by Stormy Glenn
Love swallowed. “Only for me?”
“That’s part of the whole mating thing, Love. We’ve bonded, and I’ve claimed you as my mate. That means I won’t ever look at another person, human or shifter, for my sexual needs. You’ll have my full attention until the day we die.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” It actually sounded pretty fabulous to Love. He couldn’t think of anything he would like more than to have Logan’s full attention. The dire look on Logan’s face said he thought otherwise.
“It also means that me and my wolf feel threatened by anyone that touches you, stands to close to you, and in some cases, looks at you cross-eyed. And we will protect what is ours because you are our mate, Love, the mate of a beta wolf.”
Chapter 8
Logan left Love sleeping on the couch. He knew his mate needed some rest after the eventful time he had during the last twenty-four hours, hell, the last twelve hours. His life had been turned upside down. Love had to be confused and exhausted. He’d certainly fallen to sleep fast enough once Logan got him settled on the couch.
Logan walked into the kitchen and skidded to a stop, his eyes widening in surprise to find his brother lip locked with Love’s friend, Drea. He waited for a moment for the two men to acknowledge his presence, but when they didn’t, he cleared his throat.
Reed and Drea jumped apart, their faces filling with color. Reed chuckled nervously. Drea wiped his lips and glanced over at Reed then quickly away. He looked anywhere but at Logan or Reed.
“Hey, Logan,” Reed finally said when the silence in the room became overwhelming.
“Reed.”
Logan pressed his lips together to keep from laughing outright when Reed casually stepped between him and Drea. His brother was protecting the man. An odd thought suddenly entered Logan’s head and made him smile. He needed to test out a theory.
“I didn’t have much time to meet you properly, Drea,” Logan said as he held out his hand. “My name is Logan Stone.”
Drea started to step around Reed. Logan smirked when Reed’s eyes darkened and a low growl emanated from him. Logan wasn’t stupid, though. He quickly stepped back and dropped his hand back down to his side.
Logan tilted his head slightly and regarded his brother until Reed dropped his eyes. No matter what was going on, he was still the beta, and Reed owed him his deference. His wolf demanded it as a beta of the clan.
“Asher and I will expect a proper introduction at the next moon festival, Reed.”
“Yes, Logan.”
“Make sure he is prepared.”
Reed’s head tilted up, a small smile coming across his lips. “I’ll make sure of it, Logan.”
Logan knew he had guessed correctly. Drea was the man his brother had been waiting for all of these years. Reed must be ecstatic. Logan was happy for him. He reached over and patted his brother’s shoulder.
“I’m happy for you, brother.”
Reed cast a quick glance over his shoulder. Logan looked over just in time to see Drea’s face flush before Reed turned back to him. Reed was grinning. “Thank you, Logan.”
Logan grinned back then remembered what he had come into the kitchen for. “I’m going to take Love back to my place. We still have some talking to do, and I want to introduce him around. Why don’t you and Matt come to dinner tonight and bring Drea. I’m sure Love will feel more comfortable if he sees some friendly faces.”
“We’ll be sure to be there.”
Logan nodded and grabbed Love’s backpack. He heard Drea start questioning Reed before he even reached the doorway that led to the living room and knew his brother wouldn’t have an easy time of things. Drea didn’t seem like the easygoing type despite the blue hair.
It made sense considering Drea was friends with Love. Somehow, Logan knew his mate would never be friends with someone that wasn’t just as crazy as he was. Love needed people around him that swam in the same psychotic circles.
Logan was chuckling to himself by the time he walked into the living room. Love was still curled up asleep on the couch, just where Love left him. He looked adorable with his hand curled under his cheek and the couch throw pulled up to his chin.
Logan slid his hands under Love and lifted him up into his arms. Love whimpered for a moment then turned toward Logan, burrowing into his chest. He let out a soft sigh of contentment when he buried his face in Logan’s neck.
