Page 19

Levi

Nothing was better than getting off work early on a Friday. On my drive home, I'd come up with a plan. First, I was going to shower. Then I was going to text Finn and invite him over for dinner with the suggestion that we start our weekend together a little early.

I couldn't wait to have Finn in my arms again, to kiss him, to touch every inch of his soft, pale skin, to look into those beautiful eyes of his again.

Greta raced up to me the moment I stepped into the house, and I picked her up, then gave her a little nuzzle as she tried to bat my face away.

"Don't be like that. I'm not that sweaty."

She hissed, and I concluded that I really was too sweaty.

With a sigh, I placed her back on the floor, and she hurried away from me, no longer excited about my return .

Shaking my head, I went straight to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and quickly undressed while the water heated up.

A groan left my lips as I stepped under the shower and the hot water started pounding on my tired muscles.

Working construction wasn't an easy job, but it was one where we got to see the result of our hard work in real time, which I liked.

I would be miserable at a desk job of any kind.

I didn't know how Finn did it, but I supposed he'd say the same about my job.

Thinking about Finn made me wish he was here with me, and my thoughts went back to that day we'd showered together after sex. His slim and slick body had felt so good pressed against mine, and if I hadn't just come, I could've come simply by watching him wash himself.

I glanced down at my ready-to-roll cock, and sighed. Wrapping my palm around my length, I imagined it was Finn's hand on me, stroking me in long, firm strokes as he nibbled at my neck, pressing me against the cold tile of the bathroom and covering me with his body.

A groan left my lips as my climax drew closer, and I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining Finn's hand on me, his lips brushing against mine as his tongue slipped into my mouth before retreating away, only for his mouth to latch onto my neck.

"Fuck!" I gasped as my pleasure rose and rose, and then I fell over the edge, spilling into my fist as I shouted Finn's name, almost slipping on the wet tile before I caught myself .

I waited until I felt steady enough before trying to move, letting the water wash away every trace of my climax. My skin buzzed with pleasure, and I wished Finn was here simply so I could hold him for a moment.

Shaking my head, I finished washing up, then dried myself off and found some clothes to put on. I chose something nice since I planned to invite Finn over, and pulled on a pale blue turtleneck and dark jeans.

Brushing my hair into some semblance of order, I found my phone, then texted Finn.

Me : Hey, I got home early. How about we start our weekend early with dinner at my place?

I double-checked the clock to make sure he would be off work before hitting send, then waited for his reply. And waited some more. And kept waiting.

In all the time we'd reconnected, he'd never taken more than a few minutes to answer, even when he was working. I didn't like this one bit. He could be in trouble.

The dragon wouldn't let anyone come to harm, right? But what if he hadn't noticed?

Or what if Finn wasn't in danger from anyone else but himself? What if he'd taken a nap or something and had a nightmare again?

I scrolled through my contacts, found Amelia's number, and sent her a text. She replied almost instantly, and she hadn't heard from Finn today at all .

Assuring her there was nothing to worry about, I grabbed my jacket and rushed to my car, Greta at my heels. I could've sent her to check on Finn, but I wanted to see him myself now, to make sure he was okay.

Before I drove to Finn's place, I tried calling him, just in case he was busy with something and hadn't heard the texts come in. The call rang and rang before switching to voicemail, and I sighed before ending the call. Damn it, Finn. Please be okay.

A small part of me wondered if I might be overreacting, but after everything we'd been through, I couldn't make myself not worry.

No matter how safe this town was, the world itself was a scary place, and any number of bad things could happen. I wasn't going to be able to calm down until I saw Finn.

Arriving at his place, I parked the car and ran up the porch steps, ringing the doorbell twice in my impatience. The car was here as well, so Finn could be home. Maybe he was just taking a nap, and I'd been panicking for nothing.

Jai opened the door, his brows furrowing before a smile replaced the look. "Hey, Levi. Come on in."

"Is Finn home?"

"No, actually. He went out a while ago, and we just assumed he was headed to see you. You don't know where he went either?"

"Nope. He wasn't answering his phone or replying to my texts, so I got worried. "

Jai's face went tight with worry, and he waved at me to follow, then led me to the living room, where Raphael took one look at his face and shot to his feet.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"Did Finn tell you where he was going?"

"I just assumed..." He trailed off when he spotted me, and sighed. "He didn't come to you, did he?"

I shook my head, and Raphael swore under his breath.

"Okay, we need to calm down. Finn's not a kid. He probably just wanted some time to himself," I said, hoping I was right. I understood myself enough to know I was reacting from a place of trauma, and I needed to calm down.

Finn wasn't in any danger, and he'd be home soon. I was sure of it.

"You're right," Jai said, then glanced at Raphael, who nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly. "Would you like to wait for him, Levi?"

"If that's okay."

"Of course, but you have to stay for dinner," Jai said, and I smiled.

"Sounds good to me."

"You also have to help with dinner," Raphael added, and I grinned.

"That's better. Where do you need me?"

Jai smiled, then led me into the kitchen, and I tried to focus on the tasks he handed me instead of worrying about Finn. He'd be back, safe and sound. He had to be .

Finn

Since Dr. Griffin's cabin was in walking distance—like most things in Mistvale were, if you had the time—I left home early and decided to go on foot so I'd have some time to myself to gather my thoughts. I wanted to be honest today, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

I hadn't told anyone where I was going. Not my dads, not my siblings, not even Neel or Ames, and certainly not Levi.

