Atticus by R.E. Butler

Chapter Sixteen

Still in his shift, Atticus raced into the woods, following Lori’s scent as she was carried off by one of the bears. All but Caesar were with him, the lion staying with the bodies to ensure no one stumbled onto them.

He heard Lori scream and he redoubled his pace in her direction.

When he found her, the male was on top of her, his hands around her throat. Her face was bright red, and her struggles were weak and then they stopped.

Atticus bounded forward, grabbed the male and flung him away. He was aware that Joss went after the male on his behalf so he could focus on Lori.

“I’ve got her, hold on,” Zane said as he crashed next to her. He felt for her pulse and leaned over her.

Atticus roared in anger. She had to be okay!

Zane pinched her nose and tilted her jaw to open her airway. As he leaned down to give her mouth to mouth, she gasped and flung her hands out, her eyes wild as she came to.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s me, it’s Zane. You’re safe now.”

Zane helped Lori sit up. She held a hand to her bruised throat and looked at him. Atticus squatted next to her, desperate to hold her, but unsure how she’d react to him. She’d thought he was human, but she’d watched him kill another male while he was a gorilla.

“Att—” She choked and coughed, her face screwing up in pain.

“You probably shouldn’t talk,” Zane said. “We’ll get you looked at by our park doc.”

She glanced at him and then turned her attention to Atticus.

Her eyes went luminous and she crawled to Atticus, sobbing and making pained sounds. He pulled her gently against him and held her while she cried. She clung to him, her fingers twisting in his fur like she was anchoring herself to him.

Joss cleared his throat, and Atticus looked at him. The dead male’s body was at Joss’s feet. “I’m going to head back to help Caesar. We need to figure out what to do about the bodies.”

Atticus nodded.

“Dad, I’m glad you’re okay,” Zane said.

He rumbled in agreement.

“I’ll call Paula and let her know we’ll be bringing Lori to see her. You’ve got some bad claw marks that need tending to, also.”

He didn’t care about that. He couldn’t even feel them right now because of the adrenaline. They’d heal quick in his shift, and whatever hadn’t healed by the time he was able to return to human would heal as he changed back.

“Thank you,” Lori whispered, her voice barely audible.

He grunted at her, hoping she knew he understood.

He rose to his feet and carried her carefully back to the clearing. She snuggled high on his chest with her face on his shoulder.

“We need another van,” Caesar said, when he saw Atticus. “We can take the bodies to the park and burn them in one of the far corners of the paddock. We’ll wait until nightfall.”

“I just called Javan to bring the big panel van,” Justus said. “He’s on the way with August, they’ll be here shortly.”

“You okay, Lori?” Joss asked.

She nodded but didn’t speak.

“Her voice is rough,” Zane said, “from the choking. Doc will help her out.”

“There’s much to discuss,” Joss said. “But it can wait until everyone feels better.”

An hour later, the bodies were in the back of the park van and covered with tarps. Atticus climbed into the back of one of the SUVs and lay down. Lori snuggled back up against him as they were covered with a blanket. She fell asleep in his arms.

He hoped that meant she wasn’t scared of what he’d done and that she knew she was free now.

The panel van was going to stay in the employee lot until the park was closed and then it would be driven through to the paddock and unloaded. They would use the gorilla paddock and close it for VIP tours until the remnants of the males were ash.

With no tours running at the time, the area was clear of park visitors and they were able to get into the wolf paddock easily and head down to their private area to meet up with the pack doctor, Paula.

She examined Lori, cleaned her wounds, and used steri-strips on her busted lip and a cut over her eye. She gave Lori some pain meds and an ice pack for her nose, which was bruised but not broken. “I’ll steep some special tea for you and give you some bags to take with you. It’s good for soothing the throat irritation. You may have trouble talking for a day or two because your throat is bruised, but the pain meds and tea will help.”

“Thanks,” Lori whispered.

“Now about you,” Paula said, turning to Atticus.

He shook his head.

It had been a couple hours since he’d shifted, and his adrenaline was wearing off. While his gorilla wanted to stick around and hold Lori some more, it was time to be back to human to talk to her.

“Stubborn males,” Paula said.

Atticus snorted and shifted back to human, feeling his cuts, claw marks, and bruises heal. He groaned as he finished shifting and sat down heavily on the hospital bed next to Lori.

Something draped his lap and he looked to see Lori pulling a blanket across him, covering his nudity.

“Shifters don’t worry about being naked,” he said. “But thanks.”

“I’ve got some scrub bottoms you can use to get home in,” Paula said. She leaned to the side and looked at his back. “All healed up. Lemme grab what I need for your mate, and you can get on your way. I’m sure your family is waiting to see you both.”

