Jupiter (Were Zoo Book 2) Read online

  Jupiter (Were Zoo Two)

  By R. E. Butler

  Copyright 2016

  Jupiter (Were Zoo Two)

  By R. E. Butler

  License Notes

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  Cover by CT Cover Designs

  This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.

  * * *

  Editing by Alexis Arendt

  * * *

  Many thanks to Shelley and Joyce for beta-reading.

  To my Aunt B.L. and my Husband, I love you both!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Contact the Author

  Other Works by R.E. Butler

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  Jupiter (Were Zoo Two)

  by R. E. Butler

  Second-in-command lion shifter Jupiter Ross has a lot on his plate. As the head of security for Amazing Adventures Safari Park, he has to ensure the safety of not only the humans who come through the gates every day, but the natural animals, and most importantly, the shifters who live and work in secret at the park. The alphas have recently determined that bringing in unmated humans for VIP park tours would allow some of the males and females to find their soulmates, and that increased Jupiter’s duties tenfold. As an unmated male, he’d like to find his soulmate and settle down, but he’s not sure that random human females coming in for free tours is the way to go.

  When Celeste Patterson receives an invitation for a free tour of the safari park, she and her best friend, Adriana, can’t wait to go. Even though they’re separated and unable to take the tour together, Celeste can’t help but think that a wonderful adventure is just around the corner.

  Jupiter is amazed to discover that his soulmate is in fact one of the recipients of a VIP tour invitation. The feisty female is everything he could have ever wanted in a mate, from her gorgeous curves to her mile-wide attitude.

  Get your ticket and get in line for the Amazing Adventures Safari Park VIP Tour. You just might be lucky enough to find your happily ever after.

  Chapter 1

  Jupiter yawned and stretched, rubbing the back of his head on the large, flat rock that he’d staked out for his afternoon nap. He didn’t usually take a nap, but recent changes in park security had him keeping late hours. Over the last few weeks, the Amazing Adventures Safari Park had begun private VIP tours. He understood the point of them, but he wasn’t sure if they would work. What were the odds that the one female on the planet for him – his soulmate – would happen to live in New Jersey?

  A shadow passed over him, blocking the sunlight that was warming his whiskers, and he opened his eyes just enough to see his dad and alpha, Caesar, staring down at him.

  “You know, I never had to sneak off for a nap when I was your age.”

  Jupiter grumbled and closed his eyes. His dad thumped him on the nose, and Jupiter knew he wanted to talk man-to-man, not man-to-lion. Rolling off the rock, he stretched and snorted in Caesar’s direction and then turned toward the shed. The lion paddock was quite large, but his favorite rock was near the shed, so it didn’t take him long to enter it and shift into his human form. As he dressed in the clothes he’d left in there, Caesar walked in and shut the door.

  “How are things?” Caesar asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest.

  Jupiter raised his brow. “Fine.”

  Caesar snorted. “No, I mean with security. Are you having any trouble with the VIPs?”

  “No. Everything’s running smoothly.”

  “Except that no one has found a mate yet and we’ve been doing tours for three weekends.”

  “It would’ve been nice if there’d been a soulmate on the first tour, but that didn’t happen.”

  “Do you think it will?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so, because if it doesn’t, that means that staying here in this park is going to end with all of us remaining unmated, permanently.”

  His dad growled in agreement. “I’ve never been particularly patient.”

  Jupiter grinned. “Me either.”

  Caesar clapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt your nap.”

  “It’s no problem. I should check in at the security office anyway.”

  His dad walked out of the shed and into the paddock. Jupiter took the secret way down to the lions’ private living quarters, lifting a hidden door in the floor and walking down a flight of stairs. All the shifter groups who called Amazing Adventures home lived under the park, and each group had its own private quarters surrounding a large, open central area that contained a restaurant, a market, and a conference room.

  Jupiter, his dad, his brothers Amadeus and Lucius, and the four other members of their pride had joined the park when Jupiter was eighteen. All the lions lived and worked at the park. The lions’ specialty was security. It was his group’s responsibility to ensure that every shifter was safe, whether they were in their shifted form in the paddocks, in their homes underground, or in their human forms inside or outside of the park.

  “Hey, did Caesar find you?” Mercer, one of the lions, asked after Jupiter entered the pride’s private area using his security key code.

  “Yeah, he interrupted my nap.”

  Mercer snorted. “Sorry. I think all the alphas are worried about how long it’s taking for anyone to find their soulmate.”

  “It hasn’t really been that long. Why is everyone in such a rush?”

  His brow lifted. “Don’t you want to find your soulmate? Have a bunch of little Jupiters running around and raising hell?”

  He smiled at the idea. “Yeah, of course, but we can’t force fate.”

