Levi's POV
She didn't let go of my arm.
Not even when I stopped pulling.
Not even when I glared.
"Come on," she said softly. "If you're not trying to die, then don't stand here pretending you are."
Her words were simple. Not cruel. Not dramatic.
Just honest.
I didn't answer.
But I didn't pull away either.
We walked in silence for a while. The forest swallowed us again. My thoughts were loud, but her presence kept them from crushing me completely.
After a few minutes, she spoke again.
"You don't talk much, do you?"
"No," I muttered.
She nodded like that made sense. "That's okay. People who are hurting usually don't."
That hit something inside me.
We reached a fallen log, and she sat on it without asking, patting the space beside her.
"Sit," she said.
I hesitated… then slowly did.
The cliff was far behind us now. But the weight in my chest was still there.
She looked at me, really looked at me. Not like a stranger. Not like an Alpha.
Like a broken man.
