Page 7 of Starting a New Life

Would he be able to identify the feeling? Maybe not, but he’d be able to tell something was off. And that was only a step away from him either figuring out the truth or demanding answers.

“It’s okay,” Levi said, his fingers digging into my forearm, begging me to… what exactly? “Please don’t freak out, okay? But I’ve got something for you. Clothes. Warm ones. And a sleeping bag. Food—mostly stuff that keeps. I can get more. No, I will get you more… I…”

“Levi.” I tried interrupting his rambling, but he just gripped me even harder before continuing.

“No. No.” Shaking his head, he started lightly shaking me. “No. You’re going to listen, accept my help, and say thank you. Got it? You’re my friend. And friends help each other. If I thought I could get away with renting you my old room at the inn, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I know you’re afraid of… uh…” He turned his head, studying the people in the café before pinning me with a look again. “Shifters,” he whispered conspiratorially. “I know you’re afraid of shifters. I don’t know why, and I understand you think you can’t tell me.” Scrunching up his nose, he cocked his head at me. “Seeing as my mate is a shifter… maybe you really can’t. Anyway, that’s not important. The important part is that I care about you and want you to be safe. I’m still trying to figure out how to go about that without involving the pack, but I am working on it.”

Swallowing, I put the cup down and then pulled Levi into a hug.

Fuck.

Why was he so damn nice?

I was keeping so many things from him. It was entirely possible he’d hate me once I came clean. If I came clean.

“Shh,” he said, patting my back as I clung to him. My arms were locked up, holding him as close as possible while my tears seeped into his sweater.

When had I started to cry?

I didn’t know.

I also didn’t know how long I kept crying and holding on to Levi until my tears ebbed away and utter exhaustion took hold of me. But the exhaustion was accompanied by a sense of calm I hadn’t felt in ages. Almost as if the tears had cleansed me.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling back.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Do you have any idea how much I cried when I was out on the beach and thought I’d die? Let me tell you, I was a fucking mess, and it’s still hard for me to go back, even though I also love being there.”

“You almost died on the beach?”

Levi scrunched up his nose. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you, but not today. In the end, it turned out fine. I still have a court appearance to make, but afterwards, I’m done. Anyway, I have stuff for you in the staff room. I’ve been wanting to give it to you for weeks, but I always chickened out. There’s also a couch there, and Herb said you can have it until closing time if you want to catch up on sleep. Not to be rude, but you look like death warmed over. I almost got killed in a storm, had hypothermia and an infection, and I still didn’t look as bad as you do right now.”

Swallowing, I looked at the nervous chatterbox who was apparently my friend and nodded despite knowing I shouldn’t accept his offer.

For once, I didn’t care what I should do.

Because deep inside I knew I needed all the help I could get.

So, as we got up—Levi staying close to me, as if he was afraid I was about to faint again—I took a deep breath and shoved the anxiety and terrifying thoughts away and smiled at my friend.

The only one I had.

The only one I’d ever had.

“Just a question,” Levi said as he opened the door marked as staff only and ushered me inside. “You don’t happen to have like… your ID or birth certificate or anything on you?”

A hollow laugh escaped me, and my lips turned into a wry smile. “I don’t. And even if I did… I’m uh… kinda an illegal immigrant?”

Damn.

Another thing I’d never really thought about.

Homeless. An illegal immigrant.

I guess those were things that didn’t matter while on the run.

“Oh, okay.” Levi sighed. “There goes my plan of you renting a studio apartment and me paying your rent.” I thought he’d say more, but he just shrugged, then nodded to a rather ratty, worn-out couch. “It’s not much, but it’s warm in here. Go get some sleep. I need to go back to work because Herb is manning the coffee machine, and that means we’re only one step from a catastrophe.”

I chuckled and pulled him into my arms again, firmly keeping my magic from reaching out to his. Oh, it was tempting. His magic surrounded me, flowing freely from him, wrapping me up in a blanket of warmth.