Page 15 of Entering a New World

That fucking hurt. Oh, I definitely deserved that reaction— and worse— but it still hurt.

“I’m hallucinating,” he mumbled, voice barely there. “Definitely hallucinating. I probably got hit in the head by a falling branch. Or I got crushed beneath a tree. Or the cabin collapsed with me inside…”

He was still huddled against the ATV, curled up into a ball, frantically shaking his head.

I wanted to cry, wanted to slap myself for not talking to him earlier.

But I didn’t have time. He didn’t have time. His lips were turning blue, he was blinking more and more as if it was hard for him to keep his eyes open, and the shivering lessened.

“Listen, we need to get you out of here,” I said, got up on my feet and stuck out my hand again, more adamantly this time. “I’ll explain everything to you once we’re safe. I promise.”

He still didn’t take my hand. Instead, he studied me, his eyes still wide open in disbelief.

“You’re naked,” he whispered, eyebrows raising until they disappeared beneath his hair.

“Shit. I mean… yeah. But fuck.” I’d forgotten about that part. “There’s a backpack on the handle of the ATV. I need to get it; my clothes are in there.”

Once again, Grayson was saving my ass.

Sure, the clothes were probably soaking wet, but at least I had something to wear.

Levi buried his face in his hands. “I’m hallucinating,” he repeated. “This is all just a bad dream.”

I wanted to tell him he was, in fact, not hallucinating, but decided against it. The wind was picking up even more, and the rain soaking us thoroughly, washing away all the warmth our bodies tried to come up with. It was uncomfortable for me, but I was a shifter, and we ran warm. For us to die of hypothermia, we’d have to lie in this weather for days— and even then, it was unlikely we’d die unless we were previously injured or severely malnourished.

But for a human? Dangerous.

Get going, my wolf snarled. I complied, carefully walked around Levi— making sure to keep a couple of steps between us so as to not spook him— grabbed the backpack, and put on the sweatpants and shirt.

That done, I crouched down in front of him again.

His face was pale, almost ashen, the bluish-purple lips a stark contrast to his light skin. He blinked at me slowly, eyes closing for almost a second before he opened them again.

“We need to get going,” I told him, extending my hand one last time, praying to the goddess he’d take it. I didn’t want to manhandle him, didn’t want to pick him up without his consent, but if he didn’t take my hand now, I wouldn’t have a choice. He could be mad at me later—but he needed to be alive for that. “Please take my hand. Let me help you. You’re hypothermic.”

“Tired,” he slurred.

“I know. But you need to stay awake for me. Please.”

Levi blinked sluggishly, eyes wandering to my hand.

“Wolfie?”

Was he hallucinating now? I was currently all human, no wolf. Still, I decided to play along. We didn’t have time for discussions. “Yes, that’s right, I’m your Wolfie. Do you remember how I helped you find freshwater and shelter? I’m trying to help you right now. I need you to trust me. You’re in danger.”

As if the weather had just been waiting for me to say that a branch came crashing down a couple of feet away from us, hitting the ground with a dull thump, drops of mud hitting us with a splash.

Levi flinched, his eyes staring at the almost thigh-thick branch in horror. After a couple of seconds, his eyes wandered back to me and he finally, finally grabbed my hand. His skin was cold as ice. I shivered and pulled him to his feet.

“Can you hold on to me?” I asked.

“Hmm?”

“On the ATV. If I sit in front of you, can you hold on to me?”

He shrugged, eyes falling closed again.

Dammit.

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