpha in front of the four other alphas, who were seated around a large table in the hall. Marcus nodded to Justus, and he explained how he’d met Trina and his bear’s reaction to her. When he finished, the worry that they would tell him he couldn’t escort her home or stay with her pushed to the forefront of his mind. When Win had stayed with Lexy the night they met, he’d shifted in his sleep. Lexy had gotten over her fright and accepted Win as her soulmate, but that had been a dangerous situation that could have revealed the shifter secret to the world.

  Joss, the wolf alpha, said, “The girl reacts to you? That is to say, she appears to be drawn to you?”

  Justus nodded. “She didn’t shy away from my touch, and I could scent her arousal. The connection is there, even if she doesn’t understand yet what being my soulmate means.”

  Alistair, the elephant alpha, said, “I think that we should implement our new plan with Justus. The situation isn’t quite the same as if Trina were surrounded by strangers – her cousin lives and works here, and she can be part of the process.”

  Justus looked at Marcus in confusion. “What process?”

  Marcus smiled. “We’ve been talking about what to do when another of our people finds his or her soulmate during the tour. The plan was always to bring the two soulmates together at the security office, but as Jupiter pointed out recently, the security office is not at all private and if the worst-case scenario were to occur, we would be vulnerable.”

  The worst-case scenario, of course, being that if humans found out about shifters. Not only would the shifter in question be in danger, but it could blow the lid on their species as a whole. No one wanted that to happen.

  “I’ve already met Trina in my human form,” Justus pointed out. “I feel like we’re connected right now, but I don’t know how to go about being with her without revealing my nature.”

  “We think you should,” Atticus, the gorilla alpha said. “We’d like you to bring Trina to the meeting hall and, with her cousin and Win and a few others in attendance, shift for her.”

  “Are you serious?” Justus asked.

  Marcus squeezed his shoulder firmly. “Back in the day, when a human soulmate was found, the alphas would oversee the shifter as he or she changed form in front of them. It allows for others to talk the human through what they’ve witnessed and help them understand the truth of what’s happened.”

  Caesar, the lion alpha, spoke up. “However, if she flips out and wants to leave, you have to understand that she would not be allowed to. If we go this route of revealing what we are before the two of you are committed to each other, she will have to stay here at the park until she accepts you. In essence, she’d be forbidden from leaving. We couldn’t run the risk of her telling tales to other humans.”

  Justus didn’t know what to say. He wanted to be with Trina, but he didn’t want her to become a prisoner if she didn’t accept him.

  “Look,” M
arcus said, “you don’t have to do this. You can take her home and spend time with her. Take her on a few dates. But you’re forbidden from spending the night outside of the zoo. It’s for your safety and ours.”

  Joss said, “It’s up to you. Either you shift here with her, or you take her home and come back alone.”

  It didn’t take any time for him to know for sure that he couldn’t not be with her. “I’ll shift for her.”

  “Good,” Marcus said. “Bring her to the cafeteria, blindfold her, and bring her down to the meeting hall.”

  “I’ll handle getting Win and Lexy here,” Atticus said.

  “Thanks,” Justus said. He couldn’t believe he was about to go get his soulmate and shift for her, in front of witnesses.

  After saying goodbye to the alphas, Justus left the meeting hall and went back to the cafeteria. His phone buzzed and he saw it was Win. He didn’t know the gorilla shifter very well, but considering that his soulmate and Justus’s were related, he had a feeling that the two would become better friends.

  “Hey Win.”

  “Congrats, man. Atticus said that you want to shift for Trina, and you needed some witnesses.”

  “I think Trina could handle the shift better if she had Lexy there to talk her through it, especially since I won’t be able to talk.”

  “I hope this works. If Trina doesn’t pass out from fright, then it may be the way our people handle soulmates going forward. The problem is how to tell the humans about us without risking everything.”

  “I don’t think that Trina will freak out.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”

  “I’m on my way to get her now,” Justus said as he went into the small stock room in the cafeteria and took a cloth napkin from a shelf. He tucked the napkin into his back pocket and headed to the shop.

  “I’ll be right behind you to get Lexy. Take your time getting down to the meeting hall so I have a chance to get Lex down there first.”

  “Will do.”

  Ending the call, Justus pushed the phone into his pocket and tried to calm his racing pulse. He was nervous and excited. He hoped she liked bears, and that she wasn’t afraid of him. It would be strange for a human to see what she thought of as another human shifting into an animal, but if their connection as soulmates – even as new as it was – was strong enough, then she wouldn’t be scared. He hoped so, anyway.

  * * *

  The front door opened and Trina stood and moved out of the back room. For a heartbeat, she thought she should play coy, but that wouldn’t be honest. She rounded the cashier counter and grinned at Justus. He met her, lifting her against him and kissing her.

  “Fucking missed you,” he said against her lips. “An hour was too long.”

  She curled her fingers into his collar. “Definitely. Let’s not do that again.”

  “You got it, sweet thing.”

  “Okay, gross. No making out in the shop,” Lexy said.

  “Spoilsport,” Trina responded.

  Without taking his eyes off Trina, Justus said to Lexy, “Can you give me the list for the desserts this week? I forgot to get them earlier.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Lexy disappeared into the back again.

  “You don’t have to leave now, do you?” Justus asked.

