Page 24 of Echo Of A Wolf

“You thought it wouldn’t be?”

“No, I’m just saying.”

He winked. “I’m messing with you. Thank you, I’m glad you like it. Now eat up so we can head to bed.”

“Excuse me?”

“To sleep, unless you’re ready for round two. I’m sure you’re exhausted, though. Tonight was eventful to say the least.”

“It was, but who said I was sleeping here at all?” I countered, even though my raven and I both wanted to stay.

“Well, you’re not going back to your place after what happened with Xander. My wolf won’t allow it unless I stay with you. We’re already here, so I figured you might as well sleep here tonight.”

“Okay.” I smiled, not even trying to fight his logic.

My raven wouldn’t let me, anyway.

It was funny how, not too long ago, he’d seemed infuriating, and now all I wanted was to be wrapped in his arms.

10

DEAN

Iwoke up before the sun with Astrid tucked into my side. Her soft, rhythmic breathing almost lulled me back to sleep. However, the desire to get up and make sure Xander wasn’t lurking around had me carefully sliding out of bed instead. Slipping on a pair of sweatpants, I stared at her while she slept.

She looked beautiful.

Her dark curls were fanned across my pillow, and she was twisted into the blankets, her soft skin calling to me. I didn’t touch her, though. Instead, I quietly exited the room and made my way outside.

Allowing my wolf to come close to the surface, we scanned the area, searching for any sign of Astrid’s brother. Protecting her—and loving her—was our mission in life now. It was something we could both agree on, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were on the same page again.

Astrid made us feel like more than an echo of a wolf; she made us whole again.

Once my wolf and I felt satisfied Xander was nowhere near, I headed back inside. Knowing she would be hungry after the night we’d had, I scoured the pantry for something to make herfor breakfast. There was nothing—except the box of pancake mix and syrup the old woman had given me.

Who could have guessed that the old woman was right, and I’d need pancakes and syrup at some point in the future?

I grabbed the box of pancake mix and jar of syrup and set them on the counter. Before I got started on that, I stepped to the coffee machine. While I’d slept better than I ever had before, coffee was still a necessity.

Once that was brewing, I shifted my focus to the pancakes. Boxed pancake mix was too basic, though. Turning to my fridge, I grabbed a lemon and then moved to the spice cabinet for some vanilla extract. Fluffy vanilla pancakes with a dash of lemon zest mixed in would work.

At least they weren’t basic.

As I cooked, thoughts of Xander slipped into my head. He was a real problem, possessed or not. While I understood Astrid wanted to save him, I didn’t have any idea how that would be possible.

I wasn’t an exorcist, and I didn’t know one.

As I flipped pancakes, I heard Astrid stirring in my bedroom. My wolf paced, eager to see her. When she stumbled down the hall into the kitchen, I cast a glance her way and noticed she’d pulled on one of my t-shirts. It skimmed her tanned skin just above her knees, swallowing her whole. Her curls were messy in that just-woken-up sleepy way, and there were slight pillow creases along the left side of her face. She yawned and lifted her arms above her head to stretch, causing my shirt to rise along her thighs.

The woman was all legs.

A memory of those legs being wrapped around me while I pumped into her had my cock jerking with need again.

All I wanted was her.

“Morning,” she muttered around another yawn.

“Morning,” I ground out, trying to rein in my thoughts.

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