Page 9 of Entering a New World

“It doesn’t feel funny to me,” I grumbled. It felt awful. My mate was in danger. Yeah, he might not be in an immediate life or death situation, but he was at risk of suffering from dehydration, starvation, or hypothermia. Not to mention the possibility of him getting hurt out in the woods. Did he know how to make a fire? Probably not. So he could burn himself trying. He could fracture bones, he could…

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop.” Grayson pointed at my face. “You look like you’re about to vomit. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“But how?” I asked. “It’s not like I can just go out there and tell him about shifters and fated mates and stuff.”

Gray shrugged. “He’s your mate, so according to pack law, you have permission to tell him about us. But I do appreciate you not wanting to spill the beans willy-nilly. It could send him running and that’d be a problem.”

“It would put him in danger,” I said. Grayson was probably thinking about my mate running away and telling people about us. Which, yeah, was a concern. Usually, I’d be the one concerned about that rather than him. But right this moment I didn’t give a damn about Levi possibly trying to tell other people about our existence. The only thing I cared about was him getting lost in the woods. About him getting hurt trying to get away from me. About him being scared of me.

“Yes, of course. So… what do you plan on doing?”

“I’ll…” I stopped because I didn’t know. That was why I was sitting here. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I filled my glass to the brim and emptied it in one go. The smoky, bitter flavour hit my tongue and lit a fire in my stomach. “I’ll go back as soon as possible.”

“As a human or…”

“For now, I think I’ll go as a wolf,” I said, shrugging. “He already trusts my wolf, and it gives me a little time to figure out how to resolve this situation while being able to stay close to him and protect him.”

Grayson nodded. “Okay. You’re off duty for the time being, alright? I’ll find people to cover your shifts. That shouldn’t be a problem. You’re always the one helping out; I think everyone owes you a favour or a dozen. Also, they’ll be ecstatic to hear you found your mate. The one thing I’ll ask you to do is to drop by once a day.”

I wanted to protest, but Gray raised a hand and gave me a hard look. “I know. I know you won’t want to leave him, but I need you to report back, to tell me what’s going on. I really don’t want to play the ‘I’m-your-Alpha-card,’ so I’ll ask you as a friend; please let me know what’s going on. And don’t hesitate to ask for back-up. Whatever you need, I—we – will try to help you.”

I swallowed. “Thanks, man.”

Not fair, my wolf grumbled, but I knew Gray was right. He needed to know what was going on in his territory. Especially if a non-suspecting human was involved.

There were plenty of humans living in town, but this was a different matter. Levi wasn’t just a human living in town, he was my mate. He was pack—or at least he would be soon.

Gray was a good Alpha. A caring one. He didn’t want me to report back regularly to control me. He cared. For me, and probably for Levi, too.

“Okay.” Grad nodded, then slapped my shoulder, his hand crashing down on me with enough force it actually hurt a little. “Get out of here. I know you can’t wait to be back with your mate.”

He was right.

My wolf and I couldn’t wait.

Who needed sleep anyway?

Approaching the cabins, I heard my mate’s melodic voice from afar.

It was the next morning, and while I’d come straight back here after my conversation with Gray, I hadn’t shown myself to Levi. At first because it’d been the middle of the night and his deep, even breaths had told me he was sleeping. And then I’d secured the area surrounding the cabins. There was no dangerous predator in at least a five-mile radius, I’d made sure of that.

I’d also scouted the area, looking for a place to fish that I could show him. There was a small lake, but reaching it would be hard, seeing as Levi would have to hike up a steep hill through seven-foot-high underbrush. I wasn’t entirely certain his clothes wouldn’t get shredded to pieces in the process, so for the time being, I’d refrain from taking him there. Even a small cut could lead to an infection, and an infection out here was bad.

“And here’s the cabin I picked as mine,” I heard him say, a hint of laughter apparent in his voice. “Not exactly a five-star hotel, but the roof looks pretty intact and the floorboards aren’t rotten, so I’m not in any danger of crashing through them in the middle of the night.” He chuckled. “Honestly? It’s more than I expected. It’s dry, it helps me pretend I’m safe here, and it’s a reminder human civilization actually exists.”

Searching the forest floor for a twig, I stepped onto a big one, breaking it in two with a loud crack.

I heard a little gasp, a bit of rustling, and a few seconds later, Levi’s face appeared in the opening that had once been a window. He was holding the small camera in one of his hands, pointing it straight at me as if it’d help him protect himself.

At first his eyes were wide in shock, a hint of fear marring his features, then he let out a little sigh, and his whole body relaxed as he saw me standing in the middle of the cabins.

“Wolfie!” he shouted. My wolf did a little happy dance inside my chest upon hearing the happiness in Levi’s voice. “You came back!”

Within the blink of an eye, he was gone from the window, but it only took a few seconds until he reappeared in the doorway of the cabin, running straight at me.

He stopped right in front of me, a dazzling smile on his face, eyes gleaming in the morning sun.

“Guys, that’s Wolfie. The wolf I told you all about? The one that saved me?” He gave me a cheeky grin, then turned the camera around to film his own face again. “I know you probably think I’m crazy, and I kinda think that, too, but I really want to hug him right now.”

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