Logan was sitting in his study with Casper. He sighed and took his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. The activities of the recent days were beginning to take a toll on him.After he had gone to Aella and she had comforted him, Louve had come to wake him up and tell him that the warriors from her father's pack was around. Logan was surprised: he hadn't asked for the warriors to come up north already. But Louve had told him that it had all been her doing. She had noticed the state of unrest in the pack and what Elias was trying to do by turning the people against Logan, and so she had called her father to send his troops, just in case. The warriors had been given strict instructions to protect Logan and his mate no matter what.Logan had gone down to see them and had been amazed at their sheer number. His uncle had sent way more than the 700 he had originally requested for, 900 to be precise. He had wondered aloud to Louve how they would house and feed the 900 men, and Louve h
Logan stepped back as he realised what he had done, what Elias had pushed him to do. The man was still standing at a distance, laughing like a lunatic. The alpha closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. Damn, what had he done? He had let a crazy man like Elias get under his skin. Now the people of the pack would think he was not worthy to be their alpha.He opened his eyes and looked at the people that stood before him. They were all looking at him with anger and disappointment in their eyes. Logan felt his whole world crashing around his ears.One by one the pack members and the Head Wolves began to walk away, led by Elias. Logan wanted to reverse the hands of time and rethink his decisions. It was as though he had made the worst thinkable decision of his life. How was he to face the people now when he had let his emotions ride roughshod over him?Casper led him back into the study and led him to a nearby sofa. Logan sank into it and buried his head in his hands. He felt l
Aella nodded as Logan made that statement. They both stared at each other with grim determination etched on their faces. They were trying to show more bravery than they felt, because deep down, fear was taking over.They separated from each other and Aella walked to the closet. She opened it and went inside, picking a few clothes and other things she thought she might need. She picked two of her dresses, a few toiletries and underwear, and one of Logan's shirts as a sort of reminder. Before stuffing it in the duffel bag, she put the shirt to her nose and sniffed appreciatively, closing her eyes in rapture. She would miss his cedarwood scent and what it did to her senses.She opened her eyes and looked at the shirt. It was the black button shirt that she had worn on that memorable afternoon when she had turned Logan's room upside down to annoy him. She remembered how he had stared at her bare legs, how his eyes had burned into her, stripping her naked with its intensity, and shuddered.
"It's cozy." Aella commented as she continued to look around."Yeah, I know right?" Logan answered as he moved left her at the entrance and moved further inside, turning on lights as he went. "My dad told me his great great-something grandfather found this cabin when he came to this place to settle, long before the seat of the alpha ever came to our family. It has been in our family ever since then."Aella moved inside and continued to look around. She ran her hand over the faded red plaid material of the chairs around the fireplace, over the slightly dusty array of things on the shelf. They were mostly small ceramic figures: little dancing men, women and children. Aella picked one up and examined it. "Do you come here often?""Not as often as I used to, but I was here about a week ago." He replied. Aella nodded. That would explain the minimal dust.After he had finished turning on the lights, Logan came back to where she was standing. He was wearing clothes now, while she was still n
Fear had turned the inside of Logan's mouth into ash. His knees felt like jelly and his stomach had turned to lead. "Aella, Aella!" He called over and over again, walking around the surrounding of the cabin several times.If she were here, she would have answered you by now, his wolf spoke up. He let out a yell of anger and frustration and kicked a nearby tree so hard that its bark cracked."Fuck!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the nearby trees. He ran through the woods, trying to sniff out her scent, but she seemed to have disappeared into thin air. No scent, no footsteps, no trace, nothing. He moved back to the cabin and went inside, collapsing into the chair.Several conflicted thoughts ran through his head at the same time. Was she kidnapped? Was she fine? Did she seize the opportunity to run away from him?He shook his head at that last thought. Aella would not run away from him, no. Their bond was too strong now. She could not do it even if she wanted to. He started to fe
On and on he ran in human form, through the woods and away from his fears. He kept thinking about Aella all through: how she was doing, if she was fine. He was overcome with worry and his head still banged with a headache.Logan got to the pack house in about half the time it would normally take him. He was agitated and on edge, and he badly needed to talk to his beta and his cousin. He felt like they were the only two sensible people that could put his raging emotions in order.He entered the pack house through the backyard kitchen door, praying that the kitchen was empty, because he did not be spotted by any member of the pack. But as he stepped into the kitchen, a handful of maids were standing around, cooking and cleaning and talking in hushed whispers about him, Aella and the entire issue. He stood in the shadows of the door, grateful for the gathering darkness and the protection that it offered him."I hear that Miss Aella and the alpha are mates!" A maid with buck teeth whisper
