West With Giraffes Audio Book Novels & Stories

“No arguing in front of the giraffes. They’re judging.” Nova gasps, horrified. “Are they?” “Definitely.” She slaps her hands over her mouth and stands perfectly still like she’s under strict royal observation. Nolan snickers smugly until he notices Noah watching him with that one raised brow. “You heard her,” Noah says. “Yes, Dad,” Nolan mutters. We drift from exhibit to exhibit. Giraffes to zebras to antelopes. The twins narrate everything like tiny commentators. Nova squeals at every animal that looks vaguely friendly. Nolan asks questions so specific I feel like I’m being interviewed on live television.

Chris nodded with interest as I spoke, absorbing every word. Our next destination was the giraffe enclosure. I hoisted Chris onto my shoulders, his small hands clutching my hair. His gasp of wonder made the strain on my neck worthwhile as he stretched out a hand as if he could reach the towering animals. The giraffes, with their elongated necks and gentle eyes, grazed peacefully, oblivious to the awe they inspired in my little boy. Then I noticed a shift in Chris. His usual chatter quieted, replaced by a thoughtful silence. His gaze seemed distant as he stared out at the enclosure, his young mind working overtime as if trying to solve a puzzle.

I feel hot all over. “Thank you,” I mumble and step away from him quickly. I walked towards the books that were on the table. It is all dusty, so I blew the dust before opening the old pages. The book is all about wolves and their first shifting. I smiled sadly, seems like I will never get to know that feeling. “Hey Lexa,” he calls, startling me. I turned to look at him. “Want to go for a ride?” he asks.

"Told you. Best zoo in the country." I folded my arms. "Don’t gloat. This is for Oliver, not for you to score points." "Understood," he said easily, though the twinkle in his eye said otherwise. The giraffes ambled over, graceful and towering. Oliver clutched the bundle of leafy branches the guide handed him. Warren crouched down beside him, steadying his small hands. "Hold it up high, champ. Don’t be scared. They’re gentle giants."

I set him down beside me as I sat on the sofa. “Then let’s see how well this big wolf reads.” Daniel quickly climbed back onto the cushion between Gina and me, grabbing the book again with eager hands. He cleared his throat dramatically before starting again. “…the brave little wolf walked through the forest where the trees were tall and…” He slowed down slightly, sounding out the next word. “…mys… mys… mys…” “Mysterious,” I said gently. Daniel repeated it carefully. “Mysterious.” Then he continued. “…and mysterious.”

My shock and anger from his words lifted as he flew away and the reality of what I’d just seen and how insane it was hit me. “My god,” I said, near breathless. I’m growing that. A dragon, maybe two. “Show off,” I heard, and looked back to the man I knew had to be Finch’s father. “Dad! Missed you,” Finch said, practically jumping on him. I turned back, wanting to speak to the man but gasped again and stopped dead in my tracks. Two giraffes and several zebras trotted across the field. I’d taken an African safari in high school but I’d never gotten this close. Easily within a quarter mile.

My eyes fell over her list and saw Liam was the very last one. My damn curiosity got the better of me. Vance and Christian had managed to win me over with the five minutes they’d been given, what would a full date with them be like? I’d also passed along two other shifters: a zebra and an elephant. The zebra had a heavy South African accent that was utterly delicious to listen to … zeh-brah. The elephant had made me laugh. Though I couldn’t even remember now about what. Hmm, yes something about his trunk…

“Thank you, sir. I’m Amerie. Your shop is lovely. Do you have any books or old maps of the surrounding area? I’d love to learn more about my new home.” “Ah, of course. Down the third aisle toward the end you’ll find one book by Caneen alongside some old maps.” He pointed at the aisle. Amerie thanked him and went to the book and maps. She took a bite of the chocolate pastry as she glanced at the shelves. As she walked down the aisle, she noticed small wolves carved into the columns of the bookshelves. The book Tom had mentioned seemed old yet not very worn. The front cover was black with a golden paw print, and the author’s name was in green at the top. The spine of the book read “The Town of

he beamed and grabbed the book with Wayne's wolves and the firewolf. “What... Is... This?” he asked, his voice filled with awe. Crusoe took the question as cue to explain everything about their journey as briefly as he could. He summarized everything yet not leaving out any detail. By the end of it, both Mufasa and Olive...and even Ami had their jaws almost dropped to the floor in shocking surprise. “What?” Olive managed to pronounce. “Are you telling me Isabella could penetrate the library repeatedly, made materials from there having vital information, sketched all of you and saw that Knight's mate was the firewolf?” Mufasa blurted with awe.

"My rank came down to this lower deck explicitly to enjoy a proper drink with your face, little wolf, but your throat keeps releasing bile into that tin can. How is my mind supposed to enjoy the quality of my liquor with that stink filling the air?" My system is completely weakened from the relentless, bone-crushing waves of nausea hitting my gut, my brain realizing from this first horrific experience at sea that my inner wolf possesses a massive, debilitating vulnerability to seasickness. I wipe my bleeding lips with a rough tissue fragment and reply with a weak, trembling growl, "My voice never extended an official invitation for your boots to cross my threshold. If your heart possesses su