Logan shook his head and carried Love toward the front door. He needed to get Love back to his place where he could start showing him what was required of the mate of a beta wolf. Once the clan learned of his mating, and that wouldn’t take long, Love would be thrust into the role whether he wanted it or not.
He just hoped Love was ready for it. He knew he wasn’t. He really had no idea what to do with Love other than keep him. Giving him up wasn’t a possibility, not after they had bonded. Logan just had to decide what to do with him once he got him home.
Logan carried Love out of his brother’s apartment and down the walkway toward his apartments. They were housed in the same building but on different sides of an Eshaped courtyard. The middle of the E was the cafeteria. The sides were living quarters.
Love whimpered a bit. Logan smiled and stroked his hand along Love’s side until the man calmed. Maybe having Love around wouldn’t be that bad. He was drop-dead gorgeous, yes, but he also made Logan smile. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled so much, or argued so much.
Logan was the clan beta. Everyone deferred to him except Asher. Sometimes, it got a little aggravating. Love seemed to have no problem standing up to him. His being a wolf shifter seemed to have no impact on Love in the intimidation department. Love put his foot down and stood his ground.
It was as sexy as hell.
Logan dug his apartment keys out of his pocket. He started to open the door when a sudden blinding pain exploded in the back of his head. Logan cried out as his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, Love rolling from his arms.
The pain in his head was so intense, Logan could barely see through the spots dancing before his eyes. He could feel wetness beneath his hands and knew his head was bleeding. The only thing Logan couldn’t figure out was what happened.
Logan started to roll to his knees when something kicked his gut. Logan gasped as the air in his lungs blew out. He groaned and wrapped his arm around his stomach. Another blow landed on his back and side, then another and another.
Logan tried to calm himself and concentrate enough to call his wolf forth, but the continued abuse being handed out to him kept him from being able to string two thoughts together. Intense pain made it almost impossible to do anything.
Logan’s vision began to dim, and he knew he was close to passing out. He tried to rouse himself when he heard someone cry out followed by laughter so wicked sounding that it made his blood run cold.
Logan felt the hard cobblestone of the courtyard dig into his cheek as he turned his head. His heart pounded with a fright he couldn’t ever remember feeling as he watched two men drag Love away.
Love was screaming and crying out, reaching for him. Tears streamed down his pale white face. Logan grabbed what was left of his energy and rolled to his stomach. He started to push himself to his feet when he heard the laughter again.
“Not this time, alpha!” someone snickered.
Logan refused to say anything about being called an alpha when he was a beta. If whoever was attacking him thought he was the alpha of his clan, so be it. It might come in use at some point. It also might get him killed.
Logan heard a click then something struck him in the back. A split second later Logan’s entire body stiffened and pain infused every cell, every nerve as 50,000 volts of electricity shot through him.
Logan panicked. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t smell. He couldn’t see anything but a red haze. He couldn’t do anything but lay there as agony pulsed through his body. It seemed to go on forever.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stop
ped. Logan’s body still throbbed with pain. His head felt like it was going to explode. He opened his eyes to look for Love. Instead of Love’s frightened face, all Logan saw was a boot coming at him at an alarming rate. Logan tried to dodge the kick, twisting away, but he felt it land on the side of his head in a flood of pain.
Then Logan didn’t feel anything.
It was quiet, too quiet. Logan could hear water dripping somewhere. There was also a cold echo of wind blowing somewhere. Other than that, he couldn’t hear anything. He opened his eyes a fraction and realized he was inside somewhere, not in the courtyard outside his apartment.
He could see a dark gray ceiling over his head, gray metal pipes running from one end to the other. The floor beneath him felt cold and damp. It was also hard like stone. It was a little rigid and rocky, not smooth like tile.
The smells emanating from the room told Logan something nearby had recently died. He could smell old dried blood and the scent of death, rotting flesh and decay. It almost made him gag. Only by swallowing several times was Logan able to settle his rolling stomach.
