Page 21 of Restoring His Howl

Chapter Eight

Dillon followed the group to the apartment building. According to Ryan, there was a meeting hall on the ground floor. Dillon had no idea because he’d never been to the place. He had to give Markas and John lots of credit. Creating a building apart from the mansion had been smart. Every few weeks, more shifters either showed up at the Sanctuary or were brought in after being rescued. The house couldn’t hold everyone, so the extra building helped with the sheer volume of individuals. One day, Dillon wanted to be strong enough to leave the safety of the mansion and live in the apartments, but not today.

He shuffled into the meeting room and gasped. The large space was filled with balloons, glitter, confetti, blaring dance music and swirling lights. The ambiance reminded him of a porn shoot he’d done that was supposed to have taken place at a club—but in that, everyone had been in the nude.

The noise and volume of action in the room bothered Dillon. There was too much going on. He wanted to escape. Large gatherings weren’t his thing.

He spotted John and Markas along with Ben, Joe, Talisman and Davi. The twin shifters were there with their human. A few other shifters had arrived, but Dillon didn’t know their names. He didn’t see Oscar, Avan or Ryder. Knowing they weren’t around yet allowed him to relax a little.

“Nice to see you,” Delaney said. He smiled. “The greaser thing works for you. I like it.”

“Thanks.” He kept his hands in his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Cinders. Ryder hadn’t lied. The shirt stretched tight across Cinders’ chest and showed his muscles. Dillon couldn’t see the shorts, but he imagined them glued like a second skin to his ass. Dillon considered going to him but held back when he realized Cinders wasn’t alone. Oscar stood with Cinders and swatted Cinders’ arm. It could be a coincidence, them being together. The music was loud, and Cinders whirled around. He ground against Oscar. In a blur of arms and legs, he showed off his dance moves. Oscar laughed, and Cinders seemed in his element.

“You have the right to remain furry,” Cinders said. He laughed and waved his arms.

Oscar slid the baton from Cinders’ belt and pointed it at him. “Hell yes.” He draped his arms around Cinders’ neck, appearing to thoroughly enjoy himself.

Dillon’s stomach soured. He hated seeing Cinders with someone else. He wanted to go, but he refused to give Cinders or anyone else the satisfaction of watching him leave.

Avan strode right up to Dillon and grinned. His white shirt clung to his upper body, and he’d paired the plain garment with a pair of blue jeans. Ryder shuffled over. He hadn’t worn a costume.

Shit. Dillon darted away. He didn’t want to be at the party. Fuck his refusal to back down. Fuck Avan. He’d almost considered giving Cinders his heart. Not now. Dillon wouldn’t bare his soul or anything else with Avan nearby.

“Where are you going?” Avan grabbed Dillon’s forearm. “You can’t go. Not yet.”

“Why?” His wolf was pissed and not in the mood to argue.

“You look so handsome, and you went to the trouble of dressing up.” Avan slid his hand down Dillon’s arm. “Let’s dance.”

Being so close to Avan felt wrong. The way Avan held onto him irritated the wolf. He kept the animal in check, but not by much. Dillon shook free from Avan. “No. Not interested.”

“You need to loosen up.” Avan held into Dillon’s sleeve. “Give yourself a chance to enjoy life.”

He’d enjoyed plenty of life and other things. Panic settled in his brain. His wolf growled. It dug at him. Uneasiness rankled Dillon. His brain screamed that this was a bad situation. He needed to get out and fast.

Avan walked Dillon backward to the wall. He cornered Dillon between the wall and his body and lowered his voice an octave. “I know what you do. I’ve seen it. Hot stuff. Jesus, you suck a dick so beautifully. Take one in your ass nicely, too. Do you still like a good three-way? Maybe, you like a bad one?” He shrugged and caged Dillon in his arms. “I’m not leaving until you get on your knees.”

Dillon tensed. He couldn’t run. Avan had him pinned. His heart raced and fear paralyzed him. Fuck. He wasn’t sure what to do besides embrace his wolf. The animal hated Avan.

“Get out of my face.” He planted his hands on Avan’s chest and pushed with his entire might.

Avan tumbled backward. “You asshole. I’m getting my friends, and we’ll destroy you—after we get what we want.” He threw himself at Dillon. “You owe me.”

“For what?” Dillon pushed again, but Avan moved more easily to block him.

“I picked you, and you keep avoiding me,” Avan said. “I get what I want, and I want you.”

“You’re not getting anything.” Cinders held Avan by his shirt. He growled and glared in Avan’s face. “Dillon and everyone else at the Sanctuary aren’t here for your pleasure. You can’t use them. I won’t let you.”

“Why? ‘Cause you’re not done?” Avan snarled. “He’s your treasure? Or are you the big bad jaguar here to kick ass? You’re a fucking stripper. You probably want to team up with him and do dual blowjobs.”

“Dillon and the rest of the shifters here deserve respect.” Cinders held Avan tighter and slammed him into the wall. “I’ve had my eye on you. I know your game. I’m not the protector for the Sanctuary. I’m the asshole who will destroy you. I don’t give a fucking shit anymore. I’m done being nice.”

Despite being relieved for Cinders’ intervention, Dillon’s stomach ached, and he bit back bile. He crumpled on the floor. Jesus. Memories of being grabbed atWet Dreamshit him hard. He’d had enough and didn’t want to fight anyone else off. Did collapsing make him weak? Did he care? No on both accounts. Fuck it. Avan had broken him. Shattered him. Dillon had sworn he wouldn’t fall apart again. Cinders had come to his defense, but Dillon hadn’t been in the right head space to thank him. Fucking…fuck.

Cinders held onto his temper but only by a thin thread. The moment he’d seen Avan corner Dillon, he’d forgotten how irritated he’d been with Dillon. He’d sprung into action, and his protective streak had come out. The jaguar wouldn’t let Cinders quit on Dillon. Not a chance. Dillon needed him, and Cinders cared for the wolf shifter.

He needed Dillon, too. He loved Dillon and wanted him around always. Forget playing around, his heart belonged to Dillon.

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