Page 66 of Entering a New World

My stomach let out a loud growl and Levi smirked.

“Hungry?” he whispered.

“Not for food,” I answered and winked at him, squeezing his hand. It was a lie, of course, because I was fucking starving. I’d been making dinner when I’d felt Levi waking up, but we hadn’t gotten around to eating it before that damn fucking phone call had destroyed our naked evening in.

“Please don’t be gross,” Gray said and rolled his eyes. “It’s bad enough you’re stinking up the whole place. You guys do know showers exist, right?” He scrunched up his nose, then smiled at us. “Just kidding. Let me be the first one to congratulate you on your mating. I’m so happy for you guys. Now Rhett can finally stop being a frantic, impulsive mess. My job isn’t even remotely fun if I actually have to be the calm, thoughtful one.”

“You’re the Alpha,” I said. “Being calm and thoughtful is kind of your job.”

“Nope.” Gray shook his head. “My job is delegating and leading. You’re my second. Your job is to keep me in check.”

Paul cleared his throat. “Could you maybe stop bickering for a moment? I’m afraid this is serious.”

The laughter instantly died down, the air growing heavier and heavier with every passing second.

“Sorry,” I said, turning my head to face Levi. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

His cheeks were bright red, probably, but he gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t stop on my accord. I don’t want Alistair to have any power over me, so I refuse to let him bring down the mood. He’s already taken our shifter wedding night away from us.”

Gray laughed, but Paul’s face was edged with worry.

“I’m afraid the situation is a little more serious than I’ve let on,” he said, gesturing for us to sit down. “There’s a warrant out for Alistair’s arrest. Vancouver PD was supposed to arrest him this morning, but found his apartment empty. It appears he left in a hurry. I talked to the detective working on the case and he warned me that Alistair might be dangerous. Even though you, Levi, haven’t uploaded any videos or posts about what happened, word has gotten out. Alistair was at the police station a couple of times, demanding his name to be cleared of any wrongdoing. His clients are dropping him left and right. In short: he’s desperate.”

Levi dropped my hand, leaning in, his brows furrowed. “But how did word get out? Not that I feel even an ounce of pity for that bastard, I just don’t understand how anyone could’ve known about this.”

Paul shrugged. “The detective questioned a couple of Alistair’s business associates. It probably wasn’t hard to put two and two together afterwards—especially since Alistair freely talked about your grand new format coming soon.”

A small smile ghosted over Levi’s lips. “If anyone deserves to be cancelled, it’s him. I’m so glad people are finding out what kind of person he is and are dropping him before he actually manages to kill someone with another bright idea.”

“But what does that have to do with us?” I asked. “Why did we have to drop everything and come here?”

“We don’t know about Alistair’s state of mind. Mave said he felt off, and I trust her instincts. So, I wanted Levi to be in a safe location before I go out to arrest him.”

“I’m coming with you,” I blurted.

“The hell you are,” Gray said at the same time as Levi shouted, “Absolutely not.”

My best friend and alpha exchanged glances with my mate, a grin spreading over Gray’s face.

“I think I’m going to like you,” he told Levi and winked.

Levi snorted. “I sure hope so because I’m going to stick around… I’m told the bite on my neck basically means it’s a done deal.”

I rolled my eyes, but my heart flipped in my chest, a wave of contentment washing through me. It wasn’t like I’d expected Levi and Gray not to get along, yet it was a relief to see they did.

“I’m going with Paul,” I repeated, putting all the conviction I felt in my very soul into the words. It’d neither been a question nor a request. I would be tagging along. Period.

“No.” Levi shook his head. “If he feels off, I don’t want you anywhere close to him.”

I heard his heartrate pick up and felt a coldness spreading through my body that wasn’t my own. A strange feeling for sure, but one that made my own heart skip a beat in excitement.

Not everyone had the luck to find their fated mate. Having Levi was a blessing, a gift from the goddess.

So to have someone threaten his safety was a direct threat against me. It was my duty to protect him—a duty I’d take seriously.

“Rhett,” Gray started, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. He was an imposing man, easily towering over me, and I was no small man. Shifters and humans alike tended to be intimidated by him, and more than a fair share of our newcomers were outright terrified he was an Alpha that ruled with an iron fist, beating everyone into submission, forcing his will onto the whole pack.

In theory, he had every right to order me to stay. He could use his wolf’s dominance over my wolf to force my hand.

---