Atticus twisted to face Lori. She looked like she’d been beaten all to hell. “I’m so sorry sweetheart,” he said roughly. He cupped her face gently.

She opened her mouth, and he shook his head. “Don’t stress your voice. I’ll get you something to write with when we get home. For now, just know that you’re safe.”

She nodded.

Paula came back into the room and handed him a pair of green scrub pants, a handful of tea bags, and a paper sack of pills. She gave a travel mug to Lori filled with the steeped tea. “If you need more tea, give me a holler.”

“Thanks for everything, Doc.”

“You bet. Be well, you two.”

“Ready to go?” he asked Lori. “I’m sure Cael and Novi are anxious to see you.”

Even though it wasn’t normal for other shifters to be in private areas other than their own, he was going to make sure that Cael and Novi could come see her in his home—their home.

She nodded and took his hand, groaning as she stood. He knew she must still be sore and the pills hadn’t kicked in yet, so he lifted her into his arms and carried her out. Joss was waiting and led them to the exterior door leading to a long hall that connected the different private areas. “You got it from here?” Joss asked.

“Yep, thanks. I mean it. Thank you for coming with me, for helping me protect Lori.”

“It’s my honor.”

Atticus nodded, his chest tightening as he thought about how close he’d come to losing his soulmate. He was glad Keir was dead. He was glad the threat to her had been put down for good. But he was sorry she’d been hurt and had witnessed so much death.

He unlocked the door to the gorilla’s private area and carried her inside. When the door was shut, he turned and chuckled when he saw his people standing by his home. His two-bedroom house sat atop a steel structure that looked like a tree. It was covered with a hard substance that looked like bark and silk leaves. There were six other identical homes nearby for his people.

“We’re glad you’re okay, Lori,” Lexy said as she stood next to Win.

Lori nodded and smiled as much as she could with a cut lip.

“Welcome to the band,” August said.

Lori made a curious sound and Atticus said, “A group of gorillas is a band.”

“Glad you’re safe now,” Zane said.

“We’re really happy you’re here now and safe,” Adriana said.

Zane pulled down the steps so Atticus could carry Lori up to the house. Normally, he swung up through the branches, but that wasn’t something Lori would be able to do. He paused and turned to face his people.

“This has been a hellish time for my mate. Thank you for your support, I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to lead.”

“I stocked the fridge,” Adriana said.

“I talked to Novi,” Lexy said, “and she’s going to bring Lori’s clothes and toiletries over when she comes to see her.”

“Thank you,” Atticus said.

“We’ll let them in when they’re here,” Win said. “You guys just rest.”

Atticus was humbled by his people’s support. The young males and the mates were not just his people, they were his family. Even though Zane was his only biological child, the others were just as much his kids as Zane.

Once he was inside the house, he carried Lori to the master bedroom and set her on the bed. “Do you want to take a shower?”

She took a drink of the tea and grimaced as she swallowed. When she opened her mouth to speak, he said, “Hold on, let me grab a piece of paper.”

He rushed to the kitchen and dug through the junk drawer, finding a pad of paper. It took three tries to find a working pen, but he finally found one. Back in the bedroom, he handed the two items to her. She wrote on the paper, and he sat next to her and watched.

“Thank you for saving me,” she wrote.

“Lori,” he said, “of course I was going to come for you. You’re my soulmate. You’re the other half of my heart.”

“I’m your soulmate because you’re a gorilla?”

“Yes,” he said. “A soulmate is what we call the one right person for us. I knew the moment I saw you that you were mine, but I didn’t want to claim you properly until you knew the truth.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You don’t trust me?”

His heart ached sharply. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that we have laws in place for this situation. Our secret has to stay that way, humans can’t know about us—it would be devastating. So when a shifter finds his soulmate and he or she is human, the shifter is unable to tell their mate the truth.”

“Then how the hell are they supposed to figure it out?” She made an exasperated sound.

“I know it’s frustrating, sweetheart, it is for everyone. But most humans, when they spend a lot of time with us, especially in a mating situation, figure it out on their own. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes it takes some time. When Win and Lexy first got together, he spent the night at her apartment and accidentally shifted while he slept. She totally freaked out, of course, but she realized it wasn’t anything to be scared of. It was imperative that this secret be kept.”

“Now that I know, what happens?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Am I...do I have to stay in the park forever or something?”

“You’re not a prisoner, Lori. You’re my soulmate. The alphas are going to want to make sure you understand that you can’t tell anyone about our secret, but I know you wouldn’t betray anyone, not only because you’re honorable and trustworthy, but because you wouldn’t put Novi in danger.”

She made a sound of agreement. Then she wrote, “I wouldn’t put you in danger either.” She tapped the pen on the paper and looked at him.

