Cael (Were Zoo Book 11)

as a parking pass. While it was addressed to the previous tenant, it didn’t say anywhere on the ticket that it was non-transferrable. She decided to check out the website and see if she could make a reservation for a tour. She’d never been to the park and going on a private safari tour sounded really fun.
Opening the front door, she called out for her mom and found her in the kitchen dunking chocolate chip cookies in a glass of milk. Novi kissed her cheek and set the mail down on the worn table.
“How was work?” her mom, Lori, asked.
“Good.” She skipped the part about the rude women and her reaction to them and instead opened her knapsack and took out the cookbooks.
“Oh, fun! I’ll find something new to try this weekend.”
“I’m sure it will be delicious.”
“What’s this?” her mom asked as Novi reached for the ticket to put it in her pack.
“It came in the mail.”
“Well, it’s trash. Toss it with the other stuff.”
“I think I’ll go on the tour. It’s free.”
“It’s not addressed to you.”
“I was going to see if I could use the ticket even if it’s not addressed to me.”
Her mom narrowed her eyes. “Um, no. We don’t do that kind of thing.”
“What, go to the zoo?”
“Yes. They take pictures in public places like that and post them online. It would be just our bad luck for your father to see your picture somewhere and know where we are. So put the thought from your mind. If you want to see animals, go for a walk in the woods.”
“Mom, I think you’re overreacting. It’s been a long time.”
“Need I remind you that the last time he found out where we lived, he almost ran me off the road and killed us both? He’s unstable and unstoppable. Trust me to take care of us and keep us both safe.” She took the ticket and tossed it into the trash with the junk mail.
Novi wanted to protest, but she could see the firm set of her mom’s jaw and knew it was futile. She’d come back for the ticket after her mom went to bed. If she didn’t want Novi to go on a tour, then she’d just do it on her own. She was twenty-two and could make decisions for herself. There was no harm in going to the zoo, she was sure of it.
But more than that, she had a feeling… like it was kismet and she was destined to find that ticket and go on the tour. She wasn’t about to mess with destiny, so she was going to go to the park, no matter what.

Chapter Three
Novi didn’t like deception in any form. She particularly didn’t like lying to her mom about anything. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to go to the park and go on the tour. After her mom went to bed Thursday night, Novi used the laptop to search up the safari park and found a link to the tours. She entered the information from the ticket and reserved a tour for Saturday afternoon. The next day, she told Katya she’d have to take off early Saturday for an appointment.
Novi put a change of clothes and a toiletries bag in her knapsack Saturday morning and said goodbye to her mom, then headed to the thrift store. The day eeked by, and she was certain it was because she was so excited about the tour. By the time she could clock out, she thought it had been the longest day on record. She changed into a pair of jeans, a navy-blue t-shirt, and a light-weight olive green jacket. After switching out her sturdy work shoes for her favorite tennis shoes, she ran a brush through her long, dark brown hair, put on some makeup, and gave herself one last look in the small mirror over the sink.
“You look great,” Katya said when Novi walked into the main part of the store.
“Thanks. I’ll see you on Monday!”
“Have fun.”
Novi put her knapsack on the floor of the backseat and took out her wristlet wallet and the tour ticket. She plugged the park address into the map app on her phone and then put on her favorite radio station.
After thirty minutes, she’d arrived at the park. It was a beautiful April day, and she wasn’t surprised the park was packed. There was a line all the way to the road to get into the park, and she was glad she’d left earlier than necessary so she wasn’t late.
Once she got up to the parking lot attendant, she showed him the ticket and he said, “Welcome to the park! Follow the signs for the VIP tour lot. Have fun!”
“Thank you.”
She parked and walked through large iron gates, weaving through the crowd to get to one of the ticket takers. “Do you have ID?” the young man asked as he took her ticket and looked at it.
“I do,” she said, taking her license from her wristlet. “But my name’s not on that ticket.”
“Oh? Where did you get the ticket from?” He looked from her ID to the ticket and then at her.
She explained how she came to have the ticket. “I did make a reservation for a tour, but if I can’t use this ticket maybe I can just pay for a tour myself?”
“Oh no, that’s not necessary,” he said, handing the ID and ticket back to her. “The tickets are transferrable, and clearly we had a bad address for this person, so it’s nice that the ticket is being used. Just let them know at the check-in for the tour what you told me, and there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Enjoy the tour.”
He gave her a map,