Logan's Acadian Wolves

Chapter Nineteen

Wynter woke to the sound of yelling. Immediately recognizing his voice, she jolted out of bed. Oh my God. Jax is here. Where are my clothes? She tore across the room, opening Logan’s closet doors. He’d neatly placed her bags in the corner and had even hung up a few of her dresses. How long had he been awake? She heard curse words through the shouting. Not good. She yanked a sundress over her head, thankfully managing to put on her bra and panties in her panic. Throwing the bags aside, she slipped her toes into a pair of flip flops. As fast as her feet would carry her, she tore down the hallway and descended the circular stairway.

“She’s sleeping. And for the last time, she’s fine,” Logan shouted at Jax.

“What the hell did you take her for? Goddammit, you should’ve known this could happen,” Jax yelled, pacing Logan’s family room. “If you don’t go up there and get her right now, I’m doing it myself.”

The strikingly handsome New York Alpha’s eyes flared in animosity. He ran his hand over his platinum-blonde hair in frustration. Jax was pissed that Wynter had gotten hurt trying to find a cure for Emma. He was even angrier with himself and felt guilty for every last thing that had happened to her, getting kidnapped and now being taken by the New Orleans’ Alpha. It was entirely his fault. He should have never allowed her to go work for ViroSun. He should have more thoroughly investigated them. Jax had promised her mom and dad, his longtime friends, that he’d watch over Wynter. Yet, he’d fucked up royally, gone and sent her into a bloodsucking hellhole.

“You’d better stand down, right now, Chandler. For your information, we had to bring her, because she’s the only one who knows about this little virus you kept secret. And for the record, you’re the asshole who sent her off with vamps. You are the reason this happened to her, not me. So you’d better just calm the hell down,” Logan growled and turned his head to the hallway. He sensed immediately when she came into the room. Logan caught a glimpse of her blond curly hair rounding the corner and swore. “Shit.”

“Jax!” Wynter screamed in delight. God, she had missed him.

“Princess!” Jax called out, opening his arms to her.

She jumped into his embrace, and he spun her around. Wynter, oblivious to Logan, hugged Jax tightly. Crying in happiness, she pressed her face to his shirt.

Logan growled at the sight; Dimitri caught sight of his Alpha about to attack and held him back. What the fuck was she doing? Did they not just have the ‘I marked you’ discussion? How the hell could she touch him so intimately? Logically, Logan knew that Wynter hadn’t slept with Jax, that he was merely her guardian. But as he watched her in the arms of another man, he didn’t give a damn. Jax was a single wolf. A male. An Alpha male.

All reason was lost as he watched his mate mold her body to Jax. Like a match to kindling, his anger flared in both jealousy and betrayal. But he refused to be reduced to a dog groveling over a bone. He wasn’t about to trash his home over a hug. Logan was nothing if not self-disciplined. The challenges had forced him to become the master of restraint. Logan’s jaw tightened as he forced his beast into submission.

“Get off me,” Logan spat at Dimitri.

“You okay?” Dimitri asked, unsure whether or not to release his Alpha on Jax. An unmated male wrapped around another man’s mate could turn a situation ugly pretty quick.

“I’m fine.” He shrugged out of his hold, and stormed toward Jax.

“Get away from her,” Logan instructed. Barely restraining the urge to punch Jax in the face, he took a deep breath, fisting his hands at his sides.

“What?” Wynter asked, bewildered. Shocked by Logan’s dominant tone of voice, she stilled.

“I said. Get off her, Jax. She’s mine,” he warned.

The words resonated with Wynter. Realizing the implications, she fell out of her embrace with Jax but still held tight to his hand. Was Logan angry? She didn’t understand what was happening, but instantly comprehended the fury in Logan’s eyes. Slowly releasing Jax, she wrapped her arms protectively around her waist. Why were they fighting? Jax’s fingers on her shoulders alerted her that he, too, was upset. As his hands left her skin, she registered the hurt in his eyes. Or was it guilt?

