Was he doing that on purpose? Or was he unaware of how close he sat?
Either way, it didn’t change my reaction—a sudden awareness of my sensitive nerve endings, of the warmth pooling in my chest. An electric sensation shimmied through my body every time Leveret breathed in and out, causing him to rustle against me ever so slightly.
Where did this intensity come from?
I shut my eyes, trying to focus on anything except Leveret’s body sharing space with mine. Autumn wind rustled the trees. Small animals chittered in the undergrowth. The air was cool and fragrant with the scent of fallen leaves.
But none of it distracted me enough to forget Leveret was right next to me. The calm rhythm of his breathing was like a ticking clock.
In, out. In, out.
“Animus,” he said, sounding a bit disappointed.
I snapped back to the real world.
“What is it?” I asked.
Leveret stared at the chamomile, the corners of his mouth pulled into a minuscule frown. “Do you not like it?”
Oh gods. I’d spaced out again, sucked into my thoughts as I lost track of time. He must’ve thought I ignored his gift—or worse, him.
I reacted without thinking. I put a hand on his knee to console him.
“No, it’s not that,” I promised. “I love your gift, Leveret.”
His expression brightened. “Oh. Then I’m glad.” Suddenly looking shy, he added, “Whenever I find chamomile, I have to eat it right away. It’s too tempting. But you didn’t eat it, so I thought maybe you didn’t like it.”
A startled laugh tumbled out of me. “Not everyone is so keen to eat flowers, you know.”
“I know. I just don’t get it. What’s tastier than a fresh flower?”
I twirled the stem between my dark claws. “Do you want this?”
His eyes shone with clear desire, but he solemnly shook his head. “No. It’s for you to relax.” His lids drooped with sympathy. “You looked tired and weak earlier. I was worried about you.”
The peaceful warmth seeping across my body flared. Gods, why wouldn’t this feeling go away? Every moment spent with Leveret only made it worse.
With a jolt, I recognized the feeling. I’d felt it once before, when I allowed myself to fall into a terrible trap.
Trust. That’s what it was. ItrustedLeveret.
Trusting mortals was dangerous. I knew that better than anyone. They toyed with your heart—then broke it.
The last time I trusted a mortal, I paid the ultimate price for a spirit—every drop of my magic was stolen from me.
I clenched my eyes shut and held my breath. My rightly paranoid mind screamed at me to put the wall upnow.It was dangerous to spend another honest second with Leveret. To protect myself, I had to be the villain everyone in his pack thought I was.
But...
My heart wasn’t in it.
I enjoyed being with him, even when it was a moment as simple as this—the two of us sitting side-by-side on a boulder in the autumn air.
For a second, I forgot everything about magic and spirits and betrayal. There was only the feeling of Leveret brushing against me.
Was it so wrong tolikethis?
Leveret concerned himself over me. He cared for me. It made no sense. Why him, out of all the shifters in his pack? Their feelings towards me ranged from decidedly neutral to wishing I’d disappear.