Page 32 of Defiance
Chapter 6
Logan threw his keys on the table as soon as he walked through his front door. Rather more forcefully than he’d intended judging by the way Smudge jumped about a foot in the air.
“Shit.” Logan immediately bent to scoop her up. “I’m so sorry,” he crooned, stroking the top of her head. After a few seconds, she relented and began to purr softly, content to be held.
Aaron laughed as he shut Logan’s front door. “If that had been me, she’d have leapt at my legs or something.”
“Rubbish.” Logan set her back on the floor, laughing as she ambled over to Aaron and proceeded to curl around his legs. “Yeah, she’s so vicious.”
Despite grumbling about how she only liked him because he fed her while Logan ran off with Cole, Aaron crouched down and paid her the attention she was clearly after.
“And thanks again for coming by to leave her food.” Guilt washed over him. Granted, his life had been on the line, but Smudge depended on him. He needed to have better emergency plans in place for the future. Though fuck only knew what they might be.
“No problem.” Aaron stood when Logan set down a bowl of food, capturing Smudge’s attention. “So,” he began, voice turning serious.
Logan knew exactly what he was going to say and he held a hand up. “I know, okay. I need to do better. It’s just...”Just that every time I see him, I want to grab hold of him and never let go.“Leaving him in that flat on his own, where any of Paul’s team could pay him a visit when we’re not there... I hate it.” A snarl bubbled out of him, low and vicious. Smudge eyed him for a moment before going back to her food.
Aaron rolled his eyes. “Of course you hate it. I wouldn’t expect anything less, considering how you feel about him, and that place is going to bring out every last one of your protective instincts. But you’ve been a shifter for years, Logan. You should be able to get a handle on things. Think about Cole in all of this. He’s been a shifter for a matter of days.Days!” He let his words sink in for a second. “Imagine how hard it is for him to hide instincts and feelings that are brand new.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly.” He moved close enough to grip Logan’s shoulders. “Can you remember what it was like in the early days? Cole is doing amazingly well, but having you there radiating tension isn’t helping him whatsoever. You need to be the one in total control. He’s feeding off your anxiety, and if it happens with anyone other than me in the room, then they’re going to notice. You’re damn lucky none of Paul’s team came back today.”
“I’ll do better tomorrow.”
“Good. He needs you, Logan. Needs you to show him how to hide what he’s feeling.” With a sigh, Aaron gave Logan’s shoulders a squeeze. “Everything we coached him on during the drive back to London won’t help if you’re going around acting like a possessive mate.”
Logan knew it hadn’t been the best afternoon, but had it been that bad? “Noted.”
Moving to stand beside him, Aaron gave Logan a nudge with his shoulder. “I just want us all to come out of this in one piece.”
“Yeah, I know.” Logan glanced up at him. “So do I.” If only it was sooner rather than later, but Logan couldn’t see an early end in sight. “Iwilldo better,” he said, this time with a lot more conviction. “Promise.”
Aaron relaxed next to him, leaning into Logan. “The rest of the week is going to drag.”
Logan gave him an incredulous look, becausereally?
“Yeah, sorry. I know it’s worse for you, it’s just I hate pack history.” He wrinkled his nose. “Do we give him the full unadulterated version or the one that’s on file for non-pack members?” He scoffed. “As if any of the other packs don’t know the truth.” He shook his head, and Logan knew what he was going to say. He felt the same. “Our pack did some awful things during the takeover. I’m not keen to be reminded of it.”
“Me neither, but it happened and we can’t pretend it didn’t.” Tipping his head back, Logan stared at the ceiling for a moment before adding. “It’s why we’re doing this, isn’t it? To try and put right all the wrong our pack helped instigate?” He and Aaron, and a lot of his pack, might have had no say in what happened back then, but neither did they object to it. Now they had the chance to make amends.
“Paul said we had to get Cole up to speed on pack history, and since he’s pack now, I guess—”
“He’s not actually pack yet, though, is he?” Aaron said softly. “Michael has claimed him verbally, and in writing, or whatever it is they have to do. But he hasn’t formally introduced him to the pack. He hasn’t bitten Cole.”
“No,” Logan gritted out, his wolf surging to the surface at the imagethatconjured up. “He hasn’t.”
“I mean not that he has to actually bite him, necessarily, but I reckon he’s going to want to, all things considered.”
Logan’s growl reverberated around the kitchen, sending Smudge hurriedly under the table.Shit. Rolling his shoulders, Logan closed his eyes, then drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He repeated the action until he’d calmed down.
“Bloody hell.” Aaron gaped at him, eyebrows drawing together as the implications sank in. “If that’s how you react, then you can’t be anywhere near them when it actually happens.”
“If,” Logan muttered. They had no idea what plans Michael had for Cole, although Aaron was probably right. Cole had been bitten by a member of another pack. Michael was most likely going to want to put his own mark on him.
But he’s mine.
Cole already had one mark from a shifter that wasn’t Logan, but Logan could live with that. Max had saved Cole’s life when she knew that Logan couldn’t. Feeling this possessive over him wasn’t something Logan was proud of—and he knew human Cole would’ve been incredibly pissed off—but it was part and parcel of being a shifter. If the situation was reversed, then Cole—he hoped, anyway—would feel the same way about him.