  Mercer shook his head. “You are such a downer sometimes. Me, I’m trying to stay positive. I was up in the security booth this morning when an elementary school came through for their tour, and one of the teachers winked at me.”

  “And?”

  “And, nothing. I’m irresistible, you know.”

  Jupiter rolled his eyes. “I feel sorry for your soulmate. She’ll have to put up with your giant ego.”

  Mercer waggled his brows. “I’m very worth it.”

  Jupiter left Mercer and his ridiculous eyebrows and headed for his home. The pride’s private area was a large, open space with small individual homes placed close together. The walls were painted like the savannah, with a cushiony floor the color of dry grass. The ceiling was wired with special lights to mimic the sun. Although it was nice, he preferred the real thing, especially on his favorite rock.

  He kicked off his shoes and sat down at the desk in the kitchen to check over the VIP tour schedule. After the alphas had made the decision to use the VIP tours to lure unmated males and females into the park, the security of the shifters had become even more important. They were unknown to humans, and that meant that if and when someone did find their truemate in a park visitor, they were going
to have to share the knowledge of their shifting abilities with that person and hope they didn’t flip out.

  His own parents had not been soulmates. His father, who had lived at a shifter zoo in California, had hooked up with a lioness from another pride. They were together for several years in the California zoo, but after his youngest brother Lucius was born, she chose to mate with a lion from another pride who didn’t want to raise another male’s children. His dad had raised them on his own, but Jupiter had known from a young age that he didn’t want to follow in his dad’s footsteps. He didn’t want to hook up with a female just to have a baby, and he didn’t want to mate with a female who wasn’t his soulmate.

  And unless his soulmate happened to fall out of the sky, Jupiter needed to be out there during every VIP tour, holding onto the hope that maybe, just by some twist of luck or fate, the perfect female for him would have received a ticket and decided to come.

  The alternative was a long and lonely life, and he didn’t want to think about that.

  Chapter 2

  Celeste Patterson was practically vibrating with excitement as her best friend Adriana drove them to the Amazing Adventures Safari Park. They’d both received tickets in the mail for a free VIP tour of the park, and she couldn’t help but think it was kismet.

  Adriana was a little more skeptical. “I wonder why they sent us tickets.”

  Celeste finished applying a coat of pale pink gloss to her lips and then flipped the mirrored visor closed. “What do you mean?”

  Adriana glanced at her briefly and then turned her attention to the road. “How did they get our names and addresses?”

  “We get random junk mail all the time, it’s not such a mystery. But besides, who cares? We’re getting expensive VIP tour tickets for free and we get to have a fun day out.”

  “I just don’t think there’s such a thing as really free. ‘No strings attached’ doesn’t seem like a good way to grow a business, if that’s what they’re trying to do.”

  Celeste rolled her eyes at her always-logical best friend. “I don’t care what they’re trying to do. What I’m trying to do involves having a fun time out with my bestie. Stop being such a pessimist.”

  “Can’t help it,” she said, sighing.

  Adriana rolled down her window as she edged the car forward in the lane that led into the park. A big guy in a black security uniform leaned down and took the ticket that Adriana handed him. He looked at it, smiled at the two of them, and then handed it back. “Stay in this lane, and turn right at the VIP parking lot. Have a nice visit.”

  Adriana took the ticket from him and said, “Thanks.”

  After the window was rolled up, Celeste said, “See? He was good-looking. I told you this was a good place to come.”

  The two friends had been discussing their lack of romantic prospects for a while now. Both worked at a nail salon; Celeste manned the reception desk and Adriana did manicures. It was hardly a mecca of single guys. Then they’d gotten the free tickets in the mail and Celeste had felt like it was prophetic. What better place to meet single guys than a park full of them? Animal handlers, security guards, park workers – there had to be a few good-looking, unattached guys in the mix.

  “Just because the parking-lot guy was handsome doesn’t mean that there are any more in the park, and P.S., you just smiled at him silently. You do plan to actually talk to guys you’d like to date, right?”

  “Eventually,” Celeste said with a chuckle. “I’ll know him when I see him.”

  “Who?” Adriana parked and turned off the engine.

  “My forever guy.”

  “I hope you meet him, but I’m still going to be skeptical. Sexy guys who happen to be everything we’re looking for don’t just fall out of the sky.”

  Celeste cast her eyes skyward as she got out of the car. “It would be cool if they did.”

  After checking in at the park gate, they followed the map to the tour section, where a line of people waited for their turn. The VIP tours occurred every hour from four to eight p.m., and they had scheduled their tour for five. The line was long, but it moved quickly as ticket holders climbed into Jeeps painted in vibrant blue camouflage.

  When they reached the front of the line, Celeste and Adriana handed the park employee their tickets. He shook his head and only took Celeste’s. “There’s only one guest per Jeep, so you can go first,” he said to Celeste.

