Page 8

Levi

On Monday, I woke up bright and early, showered, dressed, made myself a filling breakfast, and set a dish of Greta's food on the counter so we could eat together.

She'd reluctantly agreed to stay at home after I'd told her about her feeder—and that I would leave the TV on for her—but I was going to miss her. It was strange how she'd become such an integral part of my life in such a short time.

After breakfast, I washed up quickly, then checked the time. It was more than enough for me to drive to the work site.

I checked my phone, and smiled when I saw a message from Finn.

Finn : Have a good first day at work!

I sent him a thank-you in reply before giving Greta a wave and locking the door.

The drive through the town was pleasant as ever, and I left the windows down so I could breathe in the clean air. This was why I already loved this town. It was so entrenched in nature that sometimes it felt as if the houses had grown out of the earth too.

I had no idea if Mistvale's greenery was all natural or a side effect of the heavy supe population. I'd never heard of magic in general promoting nature, but it was possible, wasn't it?

I pursed my lips as I reached a fork in the road, where the cleaner path led toward a gate, while another newly made trail seemed to follow the wall of the compound. That must be the packland.

I took the trail Caleb had mentioned, and followed it to the site, where part of the packland wall had clearly been removed and rebuilt to remove the site from its premises.

Getting out of the car, I eyed the area and realized I might be a little early. There was no one around.

I pulled out my phone, then pulled up Caleb's text. I groaned.

Ten? I was supposed to start work at ten ? How could I have made such a dumb mistake? What did I do now? Go back home and return in an hour?

"Hey, there!" a cheerful voice called out, and I sighed. Apparently not.

I turned around, and it took me a moment to spot the person who'd called out, mostly because all I could see of them was their head sticking out over the wall. They were dark-skinned, with wild black curls framing their face, and warm, brown eyes .

"Uh, hello," I greeted them awkwardly, and they grinned.

"First-day nerves got you here early?"

I blinked, then chuckled sheepishly. "How did you guess?"

"Well, I haven't seen you before, and Caleb said someone new was joining the crew today."

"You know Caleb?"

"I better. He's my mate," they said, pushing their curls back and giving me a glimpse of their pointed ear. Elf or fae? Elf, if I had to guess. "I'm Noel, by the way. Why don't you come on in and have some tea and cookies with us? No point going back now. You're new in town, right?"

I nodded, then hedged. "I don't want to be a bother."

Noel made a "Psh!" sound and waved me off. "You won't. Come on."

Noel disappeared behind the wall, and I shook my head, then made my way to the gate. It wasn't locked, so I just went in, following the path to a clearing with two cabins in it.

"Over here!" Noel called, and I found the trail leading deeper into the packland toward their voice.

Heading down, I found the path lined with more cabins, one of which belonged to Noel and Caleb, who'd stuck his head out, probably curious who his mate was talking to.

His brows furrowed when he spotted me, and I swallowed hard.

What was the etiquette about accepting an invite by the boss's mate? Had I gotten myself in trouble?

"Levi, right?" Noel asked as they practically skipped over to me and stuck a hand out. I shook it carefully, aware of Caleb watching my every move. Wolf shifters were particularly territorial, and I had no intention of triggering his wolf side into action.

"Yeah. Um, I can go back. It's no trouble."

"Nah." Noel waved a hand again, then turned to Caleb. "He messed up the time because he was nervous. Isn't that cute?"

Caleb grunted something that could be yes or no, and Noel chuckled.

"Come on in, Levi. Tell me all about you. Have you had a chance to make any friends? You've only been here for a few weeks, right?"

I could feel Caleb's eyes on me with every step I took, but I couldn't decline Noel's invite any more, so I followed them into their cabin, which was warm and cozy beyond belief.

I settled on the couch, then remembered Noel had asked me something. "Oh, actually, I used to know some people who live here now. I wasn't expecting to find them, but I ran into Finn the other week and he told me they were all here."

Noel blinked, then smiled widely. "You know Finn?"

I nodded. Then I realized they were waiting for me to say more, and tried to find the right way to phrase it. I didn't know how much they knew, and I didn't want to say anything Finn didn't want people to know. "I met him and the others when we were younger."

"Ah," Noel murmured, and I got the feeling they understood. "Well, that more or less makes you a part of the clan, then. Welcome to Mistvale! "

I exhaled in relief, glad they weren't going to ask me more about the past, then smiled. "Thank you. I really like it here."

"What's not to like?"

Noel was right about that. Mistvale really was a wonderful place, but I was discovering the people were just as amazing as the land they lived on.

Noel disappeared into the kitchen to make some tea, and my eyes slid to Caleb, who sat on an armchair and had been quietly watching—judging?—me.

"I'm sorry about the jumble. I thought it was nine."

"It's fine. Early is better than late anyway. Good thing Noel spotted you."

"It is?"

