Chapter 45 LOGAN’S TURN
LOGAN’S POV
I've faced down Blood Moon warriors, survived exile, spent ten years gathering evidence against The Veritas, and none of it scares me as much as this moment.
Alicia sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at me with those beautiful eyes that I've known since we were children. Waiting for me to complete the bond. To claim her as mine.
What if I'm not enough? What if she regrets choosing me?
"Logan." Her voice pulls me from my spiral. "You're thinking too loud. I can feel your anxiety through the bond."
"Sorry." I force a smile that probably looks more like a grimace. "Just processing."
"You've been processing for twenty minutes. The others are waiting downstairs. Pascal's warning said midnight. We're running out of time." She pats the bed beside her. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
Everything but at the same nothing. I don't know how to put it into words.
I sit beside her, careful to maintain distance. "What if I'm the wrong choice? Monty's been in love with you for three years. Kai saved your life. Ray was your first. And me? I'm just the childhood friend who happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"You think our bond is an accident?" Her voice is gentle.
"But what if…"
"Stop." She takes my hand. Her touch is warm, and grounding. "I know you. I have known you since we were kids running through Blood Moon territory causing trouble. You're always in your head, always overthinking, always assuming you're not good enough."
"Because I'm usually not."
"That's fear talking. Not truth." She shifts closer. "You want to know what I remember about you? I remember when we were eight and those older kids were bullying me. You were smaller than them but you stood between us anyway and got a black eye defending me."
The memory surfaces. I'd forgotten about that. "You cried and made me promise not to fight anymore."
"Because I didn't want you getting hurt for me. But you kept doing it anyway." Her thumb traces circles on my hand. "Every time someone was cruel, every time I needed help, you were there. Before mate bonds. Before prophecies. Just you choosing to protect me because that's who you are."
"That was different. We were kids."
"Was it? Because the grown version of you spent ten years gathering evidence to expose The Veritas. Risked everything to find truth. Came back to help me even though you could have stayed away and be safe." She cups my face. "You keep choosing to help me, Logan. Keep choosing to stand with me. That's not accident. That's love."
The word sits between us. Love. Not just bond, not just attraction but love.
"I don't know if what I feel is love or just desperation to keep you safe." My voice cracks. "Everything's so tangled. The bonds, the pregnancy, The Veritas. How do I know what's real?"
"Does it feel real?" She leans her forehead against mine. "Right now, in this moment, does what you feel for me feel real?"
"Yes." The answer is immediate. Certain. "So real it terrifies me."
"Good. Fear means it matters." Her soft lips brush mine. "Now stop overthinking and kiss me properly."
I do. And the moment our mouths connect fully, the incomplete bond flares hot and desperate between us.
This is different from feeling Monty claim her or feeling Kai's bond snap into place through Alicia's connection. This is mine. A claiming I'm choosing with full knowledge and consent.
My hands find her waist, pulling her closer. She responds immediately, fingers threading through my hair. The kiss deepens. Becomes more intense.
"Bedroom door," she gasps against my mouth. "Lock it. I don't want interruptions."
I stumble to the door, lock it, return to find her pulling Ray's t-shirt over her head. She's bare underneath.
"Are you sure?" I have to ask. I want to give her one more chance to back out. "We can wait. Take more time."
"We don't have more time. The Veritas is coming. The pregnancy is stressing my incomplete bonds. And I want this. I want you." She reaches for my shirt. "Stop being noble and claim me already."
The demand breaks something loose in me. I pull her against me, kissing her hard enough to bruise her. I didn't hesistate anymore. I Just need and want our years of friendship transforming into something more.
Our clothes disappear quickly. My hands explore her skin that I’ve imagined touching but never dared. She gasps when my mouth finds her neck, right where the mate mark will go.
"Logan." My name on her lips sounds melodious in her mouth "Please. Need you."
I lay her back on the bed, covering her body with mine. The bond urge us to complete it. Demanding I claim what's mine.
"I love you." The confession spills out. "It’s not just the bond or just about protecting you. I love you. I have loved you since we were kids even though I didn't understand it then."
Tears shine in her eyes. "I love you too. My first friend. My protector. My mate."
I slipped into her slowly, carefully, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. She arches into me instead, nails digging into my shoulders.
"Don't hold back." Her voice is fierce. "I'm not fragile. Claim me like you mean it."
So I do. Let go of the careful control I've maintained for years. I let myself feel everything without fear of it being wrong.
