Page 44 of Freed By the Witchbone Knife

Maybe he was just trying to cope?

Still, it felt like more of the hot and cold he’d given before. Were all wolves this confusing?

It kept me up half the night. He’d told me not to wait up, and I hadn’t. But I couldn’t stop myself from listening for the sounds of his return. For his footsteps past my door. They never came. And eventually I’d fallen asleep.

Which was why I felt so horribly exhausted.

But there was no room for exhaustion. It was Saturday. My bunnies had needs. I had more ground to cover if I was going to find an opening to the lunarium cave.

On the bright side, I was exactly where I needed to be. And since I was in a slightly different location than the turn-off where I usually parked, I could check off some other locations on my map. Win-win.

Groaning, I climbed out of bed and went through my morning routine, showering, drying my hair, and dressing in clothes ideal for a morning hike. I’d only brought enough for a few days, so I’d have to drop by my bungalow soon.

I emerged to find Axel sitting at the island, a pencil in hand, his head bowed over a notebook. “Morning,” he greeted, his voice low and gruff. He didn’t look up. Which had me curious. I walked toward him. Only for him to snap the notebook shut and finally look at me. “There’s coffee, bacon, and scrambled eggs on the stove.”

“Whatcha working on?”

His hand was flat on the notebook’s cover. “New design.”

Curious, I caught my lower lip between my teeth. “Can I see?”

His gaze jumped to my mouth before finding my eyes again. “No.”

My stomach hollowed. “Okay.”

I pivoted directions and headed toward the living room to greet my buns.

“I fed the little snacks already.”

My steps froze. “Their salad?”

He grunted.

I turned, locking gazes with him. “You gave them their salad?”

“As I said. Also cleaned up their mess and did their litter boxes.”

My lips parted. “You… But you didn’t have to…”

“It’s eight thirty. You put on your schedule that you do it between six and seven. Figured you wanted to sleep in, being Saturday and all.”

“Right.” A lump formed in my throat, replacing rejection with warmth. “Thank you that was… Thanks.”

He nodded and turned back to his coffee, opening his notebook again. I was tempted to creep closer, desperately curious to see what he was doing, but he would know. I’d already invaded his privacy enough.

Instead, I went over and greeted Basil and Sage, who were contentedly working through a grass meadow ball, leaving pieces all over the floor as they destroyed it. I gave them a few pets, then headed back to the kitchen. I spotted the empty mug left for me and poured a cup of coffee. Then I helped myself to bacon and eggs—which were way more than just eggs. I could feel Axel’s gaze on me the entire time.

Warmth rushed to my skin.

I simply didn’t know what to make of him. The way he stared at me when I wasn’t looking, and yet, acted dismissive when we interacted.

“So,” I said, filling the silence. “I thought I’d do some more exploration today.”

“Fine.”

“Did you want to come with me?” I tried to disguise the hope in my voice.

“Got a project I want to start on.”