  “No. I’m pretty wide open.” She shook her head as she realized what she said. “Um, ew. I mean, I’m free.”

  Justus laughed. “You’re too funny, sweet thing.”

  “I’m going to have to talk to Win about a nickname for me,” Lexy said as she appeared next to them with a piece of notebook paper. “Don’t forget to go to the security office before you leave, and remember what I said about your apartment situation.”

  Justus took the paper from Lexy, glanced at it, and then looked at Trina. “What apartment situation?”

  “I’ll leave that to my bestie to share with you. Let’s double-date sometime, okay?”

  Trina frowned. “He hasn’t even asked me out yet, and you’re already wanting a double date?”

  Lexy winked. “Call me tomorrow.”

  “Sure thing.” Trina took Justus’s hand and walked with him to the door. She stopped and looked back at Lexy. “I don’t know if I even thanked you for bringing me here, but thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. That’s what family is for.”

  Justus held the door open for her and she walked out. “Why do you need to go to security?”

  “For my ID badge.”

  “Oh. I’d like to take you somewhere first, though. If that’s okay?”

  “Of course. I want to spend time with you.”

  He blew out a breath. “Good. I’m going to need you to trust me. I know that’s a lot to ask since we just met, but I have to show you something and it’s very important that you understand that what I’m about to show you has to remain a secret. Like forever. From everyone you know.”

  Her brows rose. “That sounds serious.”

  “It is. But I trust you.”

  She couldn’t explain why his trust in her meant so much, but it did. It warmed her all the way through. “Okay. I promise to keep my lips zipped.”

  He smiled, kissed her, and then walked with her away from the shop. She had no idea what the secret was, but if it was important to Justus, then it was important to her. While they walked, she took some time to examine her feelings. It was weird to feel so connected to a guy she’d met only an hour ago, but it also felt very right.

  “I think you’re special,” she said.

  “Oh?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Well, yeah. I like you. I can’t really put my finger on why, and maybe I don’t need to. You said soulmates and that seems like an apt word.”

  “Because it’s true,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you still need convincing?” There was a sexy tease in his voice, and it made her stomach flip.

  “Maybe.”

  “Oh, sweet thing, I can’t wait to get you alone.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 5

  Justus took his time taking Trina to the employee cafeteria. On the way, he detoured to one of the drink stalls and got her an ice cold bottle of water.

  “I’m going to find a recipe for red velvet funnel cakes,” he said, watching as she cracked open the bottle and took a long drink.

  “Yeah?” she asked. “That would be cool.”

  “How did the interview go, by the way?”

  “I got the job!”

  “Awesome, congratulations.”

  “Thanks. She wants me to learn how to make a few things to help her out at the shop, like candies and chocolate covered pretzels.”

  “Is that something you’d like to do?”

  Her eyes brightened with excitement. “Absolutely. I’ve never been much of a baker, but I do like to make things in the kitchen so I think it will be fun. It’s funny because my brother thinks that working a cash register isn’t much of a career choice, but he doesn’t understand how much I enjoy working with the public. I’ve kind of always figured I would work in retail. When Lexy started dreaming about opening her own bakery, we always talked about how I would handle the customers.”

  “Sounds like both of your dreams are coming true.”

  She looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling. “It’s not just the job.”

  “Oh?” he asked, his voice cracking at the end and his body tightening.

  “I met you. Even if she hadn’t hired me, I still would have considered today to be one of the best of my life.”

  He cupped her face and lowered his head to kiss her. His lips brushed hers and he felt the chill on her skin from the bottled water. “It’s the best day of my life, too.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer. His bear growled in contentment. He was certain that when he revealed his nature to her, that she would be accepting of him. It wasn’t worth considering the alternative.

  Breaking the kiss, even th
ough every cell in his body revolted against the idea, he looked down at her and smiled. She was so lovely, from her dark hair to the forest green of her eyes. Capturing her hands, he brought them to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Ready to go?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the cafeteria first.”

  “Okay.”

  He kept one hand linked with hers as they walked to the cafeteria. She held the water bottle with her free hand, swinging it at her side.

  “How long have you worked here?” she asked.

  “Since I was a teenager.”

  “Did you go to school for cooking or something?”

  “Not officially. I’ve taken cooking classes over the years, but mostly I learned from others and watched videos. I like to work with the fried foods, except in the summer when it’s about a million degrees by the fryers.”

  She chuckled. “That would suck.”

  “I’d say that I get used to it, but that’s kind of not true. It’s nice in the winter, when it’s colder out, and we’re only open Thursday through Monday in January, February, and March.”

  They reached the cafeteria and he held the door for her. He shut it behind him, nodded at two lions who were eating lunch at one of the tables, and led her to a door in the back of the main room. He entered the code to unlock the door, and when they were inside and the door was shut, he faced her and pulled the cloth napkin from his pocket.

  “What’s that for?”

  “Do you still trust me?”

  “I said I did.”

  “I need to blindfold you.”

  Her brow arched. “What are you…Batman? Are you taking me to your secret lair or something?”

  Trying not to laugh at her sense of humor, he shook his head. “I can’t show you where we’re going, it’s a secret. Once we get there, I’ll take off the blindfold and you’ll be safe the whole time, I swear on my life.”

  “I said I trust you and I mean it. This is a weird request, but maybe I’ll ask you to return the favor at some point.”