Page 67 of Defiance
But they’d know who was out there.
Senses were heightened both as a wolf and under the full moon. It would be easy to let their guard down and fuck everything up.
Turning to Cole, he said, “There’ll be a lot of shifters out tonight.”
“Okay.” Cole frowned. “Is that a problem?”
“No, but we can’t afford to have any issues with so many witnesses.” He met Cole’s gaze and tried to give him as pointed a look as he dared. “You need to stay where either me or Aaron can see you at all times, or we’ll all be in the shit.”
It took a moment, then realisation dawned and Cole nodded. “Of course.”
“Right, we need to go eat,” Aaron interrupted, rubbing his hands together. Cole wasn’t the only one who was excited about tonight. “You’ll need all your strength for later.”
Logan rolled his eyes at the speed with which Cole jumped up, ready to follow Aaron. He’d been terrified at the thought of his first shift. Now you’d be hard put to tell him apart from the rest of his pack. The buzz of excitement in the room was almost palpable.
Logan didn’t know whether to be pleased Cole seemed to be accepting the fact he was a shifter, or sad.
He doesn’t need you anymore, and you miss that.
As guilty as it made him feel, Logan knew deep down that was true. The more independent Cole became, the more he settled in with his new team, the less he had to rely on Logan to steer him in the right direction.
Fighting was something Cole knew, he didn’t need Logan for that. Shifting had been overwhelming for Cole before, and Logan had loved helping him through it. He’d thought he might have to do it again, had been looking forward to it, but judging by the way Cole seemed to bounce in place as he waited for Logan to get up, he wouldn’t need help from anyone.
And that’s a good fucking job, he reminded himself.I can’t give him the sort of help I did back in Cornwall. Get a fucking grip, Logan.
He stood, rolling his shoulders out and cracking his neck from side to side, banishing his stupid thoughts to the back of his mind where they belonged.
It had to be the full moon messing with his head.
Cole had always been stubborn and self-reliant. Of course that would shine through as a shifter too.
And that’s what you like about him.
“All right?” Aaron asked as they fell into step on the way to the cafeteria.
“Yeah.” Logan smiled, shaking off his weird mood. “Just antsy about tonight.”
“Same.” He nudged Logan’s shoulder. “I think we all need it though.”
They did, but he really fucking wished it could just be the three of them running tonight.
Aaron gave him a look that was all too knowing.
Am I really that easy to read?
If that was the case, he was surprised they’d not been locked up already.
“Logan, Aaron.” Paul stepped in front of them, blocking their path.
Where the fuck had he come from?
Cole stopped ahead of them, looking back, but Paul waved him on. “Go join your team. I need to talk to these two.”
His team.The words made his skin itch and Logan had to bite back a retort.
He raised an eyebrow. “What?” His attitude would no doubt piss Paul off, but Logan didn’t care. Paul might be willing to forgive and forget as far as Cole was concerned, but Logan remembered in vivid detail that it had been members of Paul’s team that had tortured him for information. Paul might not have authorised it, but they only learnt to do that in one fucking place.
Paul narrowed his eyes. “Cole will be joining me and my team for the run tonight.”
