Finding His Roar: Sanctuary, #7

By Megan Slayer

Breaking down and asking for help could be the key to his salvation.

Chris isn't like the shifters at Sanctuary. Born in a zoo and on the run now that he can shift, he's looking for a place to belong. When he breaks down outside of Cambridge, not far from the Sanctuary, he thinks he's done for. He'll be caught, returned to the zoo or worse… He's always been a survivor, but even Chris has demons he can't quite outrun. He's being hunted. He'll need some help—if he's willing to accept his fate.

Luke Stephens wants nothing more than to get over his ex-boyfriend. The lawyer can argue cases with ease, but not the one that mattered. That is until he meets Chris. The shifter provokes Luke and brings out his natural instinct to protect. He's intrigued and Chris is so handsome.

Will Luke be man enough for the shifter or will the danger come between them before they can get the fire started?

 

This book has been re-edited for this re-issue.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Megan Slayer
• Release date: Jun 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393962878

Megan Slayer

Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and BDSM themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been the runner up in the Kink Category at Love Romances Café as well as nominated at the LRC for best author, best contemporary, best ménage and best anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com. When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice.

Book preview

Finding His Roar

A Sanctuary Story, book 7

by

Megan Slayer

Finding His Roar

Copyright © 2020, Megan Slayer

Edited by Michele Paulin and CJ Slate

Cover Art by WZDesigns

Published by Megan Slayer Publications

Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Electronic Release: June 2020

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

Breaking down and asking for help could be the key to his salvation.

Chris isn’t like the shifters at Sanctuary. Born in a zoo and on the run now that he can shift, he’s looking for a place to belong. When he breaks down outside of Cambridge, not far from the Sanctuary, he thinks he’s done for. He’ll be caught, returned to the zoo or worse... He’s always been a survivor, but even Chris has demons he can’t quite outrun. He’s being hunted. He’ll need some help—if he’s willing to accept his fate.

Luke Stephens wants nothing more than to get over his ex-boyfriend. The lawyer can argue cases with ease, but not the one that mattered. That is until he meets Chris. The shifter provokes Luke and brings out his natural instinct to protect. He’s intrigued and Chris is so handsome.

Will Luke be man enough for the shifter or will the danger come between them before they can get the fire started?

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

About the Author

More of the Sanctuary

For Josette who asked for more Sanctuary shifters. Enjoy!

For the fans of Sanctuary. This is just the beginning of a whole new chapter.

CD– thanks for the encouragement. You rock.

JPZ – let’s roar!

Chapter One

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD of the Sanctuary? He grabbed the steering wheel and kept one foot on the gas while he pressed the brake with the other.

The man at the gas station scratched his salt-and-pepper beard. The situation or the place?

Place, he replied. He’d run into so many people who either didn’t know there was a location called the Sanctuary or didn’t care.

The Sanctuary, where they keep those lions, is about fifteen miles from here. You go down Route Nineteen to Route Seventy-nine and hang a left. It’s right at the county border. The station attendant widened his stance and folded his arms. You wantin’ to work there? All they’ve got are female lions, so I hear. Since that pettin’ zoo closed, John Dallas took the lions. He’s nuts, if you ask me. What’s a grown man want with lions? Were you thinkin’ about stoppin’? They’ve got the place guarded since the shootin’. I doubt you’ll get in unless you know someone.

Right. So much information and most of it nothing he needed. He wasn’t interested in the females. Hell, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be around any of the shifters, if they truly were at the Sanctuary. He’d find out if he ever got there. He needed to know there were others like him. Thank you, he said. I appreciate the help and the gas.

I’m glad you stopped. Eh, what’s your name? the attendant asked. I don’t think I caught it.

I didn’t tell you. He smiled and eased his left foot from the brake. Thanks again for the directions. I’m late for my interview. He’d lied about that bit, but he doubted the old man cared. He drove away and didn’t look back.

The attendant came back to mind. He’d been rather curt with the guy, but he didn’t have the time to be nice or to give out details. Not when there were people looking for him. Stopping long enough to gas up the truck was dangerous enough. He risked being found or worse, being hauled back. He refused to give out details. What if the man talked? What if the wrong person listened? The old man had seemed almost too happy to chat.

He put the gas pedal down but kept the truck right at the speed limit. He wanted to go as fast as possible but without arousing suspicion. The quicker he got to the Sanctuary, the better.

YOU CAN’T TAKE IN ANY more shifters. The people on the licensing board are seeing tons of animals come in—well, they think they see them—but you’ve only got six female lions running around. Luke tried to keep his frustration in check. John Dallas was doing his best with a strange situation. Luke respected John for his benevolence with the shifters, but people were asking questions. Besides, Luke wasn’t sure how to help. He groaned. He wasn’t a shifter and had no interest in the shifters beyond giving legal advice to the Sanctuary. He wanted to keep the place open and offered his free time and some not so free time to help his friends. He’d known Joe for years and despite dating then breaking up, John.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Sorry. I’m trying to help. But he was failing. The owners of the Sanctuary, John and his brother, Joe, were good men. They paid their taxes on time and hadn’t run afoul of the law since they’d opened the haven for shifters and the abandoned lionesses. But the secret wasn’t much of a secret. Rumor had it shifters roamed the grounds.