It took all of two seconds for Jax to understand why the Alpha had gone feral. He grabbed Wynter by her shoulders, brushed her hair away and just as quickly released her.

“You goddamn marked her? Are you fucking kidding me?” Jax exclaimed indignantly. “My Goddess, Wynter, did you agree to this?”

“I…I.” Wynter found herself cowering. Digging deep, she mustered the courage to face him. “Yes, I mean, no. But yes, when I found out…Jax, I care about Logan…a lot.”

Logan’s face visibly relaxed, but she was still too close to Jax. He knew what Jax was going to say next.

“You marked her and didn’t talk to her? What the fuck, Alpha?” Jax walked around the sofa, fell back into it and grabbed his head with his hands. “No, don’t even tell me anything else. This can be undone. Wyn, you can come back to New York with me. It will take a few months but you’ll get through this. It’ll fade and you can find a suitable wolf.”

Logan looked to Wynter, and they both addressed Jax at the same time. “No.”

“Jax, stop it. I’m not going back to New York. I just told you I care about him. He’s claimed me and I’m happy. You just need to accept this,” Wynter said softly. She didn’t want to challenge him but there was no way in hell she was returning to New York. She needed to be firm on that point. Wynter loved Jax, but she wasn’t going to let him steamroll her decision to be with Logan.

“Oh, you’ll go back to New York,” Jax promised.

“No I won’t,” she countered.

“You will go. As your Alpha, I order you to go back to New York with me. Do you understand, Wynter Isabelle Ryan? Staying here with him is not an option. You are going to turn into a wolf. You have no choice but to obey me,” Jax told her, giving her a hard stare.

Logan watched the interchange, trying his best to let Wynter handle it. Telling Jax she’d made a choice to stay with him warmed his heart. And Jax needed to hear this news from her, not him. But when Jax attempted to give her a direct order, Logan chose to intervene.

“She’s my mate,” Logan stated confidently. “And as such, you cannot order her to obey you. She’s mine. I’m her Alpha.”

Wynter’s jaw dropped at his words. Oh my God. What did Logan just say? She was his mate? Wait, wasn’t that something you asked someone first? She couldn’t be sure of those nagging wolf rules, but wasn’t that like an engagement of sorts? Her mind warred between smacking him or throwing herself at him and tearing off his clothes.

“What?” This was getting better by the minute, Jax thought. He closed his eyes trying to concentrate. How could this have happened? He should have known better. The Alpha wouldn’t have marked her otherwise. But still, he had to ask. “Are you sure?”

“I am,” Logan insisted, his eyes locked on Wynter’s.

This was so not the way he’d imagined himself telling her. Hell, he’d hardly had time to come to terms with it himself. He watched the conflicting emotions play across her face when he’d said the word: mate. Logan swore to himself he’d make this up to her somehow. He shouldn’t have done it like this. Even though he’d never been mated before, he damn well knew that it wasn’t something you just announced in a room full of people without talking to your mate about it. Granted, mated wolves didn’t always come to the realization at the same time, but it was treated with sanctity, with respect. Given the situation, Jax gave him little choice. There’d be no way he’d ever let him take his mate to New York.

“Well, fuck me,” he heard Jax say. “I still can’t believe I allowed this to happen. You’re right about one thing, Logan; I should have never let Wynter go work for that company. I will be forever sorry for that. Wynter should have…”

“I am right here, you two. Oh my God. There’s so much testosterone in this building you’d think we were at a bull fight.” Wynter was pissed. Not only would she have appreciated the ‘will you be my mate?’ discussion in private, she was mad at Jax for thinking he could have simply pulled that ‘Alpha is ordering you’ bullshit. She hadn’t seen that side of Jax since she snuck out her bedroom window at sixteen to go to a party with her friends.

