Page 50 of August
“You’re still in shock,” Doc Paula said, “but your injuries seem pretty superficial. You can shift if you’d like, but your natural healing is doing the trick and you should be back to yourself in a day or so. If you need anything to help you sleep, or you need anyone to talk to, give me a holler. I’m available anytime.”
“Thank you,” Ginny said.
Doc Paula stood and left, returning a few moments later with a cold soda. “Sugar and caffeine will help you out a lot more than anything else.”
Ginny nodded and twisted the cap off the soda and took a long drink.
Doc Paula looked at August. “You sure you’re okay?”
He nodded. The knife wound had healed when he shifted, along with his other injuries.
“And your friend?”
Cliff, who was lying at Ginny’s feet, lifted his head and gave a little yip.
“I’ll take that as a yes too,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m going to check on the rest of our people. Take care.”
August put his hand on Ginny’s knee, and she smiled at him as she took another drink of soda.
“That was… I still don’t believe it,” she said with a low voice. “I wish you could be back to human so we could talk. And Cliff too.”
The time would pass soon enough, but August couldn’t wait for that either.
He listened as the alphas discussed the situation, which included cleaning up the park, helping the norms, and dealing with the jackals in the theater.
“When you can shift, Cliff,” Caesar, the alpha lion, said loudly, “we’re going to need you to weigh in on things.”
Cliff barked, which sounded a lot like an agreement.
Zane and Adriana came over with snacks. Adriana hugged Ginny and whispered that she was thankful she was okay, while Zane handed him a few bananas and clapped him on the back, then dropped a raw steak to Cliff who hungrily snatched it from the floor.
His friends had come through for him with flying colors. They’d proved once more that no one messed with the shifters of the Amazing Adventures Safari Park.
“I just want to go home,” Ginny said, “and sleep for a day or two. But I’m so glad we’re both safe and I can’t wait to hear what happened to Cliff. I think it’s got to be an amazing story.”
August hooted in agreement.
Cliff Baldrich sat with his beloved sister until the instant he could feel his jackal ready to return to his subconscious and give him back to his human side. He stood and shook himself out, then barked at his sister, who was leaning against a big gorilla.
She opened her eyes. “Ready to shift?”
He nodded.
“There’s clothes in the bathroom,” a male named Justus said from where he was leaning against a counter and had been speaking to several other shifters.
Cliff padded off in the direction of the bathroom, where he nudged the door with his snout and gave it a kick shut with his back leg. It was dark in the bathroom, but he didn’t need to see to shift. Letting go of his jackal form, he shifted back to human, the last remnants of his injuries healing until he felt whole once more.
Turning on the overhead light, he leaned on the sink and splashed cold water on his face, then dried off with paper towels. On the counter was a stack of clothing and a pair of shoes. After he was dressed, he headed back out to the cafeteria, where Ginny was now in the arms of a male, the gorilla gone.
Ginny lunged at him, and if he hadn’t been prepared for the tackle-hug, he might have tipped onto his ass. He hugged her back, his eyes stinging.
“You really thought I was dead?” he asked.
She sniffled and let out a half-laugh, half-sob. “I saw them carry out a body rolled up in the rug from grandfather’s office and I was sure it was you, then I heard some of the males talk about grandfather killing me.”
“So you just ran?” he asked. “That was smart. Really smart.”
“It doesn’t feel smart,” she said ruefully. “I abandoned you.”