Chapter 135 Camping
“Camping?” Logan asked. “Uncle Santino showed us how to survive. We wanted to prove we could do it,” Olivia explained. Santino groaned, shaking his head. Logan sighed. He went over to the fire and knelt down in front of the kids. “You shouldn’t have run off like that,” he said in a firm, parental tone. “Your mother is very worried. I was very worried. The whole pack is out looking for you.” Both Olivia and Oliver looked down at the ground, their faces sad. “We‘re sorry,” they muttered together. Logan put a hand on each of their faces. “Let’s get the two of you home so your mom can relax. Running off like that really scared her,” Logan said. “Okay, okay,” the twins said. “I’ll clean up the camp,” Santino offered. Logan nodded to him. “Thanks,” Logan said. Carson headed off into the shadows. He would have to go and alert the other search groups that the twins had been found. Logan knew it was a best- case-scenario, they were safe and uninjured, and hadn’t been abducted, but they needed to know that they couldn’t run off like that. The whole pack had paused everything else and put their resources into finding the twins. Of course, it was a precaution he would take any time children went missing, but it was a waste of time and resources when the kids weren’t in trouble. It was the first real parenting moment Logan was having where he had to be firm and get his point across. “You both did a really great job with the camp,” Logan told them. “It looks like your Uncle Santino taught you well.”
“We hunted and cooked dinner too,” Olivia said looking up at Logan happily. He took each of their hands and started walking through the woods. Logan didn’t smile at them, because he wanted them to realize it was serious. Olivia’s excitement faded. “Look, I know you two were just trying to have fun, and you are very capable of taking care of yourselves, but you can’t run off like that,” Logan admonished. “We wanted to survive, like Uncle Santino showed us,” Olivia protested. “I understand,” Logan said firmly. “But running off like that without telling anyone where you were going was not the right thing to do. Your mother is very upset and worried about you. I was very worried about you. The whole pack is out looking for you, away from their jobs and their families. If you want to go out in the woods to go camning vou’ve got to tell your mother or me first and tell us where you are aning.”
“But…” Olivia started to say. “No more excuses, Olivia,” Logan said sternly. “It is never okay to run off without telling anyone. It is never okay to worry your parents like that, and it is never okay to make the whole pack worry.” Oliver had been quiet the entire walk, and now that she had been reprimanded, Olivia stopped talking too. Logan really didn’t like playing the firm father, but while Serena wasn’t there, he had to be the parent.
He was trying to be stern but not yell at them or punish them severely. It was about responsibility and understanding the trouble they’d caused for everyone else Logan texted his mother ahead of time to let her know that the kids were safe and uninjured and he was bringing them home. He hadn’t told her about the camping, thinking that would just freak Serena out more. He’d wait until she had seen them and hugged them before that came up. Serena was awake when they got back to the house. She was on the couch, her face still stained with tears. Flo and Dana were still there too.
Logan opened the door and let the kids in. Olivia and Oliver ran up to their mother and hugged her. Serena hugged them back, tears of joy filling her eyes as she held them
close. “Where were you two?” she asked. “Why did you leave the yard?” “We wanted to go camping,” Olivia said.
“We wanted to survive,” Oliver added. Serena looked at Logan he shrugged.
“I already gave them the ‘responsibility’ talk,” he told her. Serena nodded. “Mom, can you help Carson bring in the search groups and make sure they are all accounted for? Carson will manage the gear retrieval.”
“Yes, of course,” Flo said. She headed out the front door.
“I’ll make myself scarce,” Dana said, realizing that Serena and Logan needed a family moment with the twins. Dana headed down into the basement where her apartment was.
Logan sat on the coffee table. Serena was still curled on the couch and the kids were sitting one on each side of her. She had her arms around them, but her tears had stopped and she was starting to look irritated.
“Tell me why you left the yard without letting Dana or me know first,” Serena said more firmly. “We were trying to survive, like Uncle Santino taught us,” Olivia said. “We already talked about going camping as a family. Why did the two of you run off? || want a real answer,” she said. Olivia said. “It wouldn’t be surviving if you knew where we were,” Olivia said. Serena closed her eyes. Logan shook his head.
“That was not okay,” Serena reiterated Logan’s statements from before. “The two of you are grounded, do you know what that means?” “No, what?” Olivia asked. “It means that you aren’t allowed to go out with friends. When you’re home, you have to stay in your rooms separately unless you are having breakfast, dinner, or a snack, and you aren’t allowed to play in the backyard,” she said. “Mommy, that’s prison!” Olivia wailed. Serena shook her head. “You made a bad decision,” she said. “You made your father and me very worried, and you got the entire pack involved. That is irresponsible, and the two of you have to accept the consequences of your decisions.” “We wouldn’t have done it if you were going to lock us up!” Olivia wailed again. “Then you’ll know never to do it again,” Serena said. She glanced at Logan. He nodded. He hadn’t known how to punish them, but Serena was more experienced. At least he’d been able to impress upon them the seriousness of the situation. “That’s not fair, mommy,” Oliver argued.
“You scared us today, that’s not fair either,” Serena said. “When you aren’t grounded anymore, you’re not going to be allowed to play outside unsupervised until you both understand that you can’t run off again.”
“Mom, that is torture!” Olivia cried, tears springing to her eyes. “I don’t want to hear it,” Serena said. She stood up off the couch and opened the door to Dana’s apartment. “Dana, can you come up and put the kids to bed?” Dana appeared moments later. She led the kids upstairs. They did not look pleased. Logan stood up and Serena ran to him, throwing herself against him. Logan wrapped his arms
around her and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you for bringing them home,” she said. “I promised I would,” Logan reminded her. He kissed the top of her head again. “I hate being so hard on them but I can’t ever go through that fear and worry again,” she said. “Serena, you don’t need to explain yourself to me,” he said. “I understand why you’re upset, and I wanted to make sure they understood that I was disappointed in them too. At least they weren’t hurt, or lost, or abducted. Bringing them home safe was the best we could ask for.” “You‘re right,” Serena said with a sigh. She collapsed against Logan entirely. “Thank you for everything today.” “I’m here for you,” he said. “You don’t think the punishment was too harsh, was it?” Serena asked. She lifted her head enough to look into Logan’s face. He grinned at her.
“Compared to my mother, no,” he said, shaking his head. “They have to learn responsibility. I just didn’t want to choose a punishment that you weren’t okay with.” Serena bit her lip.
“I should have asked you what you thought,” she admitted. Logan shook his head.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “Look, the kids are safe, and I’m confident they won’t do anything like this again. Let’s celebrate that as a victory.”
“Okay,” Serena said. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Logan leaned down and pressed his lips to Serena’s. She sighed, leaning into the kiss with incredible passion. Logan was almost swept away. After her day, he wasn’t surprised that she was emotionally needy. He was glad he could be there for her and for the twins.
Even though they’d scared him half to death, he couldn’t be happier having them home safe and sound. And he definitely wasn’t going to complain about how warmly and hungrily Serena kissed him. Logan slid his hands down her sides, pulling her closer.