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“Well, stop laughing or I’ll hide all of your hair dye and you’ll have to stay like that.”
He straightens up, touching his pale hair and sighing heavily as he finally gets his giggle-fit under control. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Says who?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“You’re no longer ready to kill someone, so I think my hair dyes are safe.”
Huh. Yeah.I guess hearing him bark like a dog kind of took the heat out of my rage.
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Yeah, well …” He shrugs. “So, are we running around more, or heading back home?”
It’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself to shift simply to let my wolf out, and any time I have, I’ve gone out on my own, grudgingly, when Adrian or Carter are spending the night with Rachel. I forgot it can be kind of fun when I have one of my pack brothers with me out here.
I give him a smile. “Let’s go for arealrun.”
Chapter Eleven
Adrian
WatchingRachelsleepisbecoming my new favorite pastime. I lay down next to my mate and make her as comfortable as possible, adjusting the sheets when they fall away from her body. Her face looks so peaceful, her lips are lightly curved upward at the corners, so she looks like she’s smiling just a little, even when she’s not. I think about how breathless she gets when I’m pulling her in close to kiss those pretty, pink lips, and it starts to feel like the room’s getting smaller.
All I can taste when I breathe in is my mate’s sweet scent, with that added zing of witch mixed in with her natural shifter musk. My tongue tingles and my mouth waters in anticipation.
I force my gaze away from her. She’s asleep, and she needs her rest.
I shouldn’t be noticing how good she smells, and I definitely shouldn’t be thinking about peeling the covers back to give her the kind of kiss that would stretch her lips into a real smile.
Laying back, putting a little space between us, I keep my eyes on the ceiling and my hands under my head. I try to force my thoughts away from my tightening pants and the alluring scent of my sleeping mate by reminding myself she’s still injured.
And I’m the one who let that happen.
That dream makes more sense now. It was a memory playing back because of the guilt I feel over my mate being hurt. I made my choice to always protect her that night when I marked her and claimed her. The difference is the guilt that decision gave me was unwarranted.
We were fated to meet the way that we did, destined to become mates.
Rachel knew that and she accepted it much faster than I did.
Her instincts are sharp.
Mine need to be sharper.
I might be her mate, but I’m also her Alpha and it’s time I made sure she knows exactly what that means. My wolf growls in agreement. I let her go when she said she needed to help her friend. He didn’t like that decision, and I spent the last few days trying to convince myself that it was an overreaction, that our mate was fine, and that he was being too harsh, too controlling.
Now, I’m not so sure.
The longer she sleeps, the guiltier I feel. She’s never been this drained, never needed this much recouperation time. It makes me wonder what kind of spells she had to break out. I’ve seen her do things that required an insane level of ability and control, and none of those spells hit her this hard.
I turn to watch her, moving onto my side.
Her eyelids flutter open as the mattress creaks lightly under my weight.
She sits up quickly, her hand going to her chest.
I move with her, wrapping my arm around her.
“Where …” she starts, trailing off when she looks at me.
