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All the momentum I had gathered came to a screeching halt, and I was twisted around faster than I could slip away.
His face was inches from mine as I caught my breath, left dazed, while he looked down at me with those startling hazel eyes. From up close, the details in his features caught my interest, and I couldn’t ignore how handsome he was—even more so after he was exiled.
“What are you doing?”
With my heart in my throat, I couldn’t find the words I was looking for. Glancing around, I saw that there were only the two of us, and the others had kept going.
“You’re liberated from that place, and the first thing you do is run?” He asked, narrowing his gaze at me. He held me by the wrist, pulling me closer for emphasis. “Where did you plan on going?”
I swallowed against the sandpaper in my throat. “I had to try.”
Levi scoffed. “Did you, now?”
Hoping to at least appeal to him, I grasped for anything that might convince him. “You don’t want this.”
That was apparently the wrong thing to say, for his gaze narrowed at me, and he looked less impressed than before. “Don’t tell me what I want.”
“And what about what I want?” I asked, feeling brave despite being pinned. Despite how easily he could overpower me. “Nobody stopped to consider that.”
Levi gave me a measuring look, releasing my wrist as he pulled back somewhat. “Fine. What is it you want then?”
Caught off-guard by his sudden willingness to hear me out, I hesitated before my senses kicked in again. “I want you to let me go where I want. Somewhere away from Sam’s pack, but not yours either.”
He bristled. “I can’t do that. You’re mine now—that was the deal for sparing that spineless idiot, regardless of what either of us wanted. If you run, the others will pay.”
Even if no love was lost between me and the pack, thanks to Sam’s poor leadership, something in me couldn’t let that happen. Ivy was my main concern, but despite how the others had treated me, that deep, instinctual longing to be one of them stopped me from being callous. It was inherent, blind loyalty, but that was the cost of being in a pack.
Tangled in the mix were innocent lives, and if Levi was serious, they didn’t deserve to suffer just because I was panicking and didn’t want to face the clear punishment I had been given.
“Do you understand that?” Levi asked, eyes silently demanding my complete submission.
I couldn't deny his attractiveness as he gave me his full attention, unwanted or not. Behind that hard mask was a ruggedly handsome man who clearly had more to lose than I understood.
Levi had always been appealing, even if that time I previously knew him had been riddled with bullying and mocking.
“Yes,” I managed, though mostly reluctantly.
As much as I didn’t want to give in and submit, I wasn’t in any position to disobey or flex any false confidence I might’ve had.
I was angry about the arrangement, and from my brutal history with Levi, but above all else, I was afraid that he might be even worse than Sam. It was inconceivable to think I’d be better off in Sam’s pack, but the stories I had been told about the man who stood before me forced my guard up.
“Good. Now walk,” Levi commanded, turning me around by my shoulder.
The presence of his skin against mine sent a jolt through me, but without the chance to dwell on it, I started moving. Whether out of instinct or a desire to not be alone with him, I kept going.
With dread sitting heavily in my stomach and a furious combination of anger and disbelief clashing within me, I walked toward the unknown, afraid of what was to come.
Chapter 5 - Levi
Ever since she arrived at my place, Jane took it upon herself to hide away in one of the spare rooms, refusing to show her face. Several days had already passed, and my patience was waning.
Getting food to her was a task, let alone trying to get a word out of her.
She was being disobedient and resistant, and while I should’ve been at my wit’s end, I could only extend my sympathy. Regardless of her feelings and how I wasn’t exactly over the moon to have been distracted by the fact she’s gorgeous and something about her wouldn’t let me give up the opportunity to take her, I wanted her to be taken care of. At the very least, I wanted to know that she was ok.
I had seen that fear in her eyes whenever she looked at me, and for whatever reason, I wanted to prove I wasn’t the monster Sam made me out to be. I could only imagine the stories he told the pack, and that thought alone pissed me off.
After debating in the hall about what I should do, I sighed and welcomed a new sense of resolve.