“Listen up, both of you.” She didn’t care at this point whether she challenged them or not. This was her life they were discussing as if she were a child. Having enough, she glared at them and held up her fingers, ticking them off as she spoke. “Number one. This is my life. Not yours, oh great Alpha, Jax. And not yours either, oh great mate of mine. Number two. I am not going to New York. Do you remember why I am even here, Jax? For Emma. Was it the best plan in the world for me to go in there alone? Obviously not. But I’m a scientist, not a cop. And we’ve still got work to do. And whether you like it or not, I care about Logan a lot. And not like friends. We’re lovers. And despite his apparent lack of ability to inform me of these important wolf thingies, like ‘hey I want to mark you’ or ‘hey, I think you are my mate’, I want him…He’s an incredible person and from what I’ve seen, a great Alpha. Saved my ass more than once. I think you owe him a little respect.”

Wynter blew out a frustrated breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d been so mad; she hadn’t given too much thought as to how the Alphas would react to her heated lecture. Both men glanced away in embarrassment, from time to time, as she pointed out what they’d done. Logan’s eyes fixed on her as soon as she’d told Jax they were lovers. Her heart warmed, seeing him smile. She wished she could stay mad at him for at least an hour, but his sexy expression melted away her resolve like sun on ice. She looked away to collect her thoughts, and caught Dimitri sitting on a kitchen stool grinning at her. Glad he’s finding this so amusing. Unfortunately she wasn’t finished giving the two Alphas a piece of her mind.

“And third…third, we all need to work together for Emma’s sake. I don’t know what they’ve done, but I was close. So close to finding a treatment. Not a cure, but something that would give her quality of life. Buy me time to work further on it. I need you both to do this. Please. This isn’t about me anymore. We’ve got to get the person who killed Dana. The person that wants to turn my knowledge into a weapon.”

Logan bit at his lip. Goddess, she was magnificent. And right. She definitely had a point about Jax. If Logan took Wynter to the country, he could entrust Jax to help cover the city. Aside from Léopold, he needed an ally, someone who understood the enemy and wasn’t a vampire. Before he and Jax had gotten into a shouting match, they’d actually had a civilized discussion about Wynter turning wolf and had strategized for an hour about what to do next. But when he told him about what had happened with the explosion, Jax demanded to take Wynter back to New York. Before he knew it, they were arguing over Wynter like two kids fighting over a piece of candy. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and sighed.

“I’m sorry. You know I care about you. I’ll respect your choices.” Jax paused and glanced to Logan. “And your mate. But I still want to talk with you. Alone.”

Logan shook his head and rolled his eyes. The guy really didn’t give up. He supposed that after everything he’d done for Wynter over the years, he was entitled to have alone time with her. But take his mate away from the safety of his home? From him? No fucking way. Logan raised an eyebrow at Wynter in hopes she’d feel his emotion. Since he’d marked her, he’d started to sense her state of mind; confusion, anger and sadness swirled through her consciousness.

“Logan, I want to talk with Jax for a little bit. We need time,” she pleaded.

“Fine, you can talk here. I’ll go to my office,” he countered.

“Alpha, don’t take this the wrong way, but I want time alone with her in private. You and I both know there is no such thing as private as long as we’re here,” Jax argued.

“I’ll go,” Wynter decided. The truth was that she needed to have a heart to heart with Jax. As loath as she was to leave Logan, she wasn’t sure she could do that knowing he was listening to their every word. She wanted privacy.

“Wynter, do you really know what you’re asking?” Logan responded angrily. His mate was leaving with another unmated male, one not from his pack. His wolf snarled, wanting him to refuse her.

“Yes I do. You need to remember that I’m not all wolf yet, mate.” She didn’t mean to sound bitter but she couldn’t quite forgive him that quickly. “I won’t be long, but I am going.”

