Page 13 of Restoring His Howl

Chapter Six

Cinders waited for Dillon to drift off to sleep before he opened his eyes. He watched Dillon slowly uncurl his body and relax. The man was pretty in slumber with his dark lashes against his pale skin, the silver streaks in his hair and the almost invisible freckles dusting his cheeks. As he rested, the lines around his eyes were a little softer, and he parted his lips.

If Cinders had to guess, he’d put Dillon at around thirty-four or thirty-five years old in human years. The wolf had been aged and well-worn but still looked sexy. Dillon had seen more in his life than anyone should. He deserved a little peace.

As far as Cinders knew, no one at the Sanctuary bothered Dillon or added to his troubles, but Avan and Rocco were too nosy for their own good. Would they do something to terrorize Dillon? They didn’t know what he’d been through, but still…

Part of Cinders loved being in bed with Dillon. The pressure of trying to figure out what to say was gone, and they could just exist. He’d been able to show Dillon most of his sides and not worry about Dillon being fazed. He wanted to get closer to Dillon emotionally, and after the breakthrough, he felt as if he’d been with Dillon forever. The rest of him, though, wanted to run to Markas and John.

If they didn’t somehow know what Dillon had been through, they should be notified. What if there were other shifters out there like Dillon? What if Dirk hadn’t been caught or, worse, had others trying to harm shifters? Cinders would never be able to live with himself if he did nothing to help. He couldn’t handle knowing other shifters might be harmed.

Markas probably knew about the threat. He was the alpha of this mishmash of a pride. He seemed to have eyes everywhere. If there was a problem, more than likely, Markas was a step ahead of it.

Still…

Cinders tried not to worry about the things he wasn’t sure of and instead, focused on Dillon.

Cinders sighed. He should sleep. Dillon needed him. He suppressed a chuckle. Wouldn’t Ryan laugh if he knew Cinders, the tough guy who’d blown through guys atStiffas if they were nothing, had found someone to make him pause? The guy who bossed around anyone within range and delighted in being the top cat didn’t want to be the center of attention. He’d laugh. But Ryan had probably sensed the connection between Cinders and Dillon. He had a knack for knowing who belonged together. For all Cinders knew, Ryan had orchestrated them being at the Sanctuary and running into each other. Nah. Ryan couldn’t have known—not that far in advance.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He needed to conk out for a few hours. He held onto Dillon and breathed in the unique scent of human and wolf. He remembered the feel of Dillon’s fur and the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled. Dillon would be Cinders’ undoing, but Cinders didn’t mind. His jaguar had found a kindred soul, someone the big cat could protect and love. The wolf was strong, but Dillon had seen hell. Cinders would keep him safe and give him the chance to be free.

* * * *

Cinders wasn’t sure how long he’d been out when he opened his eyes. He didn’t see any sunshine stretching across the floor. He sat up and blinked until the room came into focus. No wonder he hadn’t seen any daylight. He didn’t see any windows—at least any uncovered windows. Why would Dillon have them blocked off?

Dillon sighed beside him and curled into a ball. Cinders frowned. The poor wolf shifter looked tense.

Cinders scrubbed both hands over his face. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he leave the bed and grab coffee for them? Or stay and be there when Dillon woke up? Now that he was up, Cinders couldn’t go back to sleep. He had too much on his mind.

Someone knocked on the door, and Cinders frowned again. A streak of jealousy ran through his mind. Why? Someone else wanted Dillon’s attention. He’d thought he was the only one. Who was he kidding? Dillon wouldn’t tell everyone about his past. He’d taken quite a bit of time to disclose it to Cinders.

Cinders left the bed and crept over to the door. He’d let Dillon sleep. He opened the door a crack and found Avan in the hallway.

“Oh.” Avan wobbled. “I thought this was Dillon’s room.”

“It is.” Cinders braced the door with his foot and folded his arms. “Why?”

“Are you his new bodyguard?” Avan rolled his eyes. “Dillon doesn’t need someone to protect him.”

Little did Avan know. “No? What do you want? He’s sleeping.” He glared at Avan. Screw the punk. No one needed to be a jerk, but Cinders being there with Dillon was none of Avan’s business. “I’m not waking him up.”

“I never saidyouhad to.” Avan shuffled from one foot to the other. “I just needed to talk to him.”

“At this hour?” Cinders snapped. “About what?”

“Don’t get pissy.”

“Me? You show up and don’t tell me why you want to talk to Dillon, and I’m supposed to be fine with that?” Okay, he’d gone right to pissy in two seconds. Now that he knew Dillon’s secrets, he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave him alone with Avan. He groaned. He shouldn’t scream at Avan. “Just…what do you want to talk to him about? He’s had a long night. We were up talking, and he nodded off only a couple hours ago.”

“I’ll bet you were talking.” Avan snorted. “Right.”

He glared at Avan. “Yeah. Talking.”

“Are you his keeper?”

“Kind of. Spit it out.” Cinders held onto his patience by a thread. Avan sure knew how to push his buttons.

“Never mind.”

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