Chapter 93 The test
“Can we talk?” Santino asked. Logan nodded and Serena’s brother joined him outside. “How’d the talk go?” Logan asked curiously. Santino laughed. “Our parents have always been hard on Serena,” he said. “They have to be, though.” “What does that mean?” Logan asked. Santino shrugged and looked out at the water.
“You really like the kids, don’t you?” he asked. “I love them,” Logan said. “I did before Serena told me the truth. Santino sighed. “Yea, she shouldn’t have hidden that from you,” he said. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let her keep that a secret.” “I thought you supported her in everything?” Logan asked. He crossed his arms over his chest as he approached Serena’s twin. Santino chuckled and shrugged.
“She’s my sister and I love her, but she doesn’t always make the best choices, you know that,” Logan said.
“No, I don’t,” he scoffed. “I think she really did believe she was doing the best thing for Olivia and Oliver.”
He hadn’t said that aloud, or even admitted it to himself, but in saying it, he did feel like he believed it. Did he agree with it? Not entirely, but he could accept that Serena had believed it.
The sun had almost set completely, and porch lights flicked on as the sky darkened. Santino was still looking out at the water. Logan wondered what it was he was doing. “Well then, you are a forgiving man,” Santino observed, glancing slyly at the Alpha. “Hardly,” Logan muttered. “I accept she thought she was doing the right thing, that doesn’t mean I agree with it.” Santino nodded.
“Yea, I guess it will be a while before you see her as a friend again, won’t it?” Santino asked. Logan shrugged. He wasn’t sure why Serena’s brother was acting so friendly to him all of a sudden, and in
such opposition with his sister. He’d been under the impression that Santino stood up for her with her parents a lot, but now he seemed willing to badmouth her.
“I don’t even know if we were friends,” he admitted. “I thought we were but…”
“But what?” Santino asked, turning to face Logan.
Again, the Alpha shrugged. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say.
“Even though I didn’t know she was my mate, maybe I was just drawn to her because she is,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I felt comfortable enough to confide in her. The rest of our ‘friendship’ was one sided.” “I don’t know it if works that way.” Santino said. “It is a question worth bringing up,
though. Did you even talk about being mates?”
Logan shook his head, sighing. He looked into the house where he could see Olivia and Oliver on the couch with Serena. He wondered if this was how it was going to be from now on. Would they hardly ever be in the same room together, spending time with the twins separately and parenting separately? “I was more concerned with her other lies.” Logan said, nodding to the kids. “That’ll be a conversation for another day.” “Do you get mad like that a lot?” Santino asked. Logan raised an eyebrow at him. “Serena’s told me some things.” Logan scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I have a temper, we all know this,” he said snippily. Santino laughed and nodded. “Noted,” he said. “I just mean…from the sounds of it, your two most recent outbursts had to do with my sister.” Santino wasn’t wrong. First when he thought Serena and Carson were seeing each other behind his back, then again when he found out the truth about the twins. Serena seemed to bring it out in him the most these days. “Yes, they did,” he admitted.
“And before that, you had it under control for a while, didn’t you?” Santino asked. Logan narrowed his eyes at Serena’s brother.
“Your point?” he asked. Santino shrugged casually. “I just think that you’re looking at this the wrong way,” he said. “If she brings your temper out, it isn’t because you are mad at her or don’t agree with her, it is because you feel passion.” “Passion?” Logan snarled. Santino nodded. “Think about it, all great romances have fiery passion like that. I bet she fights back just as hard,” he said. Logan rolled his eyes again. “It doesn’t matter. I’m with someone else and she is having my child;” Logan grumbled. “Sure, sure,” Santino said dismissively. “You know, Serena has always been difficult. Whether it is in lying and keeping secrets, rebelling against my parents, not doing a good job in school. She’s always been a problem.” Logan growled, stepping closer to Santino. He didn’t like the way her brother was talking about her, and it made his anger explode in his chest. He was seconds away from pouncing on Santino and biting into him. One wrong word! “That’s not true!” Logan snapped. “She has done amazing things in the pack and on her own! Raising twins while being in medical school away from the pack and their support, managing a huge renovation project in the hospital and getting us the best, most up to date equipment, and she never turns a patient away, even when she
should. She saved my life by giving me her own blood, and all the while, she keeps putting her kids first!”
He kept his voice low, even though his words flowed out of him with strength and power. Santino raised an eyebrow at him. “You do like to defend her, even when you’re mad at her,” he pointed out. Logan scoffed and walked to the edge of the deck. He thought about running into the yard and shifting into wolf form so he could go for a run. “She’s special,” he said. “And I don’t just mean because she is my
mate. You haven’t seen what she has done in Night Sky, the trials she has overcome, the crap she’s had to deal with – no thanks to me…” he sighed, trailing off.
Santino laughed and Logan looked at him again. He was partially hunched over as he laughed, clutching his side like it hurt. “Wow, you really have noticed her,” he said. “I’ve never known anyone to be mad at someone and simultaneously in awe of them while being self-flagellating for what you’ve put her through, yet still begrudging her for what she put you through. You are a man of many contradictions, aren’t you?” Logan shook his head. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Santino said, waving his question away. “I was just testing you. I wanted to know what your reaction would be if I told you something negative about my sister. It was pretty much what I thought it would be.” “What?” Logan snarled. Santino held his hands in surrender. “Hey, that’s my sister, and Olivia and Oliver are my niece and nephew. I’m not going to let them go off with any male just because he is their father,” Santino said. “But don’t worry, you passed the test.” “Thanks ever so,” Logan muttered sarcastically. “You were quick to come to her aid,” Santino pointed out. “And it was a lie. She’s never been problematic. Well, at least not in any defining way. She’s my twin and I lover her to pieces.” “It seems I’m not the only one that’s protective,” Logan said. Santino grinned at him. “Not at all,” he said with a nod. “She’s my family. But you know, you’re her family now too. Even if the twins don’t know it and even if the two of you can’t be together, you’re still family.”
That made Logan feel better. He smiled and nodded. It was nice to hear, and he wanted to think of Serena and the twins as family. “Yes, they are my family too,” Logan said more to himself. Santino raised an eyebrow at him. Logan didn’t like that. It reminded him too much of his mother and how she acted like she knew things she shouldn’t!
“Can I ask you something kind of personal?” Santino asked. Logan groaned a little
“Can I stop you?” he asked.
“Nope,” Santino said chuckling.
“Go for it, then,” Logan said, extending his hand out as an invitation. Santino grinned.
“If you care so much about my sister, why are you with some other woman?” he asked. “I mean, I get the baby and loyalty and all that, but you were drawn to my sister long before Holly was pregnant.”
“True,” Logan said with a sigh. “Holly and I have been together a long time.” Santino shook his head.
“You’ve never spoken of Holly with such passion, even when someone is insulting her,” Santino said. “I think you should take some time to think about how you feel about Serena and about Holly.”
Santino left Logan alone on the porch in the dark. Crickets hard started chirping, drowning out the sound of the muffled voices from inside the house. Santino had given Logan something to think about, even if he didn’t want to.