Page 40 of Entering a New World

I should’ve just gone with the usual sweatpants and shirt, but no, I’d wanted to be presentable, so I’d even packed underwear, jeans, a shirt, a flannel, socks, and shoes. Of course, Mave would probably have my head if one of the human guests saw me stalking out of the woods in a t-shirt and barefooted, so putting on weather-appropriate clothing was definitely the smart choice. I just didn’t necessarily like having to make smart decisions. They took entirely too long.

On the other hand… seeing Levi’s eyes widen, his cheeks blushing an even deeper red, and him unconsciously biting his lip was worth the extra minute or two it took me to get dressed.

“You… uhm, wow, you look hot,” he said, then cringed, averting his eyes. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I think you’re very handsome, too.” Testing the waters a little, I openly let my gaze rake over his body, pride once again filling my chest upon seeing him in the clothes I’d chosen.

However, I didn’t like the slight hollowness of his cheeks or the way he barely filled the jeans or his coat.

Oh, Mave had told me he’d lost weight, but knowing it and seeing it first hand were two entirely different pairs of shoes.

“Thank you.” Levi grinned at me. “So… Do you want to come in? Mave is making the pancakes as we speak. When you didn’t answer, I wasn’t sure if maybe something had come up, but she guaranteed me you were already on your way.” He laughed, the sound bright and happy. “Apparently, she was right.”

“Yeah.” I scratched the back of my neck while my own cheeks heated. “I was kinda in a hurry to get to you and forgot.”

Levi’s smile turned wider as he looked up at me, furrowing his brows. “Is it weird that I kind of like that?”

I shrugged. “It’s probably just a mates-thing. So, I guess it may be weird for you.”

Levi nodded slowly. “I didn’t expect to feel this whole fated mates thing. The… bond, is it? Like, I’m just a human, so I shouldn’t be able to feel it, should I? Not before we haven’t, you know, mated. But there’s definitely a connection there.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I wanted to shout with happiness or jump in the air or let out a happy yip, but I controlled myself, trying to rein in my reaction so as not to overwhelm him. However, I couldn’t have stopped the beaming smile—that almost hurt, it was so wide—if I’d tried.

“During the past week, I’ve talked to a few of our human-shifter pairs. I have to admit, I never did much research on how humans react to having a fated mate, but everyone told me they definitely felt a connection fast. How did you manage to spot me between the trees?”

This was something none of the humans had told me about. Just that they’d felt an instant attraction and fell for their partner’s hard and fast.

Levi shrugged. “No idea. I just… knew. I didn’t see you or anything, but when I was looking in your direction, it was almost as if I could feel you.”

Weird.

Not that I’d tell him that. I didn’t want to disconcert him just because the bond between us appeared to be pretty strong already.

“It was impressive,” I said instead, smiling down at him before nodding towards the white building. “Do you want to head inside? You said you wanted to talk.”

There were so many things we needed to talk about, and I just wanted to get it over with. A part of me dreaded these conversations, still fearing Levi would tell me he didn’t want to be with me, no matter if there was a connection between us or not, but a different part, mostly the wolf inside of me, was certain we wouldn’t be rejected. He just wanted to get the talking out of the way so our mate could accept us and our bond.

Impatient wolf.

Together, we emerged from the trees, crossed the lawn, and entered the Inn through the backdoor. Immediately, the smell of pancakes and maple syrup hit my nose. It was so intense and powerful I didn’t need to be a shifter to smell it. I was pretty sure everyone in the entire house—human or shifter—could scent what Mave was preparing for breakfast.

My stomach grumbled loudly, an empty feeling spreading through my belly, like I had a black hole where my stomach was supposed to be.

Damn, I hadn’t had anything to eat at the pack house. I’d gone to the dining hall with the intention of grabbing a bowl of oatmeal or cereal, but I’d gotten lost in thought on the way, and then there’d been Levi’s message and the rest was history.

Mave welcomed us with a serving cart laden with our breakfast. There was a huge platter of pancakes—enough to feed two hungry shifters instead of one and a human—butter, maple syrup, a pitcher of orange juice and a pot of coffee.

“I thought you two probably want a bit of privacy for your talk,” she said, smiling at us warmly. “Also, the professor is in the dining room, sooo…” She pointedly raised her eyebrows, and while I had no clue what she was talking about, Levi nodded understandingly.

“Thanks, Mave,” he said, giving her a bright smile. His own stomach grumbled loud enough for me to hear, and I made a mental note to let him load his plate first. Having him eat his fill was more important than me eating.

Yes, my wolf agreed. Mate first.

Up in his room, my heart jolted in my chest when I spotted all our gifts. He even had the stuffed wolf in his bed!

I couldn’t help but grin, even though it probably made me look like a lunatic.

Since the room was kind of small and not really intended to eat in, I grabbed the chair from the small desk while Levi sat on his bed.

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