Logan approached her like a stalking panther, his eyes wild and his mouth tight with anger. Placing his hands around her waist, he pulled her against his chest. Ever so softly, he pressed his lips to hers but never deepened the kiss. It was a goodbye kiss, one he hoped she’d regret. But he wasn’t going to keep her against her will. She’d come to him willingly or not at all. When he released her from his embrace, Logan’s demeanor seethed in dominance.

Wynter, still reeling from the kiss, brought her fingers to her lips. She hated that Logan was so angry, but he needed to understand that she owed Jax. The least she could do was grant him a few hours of her time.

“Funeral’s this evening. If you aren’t back, I’m coming for you, sweetheart,” Logan vowed fiercely, his gaze fixed on hers. He watched her quietly nod and turned to address Jax. “Take care of her, Chandler. I’ll be in touch.”

Affronted, Logan supposed that perhaps Wynter did need to talk with Jax, but that didn’t mean he had to like it or agree with her. He’d decided to let her go as a penance of sorts, given the way he’d fucked up telling her about how they were mates. But when she returned, they’d have a long discussion about loyalty, because she wasn’t showing a whole lot of it by going off with Jax.

“D, make sure they get to Jax’s hotel safely. Wait for her,” he ordered. Logan shot Wynter an icy glare before he turned to walk away.

Wynter’s eyes brimmed in tears as Logan took off down the hallway toward his office. None of this made sense. Torn, she questioned her feelings for both Jax and Logan. Deep in her belly, the connection with Logan grew stronger every minute of the day. She’d called him Alpha and meant it. But with Jax here, a conflicting sense of what was right confused her. Since she’d told Logan she planned to go talk with Jax, she supposed she needed to go and get it over with so she could return on time.

The way Logan had spoken to her left her wolf trembling. It was as if she could literally picture her rolling in submission, exposing her underside. Despite her desire to acquiesce to the commanding Alpha, she wasn’t entirely wolf. Her human psyche continued to pay credence to her reasoning by telling her that Jax was her guardian, not Logan.

Dimitri slid the door open with a loud banging sound, and gestured for her and Jax to leave. As quickly as she caught his eyes, she averted them. Damn, Dimitri was angry with her as well. Well wasn’t that just great? She swore she’d fix things when she returned. But for now, she’d made her bed and had to lay in it. Exhaling loudly, she walked through the door and out of Logan’s home.

They rode in silence back to the hotel. Wynter ignored Jax, staring aimlessly out the window. Ten hours ago, Logan had made love to her. Within the strength of his arms, she’d belonged. As her feelings grew stronger, she could feel herself falling for him. But now, his words played in her mind. Mate. She was his mate? It wasn’t as if she didn’t desire Logan, but the revelation, in front of Dimitri and Jax, no less, had shocked her. She wondered if by going with Jax, Logan had interpreted her actions as disrespectful, as if she’d chosen him over her mate.

Even the ever-jovial Dimitri had been cool, refusing to look at her when she’d entered the car. The minute she’d stepped away from Logan, it’d felt uncomfortable. Her wolf clawed and whined, giving her a raging headache. It was all she could do to keep from crying. As if sensing her anguish, Jax slowly put a comforting arm around her shoulder. No matter what had happened in her life, he’d supported her. This was why she needed to go talk to him. So why did it feel so awful?

“Come on, Princess,” Jax coaxed. “It’s not all that bad, is it?”

“Then why do I feel like shit?” Wynter laid her head on his chest and glanced up to catch Dimitri’s frosty glare. She quickly closed her eyes, trying to ignore him.

“Because my dear, he’s your mate. Your wolf, she won’t like being away from him, especially since he’s not marked,” he explained casually. “Sorry, I reacted poorly. It’s just you and I; we’ve been together for a long time. I’m not ready to let you go.”

She smiled.

“And I’m not used to you being a wolf…not at all.”

“I don’t know what they did to me,” she confided. She felt like a little girl again, hoping he’d chase her nightmares away.

