Then I got a hold of myself. I cleared my throat.
"Thank you, Leveret. I appreciate that," I murmured.
He smiled brightly. He was always handsome, but I couldn't help but realize how much it shined when he smiled.
I tore myself from his gaze before my racing thoughts turned any weirder.
"The site of the collapsed cave is just ahead," I told him. "When we get there, I want you to stand back. Let me do the talking."
Leveret hesitated like he wanted to refuse, but said, "Okay."
He better not have planned any ridiculous brave alpha nonsense. Although I doubted he was the type to throw himself in danger, I needed to drive the point home. I couldn't watch him get hurt for my sake.
"Thisbrotherof mine is the nastiest of the three," I warned him. "He tried to kill your cousin Ashe."
Leveret's eyes widened, his expression turning more serious. "Oh."
"Now that I think about it, the last time we spoke, he told me I should've never been born," I mused. "So suffice to say, he's not a pleasant entity."
A shadow draped across Leveret's sweet face. Indignation and outrage painted his expression, twisting it into a darker version of its usual self.
I'd never seen him look so upset.
"He said that?" Leveret asked flatly.
"Yes. He's not my biggest fan."
Leveret's hands curled into fists and he let out a guttural, angry sound. His sudden shift in emotion frightened me—not because I was afraid of him, but because I didn't want him to get into a fight he couldn't win.
And if he got hurt, I had nobody to blame but myself.
At the same time, I felt oddly relieved, almosthappy.Nobody had ever cared this much about what others said about me.
But he did.
I rushed towards Leveret, putting my hands on his shoulders. "It's okay, Leveret. It was just words. I'm here in front of you, right?"
That jarred him. The shadow lifted and his eyes grew clear. His gaze dropped to the ground.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I don't know what happened. I just got really mad."
I gave in to the urge to stroke his hair, feeling like it was the right thing to do. "It's okay."
Leveret didn't seem to mind me petting his hair. He slowly closed his eyes and breathed.
"That was a horrible thing to say about you," he mumbled.
I shrugged. "Talk is cheap. I'm used to it."
"Everybody should stop being cruel to you. You don't deserve it."
I let out a sardonic laugh. "Well, I've done some... let's saymorally graythings in the recent past."
"I don't care," he said bluntly.
He was brutally honest, yet so terribly sweet.
"Ikidnappedyou, remember?" I said.