Caleb shrugged. "Like he said, there's no point in you going back when you'd have to return in an hour anyway."

"That's true," I agreed, relaxing a little now that it seemed like Caleb wasn't annoyed or planning to fire me.

My first day at work clearly wasn't going to be anything like I'd imagined, but I had a feeling it would be one hell of a day.

Finn

I growled at my screen and wondered again why I liked my job. Cleaning up all this data was going to use up the rest of my morning, and maybe some of my afternoon too. What was it with people randomly capitalizing their names? First letters, I got, but the whole names? Why ?

Glancing back to make sure my door was locked, I removed my glasses and placed them on the desk.

While I'd trained as best I could to keep my magic under control, I still liked having the security of my glasses when I was around people other than my siblings—since they were immune and safe from it.

I was glad Penny and Dean didn't have issues with their magic like me, but then again, they hadn't spent the night they turned eighteen freaking out because they turned their dad to stone.

Only I got the pleasure of doing that, and I'd made sure they didn't have to experience anything similar by being there when they turned eighteen.

I was formatting a column of data when a knock at my window made me jump, and I glanced up to see Greta on the other side, this time without a letter in her mouth.

I slid the window open, and she came in, then looked around the room. Guessing what she was checking for, I gave her a pat on the head and said, "Padfoot isn't here, and the door's locked. You're safe."

Greta perked up at that, and started exploring the room. I shook my head, then got off my chair and went to her. "You can look around, but you're not allowed to tell Levi what you see, okay? You're not spying for him, are you?"

Greta shook her head, then gave me an actual salute before climbing up onto my bookshelf. Chuckling, I took a picture of her and sent it to Levi.

Me : I have a visitor. What does she eat ?

He didn't reply, and I figured he was busy working. Would it be crazy if I found some reason to visit the packland? Yeah, it probably would.

I hadn't told my dads Levi really was my mate, or my siblings. I was pretty sure at least Penny had already figured it out, but I hadn't confirmed anything. I was sure they'd learn sooner or later, but I needed some time to get used to the idea before telling them.

Growing up, I'd seen how quickly the clan members got involved in each others' drama and romance, and I didn't want that happening with Levi and me, at least not yet.

I didn't believe in jinxes. I really didn't. But then my phone buzzed, and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when the chat preview on my screen showed Levi's name mentioned in the Mistvale clan group chat. No, no, no.

I clicked it open quickly, and saw the text was from Noel.

Noel : I met an earth mage named Levi today. He's working on Calix's apartment complex with Caleb, and he's Finn's friend, so I told him he's practically a clan member now.

Because no one in Mistvale—or from Mistvale, in my siblings and Cam and his partners' cases—was ever too busy to gossip, the messages started pouring in as I watched with growing horror.

Penny : Oh, I think he's more than a 'friend.'

Papa : We can't really make that assumption right now, Pen.

At least Papa was on my side. I felt the sudden urge to go outside and hug him .

Dad : Sure we can!

Ames : Wait, did you say Levi?

Then she popped into our private chats, where I'd left her a few messages about Levi.

Ames : Oh damn, I didn't see these. It's really him, huh?

Me : Yep. He's alive and well. He said he came back once he was strong enough, but we were gone by then.

Ames : That makes sense. I'm an earth mage too, and we're nearly the same age. Remember how long it took me to get a hold of my powers? And that was after I had three full meals and a boost from DD. Levi had none of that.

Me : Yeah. I kind of freaked out when I first saw him, but we talked later and cleared things up.

Ames : And?

Me : And what?

Ames : The texts you sent me seem to imply there's more to it. Come on. You know I won't tell anyone.

That was true. Ames was the only one who truly knew how much our shared past still haunted me, and how much I was struggling with Dean and Penny's absence.

She was the only one I could talk to, because she'd been through the same things I had, and even though she and I weren't related by blood, she thought of the rest of us as her siblings, and she'd done her best to protect us just like I'd protected Penny and Dean.

Me : He's my mate.

Ames : OMG, that's awesome! I know you used to have a crush on him .

Me : I didn't. I was too scared to be crushing on anyone.

I totally had a crush on him.

Ames : If you say so. What's the plan? Are you guys dating?

Me : Yeah, though I haven't told anyone else yet.

Ames : I can see that XD

I assumed she was talking about the group chat, and I decided it would be best for my mental health if I didn't read what they were saying.

Greta chose that moment to leap off the shelf and onto my desk, almost landing on my laptop.

"Careful, Greta. One wrong key-press and I'll have to do it all again."

Greta gave a chirp I took as apology, but the near miss reminded me I still had work to do.

Me : I gotta get back to work. When are you back?

Ames : Thursday. Wanna meet up on Friday?

Our date was on Saturday, so Friday would be great. I told her as much, then turned my focus back toward work, and tried not to think about our impending first date or the gossip mill busily churning away in the group chat.