By the time we returned, the sun had gone down, and we were all exhausted and filthy. After ensuring that everyone who had holed up in Hidden Grove had returned home, and that mygrandparents were settled back above the stove, it was almost midnight. Levi led me up the stairs of the small house, and we trudged to the shower. Turning the water on as hot as we could stand it, we undressed and stepped under the spray.
“God, that feels good,” I moaned.
“Turn around,” Levi said.
I spun in place, groaning as he soaped my and back and massaged the muscles along my spine. My soreness and fatigue faded under the magic of his hands and the hot water.
“I have to tell you how impressive you were today,” Levi said. “The way you handled everything, not just the fight, but the prisoners too, I don’t know if I could have made the right decision if you weren’t there with me. Thank you.”
My lips quirked up into a smile as he spoke, but as he finished, my eyes widened in surprise. Shit. I still hadn’t told him.
Spinning in place, I wrapped my arms around his and gazed adoringly into his eyes. “I need to tell you something.”
Levi slid his hands down to my ass, pulling me close so my breasts pressed against his chest. “What’s that?”
For a moment, I wondered about the best way to tell him, then, in a flash, I knew.
“Did you see me today? Fighting those other wolves and Anders?” I asked.
He nodded, a faraway look of awe in his eyes. “I’ve never seen you like that. The speed, the grace, and instinct? Where the hell did you learn that?”
For a few tenuous seconds, I let the silence between us build. Levi’s look of wonder slowly faded, morphing into something else. Understanding.
“What…” He shook his head, water from the shower dripping from his hair as he did. “What are you?—”
“I did the ritual again,” I said. “My grandparents helped me. It had a different outcome this time. I needed to do it after connecting with my inner wolf. That was the problem the first time.”
His eyes slowly widened as I spoke, comprehension building in his gaze.
“What I’m saying is…” I ran my thumb across his cheek gently, brushing away a stream of water. “I remember more. I can recall all the old memories. I know who I am, and who I was. I was Naphele after all. She’s inside me.”
Levi’s breath whooshed out of him like I’d kicked him in the stomach. There was no horror or anger in his eyes, only surprise and happiness. Though, he didn’t look as ecstatic like I thought he would. There was a sad tint to the joy on his face.
“What’s wrong?” A fearful twist cramped deep in my stomach. “Aren’t you happy?”
Recovering, Levi lifted his hands to my face, cupping my cheeks in his palms and looking into my eyes. I’d never seen him look so serious.
“Naphele,” he whispered, and to my ears, it sounded more like he was talking to himself than to me. I reached up and placed my hands atop his.
“Yes,” I said. “I can sort of feel her in me. Her skills and knowledge. It’s all there. Not overpowering, but there.”
Levi nodded, and I thought I could see tears filling his eyes, then he cleared his throat. “I’m very happy. You have no idea, but…”
“Say it, Levi,” I said, curious and terrified of what he’d say next.
Peering even deeper into my eyes, he spoke again, but this time, it truly didn’t feel like he was speaking tome, but to the soul within me.
“Naphele, I will always love you. You will forever be my first love, but it’s time for me to move on. For me to live a new life. I hope you understand that. I hope you don’t feel betrayed, but I love June. She is my present and my future. I can’t have a life with her while I still ache for you. I love you, and I hope you continue helping her, but she is my life now. I want her, and only her. I can only ask that you accept that and not feel betrayed.”
Without another word, he leaned in and kissed me. Tears streamed down my cheeks. He’d said it aloud. He wantedme. Not the memory of a past love, not another woman; he wantedme.It was all I’d ever wanted to hear. In the depths of my soul, I thought I could sense a swell of love as well as sadness, followed by what I could only call happy acceptance. Whatever sliver of Naphele resided inside me had heard Levi and accepted it. Accepted it and given her blessing.
The sob that erupted from my mouth was muffled by Levi’s lips. I wrapped my arms around him, running my hands up and down his water-slicked back. The heat of the water was nothing compared to the heat of his body. I’d never wanted anything more than I wanted him right then, to seal what we had with something physical.
Levi groaned and shoved his fingers into my wet hair, his tongue gliding across mine. Slipping my hand between us, I curled my fingers around his cock.
Kissing me harder as I stroked him, Levi gently moved his hips in time with my hand, grinding his dick against my hand, probing his tongue into my mouth. He slid his hands down my face and my neck, caressing my breast as the water cascaded over me. Levi’s left hand drifted across my stomach until he slid over my throbbing clit. I moaned into him as he rubbed it, then slid his middle finger into me.
Unable to help myself, I thrust my hips forward, desperate for more than just a finger. I wanted to be filled, to have him inside me.
