Page 77 of Entering a New World

“Well, I’m full of surprises,” he said as he reached for the covers. He pulled them over us and sighed happily. “Sorry, I’m freezing.”

My blood was still rushing through my body at max speed, so I was rather hot at this moment, but I wouldn’t deny my mate comfort. Ever.

“You certainly are.” I thought back to last night. Us, returning from Mave’s Inn after Alistair had taken him and another guest of Mave’s hostage. Levi being high off his ass from some kind of painkillers. Him declaring his everlasting love for me.

Holy shit.

My heart rate kicked up a notch, and I smiled into my mate’s hair.

He’d proclaimed his love for me!

My wolf did a happy-dance inside my chest and I wanted to wiggle happily.

He’d said it first.

My human mate had been the one to tell me I love you first.

A quiet sigh gusted over my chest. “You’re happy,” Levi whispered in a reverent tone. “I can feel it, crystal clear.” I didn’t need to look at him; I could feel him smile. Against my chest, and inside of me. “Why are you so happy?”

I took my time answering, letting my eyes wander through the room for a couple of seconds. Ultimately, my sitting area on the other side of the room caught my attention.

I could see us sitting there, enjoying the first coffee of the day. I could also see Levi using the area for filming, ring lights, and filters, tripods surrounding the chairs and coffee table, him talking to his viewers or doing whatever he usually did while I lounged on the bed, watching him without being seen by anyone.

Wherever I looked, I saw thousands of possibilities of our lives fitting together. Making room for his clothes in the walk-in closet, mine and his hanging side-by-side. Us, standing in there, him contemplating what he wanted to wear while I’d simply grab the first season-appropriate thing I found. I could see his laptop sitting on his nightstand, him sitting in bed, editing videos while I read a book or watched the latest gardening hacks.

I could see him bringing me a fresh, steaming cup of coffee in the morning and me bringing him freshly cut fruit for a breakfast in bed.

“I love you,” I blurted. My chest felt too full; the feelings inside of me were too big to be kept inside. “I love you, Levi. I have for a while now. Maybe ever since I’ve heard you cursing out your manager. Definitely ever since you fearlessly hugged my wolf back on the beach.”

He laughed a bright, happy laugh. “God, I love you, Rhett. You’re perfect. Patient and sweet and so inherently good, I don’t have words for it.”

His lips found mine and I let myself feel for a while. His soft and plush lips sliding over mine, the corners of his mouth tilting into a smile. His breath fanning over my face. His teeth gently pulling at my bottom lip, his tongue coming out to play.

When the kiss ended, I sighed and rested my forehead against his.

“I can’t wait to start the rest of my life with you.”

“Back at you, Wolfie. Back at you.”

We spent some time just being, reveling in the moment, watching the bright morning sun filtering through the curtains, safe and secure in each other’s arms.

I didn’t know exactly what our future would look like, but I knew I had Levi by my side and his belongings in the bed of my truck, waiting to be unloaded, so I imagined it’d be great.

Fate had truly chosen well.

Epilogue

Levi

The air was frigid, the frozen leaves beneath my heavy boots crunched loudly with every step I took, and my breath came out in white puffs. My cheeks hurt from the cold and the icy sea spray that always seemed to cling to the air felt like daggers piercing my skin.

We hiked through the woods, following an invisible path—or rather, an invisible line. The barest hint of a trail was the only visible sign that this specific route was frequented regularly, but if you didn’t know what you were looking for, you’d never find it. As it was, it looked like larger animals came by regularly.

Which, yeah, was kind of correct. Rhett’s enforcers patrolled the barrier in shifted form, so the path was formed by the paws of wolves, bears, mountain lions, foxes, and even an honest to god lion.

Inhaling deeply, I could almost taste the magic in the air. It was like a static hum, an electric tingling that intensified the closer I got to the invisible wall of magic that was the barrier.

“It feels stronger today,” I whispered, casting a short glance at Rhett who was trotting along next to me, his tongue lolling out of his snout. I didn’t know how it was possible with how cold it was, but warmth radiated off of him.

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