She frowned, knowing they would never be able to make love without having to think about his safety. That itself was a hard pill to swallow.
She knew she wouldn’t be happy, fully happy, without having someone that could handle her in bed. She needed someone that could pin her and force her into submission. Levi couldn’t. She needed an alpha if she wanted a fully satisfying relationship.
Levi, the geeky, funny guy, was great. He made her laugh, and he made her feel safe. He was her fated mate, after all, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up with her lifestyle, and soon they would hate each other.
No woman would be happy suppressing their need for sex, and no man would be proud to know they were holding their woman back.
Her stomach flipped, knowing that their future wouldn’t be together. It was like mixing water and oil and expecting them to blend. She hated the idea, but it was the truth.
She had to accept it because if she didn’t, it would only get harder. She knew she could move on. She could go back to the way she lived before. It wasn’t terrible.
She would continue to live in the woods and run free. She could do whatever she wanted, and there would be no one to tell her she couldn’t. Sure, she wouldn’t have her fated mate, but there were lots of people that didn’t. How was this any different? This didn’t change anything in her life.
Her wolf growled, telling her she was wrong. It changed everything.
A sharp crushing pain hit Hannah, and she grabbed onto the railing to stop herself from falling. Leaving Levi would mentally kill her. Sure, she would survive, but every day she would miss him. She would never stop thinking about him.
Her wolf snarled angrily at her, warning her that it would never allow her to leave Levi. You only got one fated mate, and that was it.
Hannah shook her head, needing to focus on something else. If she didn’t, she would start to cry. She couldn’t be having this emotional roller coaster when she was still working.
She wiped at her eyes and shook her head. “Calm down,” she told herself. “Stop crying. We’re fine. Everything is fine.”
“Hey.” Hannah jumped and turned around to see Levi standing behind her. How long had he been standing there? His eyes widened slightly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded her head, “Just …” She froze, trying to think of a lie. “I just saw a squirrel fall out of a tree. Laughed my ass off.”
Levi rose an eyebrow at her.
She shrugged. “My inner wolf is kind of sadistic.”
Levi shook his head, holding a smirk. “Anyway, I need to head into the office. There are a few things I need to take care of, and doing it over the phone just isn’t cutting it.”
“Oh, well, do you want me to drive?” She hoped he wanted her to. She wanted to get her mind off everything.
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m going to call us a driver. I’ll be on the phone the entire time, and you probably don’t want to listen to me yelling while you drive. It’s fine.”
Hannah frowned. “I don’t mind some yelling.” She took a few steps toward him. “I’ll drive you. I’m a great driver, and besides, I’m a little bored. I think it would be good for me to take some time on the road.”
That and she wanted to get away from her inner thoughts. Maybe listening to Levi yell at someone while she sped down the highway was just what she needed right now. “Please? I promise to be on my best behavior even.”
She gave him an exaggerated pouty face, popping her lip. Levi snorted and shook his head. “Fine, fine. Just make sure we get there in one piece, and you can’t question everyone at my work. We don’t have that much time on our hands.”
Hannah cheered as Levi turned, going back inside. She followed him all the way to the garage where his cars were. Hannah pointed toward the Audi A8. “Let’s take this one. Looks fast.”
Levi snorted once more, shaking his head. “Just drive carefully.”
She saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
After they both buckled up, Hannah pulled them out of the garage and onto the open road. She hit the gas, trying to run from her thoughts, but they followed.
14
HANNAH
As Levi reached the entrance to the building, he couldn’t help but be frustrated. He was hoping to look over the Einstein code at home after getting it back from the Lincoln team, but nothing was matching up to him. He tried several times, but each time it seemed something was off.
His stomach was in knots. He knew something was wrong, but he just didn’t know what.