Chapter 32 Aftermath the storm
Logan went straight to his office. Carson had called him, letting him know that Moonshine had been hit hard by the storm. He didn’t know the details yet, but he was meeting Carson and some of the scouts to find out. “Logan, where were you?” Carson asked, coming out of his office to meet him. “It has been busy at my house,” he said with a smirk. Carson shook his head. “If you are jonsing for a chick fight, it seems, you sure know how to put the pieces together,” Carson teased. Logan rolled his eyes. “It isn’t like that,” he said. “Now, tell me about what is actually important.” Carson smirked as they headed into the office. Logan took a seat at his desk chair. Carson stood at the edge of the desk, taking his phone out and putting it on the desk. “I’ve gotten messages from the storm damage,” he said. “It looks like they’ve had damage done to some of their crops and their roads have been washed out.” Logan hummed in thought.
“Then we should expect them to be commandeering our roads and infiltrating our fields,” he said.
“That is what I expected to, so I sent some extra patrols out to cover those areas,” the Beta said. Logan nodded. “Good,” he said. “That is all we can do for now. I want to be informed immediately if and when anything happens. We both know how things go when Moonshine feels squeezed and pressured.” Carson chuckled, shaking his head. He pocketed his phone. “Yes, we both know how that goes,” Carson admitted. “How about our pack, how are we doing with cleanup?” Logan asked. Carson sighed, going over to a small table near the window and picking up files. Each file corresponded to a building that had been damaged in the storm. They were filled with work orders and rebuilding plans. “It is funny.” Carson said, bringing the folders to Logan’s desk. “That doctor’s house was hit the hardest. Almost like some otherworldly force was pushing you two together.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Will you stop with that?” Logan asked. “Holly might be a little…high strung… sometimes, but at least I know her past. That is more desirable than a woman with too many secrets and who tries to hide her past.”
Carson chuckled. “Come on, you know the mystery entices you,” the Beta teased. Logan shook his head, opening the top folder to see what the condition of the library was. Maybe, but not in that way,” he said. “She has too much unknown baggage.” The library hadn’t been damaged too much, and it was the first building to be repaired. Logan had always made it a priority. With that building already taken care of, the focus had gone to the residential homes since none of the other pack public buildings had been damaged. “Most of the other houses were only minimally damaged, but a few of the roads were torn up a bit,” Carson said. “I have a crew working on the roads first. Well, after the debris removal is finished. There are some big trees that came down in some back yards.”
“Good,” Logan said. He came to the file on Serena’s house. Looking at the pictures of the damage from multiple angles, it was hard to imagine that he’d been in the house when the tree came down. He’d been in there with Serena and two children! Shaking his head, Logan stacked the pictures together. “It looks worse form the outside,” Carson said. Logan closed the folder. “Those kids are lucky,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.” “I’m sure you being there helped” Carson said. “And having your home to stay in after has softened the blow for them.”
“I don’t know,” Logan admitted. He pressed his foot into the floor, swiveling his chair back and forth. His eyes drifted to the nearest window, looking out at the bright
sunshine. Just a few days ago, a rabid storm had torn up his territory. Now, it was sunny and warm again. “Logan, is something going on that I should know about?” Carson asked. “It isn’t about the pack” Logan said dismissively. “I meant as your friend” Carson clarified. Logan shrugged. “There is just something about those kids,” he mused, more to himself. “What about them?” Carson asked, pulling a chair up and taking a seat. Carson was wasn’t just his Beta, he was one of his closest friends. It was a byproduct of how
closely they worked together. They shared similar responsibilities, and had a deeper understanding of each other and what they did than anyone else in the pack. “Carson, I keep getting this feeling around them, like I just want to see them have a
great life, to see them succeed and have everything they want,” Logan said, confiding in his friend.
ly.
“They are young members of the pack, isn’t that common for an Alpha?” Carson asked. “Maybe it is.” Logan said, shaking his head. “Look, I don’t know much about Serena, her kids, or your relationship with them.” Carson said. “What I do know is that if you feel a strong connection to them, you should listen to that.”
“Thanks,” Logan said, smirking. “Hang on, I’m getting a call” Carson said. He grabbed his phone and stepped out of the office. Logan checked on the work orders for debris removal. It looked like they hadn’t started on Serena’s house yet. That tree was the biggest one that had fallen too!
Maybe Carson was on to something. So many events had to line up for the tree and the house to get destroyed. It was too much to consider a coincidence. Logan laughed at himself, closing the file. Now he was buying into so ghost story. Shaking his head, he went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out two tumblers. He poured bourbon into each of them, setting one where Carson would sit when he came back in. He sat in his own chair and took a sip of his drink.
Carson came back in, eying the bourbon. “What brought this on?” he asked, taking his own glass and sipping the thick liquid. “It’s the good stuff,” Logan warned. Carson gulped a sip down and nodded. “Seriously,” he said, setting the glass down. “Anything important in the call?” Logan asked. Carson shrugged. “Just some reports of Moonshine infiltrations on the roads,” he said. “The patrols took care of them.
“Moonshine will retaliate,” Logan said, polishing off his own bourbon. He poured another glass. “That’s true,” Carson said, finishing his drink. He declined a refill, putting his hand over the top of his glass when Logan tried to pour more. “Nothing like a natural disaster to cause the rogues to lash out,” he said sarcastically, shaking his head.
“You’d think it would be cause to give it a rest,” Carson mumbled. Logan nodded, chuckling.
“Apparently not,” Logan said, taking another gulp of bourbon. Not for the first time, he inwardly cursed the fact that his territory shared a border with Moonshine. He sighed, finishing his drink. Moonshine was a growing problem. They were finding any excuse now to cause a mess and cross over pack territory. It wasn’t good. A storm shouldn’t have been enough to uproot them. It gave Logan the unsettling feeling that the pack was falling apart, that they were unable to support themselves anymore. They weren’t just attacking and causing problems to be reckless rogues. They were trying to keep themselves alive! A pack that had fallen into that much decay was a ticking timebomb. Logan shuddered to think what was going to happen if they didn’t assert their authority over Moonshine. Logan smiled to himself, thinking of how similar his thoughts were to the arguments
that Serena had made to him about her parenting.
“Logan, I just got a text,” Carson said, holding his phone screen up. Logan was pulled from his inner amusement.
“What’s happening?” he asked, becoming serious. He hadn’t had enough bourbon to lessen his inhibitions. Regardless, he was Alpha, and he would switch into the serious pack defender at the snap of a finger. “Their encroaching on another field. The patrols are requesting backup,” Carson reported.
“Let’s go,” Logan said. He stood up and headed for the door without a backwards glance. He needed to get out there and take down anyone that threatened his pack and his territory!
“Should I call for more backup?” Carson asked. Logan reached into the mental link and requested backup. He didn’t want another attack like the one that had almost claimed Carson’s life.
“Already done,” Logan said. Carson nodded, pocketing his phone. The two males kept pace with each other. Carson told Logan which field was under attack. They didn’t need to speak on the way. Logan had to get into the mindset of the Alpha, a warrior that was going to tear down anyone that was a threat!