You were awoken by the sudden absence of your agony. Everything felt fine – better than fine, even. Your body, which was still curled on the soft earth, had been filled with an inexplicable warmth. You didn't know where it had come from, but you never wanted it to leave.
Then you noticed the soft smacking sensation on your face.
"Wake up!" (c/n) was screaming. "You have to wake up! Now!"
You opened your eyes so suddenly that the feline became startled and jumped back. A quick glance around revealed that you were right in the middle of a dogfight, and you were suddenly able to recall the voices you had heard while you were screaming in agony. Two werewolves had come, but they weren't from the pack, and they had wanted to eat you.
One of them was lying dead a dozen feet away. The other was circling a third wolf – a wolf that hadn't been here when you passed out. His left hind leg was grievously injured, and yet, he seemed to be protecting you.
You couldn't see his face, but something about him felt so familiar that you were certain you knew who he was.
Then the Rogue spoke, and everything became clear. "I'll drop your head at your Alpha's feet, little Beta," he taunted. "Right before I rip him apart."
Beta. You had heard that before. Just yesterday, in fact – from a short male with inhuman beauty and piercing eyes.
"I, Beta Levi Ackerman, reject you as my mate."
You gasped. That jerk was protecting you? But...why?
You didn't have time to think about it. The Rogue lunged at the Beta – at Levi. He was going to kill him to get to you. But Levi wouldn't back down.
Without needing to think, you grabbed a sack of explosive powder from your pocket and threw, igniting it with your fire gift just as it touched the Rogue's flank. It was a perfect hit, and the Rogue dropped to the ground, whimpering.
You jumped to your feet, and Levi whipped his head around to look at you, clearly astonished to see you conscious and standing. You quickly explained your fire gift, but before you had a chance to speak further, the Rogue was preparing to attack again. This time, his target was you.
But Levi was there, knocking the Rogue aside just enough to be a distraction. Taking full advantage of his actions, you threw a second sack of powder into the Rogue's face and lit it. The resulting explosion caused enough of an injury that the Rogue finally backed down. He ran off with a growl of rage, a growl that promised revenge.
You opened your mouth to thank Levi for saving you, but before the words left your throat, he collapsed onto his side. You rushed over, falling on your knees next to him, feeling a twinge of panic as your eyes scanned his body. His leg was shredded, and you could see bits of shattered bone sticking straight through his skin. The rest of his body was shaking, and his breaths came in shallow, labored gasps.
"Are you alright?" you asked frantically, but he didn't respond.
You forced yourself to pause, to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help right now. Once you focused your mind, you were overcome with the inexplicable urge to touch him, to comfort him. It didn't seem like the best idea, as wounded animals were known to lash out, even at those who were only trying to help them. However, some part of you knew, deep down, that Levi wouldn't harm you. So, tentatively, you reached out and placed a hand on his side. When he didn't snap or growl, you allowed your hand to rest on him in what you hoped was a comforting manner.
Instantly, his breaths came a little easier, and his shaking subsided slightly. You didn't know why your touch worked so well in soothing him, but it did.
"Listen," you murmured. "I want to help you, but you're too big for me to carry you back to my house. Do you think you could turn into a human for me?"
A low, keening sound escaped his throat, as if the mere thought of shifting were too much.
"Come on," you cooed. "You're strong enough – I know you are. Just do this one thing, and then I'll take care of the rest. Alright?"
Your encouragement was just enough to help him fight through the pain. He took a deep breath, and you watched with an awestruck expression as the enormous wolf transformed into the male you knew from the next town over. And he was completely naked.
You gasped and quickly averted your eyes, but not before you caught a glimpse of the chiseled muscle beneath his pale skin. Goddess, he really was strong.
"(C/n), can you find his clothes?" you asked. "I think they usually carry them in a sack while they're a wolf."
The cat agreed – oddly, without any snide remarks about dogs. While she padded around the forest, you told yourself that you were being ridiculous. Now wasn't the time to get flustered over something as trivial as nudity when Levi could very well die from the injury to his leg.
You dragged your eyes to the wound, careful not to let your gaze linger on any private areas. When you saw the shredded lump of flesh, you nearly vomited. It looked even worse in his human form. Then you glanced at his face, which was contorted in agony. Small, broken noises escaped through his clenched teeth, sounding more wolfish than human. He probably couldn't sense anything beyond the pain in his leg. A normal person surely would have passed out already, so you guessed that werewolves had a remarkable tolerance.
"I found his clothes," (c/n) stated, gesturing to a bundle several feet away. It must have been thrown off of him during the fight.
"Bring them with us," you instructed. "I'm taking him into the house." It would have been pointless to try to dress him now. You could have gotten his shirt on, but there was no way you could get underwear and pants over his injured leg.
Carefully avoiding any sensitive areas, as well as his left leg, you gently lifted him in your arms. Goddess, he was heavy. All that muscle weighed a ton. You muttered a quick strength spell under your breath, and then you hauled him into your house.
You laid him on the couch and covered him with the warmest blanket you could find, leaving only his left leg exposed so that you could treat it. Thankfully, even without a healing gift, your magic could do far more than any human doctor. You were confident that he would at least be able to walk again – though that would probably take a few months.
Potions existed to mend bones and reconstruct muscle. (C/n) dutifully fetched them from the kitchen while you stopped the bleeding, and then you poured them down Levi's throat. You also gave him one other potion – one that would make him pass out. There was no reason for him to endure this pain any longer, and besides, regrowing bones and muscle was a nasty business that lasted hours. It would be better if he slept through all of that.
Then you sat on the floor and watched, making sure that everything grew back correctly. (C/n) curled up at your side, and out of habit, you began petting her soft fur. Meanwhile, your eyes kept drifting to Levi's face.
"He's gorgeous," you murmured, more to yourself than to the feline.
(C/n) gave an indignant huff. "I don't see why you're so infatuated with a mutt...but he did save your life, so I suppose he's not all bad."
You glanced down to meet her eyes. You had been unconscious for most of the fight, but you knew one thing for certain. "You both saved me. Thank you."
The cat nuzzled your side affectionately. "You know I could never let anything happen to you. You're my witch."
You smiled softly back at her. "Yes, I am."
As the conversation faded into silence, your eyes once more drifted to Levi. "Why do you think he risked his life for me? The last time I saw him, he acted like he hated me."
"No idea," (c/n) replied. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I would have said that he was probably more concerned with fighting those other wolves than protecting you. However, even though he was injured, he threw himself between you and that Rogue. He was ready to defend you with his life – I could see it in his eyes."
Your brow furrowed, and you continued to stare at Levi's sleeping face, lost in thought. "The last time we spoke...he said something strange to me..." you murmured pensively. "He said 'I, Beta Levi Ackerman, reject you as my mate.'"
"His mate?" (c/n) questioned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know," you replied. "I would guess it's a partner of some sort, but I don't know enough about werewolf culture to be sure. I mean, I'm a witch, so it doesn't make sense that I would be his partner for anything, since our two races don't exactly get along. And at any rate...he said he rejected me. So then, why did he come to save me?"
The cat said nothing.
You thought for another moment, then murmured, "Could you go check Grandmother's books to see if there's one on werewolves?"
She nodded, then padded off to search the bookcase that held the ancient volumes your grandmother had bequeathed to you on her deathbed. A few minutes later, she called for you, signaling that she had found the book, but it was too big for her to carry. Reluctant to leave Levi even for a moment, you walked quickly to the shelf, pulled out the book, and then returned to his side. Still waiting for the healing potions to finish their work, you opened the book and read.