“Logan told me all about it. We’ll find out, Wyn. I don’t understand it either. But what’s done is done. I promise you’ll make it through this…your shift.”

“But you were so angry back there.”

“More like surprised. I consider you mine, but you aren’t really…well, not at all now. You were almost like a daughter at one time. But over the years, we’ve grown into a comfortable friendship. I’ll miss you. I suppose I always knew this would happen. But it won’t change my being protective of you. That’s in my nature. Can’t be helped,” he reflected.

“Logan’s so angry with me. I feel bad.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll have you back in no time, your wolf will calm down.”

“And what about his wolf? I feel like I did something wrong. Not just wrong, but like I hurt him,” she told Jax.

“No, Princess, you didn’t do anything wrong. But it does rub against the way of wolves. You agreeing to come with me is a very rational, human thing to do. A very Wynter thing to do. Can’t fault you there. And me asking you to go…well, I knew Logan wouldn’t be happy, but you’re my family. I haven’t seen you in months. Goddess, Wynter, I’ll never forgive myself for letting you go,” he confessed. “This is my fault.”

“No…” she began to cry.

“Shhh, I won’t hear it. You were my charge. My responsibility. Logan was right. When we get back, we can have lunch and talk about how I can help you both with this colossal fail we’ve created. The one thing that drives me is that Emma’s still hangin’ on. And if there’s something we can do without putting you into harm’s way, then I want to do it.”

Wynter wanted to argue with him and tell him that she already was in danger, but she assumed he knew that. It was why he’d been freaking out at Logan. Meanwhile, Logan had done nothing to deserve the death they’d brought to New Orleans. Guilt racked her, but still, after everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure she would have done anything differently.

By the time they got up to Jax’s suite, Wynter was famished. Opening the door, a warm, familiar face greeted her.

“Hey missy, welcome back. Come on now, give me some sugar,” Jax’s beta, Nick, told her, giving her a big hug. “Why the sad face? What’s wrong?”

“Long story,” Jax sighed, taking a seat at the large dining table. Thank Goddess Nick had had lunch delivered. “Sit, let’s eat.”

“Talk and eat. What gives?”

Jax looked to Wynter. “Do you want to tell him?”

“Abridged version? The vampires who kidnapped me made me work on the virus, but I escaped. Logan Reynaud, the New Orleans’ Alpha, rescued me then took me into his home. Apparently the vamps infected me with something during one of their lovely feeding sessions. So, by the way, I’m turning into a wolf.” Wynter paused to grab a diet soda. She twisted the cap off, took a drink and snatched a wrap off the tray. “Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, the vamps are still trying to kill me, Logan marked me and I just found out I’m his mate. Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up.”

Both Jax and Nick exchanged a look of surprise. Although she’d been shaken in the car, she appeared to be recovering nicely. She had always been a fighter, Jax knew. But every time she rebounded, it still amazed him that a human so fragile could have the bravery of a lion.

“So, wait, have you mated, have you bonded with Logan?” Nick practically shouted.

“No,” she shook her head and pulled her hair aside to show him. “Marked. As in he marked me. Apparently I have to wait until after I shift. So looking forward to shifting…not.”

“It’ll be okay, Wyn. The way your Alpha tore into me today, I have every confidence he’ll protect you. He’s an honorable wolf,” Jax assured her.

“You say that as if you like him. Just a while ago, you guys almost ripped each other’s heads off. It was a real love fest, Nick,” she noted with sarcasm.

“That’s what Alphas do. We jostle for territory, establish dominance. What you saw today, that was child’s play, nothing more.”

She rolled her eyes. Men. Wolves. “Well, Logan was good and pissed at me when I left. Some mate I am.”

“Yeah, I bet that went over well. Jesus, Jax. What were you thinking taking her away from him?”

“I’m a selfish prick, okay? What do you expect? I haven’t seen her for months. Besides, she’ll go back after lunch.”

