Fallon whisperedno, and Sera covered her mouth as she gasped softly.
Dario continued, his voice low and filled with menace.“You don’t belong here and you never did.You’re not one of us.You have one hour to leave our territory.If you contact anyone from the prowl, they will be punished severely.You will never step foot in this territory again.”He growled softly, then said, “If I see you again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Sunny hadn’t expected anyone to step up to defend her, because she really only had Sera and Fallon on her side, but it still stung that she was exiled so publicly and so harshly.Humiliation burned her cheeks as she turned and hurried through the woods toward home.
Which wouldn’t be home much longer.
She’d packed her bag frantically while Sera and Fallon cried, both scrambling to put together what cash they could.The enforcers showed up ten minutes after she’d arrived and told her to hurry up, so she wasn’t even getting an hour.
One bag of personal items.
Her old beater car.
Hugs from her adopted mom and best friend.
You’ll always be my daughter, Sunny, and you’ll always be part of our family no matter what.Don’t forget that.Don’t forget that we love you dearly.Be safe.Find people who will treasure you.
The whisper about the safari park seemed like a pipe dream.
Did it even exist?
All she had was a state and a name, and she didn’t have time to stop and run a check on the internet or search on her map app.She just had to get the hell out of Tennessee.
If there was a safari park that was run by shifters, would they accept her?Half-tiger, half-human, orphaned by her father’s pride when they came to kill her family because they didn’t believe shifters and humans should be together, and now exiled by the jaguar prowl that had taken her in.
She’d always beenother.Too human, not enough shifter.
One foot in two worlds that couldn’t be more different.
Would she be too different for this place too?
With the campground and her home far behind her, the only company the rumble of tires on asphalt as she hit the highway, she’d never felt more alone and uncertain.
All she could do was drive.
And hope.
Maybe the safari park would be the refuge she needed and she’d finally find a place where she’d be accepted.Or maybe it would be a dead end and she’d have to figure something else out.
The exile made her miss her parents even more.Her dad’s booming laughter and gray eyes that crinkled when he smiled.Her mom’s kind heart and warm hugs.
She’d had Sera and Fallon stepping in when she’d lost everything at age seven.A chance meeting at a library had formed a friendship between her mom and Sera that had ultimately saved Sunny’s life.
Now Sunny was on her own.
For the first time in her life, it was just her.
As scary as it was to be shoved out so fast, she believed she’d land on her feet.
She had to be okay.
There was no other choice.
Bear shifter Seneca Whitaker set the burger of the day into the paper basket and added a scoop of fries next to it.The mac-and-cheese-topped burger was very popular.He wasn’t sure he’d had a hit like this since the BBQ brisket burger a few months earlier.He handed the basket to the customer with a smile and told them to enjoy.
He’d be sure to let the other food workers know so they could put the popular burger into rotation.
With the last customer in line served, he looked at his watch and got to work cleaning up.His stall stayed open until eight p.m., and it was nearing that time now.Then he’d get to grab dinner himself.
