Devlin

by R. E. Butler

  Devlin (Were Zoo Book Five)

  By R. E. Butler

  Copyright 2017 R. E. Butler

  Devlin (Were Zoo Book Five)

  By R. E. Butler

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  Cover by CT Cover Designs

  This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.

  * * *

  Editing by Tracy Vincent

  * * *

  Thanks to Shelley for beta-reading and making me think.

  Much love to Joyce, the bestest bestie on the planet, who remembers everything I don’t, and calls me on it with love and a little sarcasm.

  For BB and BL - I love you both.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Coming Next from R. E. Butler

  Contact the Author

  Other Works by R. E. Butler

  Every Angelic Moment (Hyena Heat 7) Coming November 12, 2017

  Kelley (Were Zoo Six) Coming in 2018

  Devlin

  Were Zoo Book Five

  By R. E. Butler

  Lion shifter, Jenni Brisban, is beginning to think that the VIP tours hosted by the Amazing Adventures Safari Park aren’t going to help her find her soulmate. Hardly any human males come on the tour, and she spends her weekends in her shift, feeling like her life is passing before her eyes. When she’s offered a job in the new sweets shop at the park, she decides that standing behind the counter, talking to customers, and sneaking candy is just what she needs to get her mind off her singleness.

  Human, Devlin Potter, is poised to get a promotion at work that will change his life dramatically. Finally, all his hard work will be worth it. The job he wants is just within reach, and his five-year plan is right on track. But when he sees a beautiful blonde woman at his cousin’s sweets shop, everything he ever thought he wanted disappears in a hot flash. Now, he only wants Jenni.

  Nothing is hotter to Devlin than being with Jenni, but he can tell she’s holding something back. When he comes to the zoo to see her, but finds himself at the lion paddock, staring into a lioness’s eyes that are the same pretty blue as Jenni’s, he knows exactly what her secret is, even though it seems impossible. Devlin has a choice to make: give up everything to live with Jenni at the zoo, or walk away forever. She can’t live in his world, but can he live in hers?

  Chapter 1

  Jenni Brisban finished braiding her long hair and secured the end with an elastic band. She tucked her work shirt into her khaki shorts and slipped her feet into tennis shoes, then headed to the kitchen to fill her travel mug with coffee. She wasn’t normally a morning person, but since she started working at the new sweets shop in the Amazing Adventures Safari Park, she’d begun to get used to the early mornings.

  The park was owned and operated by shifters who kept their animal natures carefully hidden from humans. Jenni was one of eight lions in the pride that called the park home. The pride was her only family, taking over for the mother who’d chosen to leave them and the then twelve-year-old Jenni to become the alpha female of another pride. Like real lions, the alpha didn’t want the child of another male around, leaving Jenni unwelcome there. She’d been heartbroken by her mother’s decision, but the pride rallied around her and became her surrogate family: the alpha, Caesar, was the father she’d never known, and the others were the brothers who drove her crazy.

  After fixing her coffee the way she liked it, with vanilla creamer and an extra spoonful of sugar, she walked out of her home and headed to work. Her home was underground, in the pride’s private living area. The floor was a cushiony material the color of dried grass, the walls were painted to mimic the savannah, and the ceiling was wired with lights to give the illusion of sunlight. Each group that called Amazing Adventures home had a private area. The groups were linked through a central marketplace underground. Among the other shifter groups in the zoo were bears, wolves, elephants, and gorillas.

  “Hey, Jenni,” Xavier called as she left her home.

  The lions worked security for the park and up until recently, Jenni had, too. But she’d grown tired of the security office, watching the monitors and patrolling the park, and had been excited to take a job making candy.

  “Morning,” she said.

  He waited for her at the door that led out of the private area to the hallway. Each shifter group had two ways to get topside – a general staircase that led to a hidden entrance in the employee cafeteria, or a private set of stairs that would lead up to a storage shed in each group’s paddock. They spent time in their shifts nearly every day, so that visitors to the park could enjoy the safari tour.

  “What are you making in the shop today?” he asked, holding the door open for her.

  “Taffy. It seems to be my specialty.”

  He made a face. “Not banana taffy.”

  She laughed. Lexy, who was human and mated to Win, one of the gorilla shifters, made a lot of banana flavored treats, including taffy. The sweets shop had been closed for years, after the mated couple who had run it opted to retire. Lexy opened the shop, and invited Jenni to help make candy, along with Lexy’s best friend, Trina.

  The shop was having a private event that night for the zoo, and Lexy and Trina’s families were coming. The shop would officially open to the public on Friday morning.

  “No more banana taffy, we’ve got about fifty pounds of it. Today I’m making watermelon and lemon.”

  “Cool,” Xavier said.

