14. Levi

14

Levi

H e woke up with Sofia in his arms. She was snuggled close, with her head pressed right up against his chest. He was hungry, and he wanted to shift and hunt, but there was no way he was going to give up any time with Sofia.

He inhaled her scent. Just a breath of it was enough to arouse him.

It was clear that she was his mate. The night they’d shared had been unlike anything he’d ever experienced. As far as he could tell, their lovemaking had been just as powerful for her as it had been for him.

She snuggled even closer, burrowing right up next to him.

This was how he’d wake up for the rest of their lives.

Now that he had a mate, he’d finally take Kellan up on his offer. The four brothers had been asking him to move out to the property for months. But he didn’t want to be the odd man out.

He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Would you like to go back to Texas, or do you want to go ahead and meet Rhett right now?” he asked.

She frowned. “What do you mean, go back with you?” She pushed herself up on one elbow. “I’m not going back to Texas. Bears don’t belong in Texas. We’re too conspicuous.”

“You’re not still planning to stay with Rhett are you, not after the night we shared?”

Her brow furrowed. She scooted even further away from him. “I don’t understand.”

He didn’t like the distance between them. Needing to reconnect with her, he ran his hand down on her arm. “Sofia. We’re mates.”

“Mates? What do you mean?” she asked.

Oh hell. How had this not occurred to her? Even if her upbringing was less than ideal, she was a shifter. She had instincts. She had to understand what mates were to each other. Could she not feel what he did? Or maybe she didn’t feel that way.

Had he ever heard of a shifter whose mate didn’t return the other’s affection and love? He’d heard of rejections for various reasons, but never because the partner flat-out rejected the concept.

“I mean exactly what I said. I think that we’re mates, as in, we are meant to be together,” he said. He did his best to keep his voice neutral, but he most likely failed.

“But you’re a dragon. And I’m a bear,” she said.

“That doesn’t matter. Either of us could mate with a human. It happens all the time.”

“I seriously doubt that a human could truly be a mate,” she said. “I know some of your clan mates with humans but it’s not the same. And anyway, it doesn’t matter. I am not going to take a mate.”

His heart sank. How had this not come up? It was true they hadn’t known each other for very long, but they’d had several meaningful conversations. How had she failed to mention this one very crucial piece of information? “Why not?”

She moved out of his reach and crossed her arms. “It’s just a way to trap someone.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that. You’ve seen Kellan, Quinn, Liam, and Brennan. You’ve seen how happy they are.”

“Yes, I’ve seen them . The males only. I haven’t seen them with their mates, so I don’t actually know what they’re like as partners at all.”

“I had no idea you felt that way.”

“And I had no idea you thought we were mates,” she said. “Why are you telling me this now that it’s time for me to leave?”

“Because I don’t want you to go,” he said, not bothering to cover the strain in his voice. “If you leave with Rhett, I may never see you again.”

“That’s true enough. This could be goodbye for us. And I don’t intend to stay in the States long-term.”

“Are you still planning to go to Canada? Even now?”

“Yes. I am.”

“How can you just walk away from what we did? Did last night mean nothing to you?”

“Levi, yes, last night meant a lot to me. But that has nothing to do with my future plans. I’m planning to meet Rhett. Last night had changed nothing.”

“But you let me take your virginity. You let me be your first. Is that even true?” He knew it was a low blow, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“How could you say that to me? How could you even insinuate that I would lie to you about being a virgin?”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong to say that, but I just don’t understand how you could share that with me and then leave.” Did she not have any feelings?

“I know that being part of a pack and having a mate, and even having children sounds like a really good thing to you because of the happiness you’ve seen come from those situations. But that’s not what it represents to me at all. Your clan growing up may have been uptight, but they weren’t abusive, they loved you and they wanted you, and from what you said they want you back now. Mine don’t want me. They used me and they treated me like dirt. So don’t assume that you could ever understand how I feel.”

He was taken aback at her vehemence. “I didn’t know you felt that strongly about it.”

“Well, you never bothered to ask, and I work really hard to keep my feelings under wraps because they’ve never done me one bit of good. They’ve only ever made my life harder. So, it’s easy just to feel nothing.”

Again, her fire surprised him. But he was glad for it. She never would have survived the wolves or escaped them if she’d been meek and mild. He just wished it wasn’t directed at him.

“You need to go,” she said suddenly.

“Why do you say that? We can talk about this.”

“No. We cannot. I have had enough choices taken from me. I’m not going to volunteer to go through it again.”

His stomach plunged. “Dammit, Sofia, I’m sorry. That’s not who I am.”

“It sure seems like it is. You want one thing and I want another. There’s no compromise with you.

He was screwing this up. There had to be some way to get through to her. He’d always been a mild-mannered guy; he wasn’t sure anyone had ever been this angry at him before.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, but she yanked it away.

“Let me tell you something,” she hissed. “We will never be together. I’m going to meet Rhett. I am going to speak to the shifters that live with him. You do not get a say in this process; you do not get an opinion. You gave that right up.”

He reached for her again. “Dammit, Sofia, listen to me.”

“No. I’m done listening to you. This conversation is over.”

“I’m not leaving you alone in the woods,” he yelled.

“I can take care of myself.”

“Apparently not. You were in the woods when the wolves got you.”

She whirled around and pointed her finger in his face. “That was shitty.”

“How? It’s true. It’s not safe out here for you.”

He followed her.

She never looked back.

They reached the camp and used the password Rhett had given him to pass through the magical barrier.

“Are you guys okay?” Rhett asked when he came to greet them.

“We had a difference of opinion,” she said.

Which was a nice way of saying they’d had words in the woods. Levi grimaced and Rhett shot him a sympathetic look.

He could not just leave without saying anything to her. But he knew it would be wrong to try and push her. And it would only serve to piss her off more.

He swallowed hard. “Goodbye, Sofia,” he said stiffly. “I hope to see you again one day.” How had he even gotten those words out of his mouth? Despair was not a strong enough word. A heavy rock lodged itself in his throat.

“Goodbye, Levi.”

He trudged through the forest. He was tempted to shift and fly. When the sun went down, he might do just that. He could not accept that he’d just blown up his own life. He couldn’t accept that he’d never see her again. He tried to come up with a plan, but his mind kept blanking out.

About a mile away from the campsite his phone rang. It was Kellan. “Levi. Where are you?”

Kellan’s voice was frantic. Levi had never heard him like that. His own pulse skyrocketed in response. “I’m about a mile from Rhett’s camp in the Ouachita National Forest. Why?”

“We have some bad news. The feral wolves that had Sofia… Well, we’ve heard they’re in the states.”

Dammit. He should have gone after them instead of trying to court Sofia. “Where?”

“We don’t know yet. We skipped every available communication open but all we know is they somehow got into the country.”

“Well, that’s much better than nothing. Thank you for keeping an ear out. I’ve got to get back to her. I just left her with Rhett.”

“Tell him what’s going on.”

“I will. Does he need help getting the members of his motorcycle club hidden?”

“Probably not. You can ask him, but I don’t think he’ll need our help. He has plenty of trained security. But if he does need help, we’ll give it.”

Levi took off in a sprint. Sofia wasn’t going to be happy with Levi, but her safety had to come first.