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."
"Yeah," I said on a slight laugh.
"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling back and holding me at arm's length.
"I've been worse," I eluded, not wanting to tell him about the mark just yet.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you sure?"
"Were you worried about me?" I teased, attempting to change the subject.
It worked. "Are you kidding me?" he questioned. "Don't be stupid, Torian. Of course I was worried about you. You were out for two days."
"Two days?" I whispered, feeling the color drain from my face.
"Did he do anything to you?" he inquired, cupping my cheek in his palm. Even though he tried to keep his voice steady, I could detect his anger boiling just under the surface.
"Nothing," I lied, dropping my gaze from his.
Unfortunately, he wasn't having that. He tilted my chin up so that I was forced to meet his piercing emerald eyes. "Please, don't lie to me," he pleaded.
I practically melted from the intensity in his eyes. "You know what he did," I murmured. "He bit me."
"He obviously did more than that," Logan snapped.
Sighing, I sat up and pulled him with me. "I don't exactly know how this stuff works but . . ." I trailed off as I swept my hair away from the tattoo so he could see it.
"He marked you?" he ground out between clenched teeth, tracing his fingers lightly across the star that was now branded into my neck.
Nodding, I let my hair fall back to cover it. "Do you know what it means?"
His eyes hardened and his lips formed a tight line. "Xander's a very powerful vampire because of his age. As they age they gain more and more abilities, but some learn quicker than others. Even for his age, Xander's abilities are far beyond his years. Either way, the fact that he marked you means he can now access your dreams, and probably a few other things that I don't know about. And that doesn't sit well with me," he admitted.
"Do you know if it can be broken?" I asked on a shaky breath.
He gave a curt nod. "One of you has to die."
It felt like someone had punched me in the gut. "There's no other way?" I whispered, my voice sounding pitifully helpless even to my own ears. Logan solemnly shook his head. "That bastard," I hissed as I felt my eyes start to water.
"I'm so sorry, ma vie," Logan murmured, pulling me tight against his chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
"It wasn't your fault," I assured him, hugging him back tightly because I was grateful for the support.
"I still should've tried harder to get to you," he muttered, hanging his head.
That was something I couldn't handle. I couldn't have him blaming himself over something that was one hundred percent not his fault. "Logan, look at me," I ordered. He slowly raised his eyes to meet mine. "Do not blame yourself for this. I'm a big girl who can take care of myself. There's only one person who deserves blame in this situation and his name is Xander."
Sighing, he placed his hand over mine – which I hadn't even realized I had lifted to rest against his cheek. "Alright, ma vie. Alright," he finally consented after searching my face,
"Do me a favor now?" I asked, dropping my hand back to my side.
"Anything."
"What was this army he was talking about?" The question had been bothering me since the clearing. What could possibly constitute such an open display of hostility?
Logan sighed and laid down, pulling me down with him. "When our pack first moved here a little over three hundred years ago, the area was infested with vampires. The pack liked the area though and were willing to try and coexisting with the vampires, but they weren't having it. They were extremely territorial and wouldn't allow us to live here peacefully. So, a war ensued. It was supposedly a long and bloody battle, but eventually the vampires were driven out and there were very few survivors.
"Our generations have lived here ever since, but Xander has always come back every few years to mess with the current Alpha. He was one of the few that escaped with their lives. Though when I came to power last year, he became more than a nuisance. He's slowly targeting our pack to the point where we can't even go out individually to run anymore. We've lost five of our young one's just this month."
He sighed before he continued, "According to what he said the other day though, it didn't sound like he was doing all this alone. Which leads me to believe that he's gotten in contact with one of the other survivors. It's going to come to a war, I just know it," he grimly stated.
My brain was running a mile a minute as I tried to process all the new information. His pack had managed to keep a clan of vampires at bay for over three centuries? I looked at Logan in awe, a newfound admiration for him settling in. "So what're we going to do?" I asked before I could stop myself.
A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "We?" he parroted.
"As much as I hate to say it, we both know that had our fight gone on any longer I would have lost. So, I'll admit defeat. Which means I'm stuck here for three months. If you think I'm just going to sit there while you and your pack fight a war, you've got another thing coming," I told him.
"I can deal with that," he murmured, the moonlight filtering from the window glinting off his teeth when he smiled.
Nodding, I decided to keep to myself the fact that I still fully planned on leaving after the requirements of the challenge were met. But something flashed in Logan's eyes, and I knew he knew what I was planning. "What?' I snapped as he continued to study me in the dim light.
He slowly leaned into me, causing my back to hit the soft mattress as he loomed over me. "I won't let you leave," he breathed, his emerald eyes boring into mine.
"That's what you think," I retorted, trying to control the blush that was threatening to blossom on my cheeks.
"That's what I know," he stated, his voice confident.
Even I could see I was fighting a losing battle, so with a shaky breath I said something I never thought I would. "Let's just take this one step at a time, okay?" Logan's eyes widened before a grin overtook his face. Then, before I even knew it his lips were on mine.
A fire spread through my body so hot and fierce it took everything in me not to let out a moan, so instead I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. The kiss was soft and sweet, but Logan did just as I asked and pulled away before it could escalate any further. "Anything you want, Torian," he murmured.
As he laid back down and pulled my back flush against his chest, I was silently berating myself for allowing my wall to slip long enough for me to agree to try anything. But Logan's warmth was radiating throughout my entire body, making it hard to think straight let alone stay angry. To think I had just been worrying about what to do with him. I was pretty sure I just made the situation a whole lot harder for myself.
Letting out a deep breath, I allowed my eyes to flutter closed. With the rhythmic sound of Logan's breathing surrounding me, I soon fell asleep.
❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃
Logan was worried about Torian. What if Xander invaded her mind as she slept? He growled softly to himself. The first day after she's over a broken leg, she gets kidnapped by a sadistic vampire. Logan was still beating himself up over not doing more to help her, but he knew that there wasn't much more he could have done. All he cared about was that she was back, safe and sound.
He reached out for her hand and took it in his. A kilowatt smile lit up his face when she curled farther into his chest. A sigh dragged itself out of his mouth. Xander had always been a thorn in the side, but this is taking it too far, he thought as he moved Torian's hair away from her mark. He gently traced the tattoo, his anger growing the longer he stared at it. His mind flashed back to when Xander had bitten her and he winced. That piercing cry that she let out had cut him straight to the core. It was almost more painful than the multiple broken ribs Xander had given him.
The person he felt even sorrier for though, was David. Torian's Beta had been beside himself with worry while she was missing. If it wasn't for the pack's convincing him that charging in blind wouldn't do any good, Logan was willing to bet David would've gone after her alone. Now that she was back he was slightly better, but now he just kept blaming himself.
The fact that she had been wearing Xander's clothes didn't sit well with Logan. However he had known that she wouldn't be happy with him for allowing someone to change her. So he had simply lain with her for the two days she was unconscious, only falling asleep once. Thankfully when he woke up, she was awake as well.
Relieved didn't even begin to cover how he had felt at that moment.
Torian started to toss and turn in her sleep, and Logan's anxiety returned full force. That could only mean one thing. Xander had made himself known in her dreams.
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Well, its short and I'm sorry from that, but you got Logan's POV
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