I wasn't sure why. Maybe because I was afraid I still wouldn't be able to open up, and I didn't want to have to admit that failure to anyone.

Or maybe it was because I'd been pretending everything was okay for so long, and I didn't want them to find out it wasn't.

Dr. Griffin's cabin was exactly as I remembered, covered in vines and climbers and one with nature. They were fae, and I didn't know if it was their magic that made the earth practically swallow their cabin, or if it was just nature being nature. Levi would be able to tell.

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and climbed the steps to the front door, then knocked.

Dr. Griffin opened the door themself—while I'd talked to their assistant a few times, I'd never seen her—and smiled. Dr. Griffin had an ethereal sort of beauty—thanks to their fae heritage—and as a kid, I'd sometimes thought they ought to be an angel of some sort .

"Finn, it's good to see you. Come on in."

I stepped into the cabin, and they closed the door behind me.

While the outside of the cabin hadn't changed, the inside definitely had.

For one, there were very few of their tchotchkes lying around.

The tables and shelves used to be full of them, but now there were barely a dozen of them in the whole room.

Dr. Griffin must've noticed my preoccupation because they paused on their way to the door that led into their office, and glanced back at me, making the beads in their many braids clink against each other.

"I don't live here now," they said, which certainly explained things. I hadn't heard anything about them moving away through the gossip mill, but then again they and their mate, Hector, tended to stay on the sideline when it came to clan involvement.

"Sit. Would you like some water?"

"Yes, please. Thanks," I said as my nerves came back tenfold now that I was in their office. I'd spent hours in this room, and yet it never felt comfortable.

Dr. Griffin placed a glass of water in front of me before settling in their usual chair, their deep purple gown spread out before them. Their pale green eyes scanned my face, lingering on my eyes—or maybe my glasses?—for a long moment before moving away.

"What brings you here today, Finn?"

One of the things I liked about them was that they never beat around the bush, and they didn't let me do it either .

I took a big gulp of water, swallowed, returned the glass to the table, then linked my fingers in my lap before I finally found the courage to start speaking.

"I'm having nightmares again. Bad ones."

Dr. Griffin made a soft sound of sympathy, then leaned forward. "Do you know why they've reappeared now?"

"I think so," I admitted, and when they stayed quiet, I continued, "They started after Dean left for college. They were mostly about him and Penny. But then..."

"Go on," they urged softly, and my latest nightmare flashed through my mind, making me shudder.

"I met someone recently. He—we were held captive together, but he managed to escape. Only they told us he was dead."

"And now you found out he's your mate," Dr. Griffin said, and I blinked, then glanced up at them.

"How did you know?"

"Ah," they said, then gave me a soft smile. "It was easy to guess from the way you talk about him, but I shouldn't be making guesses. I apologize."

My cheeks heated up at their observation, and I ducked my head. Did I really speak differently when I was talking about Levi? That was embarrassing.

"Please, continue. How did it make you feel? Seeing him again when you thought he was dead?"

I thought back to that day in the grocery store, and listed off the emotions I'd felt when I realized who he was. "Shock, confusion, joy, hurt, fear. "

"Why hurt?"

I sighed, then shook my head. "It was stupid."

"Finn," they warned, and my lips curved upward.

"Yeah, I know. My feelings aren't stupid. I...before he escaped, he'd promised me that if he ever found an escape, he'd take us with him, or come back for us. When I realized he had left but hadn't come back for us..."

Dr. Griffin hummed, then asked, "What changed? From the way you speak of him, I get the feeling you're on better terms now."

My lips tingled from the memory of his kisses, and I couldn't help smiling.

"We are. We talked later. Well, he wrote me a letter, and turns out he did come back for us, but we'd been rescued by then. We've been good since then. We started dating. He's met my family. I'm friends with his familiar. We've been growing closer."

"But?"

I laughed, but it wasn't really a happy sound. "I had a nightmare last week when I was at his place, and I dragged him with me and made him sleep in his closet. He did it too, and he wasn't mad or annoyed or anything."

"Why would you expect him to be mad?"

"Uh, did you miss the part where I said I made him sleep in his closet?"

Dr. Griffin tilted their head, their pale eyes boring into mine. "Does he get mad at you often? Levi? "

I blinked, completely thrown by the question. "What? No! Not at all. He's the most patient man in the world."

"Would you have been mad at him? If he'd had a nightmare and made you do something in reaction to that?"

"No," I answered, and they didn't have to draw me a graph to explain what they were saying.

"I haven't been around my birth parents in over sixteen years, and I still expect everyone to react like they would've.

" My parents had abandoned my siblings and me when I was little more than ten years old, and Dean had been just two.

"It's not easy to just stop reacting that way, but you can learn how to manage those reactions, to remind yourself that there are people who love you, who care about you.

Remind yourself they aren't like your parents, and if that doesn't work, try to put them in a scenario you've experienced with your birth parents, and try to honestly picture them doing the same.

Do you believe they'd be capable of treating you the same way? "

I tried imagining Dad handing a ten-year-old me five bucks and telling me to feed myself and my siblings, and the impossibility of it almost made me laugh.

"See?" Dr. Griffin asked, and I nodded. I could do this. I hoped.

"Now, tell me about your nightmares."

Damn, this was going to be a long session.