Caging the Wolf (Snowdonia Wolves) (8 page)

There was some good news in the morning. The vet rang to say that Charlie was improving, and after a couple days more of monitoring, he might be allowed home. After a quick trip to see my dog, we loaded our bags into Mum’s car.

Levi settled himself behind the wheel and flashed me a grin so sexy, it should’ve been illegal. “I’ve scored the pimp-mobile and the hot chick. What’s next?”

I couldn’t help giggling. “It’s a fifteen-year-old Beemer, not a Cadillac.”

“You haven’t seen what I drive. A BMW is a step up, believe me.”

It’d been uncomfortable leaving my parents, but Levi was steadily lifting my spirits. “Why don’t we try to make it to the Welsh border before we stop for coffee?” I peered out of the windows at the white flakes steadily falling. “This is the heaviest snowfall in years, according to the weather service. Have you driven in snow before?”

“Baby, I come from New Zealand. We have some of the best ski-fields in the world.”

He would certainly have more experience of driving on narrow mountain passes than me, so I settled back into my seat and scrolled through my playlist selection to choose some music for the journey. “Have you arranged to meet up with your friends when we get there?” I asked.

“Yep. I put a call in to Tammy. I’m a good buddy of her brother, Sasha, and she’s sorted out somewhere for us to stay. We’re heading for a village that sounds like
Bathe-Gelut
, and I’ve got directions written down. It’s all good.”

I was on a road trip with the hottest guy ever. We’d be able to get naked and have hot monkey sex without my parents interrupting. What more could I want? A nagging sense of disquiet sat at the back of my mind. I wanted my dad to like Levi, but I figured it would take time. I could either fret over that, or I could enjoy this stolen time with him. Another doubt crept in. He lived twelve thousand miles away. If I wanted to try and have any kind of relationship with him, one of us would have to relocate.

“Hey.” Levi took my hand and squeezed my fingers, before resting our linked hands on his thigh. “Looks like you’re thinking too hard again.”

“Sorry, you’re right. I’m borrowing trouble, as my mum says.” I took a quick breath and decided to leave all the mental baggage for another day. “So tell me, what’s it like being able to change into a wolf whenever you want to?”

“Pretty goddamn awesome, but it’s normal to me. I can’t imagine how you must feel, without an animal inside you.”

He explained that although shifting between forms didn’t take place until puberty, they were all aware of their inner wolves from their earliest memories. As we crawled along the congested Manchester motorways, he told me about the Pack he belonged to in Wellington. It was nothing like a gang, as I’d first imagined, and more of an extended family group. Levi was excited to meet the Welsh wolves, and to see where his friend had grown up.

I began to relax, and managed to ignore the anxious prickle at the back of my neck.

Hours later, after several stops for coffee and to admire the spectacular views of the Welsh mountains, we hit a problem. The snow, much heavier here, had blocked some of the roads and we needed to divert. Our phones had no signal, and since we had written directions, we’d not thought to bring a map. The light was failing rapidly, and it would be dark within the hour.

The prickling in my neck intensified and I rolled my shoulders and tried to stretch, while scanning the road ahead. “What’s the name of the village?”

“Tammy said it was
Bathe-Gelut
.” Levi squeezed my fingers. “Next sign of habitation we’ll stop and ask directions. We can’t be far away.”

“There’s another junction here.” I pointed to the sign, and laughed. “That might be how it’s pronounced, but it’s not spelled like that.” The sign proclaimed:
Beddgelert – 10 miles
.

“Not far at all.” Levi flashed me a grin, but he looked tired. “That freakin’ diversion added two hours-”

The strange feeling in my neck exploded into a screaming warning and I clenched my fist on Levi’s thigh, fear tearing down my spine. “Stop!” I cried, interrupting him. Without questioning me, he brought the car to a safe halt.

“What just happened?” He grabbed my hands. “Jess. Talk to me.”

“I don’t know.” My heart hammered and my lungs were struggling to draw breath. “I just knew we had to stop.”

He smoothed the hair from my face, and waited until I’d calmed down. “Okay, let’s take this next corner really slow, see what’s up ahead.” I nodded.

In the couple minutes that we’d been stationery, the snow had already covered the car. I’d never seen it so thick, so blanket-like.

Levi set off again, at a crawl. This was ridiculous weather for driving, and I feared if we didn't get there soon, we’d have to sleep in the car. This final stretch had been horrendous. Narrow roads that hugged the side of the mountain, with steep drops on the other side, hairpin-tight bends, and zero visibility. Maybe that’s why I felt so odd? Travel sickness. Even as I thought that, I discounted it.

We embarked on the next blind curve, the wipers flying across the windshield, but barely keeping it clear of snow. Looming out of the white blur, was a hulking shape completely blocking the road. My heart leapt into my mouth.

Levi slammed on the brakes again. “What the fuck is that? Looks like a van, sideways, and covered in snow.” If we’d been going any faster, we’d have hit it. I shivered at the realisation. My prickly sixth sense might have saved us being in an accident.

