Justus (Were Zoo Book Four)

By R.E. Butler

When Trina arrives at the Amazing Adventures Safari Park to apply for a job at her cousin’s sweets shop, she doesn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams at the front gate, or that his kisses would drive her senseless.

Bear shifter Justus would love to meet his soulmate. The weekly park VIP tours so far have netted him zero meetings with the one female meant to be his. When he volunteers to escort a human to the park’s new sweets shop, he doesn’t expect to fall head over heels for the feisty brunette.

It’s no simple thing to find a soulmate who’s human. Shifters aren’t known to them, and one careless whisper of their nature out in the human world could spell disaster for the entire shifter race. Justus doesn’t want to keep anything from his soulmate, but he’s not sure how to tell her the truth without losing her. When she comes face to face with his bear, will she stay or will she run?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E. Butler
• Release date: Apr 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370141296

R.E. Butler

I write for the readers who stay up past their bedtime, telling themselves "just one more chapter" long after the lights should be out. The ones who fall in love with fictional characters, escape into magical worlds, and crave protective heroes who would do anything for their women. My love for paranormal romance started as a young mom reading ebooks in the middle of the night, drawn to the monsters who were more than villains—they were heroes. Inspired by shifters and fated mates, I set a goal in 2011 to publish my first book. Over 100 books later, I'm still creating the kind of stories I love to read. Now, I spend my days dreaming up protective heroes, captivating heroines, and the happily ever afters they fight for, often while walking with my pup coworker and plotting my next book. I write for readers who love adventure, passion, and a touch of magic—because I'm still that girl under the covers, reading by flashlight, lost in another world.

Book preview

Justus

Were Zoo

Book Four

By R. E. Butler

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Excerpt from Devlin

Other Books by R. E. Butler

About the Author

Copyright

Chapter One

Justus Dorne rolled his neck and ran his hand through his hair. Steam rose from the pots of water as he waited for them to boil so he could put the ziti in to cook. Normally, he was happy to work in the commercial kitchen of the Amazing Adventures Safari Park, but all he could think about was that in a few hours, he’d need to be in the paddock in his shifted form, hoping that his soulmate would be on one of the VIP tours.

Tarquin, one of the bears in Justus’s bear shifter sleuth, walked into the commercial kitchen with both arms laden with grocery sacks. Justus moved to help, lifting several bags from his friend.

Did you find everything? Justus asked.

Yeah, Tarquin said as he set the rest of the bags down on a long, metal counter. I had to go to three stores to find the roasted red peppers, though.

Justus shook his head as he started to unload one of the sacks. That’s weird. I’ll add it to the list of items we’re going to start ordering in bulk for delivery.

Cool. I’m going to unload the bags and then head over to the paddock. Are you going to be ready for the first tour?

The VIP tours, which had been started several months earlier, were designed to bring unmated males and females through the doors of the park in the hopes that the shifters in the zoo would find their soulmates. It was a good idea, but only three males had found their soulmates since the tours started, and only two of those soulmates had been on the VIP tours.

Yeah, I’ll be there.

Tarquin clapped Justus on the shoulder. One of these days, all the tours will be worth it because we’ll be in the presence of our soulmates.

I hope so, Justus said.

He heard sizzling, and glanced at the pots of water and realized they were boiling. Leaving the groceries to Tarquin, he dumped the uncooked noodles into the pots and stirred them before setting the timer.

The bears handled food for the park, from the stalls that were open to the public to the employee cafeteria and the market in the underground living quarters the zoo employees called home. Along with their twenty-member sleuth, the park was also home for shifters of the wolf, lion, gorilla, and elephant varieties. The groups each had a private living area under the park, along with a shared marketplace where they could eat meals and order supplies. Each group had their own specialties within the park. The bears handled the food, the elephants handled the non-shifting animals, the wolves handled the safari tours, the lions handled park security, and the gorillas handled park maintenance. Justus happened to love cooking, but he wished he were cooking for someone special, not just the park visitors and shifters who called Amazing Adventures home.

It would be easier if shifters were known to humans, but their abilities were a carefully guarded secret. Even if Justus happened to find his soulmate while he was in his shifted form in the paddock, he would have to wait until he shifted back into his human form and then carefully reveal his nature to her over time. There were rules for when and how to reveal shifters to soulmates, which had been created by the shifters who were in charge of each group. They were called the council, and their word was law.

I have a good feeling, Tarquin said as he finished unloading the groceries.

About what? Justus asked.

He shrugged. I think someone will find their soulmate today.

Justus arched a brow. Are you psychic now?

Not remotely. It’s just a feeling I have. Plus, the bears are due.

True.

So far, two gorillas and one lion had found their soulmates. It would be nice if a bear would find a soulmate next. And it would be doubly nice if that bear happened to be Justus. He wanted to start the next chapter of his life. He often felt like he was just spinning his wheels in the paddock, hoping that his soulmate happened to get a VIP tour ticket in the mail and decided to use it.

I’ll keep my fingers cross, Tarquin said. For both of us.

* * *

Justus rubbed his side on a tree and yawned. The tours were almost over for the day, and none of the humans who had come through in the Jeeps had been a soulmate for any of the bears. In the distance, he could hear another Jeep coming, and he followed the other bears as they headed toward the chain link fence that separated their paddock from the safari trail.

The Jeep stopped in front of the paddock, and a human woman with long, blonde hair climbed out of the back of the vehicle with the help of a wolf shifter who was acting as a tour guide.

The guides each spoke from a memorized script about the animals in the paddocks, listing qualities and facts about each of them.

Brent took a picture of the human woman in front of the paddock. Pictures were taken in front of each paddock, and then at the end of the tour, the visitors would be presented with a complimentary photo album.

What kind of bears are these? the woman asked as she turned to look into the paddock.

Brent cleared his throat and said, Mostly grizzlies, which are also called brown bears. We also have two American black bears.

Justus was