  They climbed up the stairs to the employee cafeteria. The bear shifters handled the food in the zoo, from the marketplace, where their people could get meals to the cafeteria for when they were on duty. She stopped next to Xavier at the long counter, where heat lamps kept freshly-made breakfast sandwiches warm, and selected a bacon and egg bagel.

  “What’s going on in security?” she asked as she opened the wrapper and took a bite.

  Xavier grabbed two sandwiches and walked with her out of the building. “Nothing new. We added new security cameras around the perimeter of the park, and there are more monitors in the security office. Do you miss us?”

  She snorted. “Don’t take it personally, but no.”

  He shot her a grin. “It must be nice to be around girls instead of just guys.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  Jenni was the only lioness in the pride. Jupiter, Caesar’s oldest son, was mated to a human female named Celeste, but she and Jenni were still getting to know each other.

  “See ya later,” Xavier said.

  Jenni waved goodbye, leaving Xavier at the security office. She headed down a path to the sweets shop called Lexy’s Sweet Treasures. It was a few minutes until six and Jenni could see that the lights were already on in the shop. She hurried her steps, finishing her sandwich before she reached the door. The bell over the door tinkled as she pushed it open.

  “Morning,” she called out.

&nbs
p; “I’m back here,” Lexy said. “Trina is on her way.”

  Jenni walked through the swinging door that led to the commercial kitchen and found Lexy at one of the huge stand mixers, adding chunks of butter to the bowl.

  “What are you making?” Jenni asked as she dropped her wrapper in the trash and went to wash her hands.

  “Sugar cookies. I have these cute cookie cutters that look like all the animals here. I’ll cook them with sticks in them so they’ll be like a cookie lollipop.”

  “Sounds adorable.” Jenni put her yellow apron on and tied it at her back.

  “How was your night?”

  “Fine.”

  She turned on the taffy machine and took one of the tablets that they kept on hand for recipes, locating the recipe for lemon taffy. As she gathered the ingredients, Lexy said, “Just fine?”

  “Yeah. I’m just… can I be honest with you?”

  “Oh gosh, you’re not going to quit already, are you? I love having you here!” Lexy looked positively panicked.

  “No, of course not! I’m just feeling lonely.”

  “Oh,” Lexy said. “Good. Well, I don’t mean good, I mean, I’m glad you’re not quitting. The VIP tours aren’t producing mates like the council thought they would, huh?”

  “Unfortunately, not.”

  Because shifters were unknown to humans, they couldn’t just meet someone and tell them everything about their people. The carefully guarded secret was important to the safety of shifters everywhere. Their kind believed in soulmates, that there was one person in the world for every shifter, and meeting that person was like love at first sight. One glimpse of their mate, and their beast was ready to settle down.

  Fewer and fewer of their people were finding their soulmates, and the council – made up of the alphas of each group – had decided to send out coupons to eligible males and females in the tri-state area for their VIP tours. They were hopeful that their people would find their mates on the tours, but so far, only two males had found theirs from the tour – Zane and Jupiter. Win and Justus had also found mates, only through chance meetings, one via flat tire and one from the sweets shop.

  “There are four new mates now. I think it’s a good sign,” Lexy said.

  Jenni hoped so, but she wasn’t feeling super positive at the moment. Hardly any males came on the VIP tour, so Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, she would be in her shift and watching Jeep after Jeep of females come by.

  “I hope so.”

  “What are we hoping for?” Trina asked as she walked into the kitchen.

  “For Jenni to find her soulmate soon,” Lexy answered.

  “Aw. I’m sure it’ll happen. What guy wouldn’t want to be with a beautiful lioness like you?”

  Jenni’s cheeks heated at the compliment and she smiled. “I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.”

  “And toes,” Trina said, “for good luck.”

  “Meanwhile,” Lexy said, “let’s get on with the morning. The party will be here before we know it.”

  Jenni turned her attention to the recipe for lemon taffy and pushed the thoughts of finding her soulmate to the far corner of her mind. Part of her knew that she’d find him at the right time and that she couldn’t hurry fate. But most of her, the pacing anxious lioness, wanted to find him right now so they could get started with the next chapter of their lives.

  Together.

  Chapter 2

  Devlin Potter let his mind wander as he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. He had a million things on his mind, the most important one being whether he was going to be offered the promotion in the accounting firm. He’d just graduated from college with his masters in accounting. Numbers had always fascinated him, and although a lot of people thought math was boring, he enjoyed it. He’d been with Frindhim Associates since he received his associates degree several years earlier, slowly moving up the ranks until he’d reached Assistant Controller.

  But the job he wanted was for the newly vacated position of Controller. Just beyond that was Assistant Vice President of Finance and then Vice President. He had a five-year career plan and currently he was right on track.

  After fixing his coffee, he returned to his cubicle and opened the financials to begin work. As the day slipped by, he wondered if he’d been passed up for the promotion.

