“Thanks.” I really wanted to tell him to not be a controlling dick, but I’d work on that once we were officially mated. Anders was still young. There was plenty of time to polish his rough edges.
“Normally, I’d help you plan the ceremony,” he said. “But I’m going to have my hands full the next little while. Got some big plans in the works.”
“Really?” That was intriguing. “Like what?”
“Has to do with old Leviathan himself,” Anders said.
Even after everything, my stomach did a little flip at the sound of the name.
“What’s Levi got to do with you?”
“Told me about some crazy rogue pack roaming the woods. Something called the Red Maw?”
“Oh shit,” I muttered, leaning back in my booth.
“You heard of them?” Anders asked. “Did you have any dealings with them while you were gone?”
A mental image flashed through my mind of the group that chased me that day, and the way Levi had dealt with them. I suppressed a shudder.
“Yeah, you could say that,” I said.
Anders shrugged off my response, and went on. “Anyway, I guess the fuckers are getting too big for their own good. They think they can move in on him and us as well.”
“Wait, Red Maw is going to attack Idlewild?” I said, then sucked in a breath. “So that’s why the beta was there.”
“Sorry, what?” Anders asked.
“Remember when I came back with you? There was a guy on the outskirts of town. He introduced himself as the beta of the Red Maw, and you told him to leave.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense. Levi and his beta said they found tracks near the outskirts of town. I sent a few guys out last night to check and see if those two were full of shit, and I’ll be damned if they didn’t find the tracks too.
“Basically, Levi and I are entering into a mutually beneficial partnership. An alliance against the Red Maw, but I’ve got biggerplans than that,” he added, and there was a weird glimmer in his eye.
“What’s that?” I asked, hesitant, but curious.
“I’m going to bring in a bunch of the area alphas. Talk to them about uniting against the threat. I’m not actually worried about these Red Maw guys, but can you imagine ifI’mthe one who unites all the packs? I’d be one of the most powerful alphas in a thousand miles!”
After he said that, the waitress brought out our food. I ate slowly, not sure how to respond to that. Anders wasn’t taking the threat of the Red Maw as seriously as he should. Levi and Rainier said the Red Maw had a lot more people than they’d realized, and they might not have seen all of them. The Red Maw was ruthless and strong. Anders had his eyes on power when he should have had his eyes on something more pressing. I doubted he’d want to hear that, though.
“So…uh…Levi’s going to stick around for a while?” I asked.
Anders drenched his pancakes in syrup. “Yeah. He’s got a hard-on for finding this reincarnated girl.” He snorted. “Dude’s an old-school shifter. I didn’t think people still believed in that stuff. I told him he could use a rental house downtown. No one’s used it for a couple years. I gave him access to the town messaging app too. His beta had to help him get the phone set up. Looks like Mr. Demon Wolf doesn’t come out of the mountains much.”
“Messaging app?” I frowned at him.
“He wanted to send out a town-wide message. All the single ladies can stop by and talk to him. I guess it’s like fucking speed dating or something.” He shrugged and stuffed a bite of pancake in his mouth. “Talk to them, see if he notices a spark or whatever. Then, like, I don’t know, fucks them or something? Not sure, but it really isn’t my problem as long as everyone consents.” Anders pointed his fork at me. “If he messes with mypeople against their will, though? Then he and I are gonna have a problem.”
A sick, hollow feeling surged in my stomach at the thought. As badly as it had hurt to leave Levi, and as much as I realized it was the right move, it still hurt to think of him trying to find someone else. I was suddenly not very hungry anymore.
Anders droned on about his plan to unite the packs and bring Hidden Grove under his command. I barely listened because I thought it was ridiculous for him to think he could get Levi to agree to that, and I was too consumed by thoughts about Levi. An unwarranted, powerful surge of nostalgia struck me, and for a few moments, I wished I was back in Hidden Grove, doing basic chores and foraging in the forest for mushrooms and greens.
When we were done, Anders kissed me. I pulled away as soon as I could and told him I’d get started on planning the mating ceremony. I chose to walk home in my human form, wanting to take my time to clear my head. Though, whether consciously or unconsciously, I ended up taking a route that led me past the rental house Levi was staying in.
There were already a bunch of women hanging around the porch. Waiting to go in, perhaps? Many unmatched ladies would jump at the chance to be paired with an alpha, especially one as legendary as Leviathan Cross. If word had spread that he was, indeed, not some slavering monster bent on ravishing and eating anyone who went too deep into the woods, then he’d have every unpaired woman in Idlewild and surrounding towns hoping to be the reincarnated Naphele. Tearing my eyes away, I hurried on, quickening my pace, and trying not to wish Ihadbeen what Levi was looking for.
55
LEVIATHAN
