Page 1 of Restoring His Howl

Chapter One

Cinders wandered into the Sanctuary’s kitchen and sniffed the air. He wanted food. No, he wanted sex. He grunted and scanned the counters for something to eat. Unfortunately for him, most everyone here was already paired up. Wasn’t it his luck to come to a place without many possible playmates?

One man had caught his eye. Dillon. But the gray-haired wolf was so quiet. He never spoke and rarely came around when the other shifters were outside. Would he want Cinders to pay him attention? Cinders guessed not.

“What are you doing?” Ryan Burden strode into the kitchen. “You look lost in thought.” He grabbed a bag of beef jerky from the cupboard. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Not really, but Ryan was off the market, and he wouldn’t cheat on his partner, Delaney Sullivan. He wouldn’t mind toying with Ryan’s balls, though. Ryan had been a damn good stripper when he and Cinders had worked at the strip club,Stiff. But Ryan had moved on.

“Right. Want to try for the truth?” Ryan asked. “I know you. The quieter you are, the more you’re in thought. Spill your guts.”

He stared at Ryan. Trust his friend to get to the heart of the matter. “I’m lonely, Blaze.”

“The house is full of shifters,” Ryan said. “Don’t call me Blaze. I left that life far behind. I’m not a stripper and don’t want to be known by my stage name.”

“Force of habit.” He was so used to referring to Ryan by his stage name of Blaze he forgot the man’s real name from time to time. Cinders leaned against the counter. “I thought you and your man were leaving the Sanctuary.”

“I came back to the main house for a meeting with Markas and John. They’re opening the other building this weekend and allowing some of the shifters to move there instead of us all living in the mansion.” He shrugged. “I stopped in here to get food for the walk back. I’m hungry.”

“Oh.” Cinders had forgotten about the second building. He’d overheard Markas talking about creating a place for the shifters to go if they wanted to live on the property but have more freedom than being in the mansion.

“Now, tell me why you’re lonely.” Ryan munched on the jerky.

Cinders lowered his voice. “When we were at the club, we got guys whenever we wanted.”

“Youdid.”

“You didn’t?” He’d been there plenty of times when Ryan had left with guys. Ryan’s ability to charm had made Cinders jealous. He’d wanted to be that adorable and wanted, too.

“You were the one who took men upstairs. I just shook my ass for them.” Ryan laughed. “I was too afraid , if I took anyone to the private rooms for that kind of action, they’d turned me down.”

Cinders hadn’t known that. He’d thought Ryan was being picky.

“And now, you’re lonely?” Ryan asked. “I’m not shocked. You love attention.”

“Yeah.” He groaned through gritted teeth. “I want to…fuck.” Jesus. He’d said that out loud. He scrubbed both hands over his face and tried to relax. “My jaguar is restless.”

Talk about an understatement. The cat wanted to climb the walls and fuck whatever came around—except the lionesses. The cat hadn’t gone dormant as Cinder’s had thought. Nope. The furry bastard kept shredding him from within.

“I don’t understand. There are guys here. Do you want a lady?”

“I want a man.”

“Okay, then tell the guys. Try talking to one. Why not Myatt? He’s cute. Or Dillon? Do wolves and panthers mate? I know panthers and tigers do.” Ryan grinned. “I bet you and Dillon would hit it off.”

“Jaguar.” Jesus. Ryan knew the difference. His partner, Delaney, was a jaguar.

“Sorry. That’smymistake. I should remember panthers are a generic name for black jaguars. I forgot he prefers to be described by his real species, not a generic one.” Ryan paused. “Talk to Dillon. He’s nice and handsome.”

“He won’t talk.” Not that Cinders had tried very hard to strike up a conversation. He’d watched Dillon and admired him then ducked into the shadows before detection.

“Try being a raunchy cop.” Ryan laughed again. “But seriously, Delaney and I are having a mixer party at the extension building tomorrow. I’m letting those without costumes raid what’s left of my costume bag. You’ve got your stuff. I’ll invite Dillon, and you can…entertain him.”

“Do you think it’d work?” he blurted. He wasn’t one to second-guess himself, but he hadn’t been able to figure Dillon out. Besides, he’d wanted to keep his mouth shut about his attraction. For all he knew, Dillon might be someone important, and if Cinders screwed this up, he’d lose out. Then again, being quiet could screw him over, too. “I mean, yeah. Cool.” He sounded so dumb.

Ryan sighed. “I’m sure it’ll work.”

He didn’t believe Ryan. What did Ryan know about fixing shifters up? How well did he know Dillon, and why was Cinders so jealous Ryan knew enough about Dillon to assume they’d be a good pairing? Fuck. Ryan had a mate. No wonder he knew how to get shifters together. He’d already done it.

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