“Shoot.”He leaned against the counter.
“I think we should finish the mating and joining ceremony.”
This time, his brows rose.“You do?”
“Yeah.Otto tried to stop us with the traps.And then he sent the photos, maybe expecting that you’d react.He must have known Alfie was tracking him and set up the trap.We can’t wait forever.Not for Otto to stop, not for things to settle down.I want this.I wantusto move forward.If he’s watching, let him see we’re moving on and that he didn’t stop a damn thing.”
A slow smile spread across Caesar’s face.“I love that idea.We had a blow to our collective egos today, so a pride party is just the thing to boost morale.I’ll send out a blast text to the pride and get things moving.Jenni, Rhomi, and Sidney can help you get ready after you and I grab the pears and the flowers.”
“Did you say pears and flowers?”
He nodded and took her hand.“Yep.Just wait, it’ll be magical, I promise.”
“I know it will be.”
He sent the text while they walked across the lions’ private living area to the greenhouse.The glass enclosure was the size of a large shed and looked like it was bursting with plant life inside.Rows of flowers and plants lined long tables and shelves, like a miniature jungle.
“This is beautiful,” she said.
“It’s a group effort,” he said as he walked inside with her.“I used to handle the majority of the plant care, but others have pitched in to help since I’ve been working patrols so much.I do like to get my hands dirty, makes me feel grounded.”
He took a wicker basket from a hook and handed it to her.
“What are we picking?”
“Prickly pear and flowers for the bracelets.”
At the back of the greenhouse was a lush area of pink and white lilies, blooming under a strip of hanging grow lights.“These are impala lilies,” he said.“They’re native to Africa and sacred to lions.We’re going to braid the flowers into bracelets for you to wear during the ceremony.The number of flowers depends on the number of people in our new family.”
“So how many do we need?”
“I have three sons and two are mated, so including me that makes six blooms.You have two daughters who are mated and that means you need five.So eleven for each bracelet.”He clipped the stems and they counted twenty-two of the beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers.He laid them gently in the basket.
Then they moved to the far side of the greenhouse where several containers of cactus were growing.He put on gloves and showed her how to harvest the prickly pears, and then they returned to the house.In the kitchen, he showed her how to peel the prickly pear, placing them into a plastic container.Then they braided the lilies into bracelets.
They put the bracelets on top of the container in the fridge and shut the door.
Sera leaned against him and exhaled softly.“This feels right.”
“Yeah?”He kissed the top of her head.
“It does.It feels like we’re making a really positive step forward for us and the pride.Nothing is going to stop us.That’s important.”
He hummed in agreement.“It really is.Hey, would you mind if Jupiter led the ceremony for us?I’m the one who does it as alpha, but I think it would be weird to lead our ceremony.”
“I’d love that.”She turned in his arms and kissed him.
“Tonight, under the stars, we’ll become official mates, you’ll be part of the pride and alpha female,” he said.
“I can’t wait.”
* * *
The day passed quickly as Sera and Caesar worked to prepare for the ceremony.Pride members joined them to help get things ready.Sera had talked to Sunny and Fallon earlier in the day, sharing how excited she was to become alpha female.She’d reminded Fallon and Sunny how jaguars did matings, and that she was bringing in an element of their history to the lions.She loved that Caesar wanted her influence in the ceremony.
Caesar left her an hour before the park closed to finish getting ready and help ensure the park was free of patrons.She’d planned to wear the clothes from the original night’s ceremony, but she’d thrown them away after they’d gotten ruined, so now she wasn’t sure what to wear.
There was a knock on the door, and it swung open with a creak.“It’s us, Sera!”Jenni called.