Louve and Casper joined Logan in the library within a few minutes. They burst through the door, their faces twin masks of worry."Logan, what happened? What's wrong?" Louve asked, frowning with concern at her cousin. She took a seat in front of him and Casper followed suit."Everything is fine." He said, but his face gave him away. Louve looked at her own mate, then back at him."I know that face, Logan. You're not fine." She said, a tone of warning in her voice. "You had better start talking this instant."Logan put his elbows on the desktop and placed his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't even know where to start. All the different emotions he had felt today alone: the happiness from being with Aella in the morning, the fear and anxiety after she had disappeared, and the rage and hatred, he had felt towards Elias mere minutes ago, were overwhelming.He raised his head as Louve and Casper watched and waited for him patiently. His eyes were red-rimmed with tears an
After their short meeting, the three of them walked out of the study. Logan's spirit was much lifted after talking to his two best friends. His mind was still full of worry about Aella and how she was doing, but he was also happy that he seemed to be making progress on one thing at least.He remembered something that his father had once told him, that the fastest way to forget about something painful was to drown that pain in work. He had been extremely sad about Aella's kidnapping and had worried for her safety, but at least he had been able to do some work with his beta and cousin and make headway in the process. It had drowned his worries about his mate for a few precious minutes.But now thoughts of Aella had returned and had started haunting him again. He felt as though he would lose it if he didn't find a way to clear his head.Logan escorted Casper and Louve to the door of the dining room, where they were to have dinner. Louve turned to her cousin. "Come and eat dinner with us.
Everything was peaceful again.Logan stood at the border that separated his pack from bare land. He slowly looked around, taking in the scene of the battle that had happened so many months ago now. The sight was still as vivid as though it had happened just yesterday. He could still see the Rogue King and all his numbers standing mere meters from where he stood, the sounds of clashing metal and yelling men, so familiar and neverforgotten, the scent too, of blood and fear and adrenaline. Everything still looked and smelled and sounded the same, yet so much had changed since then.He sighed and looked up into the sky, raking his hand through his ponytail. It was almost springtime already; the whole forest reminded him of the change in season. The tree trunks dappled in the morning light and the shadow of the leaves on his face. Some of the trees were already bringing out leaves and flowers. The air smelled of over-ripe berries, fading blossoms, and a thousand or more flowers dazing hi
Logan screamed, and several things happened at once."Attack!" Casper yelled, and the whole of Logan's warriors roared and raced toward the Rogue King and his army. The rogue army equally chanted in a loud voice and beat their weapons against their shield, then ran at the oncoming warriors.Both armies met in the middle of the grassy land. The sound of their collision was terrible and harsh to the ears: the screeching of iron on iron as shields met, the barking and snarling of the frontline wolves as they tore at each other, the painful yells of dozens of Lycan warriors as they were stabbed or speared or torn apart to death.The bodies of Logan's gamma and the spy from the rogue pack were lost in the commotion. Logan barely had time to access the situation of the battle or go after the Rogue King. He had eyes only for his mate. He spotted her in the middle of the stampede, lying on the floor as her life seeped out of her body.He ran towards her after she slipped to the ground before
Logan dismounted from his stallion and walked forward to the edge of the border in preparation to meet the Rogue King. Every angle of his face was set in determination as he looked forward, the spring air caressing his regal face.Then suddenly, he spotted a speck of black coming forward from about a mile forward. The whole army behind him was so silent that the alpha could hear his beta breathing lightly beside him.Casper looked at his alpha. “Logan—” he said, then broke off, stiffening all over. A moment later Logan heard it too—a heavy, rhythmic pounding, and laid over that, a sound like several bonfires crackling. The speck grew and elongated little by little until it was a line of army, running towards Logan and his pack. It took the alpha several long moments to understand the noise.“The Rogue Army.” Casper whispered. Following his gaze, he saw them, coming closer and closer like a spreading shadow, the Rogue Wolf pack in all their numbers. There must have been hundreds of th
