Kai was the reason I was here. Every lie, every fake smile, every conversation where I pretended I belonged… it was all supposed to be for him. So we could get away and finally be free of Daniel and the others.
If I wasn’t willing to do whatever it took, what was the point?
“Hey.”
I lifted my head at the sound.
Why was it that every time I felt like this, Levi always seemed to appear?
Usually, the sight of him was enough to calm something inside me almost instantly. Today, it just made the twisting in my stomach worse.
He stood at the edge of the porch, concern etched across his face.
“You were on a call earlier,” he said. “You seemed… is everything alright?”
For a moment, I couldn’t answer.
I forced myself to sit up a little straighter and swallow down the wave of nausea rising in my throat.
“It was from the packless shifter network I told you about,” I said finally, voice rough. “There was a tip. I told them I’d help look into it.”
Levi’s expression shifted immediately. “I can come with you,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve actually been meaning to ask you more about the network. There might be other shifters out there who need help. If we knew how they operate, we could coordinate better.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, then added, “And if you’re willing to stay a little longer, maybe we could work together on it. You’ve already got their trust. It could really make a difference.”
The openness in his face made my chest ache. Like he was glad I’d told him and genuinely wanted to help. Like he believed me.
My stomach twisted harder.
“I can’t really tell you much about them,” I said quietly, shaking my head. “They don’t trust outsiders easily.”
I hesitated. “And I’d like to help more if I could, but I have to be careful. They’re strict about who gets involved.”
That part wasn’t entirely a lie.
“No, I get that.” Levi nodded once. “But I can still help. I’ll get a group together. Just need to clear it with Cooper first.”
His voice had taken on that steady, practical tone again, the one he used when he was already halfway into solving a problem.
“Did they say anything else?”
I nodded, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth.
“We need to go to an old service road off Highway 12,” I said. “There’s supposed to be a shifter there.”
“Alright,” he said quietly, already thinking ahead.
My coyote stirred uneasily inside me, restless and agitated in a way I couldn’t quite explain.
Levi trusted me. And I’d just handed him the coordinates just like Daniel had wanted.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to nod like everything was normal. But the sick feeling in my stomach didn’t go away. If anything, it was only getting worse.
Chapter 8
Levi
Cooper finally gave the go-ahead for the rescue operation.
