Page 39 of Starting a New Life

He was worried, wanting to check in on me, so he unconsciously tried to have his magic make sure I was okay.

He was slowly getting more control over it, even if he didn’t know what he was doing.

Was it because he was part of a wolf pack now?

Did being surrounded by shifters—paranormal beings—help him be more in tune with his own paranormal nature? Maybe.

I could easily find out if I talked to him, but should I?

I opened the cap of the shampoo bottle and poured the clear liquid into my palms. The fruity scent was pure heaven, the feeling of shampoo in my hair divine. My fingers scraped over my scalp. Getting rid of all the oil and dirt was the best feeling on earth.

I put the shower back on and groaned when the hot water washed away the dirt collected during months on the run. I waited until the water ran clear, then used shampoo and body wash again, and later a third time until the shampoo actually lathered, my hair squeaked between my fingers, and my skin was rosy and felt a bit raw.

Holy shit, I was clean.

I didn’t smell like forest and sweat.

I stayed under the spray, the water as hot as I dared to turn it, as I let it wash away the tears that kept falling.

How was it possible that a single hot shower made me feel like a completely different person? No, not like a different person. Like a person, period.

For the first time in months, I felt human.

Not like an animal that was being hunted. Not invisible, hiding in the shadows. Not dirty because the lakes were too cold to bathe in and I hadn’t had enough spare magic to warm up the water.

I didn’t know how long I stood under the hot spray, but it was long enough for the skin on my fingers to wrinkle. Still, I stayed an extra thirty seconds, revelling in the warm droplets that hit my face, in the feeling of being completely clean.

Who knew when I’d get the chance to shower again.

Who knew how long the Alpha’s change of mind would last. Yeah, he might’ve wanted me out of a cell right now, but who was to say he wouldn’t throw me back in later.

At least I’d get a little reprieve, because the only one waiting in my room was Levi.

There was someone next door, though. The kid with the injured leg. His aura was calm now, the fear and agitation gone as his body was getting the rest it desperately needed.

Stepping out of the shower, I reached for the towel and groaned when I wrapped the soft, plush fabric around my body, basking in the way it enveloped me like a cloud.

Fuck. I couldn’t get used to this, but I wanted to. I wanted every single shower to feel this heavenly.

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and swallowed, barely recognizing the man who stared back at me. He looked haunted. Cheeks sunken in, eyes darting around, lips pressed into a firm line, a harrowed expression on his face.

I quickly looked away, my stomach turning at the sight of myself.

“Nix?” Levi tentatively called out. “I’ve got new clothes for you… if you want them.”

Did I?

It was a gamble.

Right now, the wolves were offering me all kinds of stuff. A shower. A nice room. Shampoo. New clothes.

But at what cost? With shifters, kindness always came with a price tag. They wanted my magic. Always. A fun evening in the packhouse turned into extra requests for the barrier. Something I could do for sure, right? We were friends after all. An afternoon basking in the sun, listening to a pup playing the guitar? She needed help because a fracture in her leg hadn’t healed right. They’d heard a mage could fix that. I wouldn’t mind having a look at her, right? After all, she’d entertained me for hours.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and eyed the clothes strewn on the bathroom floor. A shiver ran down my spine, my whole body revolting at the thought of putting those damp, cold, and utterly dirty clothes back on.

If a fresh towel felt like heaven on earth, what would clean clothes feel like?

I wanted to find out. Desperately so.