I didn’t answer, but the bond we shared told her loud and clear that I wasn’t going to budge. She might not be taking it literally, but I did. She sighed and motioned for me to turn around. I faced the wall.

Lou grumbled as she undressed. “You can turn around now.”

She was wearing sleep shorts and a tank top. I very carefully tried to not think about it. I was getting Lou’s feelings intermittently—she was tired and her mental walls probably weren’t very good right now. In the morning, I might not be able to sense her at all. But right now, the walls were down, and I wasn’t quite sure how much she was getting from me. Was it just emotions, or could she get actual thoughts?

The last thing I wanted her to know was that I was imagining taking her shorts off with my teeth. My human teeth, not my wolf ones. This wasn’t a creepy Coppertone ad.

Lou flicked off the lights and crawled into her bed. Once she was settled, I planned on lying against the door, so that no one could enter the room without waking me. Before I could even take the first step, I decided to check the bond, see if I could get a gauge on where Lou was at. She was trying to keep it from me, but she was worried. Scared.

I padded over to the bed.

She opened her eyes and watched me for a second, her mouth tipping down. “Declan, you don’t need to... I’ll be fine. We may be bonded, but—”

I nudged her arm with my nose. When she didn’t budge, I did it again.

She sighed, scooting over to give me room. It was a bit of a scramble, but I made it up onto the bed.

“Guess your leg is feeling better, huh?”

I curled up against her side, my head resting on my paws. It wasn’t as good as sleeping by the door, but I could see it from where I was, and Lou was between me and the wall, so no one could get to her. She was as safe as I could make her for now.

I listened as her breath evened out. Lou’s room had a good window, far enough off that ground that it was unlikely anyone would try crawling into it, even if they could jimmy the latch. The house had good windows, but I could still hear the faint sounds of a city at sleep beyond the glass. Cars went by. Dogs barked. I let my own eyes close. Lou curled in close to me, her warm breath against my fur, her hand buried in so deep that I could feel her fingers on my skin.

Before long, I fell asleep, dreamless and solid, the best rest I’d had in weeks.

Chapter Twelve

Lou

My phone buzzed, rattling along the wooden surface of my desk, telling me I had a text message. I didn’t want to move and look at it. My bed was warm, my eyelids heavy. I was wrapped in a perfect cocoon, warm and safe, and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. My back felt hot and there was a heavy weight wrapped around my stomach. When had Zach come to bed?