Levi took a step back, almost stumbling as he did, the expression on his face morphing into a sadness so deep it tore at my soul. I reached out, trying to pull him back, but he flinched away.
“You left!” he bellowed, fists clenched, tears shimmering in his eyes. “First you died, then you left.”
“Died? What are you talking about, Levi?” I said.
Ignoring me, he fell to his knees. “I’ll do better. Please come back. I can’t lose you again. Please.”
Tears stung my eyes. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. What’s wrong with you?”
Levi was openly sobbing now. I’d never seen him like this. He threw his head back, shifting as he did. Then he let out the most gut-wrenching howl.
I satbolt upright in bed, the sound of a howling wolf outside ripping me from the dream. I rubbed my face and looked at the clock. It was only eleven o’clock. I tugged the curtains asideand saw a group of adolescent wolves running down the street. Probably a group of high school kids out for an evening run.
Sighing, I lay back down. The dream was already fading. It had something to do with Levi, but I couldn’t recall more than that. It had been strange, though, almost like I’d been inside someone else’s dream. When I fell asleep again, it was blessedly dreamless.
The next morning, I woke to my phone chiming with a text from Anders. Groggy from sleeping so long, I rolled over, rubbing at my eyes and picking up the phone.
Anders:Hey babe. Meet me for breakfast at Mid River. 8. See you then.
I read the text a few times as my sleep-addled brain slowly came awake. He hadn’t given me much time to get ready.
Groaning, I forced myself out of bed and got dressed as quickly as I could. I managed to get to the restaurant right on time, spotting Anders at a back booth. He waved as I walked in, beckoning me to join him.
He gave me a once-over, his smile slipping away. “Damn. You didn’t put in much effort.”
Heat rose to my cheeks as I glanced down at my sweatpants and oversized T-shirt. I’d shoved my hair into a messy bun and hadn’t bothered with makeup, assuming breakfast at a mom-and-pop diner wasn’t the type of outing that required getting dolled up.
“Uh…sorry,” I mumbled, taking my seat opposite him. “I was in a hurry.”
Anders sighed and shrugged, lifting his coffee cup. “Whatever. Anyway, I have a task for you.”
“A task?”
He took a sip and nodded. “We need to start planning our mating ceremony. I figured I’d put you in charge of that.”
The mating ceremony. Of course. That would be happening soon. Courtship traditionally lasted roughly a month, sometimes two, but eventually, Anders and I would be official.
And that will be the night I’ll have to have sex with him.I dreaded it. The longer this went on, the more difficult I thought it would be to go through with it.
“Sure,” I said, smiling despite the thoughts in my head.
The waitress stopped by our table at that moment. “You guys ready to order?”
“Yeah,” Anders said. “I’ll have the western omelet, hash browns, and a small stack of pancakes.”
“Gotcha,” she said, then turned to me.
My stomach growled from missing dinner the night before. I chuckled, and said, “I’ll have the same thing, actually.”
“Whoa, hang on,” Anders said, raising a hand. “June, don’t you think you should be watching what you eat? With the mating ceremony coming up?”
A flush of anger ignited a fire in my chest, but I tamped it down. Of all the things to fight over, this was not a hill I was going to die on.
I plastered a smile on my face. “You’re right. My new metabolism will probably slow down soon. Make the omelet with egg whites, and no pancakes, just toast. How’s that?”
The server glanced back and forth at us uncomfortably as she wrote down the order, then hurried away.
Anders nodded appreciatively. “I think that’s a better choice.”