We move together, like our bodies remember each other from childhood play, from years of friendship, from all the times we stood side by side.
The bond builds with the pleasure. Growing stronger with each thrust. Each kiss. Each moment of connection.
Memories flash through my mind. They are not mine but hers.
I see myself through her eyes. Eight-year-old Logan with a black eye, grinning despite the pain. Teenage Logan helping her study, patient even when she didn't understand. Adult Logan returning from exile, damaged but determined to help her anyway.
And I see how she's always seen me. Not as the exiled wolf or the investigator or the fourth mate. Just as Logan. The boy who chose to protect her. The man who chose to come back.
"I'm close." Her voice breaks. "Logan, I'm…"
"I know. Me too." I kiss her deeply. "Let go. I've got you."
She does. Her body arches, pleasure crashing through her and echoing back through our bond into me. The sensation is overwhelming.
I follow seconds later, my own release triggering the final snap of the bond.
As I climax, my teeth sink into her neck. The claiming bite is instinct and choice combined. Marking her as mine. Completing what we started weeks ago in that forest.
The bond solidifies with a flash of golden light.
We collapse together, breathing hard. The mate mark on her neck glows faintly before fading to a permanent scar.
"Four bonds." She touches each mark carefully.
"Is the way I was gentle disappointing?" I can't help asking.
"No. It's perfect." She kisses me softly. "It's you. And I wouldn't change it."
We lie tangled together.
Then my mind starts working again. Turning over information and connecting pieces I've been too close to see.
The Veritas knew about the pregnancy before we did. They've been tracking every move, every decision.
Which means they have someone on the inside. Someone close enough to know our plans before we make them.
I sit up suddenly, pulling away from Alicia. "We have a spy."
"What?" She sits up too, covering herself with a sheet.
"The Veritas. They know too much. I'm pacing now, naked and not caring. "Someone's been feeding them information."
"Logan, you're not making sense."
"Yes, I am. Think about it. How did Jake know exactly when to attack before? How did Vincent know about the safe room's emergency exit? How does The Veritas always stay one step ahead?" I grab my research files from the nightstand where I left them earlier. "Someone in our inner circle is working for them."
"That's impossible. Who would.. " She stops. Realizes. "No. Not one of the mates. It can't be."
"I don't want it to be. But look at the evidence." I spread files across the bed. Communications. Timeline. Patterns. "Every major decision we've made, The Veritas has countered perfectly. They knew about Monty's claiming. About Kai's bond. About the pregnancy before we announced it."
"That could be Pascal. He's Veritas. He could be sending information."
"What about the pregnancy? Pascal has been in a cell. No phone. No visitors except guards we trust." I point to the timeline.
"Then who?" Her voice is shaking. "Ray? Monty? Kai? You're saying one of them is betraying us?"
"I don't know which one. Just that someone is." I look at her, seeing the horror in her eyes. "And we just completed our bond in a locked room while they're all downstairs waiting. Perfect opportunity for one of them to communicate with The Veritas without being watched."
She presses her hand to her stomach. Protective. Afraid. "If one of them is a spy, if we can't trust the mates, how do we protect the baby?"
"We figure out who it is. Fast. Before midnight." I check the clock. "We have three hours until Pascal's deadline. Three hours to identify the spy and complete your bond with Ray."
"And if we can't?"
I don't answer. I don't want to voice the possibility that we're already too late. That The Veritas is already moving. That the spy has already told them everything.
A knock at the door. Ray's voice. "Logan? Alicia? Everything okay? You've been in there for over an hour."
We exchange glances. Is it him? Is Ray the spy?
"We're fine!" I call back. "Just finishing up. Be down in five minutes."
"Take your time. But we need to start the transformation ritual soon if we're doing it tonight."
"What do we do?" Alicia whispers.
"We act normal. Don't let anyone know we suspect anything." I start getting dressed. "And we will watch carefully to see who reacts wrong. Who's too interested in our plans."
"Logan, I can't fake normalcy while wondering which of my mates is betraying us."
"You have to. For the baby.." I help her dress. "We play along. Complete the ritual with Ray. And we watch for whoever makes a wrong move."
She nods. Unconvinced but willing.
We head downstairs together. The bond between us solid now. Adding its strength to the others.
But underneath that strength, suspicion grows.
One of the mates is a traitor. One of the men I've fought beside. One of the wolves connected to Alicia through bonds that should make betrayal impossible.
And we have three hours to figure out which one before The Veritas arrives to claim everything we're trying to protect.