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“Because you might be the alpha’s mate,” Nati said as if it was all the reasoning she needed. “If it is true, then the happier you two are, the better the pack will be as a whole. After everything, being in a healthy, supportive group was all I ever wanted. Everyone contributes to the pack’s overall well-being regardless of who leads it.”
Letting myself drift back to how things were in Sam’s pack, I couldn’t help but agree.
“That was all I ever wanted, too,” I mumbled before I could stop myself.
“Now you have the chance to get it,” she hummed, washing the excess oil from my skin. “I heard rumors of what Sam is like, and I don’t envy anyone in his pack.”
Those memories stung to even think about, and I nodded slowly. “Things hadn’t been that bad when Levi was set to be alpha, but after he was exiled, everything changed so drastically. Sam always cared more about having the benefits of being an alpha rather than acting like one.”
“Some aren’t meant to be alphas. That is why Levi refuses to forget about them. He’s been worried about the pack he left behind ever since it happened.”
I was more comfortable in her presence then, especially as we seemed to relate to one another more than I anticipated, and I didn’t stop myself from voicing my curiosities. In a way, I felt less alone, thanks to Nati.
“What is Levi like as an alpha? I never got to see for myself.”
“He has a hard exterior, especially after what happened, and he’s firm when he needs to be. But he’s just. Reasonable. He cares for his people, and he truly does care,” she said, not sugar-coating it for me. “I have no complaints. I feel fortunate to be here.”
Despite how much I wanted to resist him and the idea of accepting his pack, there was no denying how that eased my nerves and doubts. For a moment, I even let my interest get the better of me.
Levi didn’t make my childhood any easier, and I didn’t exactly have the best image of him in my mind, but I didn’t know enough about him to have an actual opinion. I could let myself be as stubborn as I wanted and try to pretend like he hadn’t changed at all in those years since he left, but I knew it wouldn’t help.
It didn’t make the situation more digestible, but it put a wedge in my complete resistance.
“It is easier to believe what you’ve been told about a person than to get to know them yourself, but I believe you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you discover about him,” Nati advised, sounding far too wise for me to ignore.
I thought about those words as I was swept out of the tub, dried off, and put into a flowing white dress with relaxed sleeves. Nati dried my hair and styled it until I didn’t recognize my reflection after days of hiding in the dark bedroom. When the time came, she guided me out of the house.
When I first arrived, I was too distraught to truly appreciate how nice the house was, but as we walked outside, I could not help but notice. Clearly, Levi had wealth from an outside source.
Nati led me down a path leading away from the house, where we both walked barefoot.
“To connect you with the earth,” she had said with her arm looped in mine. “Times are different, but the traditions still stand.”
Following the priestess and trusting her to guide me, I swallowed back my nerves and continued through the woods alongside her.
Before long, we found a small clearing with a stream that ran through it, and I couldn’t help but take in how beautiful it all looked. We followed the water until we reached an ancient-looking willow tree and a pond fixed in front of it. The rock wall as a backdrop made it seem like a small place of worship—something almost divine in a sense.
Despite how mystical it looked, that anxiety hit me tenfold when I spotted Levi near the tree, wearing a similar linen top to my own. He locked eyes with me, and for a moment, I forgot about the rest of our strange situation.
Preened and put-together, Levi looked perfectly suited for the occasion. Stoic and contemplative, he seemed to be taking it much better than I was. Yet, just taking him in made me want to relax more. The proximity made something shift within me, and I suddenly felt guilty for being so resistant.
That odd sense of ease made me curious about Levi’s reasons for wanting to seek the Goddess’ opinion of our potential bond, and for a moment, it didn’t feel so hard to believe.
I couldn’t help but find him attractive, even if I was terrified of what was ahead of me. And strangely enough, it suddenly didn’t seem like such an awful idea.
Chapter 7 - Levi
Jane struck me completely when I first saw her in Sam’s territory, but that sentiment was even stronger as she approached in her dress, looking like someone worthy of being presented to the Goddess. It awoke something entirely new within me, something that didn’t leave room for doubt about our prospective connection.
Even if she looked more nervous than ever before, there was something different about her—something appealing that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, something that went deeper than physical appearance.
She followed along with Nati as they approached the tree, and all the while, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Regardless of how I decided to follow through with asking for the Goddess’ opinion, despite it being Sam’s idea, I had been slightly worried I was making a mistake. We didn’t know each other, and we never had any genuine time to get to know each other. Presenting our union to the Goddess was based mostly on my attraction to her and a hunch that this was something deeper.
If it was determined to be a bad match, I didn’t know what I would do. Jane was in my possession now, and I couldn’t fathom the idea of discarding her like Sam had. Especially after I dragged her to my territory and didn’t give her a choice. But deciding against the ceremony was still an option.
I was determined to do whatever was necessary to get my pack back, but I didn’t want collateral damage in the meantime. I didn’t want to cause her pain for no reason.