“I know, love,” he said. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I trust you with my whole heart. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t claim me properly?”

“Gorillas like to bite their mates on the neck. It leaves a scar and it’s a permanent reminder that the person is mated to someone who will kick their ass if they try to cause trouble.”

She chuckled. “Sounds painful.”

“I promise you will feel really, really good when it happens.”

Her eyes got a little darker. He liked that she liked the idea.

She finished the tea and handed him the mug.

“Would you like another cup? I have lots of tea bags.”

She shook her head and then yawned, blinking slowly as if she was trying to stay awake. There was a knock at the door, and he blew out a breath. “That’s probably Novi and Cael.”

She nodded. He went to get the couple and brought them into the bedroom, where Lori was still sitting on the edge of the bed looking like she was having a hard time staying awake.

“Oh, Mom!” Novi shouted. She rushed forward but slowed as she met her, sitting gently and hugging her tenderly. “I’m so sorry you were taken and hurt.”

Novi cried and Lori held her. “S’okay,” Lori whispered, her voice cracking even with the simple phrase.

“It’s only okay now because you’re safe,” Novi said as she leaned away and brushed at her wet cheeks. “Damn it, I was so scared for you.” She glanced at Atticus and added, “Thank you for getting her back.”

“Of course. It’s my duty and honor.”

Novi grinned. “I love shifters. They’re so dang noble. Well, most of them, anyway.”

“At least the ones here in the park,” Cael said.

“Definitely,” Novi said. “Mom, do you need anything?”

“Rest,” she whispered.

“Yeah, you look like you’re going to pass out. What did the doc say?”

Atticus gave her a quick rundown. Novi hugged her mom once more. “Text me tomorrow and let me know how you’re doing. I’d like to come back for a visit.” She rose to her feet and said, “This means we can move down into the elephants’ area. It’s a silver lining to the terrible ordeal.”

Lori looked confused, so Novi said, “Mom, we had to stay in the apartments because you didn’t know the truth. You would wonder where I lived if we weren’t staying in the apartments.”

“True,” Lori whispered.

“I hated lying to you. It was just an omission of the truth of shifters, but I hated it with every fiber of my being. Because of…the male who is my biological father, I’m half shifter, which is why I’ve always had those strange reactions to emotional situations like my eyes changing color or growling.”

Lori’s eyes went wide and then it was as if things finally clicked for her.

“You’re…?” Lori squeaked out.

“No,” Novi said. “I’m not a real shifter like Atticus. I’m half shifter, which they call a hybrid. So I can’t become a full polar bear, I just have some attributes. Cael knew I was more than just human, and he was so great with getting me to see the truth.”

Lori looked at Cael. “What?”

“Elephant,” Cael said with a smile.

Lori nodded. “I’m glad,” she said.

Atticus knew he’d need to explain more about their life underground, but not now. She needed to sleep.

“Love you, Mom,” Novi said. “We’re going to get out of your hair and let you sleep.”

Lori whispered, “I love you too.”

“Walk us out?” Novi asked.

“Sure,” Atticus said.

“So she can stay now, right?” Novi asked. “Because she knows the truth.”

“Yes, but she’ll still need to speak to the alphas.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Cael said, “they need to know that she understands how serious our need for secrecy is.”

Novi snorted. “They don’t have to worry about my mom keeping secrets. She’s the most loyal person on the planet and she’d never do anything to put me in danger, let alone herself, you, or anyone else here. She knows when people need protecting.”

“I know she’ll keep the secret,” Atticus said. “It’s just a formality.”

“I’m going to help out with the pyre,” Cael said.

“I was going to head up there after I got Lori settled.”

“Nope, no way,” Cael said, shaking his head. “You stay with Lori for tonight. I’ll take your place. You did more than enough, let the rest of us take care of it.”

Atticus was humbled. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Take care of my mom,” Novi said. “Oh man! When you guys get mated, I’ll have a dad for real! I’ve got like twenty-four years of back birthday presents for you to catch up on.”

Novi snickered and then fell into a fit of laughter that was entirely contagious. When they’d all laughed their fill, Atticus said, “I promise to take care of your mom. And we’ll see about the presents.”

Novi gave him a quick hug and the two left. He shut the door and returned to the bedroom. “How about you get some sleep? The pain pills seem to be kicking in.”

“You’ll stay with me?” she wrote.

“Definitely.”

Wild horses couldn’t pull him away from her side.

Still wearing the scrub bottoms and nothing else, he waited for her to get comfortable, then turned off the overhead light and climbed onto the bed next to her. In moments, she was wrapped up in his arms, her cheek on his bicep and her breath fanning his chest, and he was in heaven. Nothing felt as good as his soulmate in his arms, and knowing she was now one hundred percent safe and all his was the icing on the cake.