Page 27 of The Night Wolf
“Good morning, Sean. Sleep well?”
“I slept okay. Had some weird dreams, but that’s par for the course.”
“Oh?”
Sean shrugged. “Ever since Ryker, I dream that he’s coming after me and there’s no one to help. I scream, begging for someone to save me, but it always ends the same way. He finds me and drags me off. Fortunately, I wake up before he can hurt me.”
Gareth knew that. As he’d sat watching out the window, he could feel Sean’s stress, even though he was sleeping. There was a terror there that Gareth had never felt before. The more agitated Sean got, the closer to the house the wolves moved. When Gareth stepped outside, they ignored him, instead focusing on Sean’s window.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved! I was actually thinking about coming down for a snack last night before I went to sleep. That steak was good, but I was hungry again about an hour after we ate.”
Dani came in from the kitchen, her eyes bloodshot. “Good morning, Alpha, Sean. What would you like for breakfast?”
“Tired?”
She nodded. “I slept, but I don’t feel like it. Have you ever felt like that?”
Gareth went to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Why don’t you go ahead and get some more sleep? I’ll make breakfast.”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh, but I couldn’t—”
“I insist. Sean will help me.” He gazed at Sean. “Won’t you?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
She bit her lip and glanced between Sean and Gareth. “If you’re sure you don’t need me.”
“No, we’ll be fine, right, Sean?”
He gave a quick dip of his chin. “Of course. You look exhausted, Dani. Get some sleep.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
She turned around and strode back to the other room. As soon as she was out of sight, Gareth spun to face Sean.
“What do you think is wrong with her?”
Sean shook his head. “No clue.”
And Gareth believed him. There was no guile he could sense. Sean’s emotions were an open book right now. There was happiness there, which was new, along with a touch of apprehension, which seemed to be his default setting.
“Well, we’re going to have a hungry teenager to feed soon. Let’s get to it.”
Gareth led the way into the kitchen, with Sean trailing close behind, keeping up a stream of steady chatter. It was nice to hear him so enthused. While Gareth reached into the refrigerator, Sean opened the cabinets until he found a frying pan, whisk, and plates.
“I can scramble eggs, if you’d like.” He flushed. “Other than coffee, it’s about the only thing I can make.”
Gareth pulled the carton from the bottom of the refrigerator and handed it to Sean.
“How many?”
“With Caleb? Better make the whole dozen. I’m going to make bacon and sausage, and afterward we’ll fry up some hash browns. If you want to make a pot of coffee, you’ll find everything you need in the cabinet above the machine.”
They worked as though they’d been doing it all their lives. Neither got in the way of the other, and before long they had a bountiful buffet set up.
Right on cue, Caleb came striding in, his nose twitching. “Food.”
