Howls of the Lost | Now Published!

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Forcing myself to get up, I started the shower before stripping out of Xander's clothes. The cascade of warm water was welcoming when I finally slipped under it. An audible sigh escaped my mouth as the scalding water massaged my aching muscles. After I had gone through the process of washing my hair and body, I just stood under the water for the longest time. It took everything in me not to scrub my skin raw to get the feeling of Xander's cold touch off of me, but the heat cleared my head and allowed me to relax.

The water ran cold way before I was ready to get out, but I stepped out anyway. As I was wrapping a towel around myself, I noticed the white piece of paper poking out of Xander's jacket pocket. My curiosity peaked as I bent down and picked it up. The paper was neatly folded, and I opened it warily.

Torian,

You passed out, darling. Don't worry, I returned you to Logy-Boy immediately. I'm sorry about your neck, but the opportunity to torment Logan was just too much to pass up. I'm just sorry that you had to be the tool I used. But don't fret, this isn't the last you've heard from me.

Be seeing you,

Xander.

My skin crawled as I finished reading the note. Scowling, I tossed it down onto the pile of clothes and stalked out of the bathroom. The first chance I got I was burning them. When I reached the walk-in closet, I nearly slapped myself in the forehead. I still didn't have any clothes of my own. Grumbling to myself, I wrenched the door open and decided to steal a few things of Logan's for the time being.

Thankfully, I had thought to ask Ashlyn to pick me up a few sets of underwear while I was on bed rest so I had those. Slipping into a pair, I deposited the towel into the hamper. For a few minutes I stared at Logan's clothes before I finally just snatched a t-shirt and a pair of sweats. After pulling the clothes on, I had to roll the waistline of the sweat pants a few times to make them fit. When I was satisfied that they weren't going to fall back down, I crept out into the bedroom.

When I glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly two thirty in the morning, I had to do a double take. Was it really that late? Rolling my eyes, I crawled back into bed next to Logan, making sure that my back was facing him. How did I get messed up in all this? Now not only did I have to fend off Logan and the mate claim, but I had to deal with a sociopathic vampire as well?

On the note of my mate, I rolled over and sighed as I felt our connection growing even as I laid there trying to deny it. No matter what, the longer I stayed there the more attached to Logan I was going to become whether I wanted to or not. It was just how shifters worked. Once a male wolf realizes who his mate is, the claim is automatically made. Then it's just up to the female to accept it, but even if she doesn't accept it right away their bond grows over time. The longer two mates are around one another the harder it is to keep rejecting the claim.

Which was why I wanted to get out of there so bad.

I wished I knew what to do. Maybe I wasn't doing the right thing in rejecting him, but then again did I want to take that risk? Sighing, I reached out and gently traced the worry lines on his forehead with the tips of my fingers. They faded away almost instantly, and I couldn't help but smile when he raised his hand and snagged mine before placing it over his heart.

Ever so slowly, Logan's eyes fluttered open. When he finally focused on me, they widened to the size of saucers. "Ma vie," he said breathlessly, wrapping his arms around my waist before crushing me against his chest. "You're awake."