Well, we did let Axl and Leo go to town, John said. I was there. They were fine.

Fine, yes. Did they blend in? Sure. He hooked his fingers in the front pockets of his dress slacks. Allowing the two shifters to roam around Oakdale wasn’t bad. They’d blended in pretty well, but they’d talked. The tattoo artist and hairdresser knew they were shifters.

What’s the issue? John asked. You’re up in arms. Are we out of compliance with our fencing and pens?

No. He sighed. The thing is, the board wants to know what happened to the male lions. They think you’re slaughtering them and selling their pelts and whatever for a profit.

Markas, John’s partner and a lion shifter, growled. We aren’t selling anyone.

I know that, and you two know that. Luke bit back his frustration. Getting angry wouldn’t help anything. But think about it. Animals seem to come in, but only six are running around. It looks a little odd.

How do we prove we’re not selling or killing anyone? John asked. He placed his hand on Markas’ thigh. What do we have to do?

First, you have to come out. He held up both palms. But that poses another problem. He’d worked out so much of the situation in his head while on the drive from the zoning board back to the Sanctuary. Okay, so here’s the thing. There’s this individual. Anthony Tucci. The guy sounds relatively on the level on paper. It’s when you delve a little deeper—that’s when he doesn’t look so great. From what I’ve gathered, he knows there are shifters. Not only that, he wants to get his hands on one.

For what? John asked. "What’s he think he’s going to do?

That’s just it. I don’t know. I can’t find any info on that. Luke tensed but widened his stance. He could want them for pets, for a freak show... I’m not sure. He didn’t really want to find out. He wanted the shifters to live safe, normal lives.

John folded his hands and leaned back in his seat. What do we do? Have someone from the licensing board and zoning committee come out here to what? Watch a shift? God knows we can’t send video evidence. They’d think we doctored it.

I’m sure they will, Luke snapped. But you can’t force a shift. He’d gone round and round with the board that morning. He’d stood up for the shifters but couldn’t be completely honest about the situation. He understood the problem. Until the first shift, the shifters were in their animal form. Once they switched forms, it wasn’t specified how long they remained in their human forms or but most could shift at will. Each individual had been different.

Markas stood and rested his fists on John’s desk. The raw power in his body was evident every time he moved. Shifting depends on the person—or animal. Some can shift at will, but I don’t know about it. I’m still learning, too, and I’m one of them. It doesn’t stabilize until the shifter finds his mate.

But the six females aren’t shifters? Luke asked. He didn’t completely understand the processes behind the switch. Until he’d seen Markas shift, he hadn’t believed shifting was possible.

Not that we can tell. The males have their first shift around age three, but some of the females are nearing ten, and they’ve never switched forms. Markas folded his arms. It’s a shame. It’d be nice if we could have babies around here. At least, to keep the line going.

True, John said. So that’s it. We don’t control who does what and when.

Makes sense. Luke bowed his head and closed his eyes. A hundred thoughts came to mind, and he needed a moment to sort it all out. Axl and Leo roused attention when they went into Oakdale. Ever since Axl went back and got that tattoo to match Leo’s, non-shifting humans or people or whatever you want to call them want to know more about the shifters. Some don’t believe it really happens.

They didn’t do anything wrong, John said. I was there for each of the trips to the tattoo parlor and the salon. I trust my friends.

Your friends aren’t the problem. Luke opened his eyes. It’s the fact that shifters aren’t like humans—not all of the time. Axl and Leo aren’t afraid to admit they’re shifters, and people took notice.

There’s no law stating shifters are illegal. John opened his laptop. I’ve done the research. It’s perfectly okay. Misunderstood but no one is calling for their heads.

That’s true, there’s not. The thing is, they’re born lions, so we don’t have citizenship paperwork for them. I’m working on getting them ID cards, but it’s taking time. Luke rounded John’s desk and stood on the opposite side of him. But the threats I received on behalf of the Sanctuary aren’t a fluke. The state is worried the lions are in danger. I know they’re not because I know the males are shifters and Willow and company are taking good care of the females.

So? Markas asked.

My ex-boyfriend at the state crime lab is working on those emails. Luke rested his hands on the desk. He’d received emails threatening to harm the shifters and he could bet John would get some, too—if he hadn’t already.

I thought you said you were back together with him. What was his name? John asked. Back on St. Patrick’s Day, it sure looked like you were.

Luke massaged his forehead. That was Scott, and yeah, we’re split up. St. Patty’s Day was a case of too much beer, seeing Joe happy with Ben and being lonely. He waved his hand. It won’t happen again. Scott’s moved on to a guy named Ron. He and his ex had been bad on paper and in every other sense. They’d argued too much and their relationship had consisted mainly of sex. They were great as friends, but once affection entered the equation, everything went to hell.

Do you have a new boyfriend? Markas asked. You deserve to be with someone.

Ah, but who? Someone is a vague term. Luke stood tall and stuffed his hands into his pockets. I’m aiming for being happy alone, rather than being miserable in a relationship. He sounded so noble. The truth was, he didn’t want to deal with another dead-end situation. He wanted someone who could love and cherish him. So far, that guy didn’t exist.

They aren’t all bad. John pointed to the screen. "So back to the reason I