Page 15 of Restoring His Howl

Cinders left the room and kept walking until he reached the first floor. He didn’t know where he was going. He stopped in the kitchen.

Avan glared at him. “That fucker threw me against the wall. He beat me up. I want him removed.”

Cinders snapped out of his fog and turned his attention to Avan. Who the hell was he talking to? He spotted the other person in the conversation—Markas. Fuck. Markas had the power to throw him out.

“I’m guessing there was a reason,” Markas said. “Right?” He turned to Cinders. “You didn’t do what you did for nothing.”

“Um, yeah.” He had to think fast. “Markas, can I speak to you? In your office?”

“About Avan?” Markas leveled his gaze at Cinders.

“No.” He had bigger things to worry about than the punk lion.

“’Cause you’re going to,” Avan shouted. He shook his head. “You’re going to try to talk yourself out of trouble.”

“No.” Why hadn’t he knocked the hell out of Avan when he’d had the chance? If he’d given in to the jaguar and torn into Avan, he’d have saved himself a lot of problems.

Markas cleared his throat. “Avan, I’ll talk to you later. Cinders, let’s go to my office.”

“Sorry bastard,” Avan muttered.

Cinders tensed, but Markas spoke first. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten the fight,” Markas said. “I’m not tolerating it.” Markas pointed to the hallway. “Cinders? After you.”

Cinders marched out of the kitchen. His skin itched. When he glanced down at himself, he groaned. He still wore the same sweat suit from yesterday after the run. He needed a shower and probably had a funk… Damn it.

He headed into the office and flung himself into the closest chair. He wasn’t in the mood for a lecture but had one coming. Throwing Avan down the corridor hadn’t been smart, but he’d done it. He should’ve had more decorum than that.

Markas shut the door and said nothing as he rounded the desk. He didn’t sit and instead folded his arms.

Cinders braced himself. He might be petulant, but he deserved to have his ass handed to him.

“I won’t allow fighting here at the Sanctuary. I know John wouldn’t be happy if he knew you’d laid into Avan. I’m not saying he didn’t have it coming. The kid is mouthy, but he’s a kid,” Markas said. “If you don’t like him, though, just ignore him.”

“I know.” He hated when Markas got all fatherly. Markas’ knack for knowing how to get to the root of the problem and dealing with it while staying calm annoyed Cinders. But…he expected nothing less from the alpha of the pride.

“What’s upsetting you? Normally, you’re more laid back and happy. You’re the one making lewd comments and being tacky, but with heart. Did you overstep and piss Avan off? Did he overstep?” Markas asked.

He sighed. There was no point in ripping into Markas. “I don’t know what Dillon told you when he came here, but he’s been through a lot and done even more.” He fought off a wave of shivers. Even considering what Dillon might have done annoyed him.

“I know.”

“You do?” He hadn’t expected Markas to say that.

“I know a lot more than you think. I’ve had many dealings with theWet Dreamsgroup. Trust me. That bunch has been making porn for at least five years and using shifters for almost all of it. Since I came to Sanctuary and found out aboutDreams, I’ve been trying to get people out.” Markas sank onto his chair. “What’s this got to do with Avan?”

“Avan just made rude comments about Dillon, and I didn’t appreciate it. He mentionedWet Dreams.I don’t know what the little shit had in mind, but I’m not standing for it.” Cinders massaged his temples. The jaguar was paying attention to what Markas had said, and all of it made sense. But the animal was quiet. Cinders’ head ached. Fuck.

“Why do you think Dillon shakes?” Markas asked. “Why do you think he keeps to himself? I’ve seen his room. He’s got the windows covered over. He only goes out to run when he’s alone. He worries. I can’t say I can identify with him because I can’t imagine what he’s gone through, but I understand his hesitancy. He’s scared. People don’t always see a guy. They don’t just see a shifter. Some will only see him as that individual who was on the computer screen doing things to other people in a sexual way. People he thought he could trust screwed him over and messed with his head. They destroyed his confidence and ruined his self esteem.”

“I know.” Cinders hadn’t thought about Dillon in such ways, but now that Markas brought up the truth, he wanted to kick his own ass for being a jerk.

“Then what? Did Dillon come on to you? Did he say something inappropriate?” Markas asked.

“No.” He put both hands up. “He told me part of his story. I feel for him, and I’m drawn to him. I want to help, but I don’t know how.”

“But?”

“But when I was debating what I should do—tell you or let Dillon sleep—Avan showed up. He came sniffing around for Dillon and wanted to get with him. Said he wanted Dillon when I was done. Made him sound like he wasn’t worth anything. What the hell? Who does that? Why…” He gripped the arms of the chair, and his jaguar roared within him. Fuck, he wanted to punch anyone who even thought about hurting Dillon.

---