Logan tried to push the rancid scent away and concentrate on the other scents in the room. He could still smell blood, but it was fresher, more recent. With the ache on the back and side of his head, Logan was pretty sure he knew where that came from.
Logan’s heart pounded a little faster when he caught a whiff of Love’s sweet scent, only, it was filled with fear. Logan couldn’t stand to know Love was so afraid that his fear became an actual scent.
Logan opened his eyes. He groaned in pain as he pushed himself into a sitting position and glanced around the room. He was correct in his earlier assessment of the room. It was cold and damp and dank. It was a stone cell.
It was also dark. The only light in the room came through a small window on the door. It had steel bars on it. He wouldn’t be escaping that way, and there didn’t seem to be any other way out of the room except through the door.
Knowing he would need all of his strength to escape and find Love, Logan started taking stock of his current physical condition. He had a nasty bump on the back of his head, a large laceration on the side of his head, and several very bruised ribs. One might even be cracked.
Shifting would heal most of the wounds. Some would take a little longer and a few more shifts. Logan’s only problem was that he didn’t know who held him. Shifting in front of humans was strictly forbidden except in dire emergencies.
This situation fit that description perfectly, but Logan wanted to know where Love was before he shifted. If he shifted and was killed, he would never be able to help his mate. If he shifted too early, whoever had him could kill Love before Logan could save the man.
Either way, Logan was screwed.
And Love would be screwed, too, if Logan didn’t figure out a way out of this mess. Logan climbed to his feet and stumbled over to the door. If he pressed his face flat against the door, he could see just a bit down the hallway on either side of him.
The walls were dark stone, but every few feet were more doors like the one keeping Logan prisoner in his cell. Logan grabbed the bars in the small window and gave them a small pull. Damn, they were locked solid in place. So was the door.
Logan pressed his face to the bars as close as he could get it and sniffed the air. His nose wrinkled when a dank rancid smell filled his nostrils. He jumped back and covered his mouth as his stomach threatened to rebel.
Coyotes.
There wasn’t another smell on earth like the scent of a coyote. It was like burnt soap, a putrid odor that could even be smelled by humans. To Logan, it was one of the worst smells he had ever encountered. It also sent panic racing through him.
Logan knew if he could smell them, then he and Love were in a shitload of trouble. Finding a way to escape just became even more important than it had been just moments ago. There were a lot worse things the coyotes could do to Love than kill him.
Coyotes were cowardly scavengers that preyed on those weaker than them rather than working for what they needed. They were treacherous and without mercy, stealing and killing anything and everything. They also liked to torture their victims before killing them.
Their behavior was one of the reasons coyotes were not allowed in the territories of most shifters. They couldn’t be trusted. They backstabbed and betrayed everyone for their own good.
Logan loathed them. Being a beta meant he often had to keep things secret, but he always tried to be honorable in his dealings with others. He didn’t kill unless he had to, and he never tortured people beforehand.
Of course, if one hair on Love’s head was out of place, Logan might have to rethink that policy. It was his job to protect his clan and his mate. It didn’t seem like he was doing a very good job up until this point.
First he mated Love without his permission. Then he’d scared his mate so much that the man ran from him. And now Love had been kidnapped by coyotes. With his track record to date, Love was going to hate him for sure.
Logan suddenly heard someone walking. He hurried to the corner and crouched down, trying to make himself as small as possible. As tense as he was, he couldn’t stop his claws from extending and his teeth dropping down.
Whoever was coming stopped several feet from Logan’s door. He heard another door open then Love’s cries filled the air. Logan growled and raced to the small window. He pressed his face against the hard surface and tried to look down the hallway for his mate.
“Love!” he shouted.
“Logan!” Love shouted back.
Logan heard a sharp bark of laughter then the sounds of flesh hitting flesh filled the air. Logan growled when Love cried out. He was just barely able to hold onto his control. His wolf wanted out. It wanted revenge for the hurt Love was experiencing. It wanted their mate.