“Must have spun.” Levi turned in his seat and looked behind us. “We’ll have to back up. There’s no room to turn around.” He glanced back at the blockage. “We’d better see if the driver is still inside. They might be hurt.”

He was right, and it made sense, but I didn’t like the idea. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight, not even for a minute. What was the matter with me? I was jumping at shadows.

Levi reached into the back seat for his leather jacket, and I snapped into action. “I’m coming.” I grabbed my own coat, a thick down-filled parka.

“Stay here, where it’s warm and dry. No sense in us both getting wet.” He was already opening the door, a blinding swirl of snowflakes pouring in, and he climbed out before I had chance to reply.

Common sense told me to listen to him. My gut told me differently and I scrambled to follow him, tugging on my coat as I went.

The BMW headlights lit up the stricken vehicle, and Levi went to try the driver’s door. A couple of steps behind him, I was momentarily confused when another set of lights swept over the van.

Another vehicle was coming around the bend. And it didn’t know we were blocking the road.

Engine noises. Metal on metal. A scream.

The world was filled with unearthly sounds. I didn’t have time to react, to even think.

“
Jess
.” Something shoved into my side, sending me sprawling, face down in the snow. Levi.

Every atom of breath whooshed out of my lungs and the shock-wave reverberated through my entire body. I tried to process what had just happened. Another car had hit the BMW. Levi had pushed me out of the way.

I tried to inhale, but couldn’t find my breath. Where was Levi? Was he hurt? Lights flashed, and over the buzzing in my ears, I heard voices. Shouting. I pushed to my knees and dragged in some precious oxygen. My chest hurt with the effort, but I took another ragged breath, and then another.

“Levi.” I tried to shout his name, but it came out as a wheezy croak. “
Levi
.”

Suddenly there were other people, hands helping me to my feet, voices asking if I was hurt.

“Where’s Levi? My boyfriend. He pushed me out of the way.”

“Over here,” a man’s voice boomed.  I staggered toward him. I had to find Levi. Adrenaline must have been coursing through my veins, because I didn’t feel any pain, just the desperate need to find Levi. I’d never forgive myself if he was hurt. Why didn’t I stay in the car?

I stumbled through the snow, a stranger’s arm supporting me. It was only a couple steps, but felt like miles. I ran a dozen scenarios in my head. Levi was bleeding to death. Levi was already dead. I had to tell his family. I had to live without him. Pain filled my chest.

There he was. He lay on his side, fresh snow already blanketing him, and I dropped to my knees. “
Levi
. Babe?” I groped for his hand.
Please be okay. Please be alive.

Time stopped for the longest moment. I tangled our fingers together, and leaned forward to brush the snow from his face. “
Levi
.”

His eyes opened. Blinked. “Jess.” He tried to sit up, groaned, and sank back down again. “Baby, you okay?”

I squeezed his fingers. “I am now.”

Someone draped a heavy coat over my shoulders, and a blanket around Levi. He kept insisting he was fine, but when he tried to stand, he was in visible pain and our rescuers helped him to their car, a big off-roader. I clung to his hand. It was only when I sat in the warm, dry vehicle that I gave in to the shock. My teeth chattered, and I shivered from head to toe. I suddenly realised that Levi was talking to the strangers, and I tried to pay attention.

There were three guys, all young and strong looking. Each had the same brilliant blue eyes as Levi, and the same graceful way of moving. I tried not to stare. Were they wolves too?

“I’m Levi, and this is Jess.” He hesitated, and then squeezed my fingers. “She’s my Mate.”

Mate? It seemed to hold some significance to the Welsh men, as they instantly relaxed around me.

“We’re ten miles outside the village. Fastest if I shift, and run like that,” offered the youngest. He gave me a shy smile. “I’m Dai Evans.”

One the others clapped him on the shoulder. “Good lad. Get them to send the tractor to drag the vehicles clear. Morris is putting out some warning lights to stop anyone else from coming through.”

Levi tugged me closer on the back seat of the car. “I’m sorry, baby. Did I hurt you?”

His concern brought tears to my eyes. “I’m fine, thanks to you.”

With the help of the third rescuer, Taff, we pieced the events together. The van had swerved to avoid a fox, spun on the ice and got stuck. The driver had set off to get help, and this crew had been on their way to recover the vehicle. Coming around the bend, they’d been unable to avoid our car, smashing the passenger side of the BMW into the rock face.

Where I’d been sitting was completely mangled.

In the shunt, the BMW had lurched forward, and Levi had pushed me clear, taking the hit himself. The young wolf, Dai, was going to despatch the local doctor to come and check on Levi, and then they’d figure out if he needed to go to hospital. In the meantime, they kindly recovered our luggage, and gave us hot drinks, then left us alone while they worked to clear the road.

We huddled together, and I tried very hard not to cry. Levi’s pained, wheezing breath scared me. I needed to talk, to distract myself from the realisation that Levi had risked himself to save my life. “You called me your mate,” I whispered. “I thought I was a bit more than that.”