  “What do you mean we can’t ride in the same Jeep?” Adriana asked. “Why would we need to be in separate vehicles?”

  “It’s a private tour, ma’am,” the man said.

  Celeste elbowed Adriana. “It’ll be an adventure.”

  “What’s with you and adventures lately?” Adriana groused.

  “Come on,” she pleaded. “Live a little.”

  “I’m trying, but I thought we were going to be able to be in the Jeep together. I still don’t see what the deal is.”

  As the blue-uniformed guy explained about the Jeep’s capacity, Celeste said, “It’s fine, really. Let’s not hold up the line, hon. We’ll talk after the tour.”

  Adriana frowned, and Celeste gave her a quick hug before walking past the guy to one of the waiting vehicles. There were two men standing next to the Jeep – one wearing a blue uniform and one wearing an olive uniform. The olive-uniformed man helped her into the second row as the blue uniformed man got behind the wheel.

  “I’m Jasper,” the olive-uniformed man said. “This is Evan.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Celeste.”

  The Jeep lurched slightly and then started to move down a dirt path. She turned and waved at Adriana, who didn’t look happy. Celeste felt bad that they weren’t riding together, but she knew they’d both have a good time and have lots to talk about when they caught up at the end of the tour.

  Turning her attention back to Jasper, she looked him and Evan over and decided they weren’t too bad-looking, but nothing she’d write home about. Not that she went writing her parents every time she saw a handsome guy. She and her parents were close, but every week when she called to talk to them, they invariably asked if she was seeing anyone.

  “Have you been to the park before?” Jasper asked.

  “My parents brought me here when I was a kid. I was surprised to get a coupon in the mail for the tour. How did the zoo get my name and address?”

  Jasper’s brows rose and then he laughed. “I have no idea, Celeste, that’s way above my pay grade. There’s another special treat that goes along with the tour; I’ll be taking your photo at each of the paddocks, and then you’ll get a copy of the photos before you leave the park today.”

  “That’s cool.”

  The Jeep bumped along the dirt trail. The sun was warm, and she considered pulling off her light jacket and tying it around her waist. Just as she reached for the sleeve to tug it off, the Jeep stopped and Jasper climbed out. He held his hand out to her and said, “This is the elephant paddock. If you’ll get out, I’ll grab the camera and then we can get closer to the fence.”

  She took his hand and climbed out. Jasper unzipped the duffel that was in the seat next to her and removed a professional camera from inside. He pressed a few buttons and then gripped it lightly in one hand, gesturing to the fence. They walked over to it together. Inside the paddock were four huge elephants; as soon as she reached the fence, they began to move toward her, as if they sensed she was there and wanted to meet her.

  “This is a small herd, and they’re all males. The big one is the alpha, Alistair,” Jasper said. “They’re African elephants.”

  She was awestruck as the elephants moved close to the fence, all of them reaching their trunks through the links toward her. She could hear them sniffing through their trunks.

  “Elephants are colorblind and have a limited field of vision. It’s why they move close when they hear the Jeeps stop. They’re curious.”

  “Can I?” she asked, her hand hovering over the tip of Alistair’s trunk, which was sticking through the fenc
e.

  “Yeah, sure,” Jasper said, smiling. She touched the tip of his trunk and jerked her hand back with a laugh when the huge elephant moved closer. Petting the trunk a bit more, she grinned. The elephants all seemed to be waiting their turn for her to pet them.

  “Too bad I can’t go in there,” she said.

  Jasper didn’t say anything for a long moment, and she turned to see him staring over her head and then nodding. “Maybe some other time,” Jasper said. “I got a great picture of you. Let’s get back in the Jeep. Next on the tour are white-tailed deer and buffalo, and then wolves.”

  She waved at the elephants, feeling kind of silly since they were just animals, but then one of them actually raised his trunk to her. Now she was positive she was seeing things.

  “You ready for the wolves?” Jasper asked when they’d passed the buffalo paddock.

  “You bet,” she said.

  Jasper talked animatedly about the wolf pack. “Joss is the alpha. There are fifty wolves in the park’s pack. They’re mostly gray wolves, but we have a few red wolves and some timber wolves, too.”

  She hummed but didn’t say anything. She wasn’t really a dog person. She preferred cats, and knowing that big cats were on the tour was one of the reasons she’d been interested in the first place.

  The wolves, like the elephants, seemed to be waiting for the Jeep. They moved swiftly to the fence, sniffed the air briefly, and then trotted away.

  Jasper said, “Turn around so I can get a nice shot of you.”

  She did as instructed and smiled. “I can’t wait to see the pictures.”

  “They’re turning out great. You’re very photogenic.” He gave her a rakish smile.