“Love!” Logan shouted again.
A gleeful looking face suddenly appeared in front of the small window. The man smiled, his sharp canines showing through his lips. “Hello, alpha.”
“Mick Red,” Logan sneered. “I should have known you were a coyote by the rotten, putrid smell alone. I’m surprised no one at the festival smelled it.”
Mick tossed back his head and laughed. It was a cold, menacing sound that sent a chill down Logan’s spine. “It’s one of the benefits of having a wolf shifter for a mother. I can mask my scent.”
“Your father raped her, did he?” Logan knew it had to be true. It was the only way a coyote could ever mate with a wolf. It would be the only way a coyote could mate with anyone as far as Logan was concerned. They were cowardly, filthy creatures.
Mick’s face reddened and he growled. “My father is a great man, a king.”
“And yet he had to rape your mother to get a child off her,” Logan said. “What a great king. I’m sure you’re proud.”
Mick snarled and slammed his fist into the door.
“Hit a sore spot, did I?”
Logan knew he was playing with fire, but he would do anything he had to do to keep Mick’s attention off of Love. Making Mick angry at him would ensure that whatever torture was coming came in his direction.
Logan’s worse fears came to life before his eyes when Mick suddenly smiled and reached his hand out of Logan’s line of sight. A moment later, Love’s face appeared. Mick held him by a leash attached to a collar around Love’s neck.
“Logan,” Love whimpered. His eyes looked wild. Logan could see pure terror growing in their blue depths with each rapid breath Love breathed. “What’s going on? Who are these men?”
“Coyote shifters, Love.”
Logan could see Love’s surprise even through the fear in his eyes. “There are coyote shifters?”
“There are all sorts of shifters, Love.” Logan smiled to reassure his mate, and maybe himself. “I’ll tell you all about them when we get home.”
“Okay.”
“Love!” Logan roared when Mick pulled on the leash around Love’s neck and his mate was jerked away from the small window.
Mick laughed harshly and stepped closer. “Why lie to the little human, alpha? Do you really think you are ever going to see your home again? Do you honestly think either of you will see the sun rise in the morning? You’ll never see anything except these stone walls.”
Logan heard Love whimper, but he needed to concentrate on the threat in front of him more than he needed to comfort his mate. Logan grinned, trying to seem casual and unworried about the dangerous situation he and Love were in.
“Oh, we’ll see the sun rise in the morning, Mick.” Logan smirked. “We’ll see it rise over your cold, dead body.”
Logan realized instantly he probably shouldn’t have provoked Mick quite so much when the man’s face flushed red and he growled. Love cried out as Mick yanked him forward. His cry turned to a deep gagging noise when Mick licked the side of his face.
Logan snarled and gripped the bars tighter. He knew Mick was baiting him. The man enjoyed torture whether mental or physical. He’d torture Love and make Logan watch just for the fun of it. As it was, Logan could just stand there as Mick started touching his mate. He felt totally helpless.
“Oh.” Mick chuckled as he pulled on Love’s leash. “But there’s so much time for me to play with your little pretty before the sun rises. Whatever shall we do?”
“You’d better not touch him, Mick!”
“Oh, but I plan to do so much more than touch him, alpha. Love and I are going to get better acquainted while you sit in your cell and rot, wondering what I’m doing to him.” Mick sneered. “I am the heir to my father’s throne. Love is going to pay for denying me.”
“Mick!” Logan growled and slammed his hands against the door. “I will kill you for this.”
Mick roared with laughter. “My father said wolves were weak when you took their mates away from them. I didn’t believe him until now. Human mates are even worse. They can’t even protect themselves, much less their mates.” Mick laughed harshly. “My father has an obsession for humans. He likes to torture them for weeks before killing them, the longer the better. I wonder what he will say when I bring this little toy home to him?”