Chapter 114 The fort
Serena and Logan drove back to Starseeker to see the kids. Thomas and Santino had returned already, working on updating the pack on the integration with Moonshine and getting more permanent residences established. Serena could only think of getting to her kids and seeing them again. She couldn’t wait to hug them and kiss them and see their laughing faces.
After her talk with Logan at breakfast, she felt like a huge knot of anxiety had uncurled in her stomach. She’d been holding that knot since she arrived in Night Sky.
It wasn’t just about thinking he was the one who fathered her kids, it was about wondering what would happen between the two of them. Especially once she discovered that he was her mate. Talking about their feelings, and deciding to try and have a relationship, along with removing Holly from the situation, had made her feel much better about her connection to Logan.
“I like where things are going,” Serena said. “Good, me too,” Logan said, grinning. “I just…I want to make sure it is okay with the kids too,” she said. Logan reached over and took her hand in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze. His hand was warm around hers; the contact was comforting and brought a smile to Serena’s lips. “Of course, we will make sure that it is okay with the kids,” he said. “I doubt they will have any problems. They always ask when I can see them again and if I can be around more.”
Serena giggled. “Yeah, they are pretty fond of you,” she agreed. When they got to her parents’ house, Serena was out of the car before Logan had even put it in park. She ran right up the stairs and through the front door. “Serena!” Charlotte gasped when she saw her daughter. “Mom, where are the twins?” Serena asked, practically ignoring her mother’s presence.
“In the living room,” she said with a secretive smile. Serena gave her mother a quick hug and then ran into the living room. Charlotte followed her and Logan was close behind.
The living room was covered in boxes.
“What is this?” she asked. Charlotte laughed, coming up beside Serena, “They dragged some boxes out of the attic and built this great fort,” she said, “It is very impressive,” Serena admitted. “Mommy?” Olivia’s voice called. She stuck her head out of one of the boxes. “Olivia!” Serena said. “Come give me a hug.” Olivia pulled herself out of the box and ran over to Serena. Oliver came out next. Soon, Serena had them both in her arms. She was hugging them and kissing their faces. “I missed you so much,” she told them. “We missed you too,” the twins said. Serena hugged them tighter until they both squealed and she had to release them.
Leaving the kids with her mother wasn’t new. Serena trusted Charlotte to look after them. She knew that they were in good hands and would have plenty of fun. While she had been working in the relief hospital it was nice to know her kids were safe and looked after so she could focus on what she had to do.
After she got kidnapped, there were moments when Serena was concerned that she would never see the kids again. There was a chance she would have been killed by the rogues before they made a deal with Logan or before anyone could rescue her.
She hadn’t really thought about it until they’d been on their way to see the kids. Her burning desire to hold them and look at them came from that fear of never seeing them again. “How were they?” Serena asked, standing up to face her mother. The twins had gone back to playing in their fort. “Come play with us, Logan. We’ll show you the fort” Olivia called. Serena raised an eyebrow at Logan.
“How could I resist?” he asked. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled into the fort. Serena chuckled and went with her mother into the kitchen.
“The kids were great,” Charlotte said. “It has been such a joy to have them here. Your father has kept me updated on the situation.” “Good” Serena said. “They weren’t too much trouble?” “Not at all,”
Charlotte said. Serena smiled, nodding. “You look different, sweetie.” “Different how?” Serena asked. She didn’t know if her mother knew she’d been kidnapped. She wondered if her fear and concern still showed. “Different like you’ve changed” she said with a shrug. “I was kidnapped,” Serena explained. “By some of the rogues. Logan and Santino saved me.”
“Logan, huh?” her mother asked. Serena crossed her arms.
She leaned backwards so she could glance out into the living room to see what the kids and Logan were doing. They were having a good time in the fort. Logan was even helping them build it up more. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Charlotte said with a laugh.
“Mom, come on, be straight with me,” Serena said, not in the mood to be teased by her mother.
“Honey, we’ve all seen the way that you two dance around each other. When he rescued you, I’m willing to bet he was absolutely ruthless,” Charlotte said. “Well, yea, actually,” Serena said with a shrug. She sighed and looked back out into the living room.
Logan was crawling through the fort chasing after Olivia and Oliver. It was easier for them to crawl through and get away. Logan, being an adult, kept getting stuck and having to readjust so he didn’t bring the whole fort down on top of them. “Logan and I are working on things,” Serena said. “That sounds more serious than it is. We want to talk to the kids about how they feel, and then make our decisions from there.”
Charlotte laughed and shook her head. She reached across the counter and touched Serena’s hand.
“The kids have talked about him just as much as they’ve talked about you,” Charlotte told her. “I don’t think they will have a problem with it. It is nice to hear you two finally had the ‘mate’ talk.” Serena rolled
her eyes, a little embarrassed to be talking about that kind of thing with her mother. She didn’t have anyone else to talk to about it at the moment, though. She and Logan hadn’t discussed how they were going to handle telling the rest of their pack or their friends and family that they were together. “Things with Holly ended rather abruptly when Logan found out she was lying about being pregnant. Now we actually have the chance to explore our feelings, with the mate bond and aside from it,” she explained, giving her mother the shortest version possible. “I’m glad you two decided to take that step,” Charlotte said. “You should be happy and have someone to help you out with the twins.” “We’ll see how it goes,” Serena said. “Well, remember, it can take a lot of wrong turns before you get the right one,” she said. “That’s isn’t very helpful, mom,” Serena said with another eyeroll. Charlotte laughed. “All I mean is, sometimes you have to keep trying to make something work,” she explained. “It might not always be easy, but that doesn’t mean you should give up the moment something gets rough”
“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks, mom,” Serena said with a nod. “Mommy, help!” Olivia called. “Logan is the tickle monster!”
The twins squealed in the living room. Serena laughed, heading back towards where Logan had both the twins on the floor, tickling them. They were laughing so hard their faces were red. “I can’t breathe!” Oliver cried out, still laughing. Logan dialed back on the tickling.
“Hey, you two,” Serena said. The twins looked at her. “Want to get your things ready to
go?”
“Go where?” Olivia asked.
“It is time to go home,” Serena said. The twins jumped up and ran to their room. “Are we leaving right away?” Logan asked. “I think we should get them home and talk to them together,” Serena said. Logan smiled.
“That sounds good to me,” he said. He waved at Charlotte who winked at him. “I’ll go help them pack,” Logan offered. “Sure. Thanks,“ Serena said with a nod. She turned back to her mother when Logan was out of earshot. “When he rescued me from being kidnapped, it was like I realized he would be a great protector and provider for the twins,” she admitted. “He’d said he would be there for them before, but seeing it in action. That was different.” “I bet it was,” Charlotte said. “Who knew, that was all it would take for me to give him a chance?” she asked, grinning. Charlotte laughed. “Yes, all it took was you getting kidnapped by rogues,” Charlotte said. Serena laughed too. “Mommy, we’re ready to go.” Olivia called from the front door. “That’s my cue,” Serena said. She hugged her mother goodbye. “Thank you for taking care of them.” “Any time, darling,” Charlotte said. Serena got in the car with the twins, thinking about how she and Logan would talk to them about him being their dad. It was a big conversation to have.