“I’m the one who decided, Jax. He’s my mate.” She nearly choked on the word, tears threatened. The longer she was away, the worse she felt. A change of subject was in order. “Tell me about Emma. How’s Mika?”

“Mika’s good, really good,” Nick winked.

“No way!” Wynter exclaimed, slapping his arm.

“Way,” Jax replied. “Bad wolf, Nick.”

“No, Alpha, I’m a very good wolf. Why do you think she likes me so much?” Nick teased.

Wynter couldn’t believe her friend had hooked up with Jax’s beta. How could she have missed that one? She fought the urge to call Mika right then and there. God, how she missed her.

“As for little Emma, well, she’s hanging in there,” Nick commented. “Good days, bad days. I don’t know, Wyn. She’s about the same. But damn, I wish we knew what was wrong.”

“I’m close. Although I haven’t done anything since I escaped the lab. But we’ve got a laptop. They got it before the car exploded.” She tried not to react to Nick’s pained expression as she mentioned what had happened. “Jax can fill you in on what all happened…fun times. Anyway, that laptop could have my data on it. Or not. We’ll see. The vamps scrubbed it but Dimitri’s going to try to recover it. I would have asked this morning how he was making out with it but well, you know…with all the yelling and whatnot, that didn’t happen.”

“A cure?” Nick posed the question.

“No. ’Fraid not. But it’d give her quality of life. She could lead a normal life again with medication,” Wynter speculated. It wasn’t a panacea but it would be a far cry from spending her days bedridden.

“Logan told me he’s taking you out of the city. Said he’s setting up a lab at his house,” Jax mentioned.

Wynter stilled. Seemed her sneaky mate was always two steps ahead of her. No wonder the man was Alpha, she thought. “A lab, really, he said that?”

“Yes, he’s very committed to helping you, us. Of course, he doesn’t want whoever is doing this to proliferate a virus. But he mentioned Emma. He wants to help her…for you.” Jax smiled. “It didn’t make sense why he was going to such a great extent to help us when I first spoke to him. But that was before I knew you were his. And just like that, all the pieces came together.”

Wynter’s face flushed like a schoolgirl, thinking of Logan. She really could fall in love with him. No matter what had happened this morning, they’d work through it.

“Ah, love is a wonderful thing,” Nick declared with a broad smile.

As if caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Wynter looked down and shoved the wrap into her mouth.

“Wyn, in all seriousness, if you aren’t in agreement with this mating, you don’t have to stay here. I mean, I’d have to be an idiot not to feel the chemistry between you and Logan. But if you’re having second thoughts, you, as a wolf, aren’t required to mate with him. This isn’t the dark ages,” Jax explained.

“What?” Wynter looked up and found both of them staring at her.

“Do you love him, Princess?”

“Maybe,” Wynter blurted out before she had a chance to take it back. She decided to backpedal but as she considered how she felt, it was hard to deny her feelings. “I mean I think I could fall in love with him. He’s just so caring and loving and larger than life. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know how this happened.”

Nick and Jax both laughed.

“What?”

“Nature, baby,” Nick remarked.

“You can’t control it,” Jax said. He leaned back into his chair and sighed. “Love, she will come for all of us, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do.”

“I wish we’d talked about this before…this wolf stuff.” She smiled, at a loss for the correct terminology. “It’s just that even though I can feel something in me, what I think is my wolf…but I feel human too. I know why you wanted to protect me from wolves, from the pack, but now, I’m so alone.”

“No, never alone. Your Alpha, he’s there for you, to guide you, to love you,” he corrected her in a serious tone.

“But how do you know? How do you know I’ll be fine?”

“Logan may be a new Alpha, but he’s been a beta. And he’s been a wolf for a very long time. You must trust him.” Jax fell short of telling his lovely human friend that she’d need to submit.

All wolves in a pack must submit for order to exist. She’d learn in time, but he suspected she might have a rough go at it. He’d love to help her, but it was something she needed to do on her own. No lecture could teach that life experience.

