25. Juniper
JUNIPER
Levi’s heat radiated into me as I tried to catch my breath. My body still twitched and quivered with fading pleasure even as a new feeling had filled my mind and heart.
During our lovemaking, I’d noticed a deep connection forming with him. More than physical, more than emotional. Like a hand had reached all the way to my soul and grasped it, binding me to him. I’d never felt anything like it in my life, and instinctually, I knew what it was.
“Did you feel that?” I whispered as I traced his broad, muscled back.
Levi lifted his head, looking at me with an expression of excitement and wonder. “I did. It was the mating bond.”
“I… I didn’t even know I could feel that. Without having an inner wolf, you know?”
He brushed his lips over mine, then moved to the side. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he pulled me against him.
“I don’t think fate cares whether you have contact with your wolf,” he murmured against my ear.
Part of me was glad he was beside me and couldn’t see the goofy grin on my face.
I’d dreamed about finding my fated mate since I was a little girl.
Hoping and praying to one day feel that spark, that magnetic connection to the person I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life.
Then, when it became clear I couldn’t shift and wouldn’t have access to a wolf, that dream faded.
I’d spent the last decade assuming I’d possibly find a mate one day, but it wouldn’t be that soul-deep connection of a fated mate. Now, it appeared I had found that.
It was a wondrous feeling, but there were questions I needed to ask. Things I had to figure out. Levi must have noticed the way my body tensed as the worries began to cascade through my mind.
“What’s the matter?” he said, shifting onto his elbow to look at me.
“There’s a lot to think about. I’m excited to be with you, but…”
“Your grandparents?” he said. “Are you worried about them?”
“Yes. I did all this, came out here, in an attempt to stay with them, to help them as they get older.” Turning, I looked into his eyes.
“I want to be with you, but I can’t take them out of the equation.
I’d say I could ask them to come live here, but I don’t know if it would work.
They have their store, their home. Plus, asking them to join a new pack at their age and leaving everything behind… It’s a lot.”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” Levi said. “I promise we will.”
“Maybe,” I said with a sigh. “The first thing I’ll have to do is explain all this to them. I thought I’d be gone for a few days, maybe a week. I’ve been away for longer than that now. They must be freaking out. I know my grandmother. She’s probably worried to death about me.”
I put a hand to my head and groaned, remembering the vague note I’d left for them.
I’d been so anxious to get going, I hadn’t spent more than a few seconds on it.
I didn’t even tell them what direction I was heading.
All they knew was that I was going to try and find the Demon Wolf and have him teach me to shift.
Based on the stories everyone told and believed, for all they knew, Leviathan Cross had murdered me.
Levi put a hand to my chin, turning to meet his eyes again. “I’m serious, June. It’ll all work out.”
The confidence in his voice helped dull some of the anxiety, but there was an even bigger and more pressing issue to deal with. One that dawned on me at that exact moment.
“Shit. What are we going to tell your pack?”
“My pack?” Levi frowned. “What do you mean?”
“About me being your fated mate,” I said, staring at him like he’d lost his mind. “That’s pretty big news, isn’t it?”
He hesitated, but only for a moment. “It is. Though, they’ve been pushing me to take a mate for a while. I think it will be a relief for most of them.”
“Most?” I said, though I already knew who he meant.
He grimaced. “I have to be honest, Eugenia has had her eyes on that spot for the last year or two.”
“Ugh, I knew there was a reason she didn’t like me. I came into Hidden Grove riding on your back,” I said, rolling my eyes in exasperation.
“Don’t worry about her,” Levi said. “These are all issues we can solve, and questions we can answer. Right now, I want to enjoy this. Enjoy us.”
His hand slipped down, brushing across my stomach, and his cock twitched against my thigh.
“Again?” I gasped with a laugh. “Already?”
Levi grinned, his hand gliding up to cup my breast.
“We can go to sleep, if you want,” he said with mock sincerity.
“Not a chance,” I said, swinging my leg over his waist and straddling him.