<h4>Chapter 133: Levi Fellowes</h4>


    <strong><i>Meredith.</i></strong>


    <i>"You have to startbat sses as soon as your swimming lessons are over. And before then, you will build a good rtionship with Draven and get him on our side."</i>


    I quickly nced at Azul and Kira, told them I’d heard them and quickly excused myself.


    I went into my bedroom and got on the bed to speak to my wolf.


    "Why do we need Draven to be on our side?"


    <i>"Because you are such a weakling who only has strength in her mouth. And one day, you are going to get us killed because I won’t be able to protect you!"</i>


    Valmora sounded very furious with me, and it was understandable.


    But she could have exined gently instead of scolding me.


    "Draven isn’t the only good warrior out here. I actually prefer Dennis teaching me to him. He is so impatient and rude."


    I tried to reason with my wolf, but she was even angrier than before.


    <i>"Little girl, don’t test my patience with your deductions. Do as I said," she ordered through gnashed teeth. "The only male you should have a close rtionship with is our mate. He is very important to us. Do you understand, Meredith?"</i>


    My wolf called me a little girl, and she spoke so mercilessly to me as if I were her servant.


    I need to question Azul and the others about what it feels like to have a wolf and what their rtionship is like.


    Because I feel so strongly in my spirit that what I have is beyond the normal wolf others have always mentioned.


    "I understand." Though I said that to her, I was already reaching for that history book.


    I have toplete my research before I can trash out the many questions wrapped around my brain.


    I read more about the war centuries ago until it was time for my driving lessons with Dennis.


    In today’s lessons, Dennis was teaching me how to park a car, and it wasn’t going well.


    The only thing harder than figuring out how to operate my new phone was trying to park a car without killing a tree, a pedestrian, or his patience.


    "Okay," Dennis said, arms folded as he stood by the car, watching me through the windshield with all the patience in the world—too much, actually. "Slowly... now ease the steering to the right. No—your other right!"


    "I don’t have two rights!" I snapped from inside the car, trying to remember which way I was supposed to be turning while reversing. The tires made a pitiful skid against the gravel.


    I stopped the car. Again. Third attempt.


    Dennis didn’t say anything at first. I saw him drag a hand over his face.


    I rolled the window down. "How bad is it?"


    "Let’s just say if we were in a real parking lot, someone’s fancy car would be crying right now."


    I groaned and leaned my forehead on the wheel.


    "I told you I can’t do this," I muttered.


    "You can," Dennis said. And I heard him walking around the car. A momentter, the passenger door opened and he slipped in beside me, bringing with him a faint scent of aftershave and roasted groundnuts.


    He reached across and gently tugged my hand from where it was clutching the gear stick. "You just need practice. Reversing into a tight spot is tricky. Even good drivers get this wrong."


    "You’re just saying that so I won’t give up."


    "I’m saying that," he said, ncing at me with a teasing smile, "because I still value my life and don’t want to be your fourth bumper casualty."


    That earned him a narrow-eyed re from me, which only made himugh harder.


    "I mean it," he added more gently this time. "You did great today. Better than yesterday, given the technicality of today’s lessons. But parking... parking takes time. We will get there eventually"


    I stared out the windshield at the crooked angle of the car, its nose way too close to a rosebush, and its rear looking like it was attempting a modern art sculpture with the driveway. "It’s horrible."


    "It’s not great," he agreed, far too cheerfully. "But you didn’t crash. So, I call it progress."


    I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the smallugh that slipped out. "Fine. You win."


    "Always."


    He leaned back in the seat, hands behind his head like he hadn’t just spent thest twenty minutes risking his life beside a barelypetent driver.


    "Same time tomorrow?" he asked.


    I nodded and sighed. "Sure... if you’re still alive by then."


    Dennis chuckled and opened the car door. "Just remember, Meredith... three things matter when parking: confidence, calm, and not listening to your instincts when they tell you to turn the steering wheel the wrong way."


    I followed him out of the car, giving it onest look like it had personally offended me.


    "Thanks, Dennis," I said softly.


    His grin softened. "Anytime, best friend."


    <i>Best friend? </i>


    I think this friendship has a greater chance of ending in our next lessons if I frustrate him more than I did today.


    In the end, Dennis was a better teacher than Draven, in the sense that he was very patient with me.


    ---


    The hum of the engine was oddly soothing as Dennis drove us back up the estate driveway. I sank into the passenger seat, silently reliving my failed attempts at parking.


    Dennis didn’t say much. He was probably giving me time to recover from it mentally.


    We curved around the bend that led toward the front entrance of the house when something caught my attention.


    A sleek ck car I hadn’t seen before was parked out front. Its windows were tinted darker than usual. My eyes narrowed as a man stepped out from the backseat.


    He was tall, built like a fortress. A striking presence, dressed in an all-ck ensemble that only made him seem moremanding. His hair was trimmed low and neat, and his shoulders could have held up a city wall.


    Draven was taller than this man, but the man had broader shoulders.


    The man didn’t look around. He moved with that specific kind of confidence.


    Wanda came rushing out of the main entrance, faster than I thought her pride would allow. And then, she hugged him with both arms.


    I blinked, watching the curve of her mouth tug upward in a full, genuine smile. Not the sly, tight-lipped ones she often wore around me.


    "That’s... rare," I murmured, watching them.


    Dennis noticed, too. I saw his head tilt slightly before he gave a lightugh.


    "Is that Wanda’s brother?" I asked, still watching her cling to the tall man like they hadn’t seen each other in years.


    Dennis nodded with a knowing grin. "Yes. Levi."


    I tore my gaze from the scene and leaned back in my seat. "She looks... different around him."


    Apart from Draven, if given the opportunity, it seemed like this Miss Fellowes loved her brother to this extent of rushing to his side and wrapping her arms around him.


    I guess I would never know how that feels since I’ve never had a close rtionship with an older brother who wouldn’t bat an eye at strangling my neck when I didn’t act ording to his instructions.


    "Mm-hmm," Dennis hummed in agreement, shifting the car into park. "That’s the face of someone who still has one soft spot left in the world."


    I didn’t say anything.


    But for a moment, I wondered what kind of man her brother must be if even Wanda-the inflexible, venomous woman could melt like that.


    Dennis turned off the engine, prompting me to unsp my seatbelt and step out of the car.


    Wanda finally separated from her brother. They both turned me. At the same time, Wanda’s smile fell.


    Dennis stepped out of the car and shut the door before walking towards them.


    "Dennis!" Levi called excitedly as he shifted his gaze from my face and to him.


    "Levi!" Dennis called.


    Then, I watched him give Levi what seemed to be a brotherly hug.


    "Long time!"


    "Wee."


    Wanda finally took her gaze off me and shifted it to the two men who gradually withdrew from the hug. She was smiling again.


    I guess my presence was what ruined her mood in the first ce.


    I slowly made my way over regardless.


    I felt so small standing before Levi as I would before Draven. He gave off a powerful aura that had me thinking he was upying a powerful position.


    His gazended on me as if seeking an exnation for my identity.


    "Is she your..." he asked, pointing at me.


    "Sister-inw," Dennis said, grabbing his finger and bringing it down still with a smile on his face. "She is Luna Meredith, and our future Queen."


    Valmora stirred in my head, offering soft growls. It felt like a response to her receiving the formal introduction sh praises directed at me... at us.


    A soft scoff escaped Wanda’s lips, and immediately, all eyes turned to her.


    She quickly tried to mask her emotions, but it was toote.


    "Why?" Dennis asked her, his hands falling to his sides. "Are you jealous you couldn’t get my brother?"


    <i>Bingo!</i>