Logan had been waiting for a long time.He was standing in the part of the woods that faced the border, with a hundred and fifty well-armed warriors. The whole forest was silent and tense, almost as though all the animals were joining in the wait for the arrival of the Rogue King.He had sent Casper ahead with a couple of other warriors to scan the land ahead and send word when they noticed the arrival of the Rogue King. He had told his beta to wave a red flag when coming to indicate that battle was near. So far it had been four hours since he sent Casper out, and he was feeling as harried and on edge as a father expecting his newborn child.He was seated on a white stallion, bred specially for the use of alphas in the pack. His hair was packed up in a man bun and he was dressed in black fighting gear. He had smeared black paint across both of his cheeks, as well as all the other warriors that stood behind him. He raised a hand and pulled at the tight material on his neck uncomfortabl
Aella's dreams made no senseFirst, she was in the foyer of the pack house in Logan's pack, walking down the makeshift aisle that was meant for Louve. She looked sideways at the crowd of well-wishers and instead of the faces of Logan's pack members, she saw grins and sneers from the members of the Rogue Pack. She looked down and instead of a white dress, she was putting on a black one: lacy and tattered, like a Bride of Death. Someone was leading her by the arm, and when she looked up, she saw that it was her dad.Impossible, she had time to think before they got to the makeshift altar, where the Wolf Priest was waiting for the both of them. She heard low chants from the members of the Rogue Pack behind her but she paid little heed. All her attention was focused on her groom who was standing with his back to her, looking very much like Logan. Maybe this dream isn't so bad after all, she thought. But when the groom turned to her, she was staring not at Logan but at the face of the Rogu
Logan and his gamma walked back to the pack house in relative silence. Several thoughts kept running through the alpha's mind. At least now, Aella's name would be cleared, albeit not completely. She would still be seen as a rogue wolf that was sent to spy on them, and the only reason Jesse was assigned the position of a spy in the pack was that Aella had failed at it by getting herself mated to him.Jesse was the last person he had expected to be the spy though. He stole a sideways look at the man as he dragged him forward by the collar. He was one of those silent, sidelines people, those you'd never know they were there until they spoke. Logan had seen a lot of himself in the man and had admired his knack for staying level-headed even in very tough situations. That was the very reason why he had made Jesse his Gamma.Logan's mind flashed back to when they had been younger. While Casper had been his best friend, Jesse had been that boy that sort of tagged along anytime they went on th
Staring at Logan was the familiar face of Jesse, his Gamma."What the hell are you doing here? And hooded too?" Logan asked. There was a nagging, almost uncomfortable feeling about this situation, but he tried to push it off. Jesse's deep blue, almost black eyes that stared up into his were wide and full of everything suspicious. His eyes kept looking behind Logan's back as though he was expecting someone else to show up."Can you get off me, alpha?" Jesse said, squirming uncomfortably. Logan stood up with a grunt and even stretched out a hand to the man, who took it and stood up from the forest floor, dusting his clothes.Everything about this screamed suspicion, but Logan paid no heed to it. He wanted to trust his gamma beyond any reasonable doubt, but the man kept giving him every reason to doubt him. The hands that dusted his clothes were shaky; only someone who felt guilty about something would fidget so much. And the clothes—Logan hadn't noticed them before—he had a black turtle
The flashlight in Logan's hand illuminated several meters of the cave stone, upon which hundreds of intricate drawings had been scrawled. Logan quickly closed his mouth as it had been hanging open in shock, and moved further inside the cave.The sight that met his eyes was unbelievable. He truly had never seen them before. It wasn't really the fact that they were unique that intrigued Logan so much, but the fact that this cavehad stood right in the middle of his pack's borders and he hadn't noticed it, not once.Granted, the cave was hidden in the side of the mountain, but not once had a wolf from his pack ever stumbled upon the cave entrance. It was baffling and confusing to Logan.Wow. This was so not what I was expecting, his inner wolf said in amazement.He raised the flashlight high and looked around. The wall to his immediate right had more inscriptions than drawings. Logan moved closer to the smooth cave wall, trying to decipher the writings. The writings had been made with a p
After their short meeting, the three of them walked out of the study. Logan's spirit was much lifted after talking to his two best friends. His mind was still full of worry about Aella and how she was doing, but he was also happy that he seemed to be making progress on one thing at least.He remembered something that his father had once told him, that the fastest way to forget about something painful was to drown that pain in work. He had been extremely sad about Aella's kidnapping and had worried for her safety, but at least he had been able to do some work with his beta and cousin and make headway in the process. It had drowned his worries about his mate for a few precious minutes.But now thoughts of Aella had returned and had started haunting him again. He felt as though he would lose it if he didn't find a way to clear his head.Logan escorted Casper and Louve to the door of the dining room, where they were to have dinner. Louve turned to her cousin. "Come and eat dinner with us.