Page 25 of Entering a New World

“It’s too much,” he finally whispered, his eyes searching for mine. “It’s too much at once.”

The tears swimming in his eyes almost made my knees buckle. It was pure willpower that kept me upright.

Part of me got it. That’s why I’d wanted to wait until even broaching this subject. I knew he was human, and I’d known I was going to have to be patient with him because things weren’t the same for humans as they were for shifters. Over time, he’d be able to feel the connection. Hell, I was pretty sure he could feel it already, but it would strengthen over time, and he needed to see it for what it was. It wasn’t something I could show him; he needed to find out for himself.

But the other part of me wanted to curl up in a ball and die because it felt like my mate was rejecting me. I knew he wasn’t, but it still felt like it. And there was nothing in the world that hurt more than being rejected by the one person who should love you unconditionally. The one person who was destined to be yours.

“Do you need… time?” I asked, my voice weirdly hoarse and empty. “Space?”

Levi looked at me, a tear running down his cheek. “I don’t know what I need. It’s just… all too much. My head hurts. I was betrayed, abandoned, starving for more than three days. I almost died, found out that shifters exist—and other supernatural beings, too—got saved, and now you’re telling me we’re… fated to fall in love? It’s more than I can comprehend right now. I’m sorry. If you really think we’re somehow destined to be together and love each other, this is probably not what you want to hear right now, but I really can’t do this.”

I forced myself to nod. Forced myself to keep standing, to take a deep breath and say, “You have all the time in the world. I’ll always respect your wishes and boundaries. I’ll send Gray up so he can talk to you about your options, okay? I… I’ll go and give you some space.”

Then I forced myself to turn around and leave.

I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Because if I did, I wouldn’t find the strength to do what was necessary to respect him.

My wolf was protesting, digging his paws in, clawing at me, howling, screaming, baring his teeth at me, but I kept him under control.

It’s what Levi wanted.

Gray was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, the colour draining from his face as he saw me.

I didn’t say anything. There were no words for what I was feeling.

I simply opened the door, let my wolf out, and ran.

Chapter 8

Levi

Taking a deep breath, I opened the closet in my small room.

Today was the day.

Today was the day I finally felt ready to leave my room and go explore the town. After more than a week of being cooped up inside my room in the Balwood Inn and being nursed back to health by a very friendly innkeeper named Mave who’d kept me supplied with tea and probably the best honey I’ve ever had, I was feeling well enough to brave the outside world.

I had stuff to do.

First off, I needed to file a police report. I wasn’t sure what exactly I could report Alistair for, but I was pretty sure I could call the cops on him for something. Reckless endangerment? Deprivation of freedom? Kidnapping?

Then I had to get a phone. It’d been two weeks since my family had last heard from me. I needed to call my job—even though I was pretty sure I was out of a job by now. I also had to call Alistair and fucking fire him. That was the one thing I was looking forward to. Next, I’d have to go figure out my money issue. I didn’t have my phone, didn’t have my wallet, didn’t have my cards, didn’t have anything to pay with—which, yeah, might make buying a phone complicated.

Looking inside the closet, I marvelled at the clothes hanging there. It wasn’t a full wardrobe, definitely not my wardrobe, but I had enough to get by. A couple of shirts, sweatpants, three jeans and five sweaters. A pair of boots, socks, underwear, and a thick-looking coat.

The stuff had turned up a day after I’d left the packhouse.

I knew the pack had sent them. Well, Rhett had. There’d been a card. Most of the stuff was used; apparently, other pack members that were my size or close to my size were happy to donate a sweater or two to me, but the underwear, socks, and boots were brand new. Gifts from Rhett.

My heart lurched, my mind spinning as I blindly grabbed a sweater and a pair of jeans. Thinking about Rhett made my head hurt. I’d done a lot of it during the past week, but I couldn’t seem to come to a conclusion.

What he’d told me was just so ludicrous.

Fated mates?

He really believed I was the love of his life because of a smell.

It sounded like stuff fairytales were made from.

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