Page 26 of Echo Of A Wolf

I liked that she’d gotten straight to the point.

“I know you said you want to save him, that you think he’s possessed,” I started, trying to pick my words carefully. I didn’t want to upset her. “But I’m not sure how.”

“I don’t have any ideas on that yet either.” She took a sip of her coffee and then perked up. “The Ashen Tribe—they were able to keep Lucius out of their heads with those amulets, remember?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes were alive and a vibrant shade of honey-brown with her raven resting just below the surface. “Do you think we could talk to them? Maybe their witches could make amulets for us. That would buy us some time until we can figure out a way to get Lucius’s spirit out of Xander.”

While he would be less of a threat to us if the Ashen Tribe agreed to help in that way, it wouldn’t make him less of a threat to them or any other shifters in town.

What was stopping him from going for round two of the nightmare we’d survived?

“We could try talking to them and see if they’ll agree,” she continued.

“Do you think it’s wise to put him on their radar?” I asked. “They might not agree to trying to save him.”

It was the truth.

Lucius had tormented the Ashen Tribe for months. Hearing that Xander could be possessed by Lucius’s spirit or that he had the same abilities might cause them to panic and eliminate him quickly.

I wouldn’t blame them.

“No,” she said. “I don’t want them taking him out like they did Lucius.”

I nodded and then shifted my attention to the stack of pancakes. Grabbing a fork, I placed two on Astrid’s plate and three on mine.

“Thanks. You mentioned peanut butter earlier. Do you have a banana too?” she asked.

I stared at her like she’d grown two heads. “Peanut butter and a banana? For your pancakes?”

“Yep” She grinned.

“Ew.”

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It’s good.”

I laughed, liking this side of her.

“Okay, fine,” I said, making my way to the pantry for both. “I’ll try it.”

I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and two bananas. Handing them to her, I watched as she made her pancakes the way she liked, and then I did the same with mine.

“You’re going to love it. Promise,” she insisted as she doused her pancakes in enough syrup to have them nearly floating on her plate.

After I drizzled some syrup on my pancakes, we both made our way to the table to sit and eat. I could feel her gaze locked on me, watching and waiting for me to take that first bite.

“Make sure you get a bite with a little of everything,” she said, propping her head up with the palm of her hand while she stared at me.

I cut a bite with a little of everything off with my fork and ate it.

“What do you think?” she demanded.

“It’s good.” I nodded. “Surprisingly so.”

“See, I knew you’d like it.” She cut off a bite with her fork and ate it, making a cute moaning noise that had my wolf going wild. “It’s the only way to eat pancakes.”

She looked happy—even after everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours—and the sight of her happiness made me feel satisfied beyond measure.

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