Page 13 of Echo Of A Wolf

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. This paranoia thing was gaining too much control over me. I needed to get a grip because I was losing it.

Clenching my fists at my sides, I forced myself toward the doors of Last Drop. However, a slight prickling sensation humming through my head made me come to a sudden stop a millisecond later. I cocked my head to the side, focusing on thesensation. When I felt it again, my heart kickstarted inside my chest and I swallowed hard.

This couldn’t be right. I had to be imagining things.

There was no way I’d felt what I thought I had. It wasn’t possible someone was attempting to get inside my head, because the only person I’d ever known capable of such a thing was dead.

I narrowed my eyes and glanced around, scanning the surrounding area for anyone focused on me. Everyone was still off in their own world, laughing, eating, and walking to their vehicles.

So, then where the hell had that sensation come from?

“Hey, Dean,” someone said before placing a hand on my shoulder, startling me. “Whoa, someone’s jumpy.”

“Sienna. Hey,” I replied, running a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I guess so.” I flashed her a weak smile.

“You look like crap.” Her face scrunched up as she gave me a once-over. “Busy shift at the diner tonight?”

“Something like that.” I nodded toward the doors of Last Drop. “Ready?”

Sienna started for the door, but her watchful eyes lingered on me a moment longer. She was observant, cautious, and I knew she could see right through me.

It was the fox in her.

Inside, the bar was nearly overwhelming. It was so loud I could barely hear myself think.

Maybe that was a good thing, though.

“Oh, there they are,” Sienna said, grabbing my arm and steering me toward the back of the bar to where the others sat.

“Why is this place so busy tonight?” I asked her, leaning in close while we walked.

She nodded to where a woman was gripping a microphone and looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Looks like it’s karaoke night.”

As if on cue, the woman holding the mic started singing. Honestly, she wasn’t half bad, but karaoke night wasn’t something I wanted to be here for.

“Planning on wowing us with your vocal cords?” Waylen asked, flashing me a shit-eating grin. “And here I assumed you weren’t the singing type.”

“I’m not,” I said, situating myself in one of the open seats at the table.

“I told you he had no idea it was karaoke night,” Ellis said, leaning his elbows against the tabletop. “Did you see his face? He looked horrified when he realized what was going on tonight.”

“I like karaoke,” Sienna declared, not giving two shits what the rest of us thought about it. She reached for the pitcher and an empty glass in the center of the table. “Who knows, maybe I’ll get up there and sing for y’all in a minute.” She slid the beer she’d poured over to me and then grabbed another empty cup to pour herself one.

“Whatever you do, don’t wave your hands around like that lady up there now,” Waylen said, nodding to the woman holding the mic. “She looks like she’s trying to take flight.”

“She looks like she’s having fun,” Sienna scolded, giving him a look that said he needed to watch his mouth. Her attention shifted to me next. “So, what’s up? I feel like there’s a reason you reached out for a drinking date with us. Plus, like I said, you look like shit.”

“Tell him how you really feel,” Waylen said before taking a swig from his beer. “Damn.”

“What?” Sienna waved a hand at me. “Look at him. You’re all thinking the same.”

Ellis nodded, his face twisting into a grimace. “Yeah. Sorry, man, but you do look like shit.”

I took a swig from my beer without meeting anyone’s eyes. “I feel like shit.”

It was one of the most honest things I’d said out loud in a while.

“Like sick shit or mentally exhausted shit?” Sienna pressed.

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