“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep. I’d meant to inspect the runes when we arrived home after the run, but I got sidetracked.”
“You should’ve woken me,” he said, his tone softer now that worry had burned away.
“You were tired. I had a drink of water and came here. Nothing dangerous.”
“As long as you have no regrets about us.” His gaze pierced her, communicating a little of his anxiety in the tenseness of his shoulders.
“Not a single one.” Allegra blew him a kiss. “I was thinking about Esther and how we used to get into trouble at school. Gradually, we learned to be sneakier and stopped getting caught. The humans running the school were no match for us.”
Dylan laughed, his features shining with delight. “I heard about your escapades in Esther’s letters. I just laughed because I knew she could handle most of the trouble.”
“Huh! Your sister was way worse than me.”
Dylan’s attention went to the runes on the bedcovers. “Are those the glyphs you mentioned?”
“Yeah, according to the papers I found with them, these are part of a prophecy that mentions me indirectly and the kingdom of Val-des-Loups.”
“Really? Do you think it’s real?”
“I don’t know,” Allegra said. “Things aren’t going well. The council is out of control, and when I think back, affairs went wrong after my parents and Pierre died.”
“What’s next?” Curiosity blazed in him.
“I might go back to bed for more sleep.”
A grin spread over his features. “Would you like company?”
7
The following day was a late start, and Esther’s noisy arrival woke them shortly before nine. Dylan groaned softly, the sound close to her ear. “Does she need to stomp around like an elephant? She’s a wolf shifter. She knows how to sneak,” he muttered.
Allegra bit back her grin. Esther understood precisely what she was doing. “She’s trying to flush us out to interrogate one or both of us. I’ve been through this before.”
“I do not want to hear about your past boyfriends.”
“Fair enough. I know you’re not married, but you don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
He bolted upright in the bed and glared at her. “Shouldn’t we have had that conversation before getting into bed together?” His hair stood on end.
So cute.
“I don’t have a girlfriend or lover, and I resent you for implying I might.”
She fought back inappropriate laughter as he poked her in the ribs.
Allegra moved out of reach. “Two men have fooled me before, so I should’ve asked earlier, but you distracted me.”
He stared at her for a beat longer. “Two guys?”
“Yeah.”
“Arseholes,” he muttered.
In the kitchen, a phone rang. The ringing ceased after four rings, then footsteps approached Dylan’s bedroom. A tap sounded.
“It’s Saber Mitchell,” Esther called. “He wants to speak with you.”
Dylan hopped off the bed and swung open the door, grasping for the phone. With it in hand, he shoved his sister back and shut the door in her face.
