He had to apologize, he had to make up for what he had done, and at least try to make things right with her. Dragons and wolves didn’t have the best relationship, but maybe he and Lyra were proof that it didn’t have to be that way.
Lyra was a lot like her dad. She was a logical person, so she wouldn’t instantly attack him the moment she saw him. But there was no telling how much he had hurt her. As he drew closer to the bakery, he heard Garret ranting on in the back. His voice was a little muted, as he was on the far side of the building, but Levi could easily pick him out with his superhearing.
“No, no…did you see how that dog was trying to bully him? Levi just stood there, as Orson basically ran circles around us! How can they summon us, accuse us of some shit, and get to walk away like that?” Garret yelled.
“Be quiet,” said Adebayo.
“Why? ‘Cause he could hear me? I really don’t care at this point. I say it again and again—Levi isn’t fit to lead this pack, not in the least. We have to do something about that, and it’s the only way we move forward. The only way we survive is if we have someone willing to make the strong decisions,” Garret finished.
“What makes you think that person is you?” Val asked.
“I don’t think it is, I’m just certain it’s not Levi.”
Chapter 6 - Lyra
Lyra sat by the front porch, a cup of coffee in her hand, her mind frothing almost as much as the liquid. As it poured down her throat, she reveled in the sting of heat, in the pain. This morning, she felt like punishing herself for something—no, she felt like punishinghim.But since she couldn’t, since she had forced him out of existence in her mind, she was the one to bear the cross. Besides, if she hadn’t been stupid enough to fall for him all those years ago, then she wouldn’t be here.
She sighed, took another sip, and drew her long fingers along the side of the mug. It was her father’s favorite mug, and had an image of a “big bad wolf” on it. Growing up, she had found it creepy. She smiled now, trying to distract her mind. For some reason, the birds were really quiet today.
They normally loved to sing and hang around the cables, like they had not a single care in the world. Instead, the sky was oddly vacant. It would soon be their time of the year for migration, and she would once again have to get used to cold mornings void of birdsong or love tweets. There was just something different about the day—even Jackson had barely come out, and he was always everywhere.
There was nothing to distract her from the thoughts of Levi that now plagued her. Three hours later, Lyra was in her room, her eyes tightly shut, trying to trick her mind into silence. If only her father and the rest of the pack hadn’t gone out that day in search of Caleb. Or if only they had gone out a little later, or a little earlier. If only he hadn’t insisted on confronting the dragons.
But then, it was so selfish of her to think those things. Still, if any of that had been the case, she wouldn’t be in the awful position she now found herself in, her mind flooded with memories and thoughts of what might have been. She closed her eyes, and Levi was all she could see. The dismay in his eyes when they first saw each other in the park. And then, it was like he didn’t give a single damn. Like it hadn’t been years since they last saw each other. Like, all those years before, he hadn’t professed undying love to her.
A growl rose in her throat as she grabbed a pillow and flung it so hard that if it had been a rock it would have crashed through the wall. She had learned to control her rage years ago, but it still sometimes it got the best of her. Levi had left hooks in her heart, hooks she did not know were still in it, and as much as she did her best to be uninterested, Lyra felt something call at him. Seeing him had only made those feelings worse.
She hated him. Oh, she hated him so much. A part of her was relieved that he had just acted like he had never seen her before when they came across each other. Another part of her was absolutely livid that he would act that way—like they hadn’t shared a life together.
“It’s in the past now, Lyra,” she said to herself. “There’s nothing to think about.” It was in the past and she had promised to leave the past in the past, where it belonged.
To think that he was the first man she had ever truly loved, and one day he was just. . .gone. For the many months after, she had latched on to the hope that he would return, that he didn’t mean to abandon her. But none of that wishful thinking could bring him back. He had left her. That was all that mattered.
Lyra felt irritated at the moisture that was building in her eyes. Her father had thought her to be strong, no place for weakness. And even if she ever let a man make her weak, it couldn’t be a man like Levi.
She shut her eyes tightly and pushed the tears back. She was happy—she had Adam and he meant the whole world to her. Even if he was a constant reminder of his father, she loved her son to a full moon and back. He had given her life meaning, hope, and a sense of direction.
Just as she thought of Adam, there was a knock on the door that knocked her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the wall clock. It was a little too early for him to be back home—no, it was way too early. A small panic immediately ran through her. The other day he had run away from school, he was scared. She had seen it in his eyes, the impending evil he spoke of.
Worried, she didn’t bother to put on more clothing and rushed to the door in the short dress she was wearing. If itwasAdam, and something had happened…No, she decided not to think about it.
No one else in the building had heard the knock. As a matter of fact, the house sounded empty. Her hands quivered with the keys until she was able to open the door. Her heart rose to her mouth, expecting the worst. But it wasn’t Adam on the front steps, waiting to jump into her arms.
It was Levi.
Lyra froze, her hands starting to quiver again. How had she not recognized his scent? Her mind was so focused on thinking of him, that she had completely missed it. There he was, with a confused smile on his face. She thought of the chances that she had spent the entire morning thinking about him, and now he was here in front of her.
What were the chances that it wasn’t just her subconscious feeding her the images? She wanted to touch him to be sure that he was real, but if there was even a chance, she didn’t even want to be within touching proximity.
Levi stood there, his hands in his pockets, looking like he had been taking a casual stroll and decided to breeze by. He wore a t-shirt and baggy jeans that made him look at least a few years younger. And there she stood, the cleavage on her dress so low he could probably see her belly button if he tried. And it was not just her boobs on display, but her legs.
Instantly, she felt so grossly naked. And as his eyes slowly rolled over her body, it felt like she was being stripped of what little clothing covered her. Lyra felt like screaming, but she couldn’t find any words to say. It felt like a dream, no, a nightmare come to life.
“Hello,” he said.
It had been a thousand years, she thought. And as much as she hated to admit it, he looked so dangerously fine. After all these years, how could he still look so good? How was he as beautiful as the first day she saw him?
His black hair was only mildly ruffled, like he had jumped out of bed but spared a minute to finger-comb it in the mirror. His brown eyes tore through her, searching, searching—for what?