Page 12 of Echo Of A Wolf

Why couldn’t I stop thinking about her?

Alarm nipped at my insides suddenly, and I froze. Someone was watching me. Glancing around, I scanned my surroundings, searching for any type of threat. All I spotted was an elderly woman standing in the alley behind the diner. Her eyes met mine, and she beckoned me closer with a slight nod of her head and a warm, friendly smile.

What was she doing back here?

My muscles tensed as I approached her, ready for anything. She rummaged through a weird tortoise shell purse she held and pulled out a box of pancake mix and then a jar of syrup.

“Here,” she said, her hands steady and her expression calm as she held them out to me. “Take these.”

I hesitated for a moment before reaching out and accepting the items, not sure what the hell was happening here.

“You’ll need both at some point,” she said, a knowing look entering her stare.

“Lady, I doubt I’ll need pancakes or syrup at any point in my day.”

“Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But you will need them at some point.” She winked. “After all, they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she turned and walked away without another word, looking as though theexchange had been the most natural thing in the world. I stared after her, watching as she disappeared through the alley.

Could my life get any weirder?

Shaking my head, I made my way into the diner. I placed the items on the counter and looked around, half expecting someone to explain the strange gift as though I’d been on some hidden camera show.

“Hey, Dean,” Mariam greeted me. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied, still trying to process the strange encounter. “An elderly woman gave these to me in the alley just now.”

Mariam raised an eyebrow and then smiled. “Maybe it’s a sign you should make pancakes for breakfast sometime.”

“Maybe.” I chuckled.

As I went about my day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the old woman had known something I didn’t. Her eyes and expression had said as much.

Time moved slower than it ever had.

By the end of my shift, I was exhausted and on edge still. I needed a drink and quite possibly some company because being alone didn’t seem like a good idea.

My thoughts would get the best of me again.

Pulling out my cell, I opened a group text with some of the other solitary shifters who had been under Lucius’s control and tapped out a message, asking if anyone was up for a drink at Last Drop in a few minutes.

To my relief, everyone said yes.

I pocketed my cell and got to work closing the kitchen down. After clocking out, I carried the pancake mix and syrup to my truck. Tossing it into the passenger seat, I opted to walk to Last Drop instead of driving. My wolf craved being in the night air, and so did I. While I loved my truck, I needed a moment todecompress before meeting up with everyone, and a walk was perfect for that. Besides, Last Drop was only a street away. It wouldn’t take me long to get there.

When I made it to the bar, the sheer number of vehicles filling the parking lot had me rethinking my decision to ask everyone for a drink tonight.

Why weren’t these people at home?

I paused in the parking lot, debating how big of an asshole it would make me to cancel on everyone when getting together had been my idea.

“Shit,” I muttered, deciding it would make me look like a huge one.

Besides, I wanted to know whether anyone else felt off like I did lately. Were they losing sleep? Feeling disconnected from their animal? Paranoid?

My wolf slid closer to the surface as a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. He’d picked up on something not right. When I turned to look that way, I didn’t see anything, though. However, the same sensation from earlier that someone was watching me hit me in the gut. I glanced around, searching for the eccentric old woman again, but didn’t see her. Honestly, I didn’t notice anyone paying me any attention.

What the fuck was going on? Was I being haunted or was I going insane?

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