10. Dean

10

DEAN

I woke 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 her for 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.

"Sorry for taking your shirt without asking," she said, making her way to stand beside me. "I wanted to wear something loose and comfy. My dress was too tight."

"I don't mind."

I liked seeing her in my shirt. My wolf liked the sight, too. He knew her scent would be on it now and he wanted her scent on everything we owned.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Starved." She nodded. "Pancakes are my favorite, by the way. How did you know?"

"I didn't." I poured the last bit of pancake batter into the pan. "The old woman who walks around town with that weird tortoise shell purse gave me a box of pancake mix and syrup the other day. She said I'd need it, and she was right. I didn't have shit to make for breakfast."

"Ms. Lynette?"

"I guess that's her name." I nodded, moving the pancake from the pan to the top of the stack I'd made.

"She's a legend, I swear. There have been so many stories and theories about that woman floating around Crescent Creek for years."

"Well, I thought it was nuts, but I'm glad I took them both from her. Otherwise, we'd have nothing to eat for breakfast besides peanut butter toast."

"I like peanut butter toast, but I like pancakes more." She grinned. "But first coffee."

A woman after my own heart.

"The mugs are in there." I smirked. "There's sugar in the canister. Milk and creamer are in the fridge. Make yourself at home."

"Oh, I plan on it." She stepped to the cabinet and lifted her arm to open it, causing the edge of my t-shirt to rise again.

Need powered through me.

Gripping the edge of the counter, I fought the craving to bend her over and take her from behind. As though she could feel my desire for her, she glanced over her shoulder to look at me with matching heat building in her eyes. I cleared my throat and tore my gaze away from her, focusing on turning the stove off.

Could she feel how attracted to her I was? Could her raven?

Touching her last night—tasting her—had not only stirred something to life inside of me that had been dormant before, but it had also awoken a beast.

One who wanted nothing more than to worship her body every second of the day.

There was one thing standing in the way—her brother. We needed to figure out the Xander situation. He was a threat, and I couldn't have that looming over us.

He needed to be dealt with.

"Did you sleep well last night?" I asked, grabbing us each a plate from a nearby cabinet.

"Surprisingly, better than I thought I would." She stirred her coffee and then licked the spoon before placing it in the sink. The woman was trying to kill me. "What about you? You must have gotten up way before me to make that giant stack. There's enough pancakes to feed an army."

She wasn't wrong.

"I have a hard time cutting recipes back in my head." I shrugged, rubbing a hand along the back of my neck. "I'm so used to cooking at the diner."

"Right, I almost forgot. Do you have to work today? If so, I should probably get out of your hair."

My wolf nipped at me, not wanting her to leave anytime soon—if ever.

"Actually, I'm off today," I said.

What a stroke of luck that was.

"Great, that means we can talk about Xander and figure out how to help him," she said, her eyes locked on mine.

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.

"By the way, my romance, spicy-time scenes in my books will be way better now, just so you know," she said around a mouthful of pancake, a pink tint staining her cheeks. "My future readers thank you."

"Glad I could help with your muse." I chuckled.

Damn, this woman was stunning.

How had I not noticed it?

I'd been an idiot.

"Back to my brother. So, if we're not going to the Ashen Tribe to ask for amulets like they used to keep Lucius out of their heads, what are we going to do?" she asked.

"Reach out to some friends for help," I said.

While I knew we could take Xander on our own without issue, I wasn't sure if that was the smartest move.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" Astrid asked.

I grabbed my phone off the counter where it was charging and opened up the group message thread with the others from a few nights ago when I'd asked if they wanted to meet me at Last Drop for a drink.

"A few. Let me shoot a quick text, asking if they can meet us for a drink this afternoon. We can fill them in on everything and get their opinion on how to go about saving your brother."

"Thanks." She smiled, relief filling her warm brown eyes.

If I hadn't known before how important saving him was to her, the look she gave me right then would have been proof enough.

"You're welcome."

Barely thirty seconds after sending the text message out to everyone, my phone pinged with their responses.

"Looks like we're meeting everyone at Last Drop for a drink this afternoon," I said.

She nodded and flashed me a halfhearted smile. "Great."

I could tell she was nervous, and she had every right to be. After all, they would most likely be as skeptical of her as I was in the beginning. Even so, I was positive they'd agree to help because none of us wanted a repeat of what happened with Lucius. All we wanted was our freedom. However, none of us were guaranteed that until Xander was himself again or dead.