“Ah yes.” He ran his knuckles down my cheek. “There’s something I should explain. It’s not mate, as in friend.” He paused, and I saw uncertainty in his eyes. “Some wolves,” he continued slowly, “are lucky enough to find their true partner. Their
Mate
. Like your dad, when he met your mum.” His smile was hesitant. “We mate for life.”

“Oh.” I tried to focus on his words. Thought about how good my parents were together, how happy, and still in love with each other. “And you think I’m your Mate?”

“I
know
you are.” He drew my hand to his mouth and pressed a hot kiss on my palm. “When you freed me from that cage. My wolf recognised you as its own.”

“Oh,” I repeated, my mind spinning and Levi nipped playfully at my fingertips.

“You already said that,” he murmured.

I pulled my wits together, as best I could. “So what does this mean?”

“That all depends on you, Jess. Whether or not you want to accept me.”

A short while later, things went chaotic again. The local doctor arrived and checked out Levi. There were definitely some broken ribs, and most likely fractures to his sternum and collarbone. He needed an X-ray, to make sure his lungs hadn’t been punctured, but apart from that he seemed to be fine. Luckily for us, the medical centre in Beddgelert could do this, rather than having to transport him to hospital—a near impossibility in this weather.

Wherever he went, I’d be with him, holding his hand.

I couldn’t be sure how I felt about the Mate issue. It was too big and complicated to think about right now, and so I pushed it from my mind. At least for the moment.

Our first night in a shared bed was not how I imagined. Despite Levi’s protests of
feeling fine
, he’d been given strong painkillers and lay doped up and grumpy, while I tried to avoid moving. He was bruised from the neck down to his stomach, and I was terrified of hurting him in my sleep, if I rolled over.

“I want to hold you,” he grumbled, and so we spooned together. “I wanted to turn your legs to jelly again tonight, and then fuck you into oblivion.”

I stroked his hand where it curved around my breast. “Maybe in a few days.”

“These damned drugs.” His sleep-filled voice rumbled in my ear. “I don’t think I can even stay awake long enough to come into your dreams. I’m sorry, baby.”

My eyes filled up. “You have nothing to apologise for.” From his slow, steady breathing, I figured he was already asleep.

I was still wide awake, and with too many thoughts tearing around inside my head, to sleep any time soon. Everybody here had been so helpful and friendly, wolves and non-wolves alike. We’d met Tammy, the sister of Levi’s friend, Sasha, and she’d been brilliant. She’d booked us a room in this lovely inn, and had promised us a guided tour of the area as soon as Levi was up and about. She was also organising the insurance on Mum’s battered car, and sorting out a hire vehicle for us.

Our immediate problems had all been taken care of.

My thoughts returned to the man beside me. His body curled around mine, protecting me even in his sleep. Could I really consider a long-term relationship with him after such a short time? And if I did, would I move back to New Zealand with him? What about the shop?

The depth of what I felt for Levi was impossible to explain. I knew with a profound certainty that leaving him was not an option, so now I had to figure out how we could make it work. What would happen to Dad’s shop? How would my parents cope with me living thousands of miles away?

I had no answers.

****

After breakfast the next morning, Levi went for a check-up with the doctor, and I had a little time to myself. I found a quiet spot and set up a Facetime call with my parents.

I told them of the accident. How Levi had saved me. How he wanted to claim me as his Mate, and how I wanted to say yes.

Dad looked sideways at Mum, and then back at me. “The day I met your mum, I knew she was mine. I would move heaven and earth to be with her, and I still feel the same.” He gazed into the distance for a moment. Mum nudged him with her elbow and he met my eyes again. “I know how Levi must feel about you. I understand.”

“And,” piped up Mum. “If you feel for Levi even a tenth of what I feel for your dad, you’ll be very happy with him.”

Dad spoke again. “If you want to make a life together, Jessie-Bell, I’d be wrong to stand in your way. We’ll figure it out.”

The call over, I went back to our room, and found Levi sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Hey,” he greeted me, and patted the space beside him. “C’mon over here. I think I’m dying of hypothermia and I need your body warmth to keep me alive.”

I moved to his side. “If I want to hold you, will it hurt?”

“I’d be more hurt if you didn’t.”

We sprawled together, Levi propped up with a mountain of pillows, and he found a comfortable position where we could snuggle.

“I’ve been thinking,” I began, watching the expression on his face. “If I became your Mate, what would that mean for us?”

Hope flared in his eyes. He slid one hand into my hair and cupped the back of my head. “It’d be tough. There’d be lots of hot sex.”

I bit back my giggle. “Really?”

“Oh yeah. I’d also spend all my days telling you how beautiful you are, and how much I love you.”

“Really?”

He huffed out a laugh. “I’m thinking it’s a good sign that I reduce you to near speechlessness.”

I grabbed my courage and held it tight. “I love you. I know it’s early days, but I love you, Levi. I want to make this work.”

“I love you too, baby. You’ve just caught yourself a wolf.”

I stole a kiss. “I haven’t put you in cage.”

He stole one from me. “Actually you have. But your love is a cage I never want to leave.”