I snarl, my patience snapping. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
A dangerous smile spreads across his face. “What are you gonna do about it, newcomer?”
I bare my teeth, a growl rumbling in my throat. “She’s not yours.”
“No? She’s my pack’s Beta.MyBeta.”
The emphasis on “my” isn’t subtle, and I feel my wolf straining against the silver’s suppression.
“Both of you, stop it,” Lithia snaps. “Levi, where’s Ryker?Is he feral? What’s happened since I’ve been gone? How did you find us?”
The questions seem to bring Levi back to himself. His shoulders relax slightly, though the hostile glare he gives me doesn’t waver.
“Ryker sent search parties out the moment you were taken. We’ve been combing the mountains for months.” His gaze softens as he looks at Lithia. “We never stopped looking for you.”
The shift in his expression tells me everything I need to know. This isn’t just pack loyalty.
This wolf—this massive, powerful wolf is in love with Lithia.
And I just had my face between her thighs.
Fuck.
Chapter
Eighteen
Much to my chagrin, Levi decides to stay the night, bedding down in our small camp.
“We’ll reach the border by mid-morning tomorrow,” he says, feeding another branch to our small fire. His eyes never leave me for long, tracking my movements with an intensity that’s unsettling.
Relief wars with a sickly sinking feeling in my chest. Seeing Levi should feel like coming home. And part of it does. He’s pack, he’s safety, he’s proof that Shadowmist survived my absence. But the way he watches me, the careful hunger in his yellow eyes as they catalog every detail of my appearance, makes my skin prickle with awareness.
He knows.
I can see it in the tightness around his eyes, the way his nostrils flare slightly when he catches our mingled scents. The knowledge sits between us like a blade, unspoken but razor-sharp.
I’ve always known about Levi’s feelings, the way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, the distance he maintains to keep from crossing lines I’ve never invited him to toe. Seeing him now is deeply uncomfortable.
Guilt.That’s what this feeling is. Guilt that I can’t return what he’s offering, guilt that I’m grateful he interrupted us, guilt that part of me wishes he hadn’t found us at all.
“How far to the main den from the border?” Kier asks, his voice neutral as he sharpens a stick with his knife.
Levi’s jaw tightens. “Another half-day’s journey. I’ll have you there by sunset.”
The way he says “you” makes it clear he sees Kier as separate from me—a temporary addition, not a permanent fixture.
I catch Kier’s eye across the fire, but his expression reveals nothing. He’s letting me handle this, respecting that these are my pack dynamics to navigate.
I rub at the raw skin beneath my restraints. “Will Elias be able to remove these?”
Levi nods. “He’ll have something in his toolbox that’ll work.”
“And the pack?” I ask. “How have they fared with Kitara gone?”
Levi tilts his head to one side. “Kitara?”
I swallow, glancing away. “Has Ryker gone feral?”