Wynter continued eating, considering Jax’s advice. The more she thought of Logan the more she missed him and sought to smooth over their disagreement. The look in his eyes when she’d gone with Jax tore at her heart. After another thirty minutes of catching up, Wynter told Jax that she needed to go. He assured her that he wasn’t leaving New Orleans and was on call should they locate the lab again. Jax walked her down to the lobby where Dimitri was waiting to take her home. Giving Jax a hug and kiss to the cheek, she quickly departed, walking over to the awaiting car.

Dimitri held open the back door as if he was a chauffeur. Ignoring his gesture, she slipped around him and into the front passenger seat, waiting for him to join her. Apparently, Logan wasn’t the only one who needed to talk. His cold disposition had not warmed since she was gone. If anything, he’d spent some time in the freezer. Dimitri slammed the back door and strode around to his side. He sat down, buckled up and started the car without looking at her.

“What? Just say it already,” she ordered, like the alpha female which she was becoming.

“Why’d you go with him?”

“I told you already, he’s like family. And just because I’m Logan’s mate, he’s still my friend. I haven’t seen him in months. Why do you care anyway? It’s not like I’m your mate,” she snapped.

“Because darlin’, when my Alpha’s unhappy, and he’s very unhappy at the minute, we all feel it. I know Jax is your family, but you’ve gotta see what this does to Logan,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Dimitri. I am. I didn’t mean to upset Logan, and I certainly had no idea you’d be affected. You have to remember that I’m new to this,” she said softly. Wynter placed a caring hand on Dimitri’s shoulder. “And to be fair, Logan has his own explaining to do. This is not all my fault.”

“Yeah, sorry about that mating business.”

“Sure you are. You looked real broken up about it earlier. That smile of yours…geez. It really wasn’t funny.” She gave him a small grin.

He smiled in return, recalling the conversation and laughed out loud.

“I love Logan but man, watching him fall for his mate is kind of funny…very funny actually. You have to give him credit, though. He’d rather risk you being mad at him by telling everyone you were his mate than let another wolf take you away. And he’s a new Alpha…going up against Jax like that. Logan is one tough motherfu….well you get the idea.”

“I’m glad you were entertained. Because me…I was pretty surprised that he kind of just blurted that out. I mean, it’s not like I don’t really like Logan. He’s incredible. Loving and sexy and…” she said, dreamily, until Dimitri cut her off.

“But the commitment, Wyn. With wolves, it’s more, so much more.”

“You’ve marked someone? Mated?”

“Hold on there, cher. No way. Let’s just say that like Logan, I’ve been ’round a long time. Watched my fellow wolves fall deep into their mated bond. Sometimes it goes smoothly. And sometimes,” Dimitri paused, concentrating on his driving as it had begun to rain, “well, not so much. But I’ll tell ya, it always goes. Because Mother Nature, she gets her way. No use fightin’”

“How mad is he?”

“Logan? Scale of one to ten?” He contemplated. “Ten when you left. Maybe a seven or eight now. And here we are…home.”

Wynter cringed. Would he forgive her? Would he punish her? Like vampires, wolves had their own interpretation of life’s rules. As the gate slid open and they drove into the carport, her stomach flip-flopped. Was he waiting for her? What should she say to him? The car stopped, jolting her back to the present. Dimitri opened the door for her and they both ran into the house, in an effort to escape the downpour. The sliding glass door opened. She hoped Logan would be expecting her, yet she was greeted with silence.

“Upstairs,” Dimitri told her, his hand still on the door. He wasn’t planning on staying for whatever was about to go down between Logan and Wynter. Even though he loved Logan like a brother, there were things he had to do on his own, and this truly fell in that category.

“Thanks,” Wynter whispered. Brushing a kiss to Dimitri’s cheek, she fled to her Alpha, disappearing around the corner and up the staircase.