about you, but I need a drink.” I held out the malt, and after a moment, he nodded, and took a glass from me. I sloshed two generous measures, and then settled back on the sofa. I was acutely aware we’d only have the house to ourselves for a couple of hours, if that. They might come back early.
Levi prowled up and down, all lean muscle and grace. Just watching him move gave me chills of the very best kind. I quashed those thoughts and wondered where the hell to start. There was only one place.
“Why me?” He cocked his head on one side in a very canine way, and I tried to explain. “Somehow, you came into my dreams. You knew I’d dreamed about Mighty Mike’s, and walking in the Rimutakas. And that bench in the Trafford Centre. But why me?” I took a sip of my drink, and rolled the liquor around my mouth. “I don’t understand any of it,” I finished, lamely.
“We met,” he began, as though choosing his words with care, “in Wellington.” He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to interrupt, and I subsided. I’d remember, surely. He was so distinctive, I couldn’t possibly forget him. “I liked you. A lot.” His eyes seemed to flash sparks in the flickering firelight. “I found you in your dream—and yes, I will explain that too—and I liked you even more.”
Enough to buy a ticket to come here, to try and meet me in person?
Glancing down into his glass, Levi wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I have contacts in Snowdonia, and I figured I’d try to see you before I headed there. It was just luck that we met in the mall.”
There were so many holes in his story, it barely held together. Was he even telling me the truth? I took a drink and gazed at him. He stared back, inscrutable. I took another sip to give me courage. “The wolf thing. What the hell is that all about?”
“Your father might be mistaken.”
That wasn’t an answer. Dad’s words buzzed in my head in an unrelenting chatter of background noise. Half-breed. Freaks . “He called you a werewolf, and you said shifter. You planned to tell me later.” When I trusted you.
Maybe I needed to extend the hand of trust first.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke over the hammering of my heart. I’d never laid myself on the line before, not like this. “When I dreamed about you, I’d wake up and wish you were real. I’ve never met anyone I’ve been so… connected to. And now you’re here, and, well, I’d like to take the time to get to know you. Properly.”
Doubt flickered in his eyes, but he didn’t move. I pressed on. “I know I never met you in Wellington, so please tell me the truth. I can’t trust you if you’re not honest with me.”
Levi placed his glass on the mantelpiece, and then took a position with his back to the fire, arms folded. “We met at the dog pound.”
The pound? I frowned as I thought back to that weird afternoon. “You weren’t the guy I spoke to in the office.” Something nudged at my memory, but I ignored it. “And I didn’t see anyone else there.”
“I asked you to help me.”
Jigsaw pieces slotted together in my head. Werewolf . The wolf-dog I’d freed from the cage. He said his name was Levi.
I scrambled from my seat, unable to stay still. “Oh my God, that was you? In the cage?”
Chapter Seventeen
“Don’t be afraid of me.” I saw pain in Levi’s eyes when he spoke. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“That was you,” I repeated. The wolf really had been talking to me. “They doped you with something.”
“Ketamine.”
“Oh my God.”
He gave me a faint smile. “You already said that.”
“It was really you.”
“Yep, you said that too.”
I blew out a breath, my head spinning. It felt as though the world was shifting beneath my feet. I wanted to run away and hide, but at the same time, I wanted to see him as a wolf again. It was the only thing that might convince me I hadn’t gone insane.
“Show me,” I whispered. “Please?”
“Are you sure?”
I
Levi prowled up and down, all lean muscle and grace. Just watching him move gave me chills of the very best kind. I quashed those thoughts and wondered where the hell to start. There was only one place.
“Why me?” He cocked his head on one side in a very canine way, and I tried to explain. “Somehow, you came into my dreams. You knew I’d dreamed about Mighty Mike’s, and walking in the Rimutakas. And that bench in the Trafford Centre. But why me?” I took a sip of my drink, and rolled the liquor around my mouth. “I don’t understand any of it,” I finished, lamely.
“We met,” he began, as though choosing his words with care, “in Wellington.” He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to interrupt, and I subsided. I’d remember, surely. He was so distinctive, I couldn’t possibly forget him. “I liked you. A lot.” His eyes seemed to flash sparks in the flickering firelight. “I found you in your dream—and yes, I will explain that too—and I liked you even more.”
Enough to buy a ticket to come here, to try and meet me in person?
Glancing down into his glass, Levi wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I have contacts in Snowdonia, and I figured I’d try to see you before I headed there. It was just luck that we met in the mall.”
There were so many holes in his story, it barely held together. Was he even telling me the truth? I took a drink and gazed at him. He stared back, inscrutable. I took another sip to give me courage. “The wolf thing. What the hell is that all about?”
“Your father might be mistaken.”
That wasn’t an answer. Dad’s words buzzed in my head in an unrelenting chatter of background noise. Half-breed. Freaks . “He called you a werewolf, and you said shifter. You planned to tell me later.” When I trusted you.
Maybe I needed to extend the hand of trust first.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke over the hammering of my heart. I’d never laid myself on the line before, not like this. “When I dreamed about you, I’d wake up and wish you were real. I’ve never met anyone I’ve been so… connected to. And now you’re here, and, well, I’d like to take the time to get to know you. Properly.”
Doubt flickered in his eyes, but he didn’t move. I pressed on. “I know I never met you in Wellington, so please tell me the truth. I can’t trust you if you’re not honest with me.”
Levi placed his glass on the mantelpiece, and then took a position with his back to the fire, arms folded. “We met at the dog pound.”
The pound? I frowned as I thought back to that weird afternoon. “You weren’t the guy I spoke to in the office.” Something nudged at my memory, but I ignored it. “And I didn’t see anyone else there.”
“I asked you to help me.”
Jigsaw pieces slotted together in my head. Werewolf . The wolf-dog I’d freed from the cage. He said his name was Levi.
I scrambled from my seat, unable to stay still. “Oh my God, that was you? In the cage?”
Chapter Seventeen
“Don’t be afraid of me.” I saw pain in Levi’s eyes when he spoke. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“That was you,” I repeated. The wolf really had been talking to me. “They doped you with something.”
“Ketamine.”
“Oh my God.”
He gave me a faint smile. “You already said that.”
“It was really you.”
“Yep, you said that too.”
I blew out a breath, my head spinning. It felt as though the world was shifting beneath my feet. I wanted to run away and hide, but at the same time, I wanted to see him as a wolf again. It was the only thing that might convince me I hadn’t gone insane.
“Show me,” I whispered. “Please?”
“Are you sure?”
I
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