Page 28 of Entering a New World

Just like he’d been helping me ever since we’d met.

I felt tears burning in my eyes, even though I didn’t even know why I was getting so emotional.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay,” Mave said, pulling me into a firm, warm hug. She smelled like maple syrup and cinnamon. “I know it’s a lot. Finding your mate always is. Add in the fact you’re human and just finding out about everything, you ought to be overwhelmed.”

Somehow, she just knew what to say to make me feel better.

I leaned against her and closed my eyes for a moment.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered. “I don’t want to give Rhett false hope or lead him on or anything. He’s so nice and kind, and I feel like crap for needing space.”

“Rhett is a good man, one of the best I’ve ever met, and he has the patience of a saint. He has to in order to be Grayson’s Beta.” She chuckled before grabbing my shoulders, gently pulling me off of her so she could wink at me. “Just ask anyone here in town about them being teenagers. It was… a wild time. Not your Rhett, mind you, but Gray was a first-class troublemaker. Incredibly charming, but dear goddess, the ideas that boy came up with, and Rhett was always there to prevent the worst of it. What I’m trying to say is that if anyone in this pack has the ability to give you all the time and space you need, it’s Rhett.”

Nodding, I tried smiling at her, though I still felt a little shaky and wasn’t sure if I could actually bring myself to use the credit card.

“Thank you.”

“Always.” Mave grinned at me. “And while you’re in town, maybe check out a couple of those shifter-owned businesses, get to know the pack. I’m sure there are tons of people willing to answer any questions you might have. I made that map for a reason.”

“I will,” I said and realized it was the truth. I really was going to seek those places. Maybe it’d help me figure out what to do next.

One way or another.

I didn’t know what I’d been expecting a police station in a small town in the middle of nowhere would look like, but it certainly wasn’t the calm, almost homey atmosphere that welcomed me upon opening the door. A faint smell of burnt coffee hung in the air, mixed with a bit of dust and old paper. The clicking of keyboards overpowered hushed conversations, and the shrill tone of a ringing phone almost seemed out of place.

All in all, it reminded me more of the public library I liked to frequent than a police station, even though the huge Mounties sigil on the wall was a dead giveaway as to where I really was.

Looking for a reception desk, I turned my head, taking in the interior. The bullpen was filled with a couple of desks behind a small, hip-high fence, a row of offices on the right wall, and—finally—a reception to the left of me.

I headed that way, smiling at the young woman who was busy scribbling something onto a notepad, when someone called my name.

“Levi? Hi! You’re Levi, right?”

Confused, I turned my head and saw a bright-eyed young Mountie in uniform jogging towards me. For some reason, I’d expected him to be close to Rhett or Grayson in size and body mass, but he was closer to my height, and almost as slender. His bright red hair was gleaming like copper in the fluorescent lighting of the station.

What was his name again? T… no, P… “Paul?”

“Yes!” He beamed at me and enthusiastically thrust out his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. Rhett and Al… uh, Grayson already filled me in on what happened to you, so I already got most of the paperwork ready. I mean, I still need your report and everything, but I took the liberty of preparing things. I figured you’d stop by once you’re better. You are better, right?” Raising one eyebrow, he cocked his head.

I suppressed a laugh at his comical expression and shook his hand.

Less of a wolf, more of a puppy, I thought, smiling at the police officer that was so unlike most Mounties I’d met in the city. They’d always been friendly, but in more of a distant, stern-father kind of way.

“Yeah, I’m Levi. It’s nice to meet you too. And I really appreciate you preparing the paperwork ahead of time, because honestly? I have no idea what crime to even file a police report for.”

Paul chuckled, then put a hand at the small of my back and guided me through the hip-high swinging door, through the bullpen, and towards one of the closed-off offices on the right.

“Yeah, I get that. Your story is highly… unusual.” Closing the door behind us, he gestured for me to sit in front of a desk that looked like a relic from the eighties. Basically, that was the vibe of the whole office. Cheap, veneered furniture, aggressive, vomit-green upholstery, and greyish-brown carpets. Even the lush green plants did nothing to make the office brighter, and the modern-looking computer looked comically out of place, like one of those ‘one thing does not belong’ pictures.

“I bet you don’t have to deal with crazy managers often,” I said, sitting down in the chair and leaning against the backrest, taking a deep breath. Damn it, the walk over hadn’t been far, but… I wiped the sweat off my forehead, taking another deep breath to calm my fluttering heart. Fuck, I was winded.

“Can’t say I’ve ever had to deal with any kind of manager before.” Paul giggled. “My colleagues were low-key jealous that I got such a fun case.” He flinched, shaking his head. “Not fun as in funny—what happened to you was anything but fun. More in a ‘fun-as-in-interesting’ kind of way. Anyway, from what Alpha Grayson and Rhett told me, you were abandoned on the beach without the necessary means and knowledge to survive in the wilderness, right? And without the means to actually call for help?”

I nodded. “Alistair took my phone, but he left a walkie-talkie.”

Paul snorted. “And then he took off in a boat? Do you have any idea what the range of a walkie-talkie is?”

“Probably not enough?” I guessed.

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