  His desk phone rang and he answered.

  “Hey Devlin, can you come in my office, please?” Harry Frindhim, the president of the company said when Devlin answered.

  “Sure thing, Mr. Frindhim.”

  His heart jumped into his throat as excitement rippled through him. Heading to the corner office, he knocked on the door and opened it. The Vice President and Assistant Vice President were sitting across the desk from Mr. Frindhim. Devlin greeted them and took the empty chair.

  “I think you know that you were on the short list for the controller job,” Mr. Frindhim said. “You’ve been an asset to the company since you came on, and I’m offering you the position. You’ll start Monday.”

  The Assistant Vice President handed Devlin a folder. “Your salary goes up twenty percent. You’ll have a review every ninety days to go over your progress for the quarter. You’ll get an extra week of vacation, too.”

  “That’s wonderful, thank you so much. I’m honored to accept the job,” Devlin said. He wasn’t just honored, he wanted to run around the building screaming like a lunatic.

  “Great,” Mr. Frindhim said. “My assistant will put your promotion in a company-wide email. We’ll include you in the process for hiring your replacement.”

  “Thank you,” Devlin said, standing and shaking each man’s hand.

  He managed to hold back the huge grin until he left the office, and then he couldn’t help himself and smiled so broadly that his cheeks hurt.

  “Good news, I take it?” Sam, one of his fellow accountants asked as Devlin sat at his desk.

  “I got it.”

  “Great news! Want to go out and celebrate?”

  “Yeah, I would, but my sister has a thing.”

  His brows rose. “A thing?”

  “Yeah, she’s working at a candy shop at a zoo and they’re having some kind of party tonight and I promised I’d go.”

  “Maybe tomorrow?”

  “I won’t be in tomorrow, actually. Since Trina lives in New Jersey, I’m staying at a hotel for the night so I don’t have to drive back late. But next week, definitely.”

  “Cool. Congrats, again.”

  “Thanks.”

  Devlin finished his work for the day and left, calling his parents on the way home. He’d left work early so that he could run home, change, and head down to the zoo for Trina’s party.

  “I’m so proud of you,” his mom said at hearing the news.

  “Congratulations, son.”

  “Thanks. I was beginning to think my five-year plan wasn’t going to happen.”

  “You and your plans,” his mom said with a chuckle. “Life wasn’t meant to be planned out to the minute.”

  “Sorry Mom, you just don’t understand because you’re not a Type A personality. I like having my life planned.”

  “I don’t know where you got that from.”

  “Me,” his dad said. “It’s what makes us Potter men so irresistible.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. I think it’s your cute tushes.”

  Devlin groaned, “Mom!”

  She laughed. “Are you on the way to the zoo?”

  “Not yet. I have to change. I’ll be there around eight.”

  The party started at seven, but Devlin knew he wouldn’t be able to leave early enough to make it at the start.

  “I’ll let Trina know. See you tonight.”

  He said goodbye and ended the call. He stopped at his condo long enough to take a quick shower and change into jeans and a button-down shirt. He’d already packed an overnight bag, so he grabbed it and headed back to his car. Setting the GPS for the Amazing Adventures Safari Park, he turned on the radio and start
ed the journey. He was curious about his sister’s new job, working with their cousin Lexy at a candy shop in the zoo.

  He and Trin were very different people, but he supposed that was the way of siblings. Where he’d excelled in school and gone on to college, Trin had been happy to get average grades in school and work retail instead. It had been her dream to work for Lexy at a bakery because Lexy was an award-winning baker. He’d always hoped that his sister would decide to go to college, but he knew that she was happy and that was what mattered. Not the degrees or the job title, but the happiness.

  Which made him take pause.

  Was he happy?

  Hell yes! He’d just gotten the promotion he’d been chomping at the bit for. Except, there was a part of him that wished he’d had someone to see when he came home at night. He dated frequently, but he’d never found a woman that made him feel like she was the one for him. He thought there should be fireworks and instant attraction. Trina had a new boyfriend named Justus, who also worked at the zoo. Devlin hadn’t met him yet, but it was his job as older brother to make sure his sister wasn’t making any bad decisions, so he had a few questions for the new guy in her life.

  “So,” he said to himself, “if my career is on track, then maybe it’s time to start looking for a relationship.”

  Deciding that it was a good idea, Devlin promised himself that he’d focus on finding a girlfriend and starting the next chapter of his life.

  * * *

  Devlin arrived at the park at eight thirty. He’d messaged Trin that he was stuck in a little traffic, and she’d promised to save him his favorite candy – dark chocolate sea salt caramels.

  There were guards at the gate. They asked for ID, verifying that he was on the list of invited guests. Trina told him that the park had closed early that evening for the event.