She could feel his chest expanding against her own with each breath and his heart beat through her very soul. “And I’d fight to the death to keep you safe,” he murmured before planting a soft, but brief kiss on her lips.
Katey smiled like a fool and slid down a little to tuck her head under Logan’s chin and against his chest. She could hear his heart racing and warmth radiating from his skin. It may have been freezing in that room, but next to him, she was as warm as she would ever need to be.
Logan held her tighter and Katey wrapped her own arms around his torso, letting her hands rest on his strong shoulder blades.
“Do you love me?” he asked, the words rumbling in her ears with a solemn tone that made her smile droop.
A moment passed by as Katey hesitated. There was no reason that she should have lied or denied the truth to him. Then why did her tongue fail her? As the seconds ticked by, she could sense his unease and his fingers stilled in her hair.
Speak, damn it. Speak!
“Yes,” she gasped. “I love you.”
Her arms gripped him and her nails pressed into his flesh as if the admission would send him running but he stayed and held her tighter to him as if she would fly away too. They both remained and the world didn’t come crashing down around the bed. They loved one another and they both knew it.
The last of the puzzle pieces fell into place and peace finally came to settle over Katey’s troubled heart in a spectacular moment of bliss that she prayed would last forever. There were many more years to live and many more challenges to face. Yet, now that they had one another, what could possibly destroy what they had fought so hard to win?
14
Darren, Dustin, and Ben sat in the breakfast nook, their faces haggard and worn from the previous night’s run. The omega’s eyes, especially, were rimmed in dark circles and his hair tousled in a careless fashion as he sipped his water and fought back the exhaustion.
True to his word, Darren and the guys roamed the forest in their loup-garou forms and made the most of their time away from the younger members of their pack. Though Dustin was preoccupied by his worries over Logan, he enjoyed romping through the bushes and chasing down the deer that served as their dinner.
They slept in the early morning hours, but their makeshift bed of leaves was far from the comfortable mattresses that they were used to. When dawn broke over their horizon, they made their way back to the house and changed to get ready for their trip. Suitcases were packed and ready by the door, and each pack member was dressed for travel. Except for Katey and Logan.
“Are they still sleeping?” Darren asked hoarsely as he lifted a forkful of scrambled eggs to his lips. It was on mornings like these that he wished loups-garous could drink coffee or some other caffeinated beverage besides tea. Though the steaming cup of English breakfast tea sat beside his plate, it would do little to wake him up.
Dustin took a deep breath and listened for a moment. “No, Logan’s up and just about done packing for her. Katey’s still asleep though... Oh, nope, I think she just woke up.”
Ben cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “I still find it disturbin’ how you can tell that.”
Dustin only shrugged and continued eating his bacon.
Logan’s room was bathed in sunlight that streamed through the parted curtains. Katey groaned and rolled over so her back was facing the window. Something was wrong. She could sense it through the groggy mist that hung over her mind. Her eyes popped open and she sat up quickly, looking around frantically for Logan.
Katey glanced up at the analog clock that hung on the wall across from the bed and saw it was close to seven in the morning. She pushed the covers off and searched desperately around the room for a note, a letter, anything. Finally, she found it on the door in his perfect penmanship. It said that he gotten up early to pack and that when she was awake, to come downstairs and eat some breakfast.
She smiled, tossed the note aside and rushed downstairs without a single thought. She didn’t even take into consideration that she was still in her pajamas. She didn’t even take the time to walk down the steps. In a daring move, Katey crouched down on all fours and took one big leap from the top of the stairs and landed at the bottom with a dull thump on the carpet.
She straightened and dashed into the kitchen. The others looked up to her, a little dazed, but nonetheless glad to see her in higher spirits. It was a welcome change from the melancholic raincloud hovering over her head the day before.
“Mornin’ Katey Kat!” Dustin greeted.
“Mornin’... Where’s Logan?” she asked. But as soon as she finished her sentence, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was pulled backwards into a warm body. Katey giggled and placed her hands over Logan’s as they coiled around her hips.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted and kissed her cheek affectionately.
“Good morning,” she replied and playfully bumped her forehead against his jaw.
Logan grasped one of her hands and spun her around to face him. “And how did you sleep last night?” he asked.
“Just fine, and you?” she managed to say without bursting into giddy laughter. She knew that the others might not have known they slept in the same bed, so she played along.
“Oh, there’s no way to describe it,” Logan replied, deep and low. He brushed his nose against hers and she giggled as a deep blush rose to her cheeks.
“Oh, get a room,” Ben heckled. “Wait, scratch that,” he said quickly, realizing what he had said. The others erupted in laughter.
“At least get some breakfast,” Darren said. “We’re going to have to leave soon for the airport.”
Logan nodded, slowly let go of Katey’s waist and led her into the kitchen by the hand. But then she froze and her hands flew to cover her face in a grave awareness that in the rush of everything that happened the night before, she had neglected to prepare for their trip.
“Oh, crap! I haven’t packed yet,” she exclaimed as Logan continued his walk to the refrigerator.
“Don’t worry, I already packed for you. I just brought your bag down,” Logan replied.
Katey let out a sigh of relief and sat herself up on the counter in a swift and graceful move. “Oh, thank you,” she said as she watched Logan pull out raw bacon strips and discs of breakfast ham to assemble on plates for them.
“By the way, Katey, do you have a heavy jacket to wear?” Darren asked as he walked into the kitchen to put his dishes away.
“Not a snow jacket, if that’s what you mean,” she replied as she accepted her plate from Logan. He leaned against the counter next to her with his own breakfast in hand.
“We can normally withstand the temperature change well, but you’re still young and may not be able to adapt well.”
Darren turned away and walked to a coat closet in the hallway that led to the billiard room. He pulled out a stunning white, velvet coat lined with silvery fur. Katey gasped at its beauty. Even the wolf within her leapt for joy at the sight of it. All of her coats were old, some thin with worn holes under the arms and around the hems. She hadn’t owned a new coat in years, besides the one that Logan had gifted her.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, eyes bright and dancing.
Darren smiled at her enthusiasm. “It’s yours. I assumed you wouldn’t have anything to stand up to Alaskan weather.”
Katey squealed in delight, placed her plate on the counter and rushed over to cuddle the coat to her chest. She rubbed her cheek against the soft material, loving how it felt against her bare skin. “Thank you!” she said, and then turned to hug Darren, who welcomed the hug without hesitation.
There was a time when gifts made Katey feel awkward and she didn’t know how to respond to being on the receiving end of such generosity, but becoming a loup-garou had made her open to physical expressions of affection likes hugs. If anyone had told her a month ago that she would be so comfortable with embracing another person, she would have laughed in their faces. She s
uspected it was the newly acquired wolf nature in her that prompted such feelings, knowing that wolves in the wild were expressive creatures with those of their own pack.
Dustin and Ben put their plates away and walked into the living room to begin loading the truck with their luggage.
“Go on and finish your breakfast,” Darren said to break the hug. Katey gave the jacket over to Ben who folded it up carefully and slipped it in a white suitcase that Katey did not recognize as her own. She saw a blue suitcase, one green, one brown, and one a dingy yellow. It was nearly comical, the way they color coded everything from their bath towels to their suitcases. Yet, how else would they keep track of their own belongings when they lived so closely with one another?
“You didn’t have to get me a new suitcase. I had one already.” Though, she inwardly had to admit that her new luggage was by far more equipped to handle plane travel as compared to her other bags.
“Your suitcase is blue and so is Logan’s.” Dustin said as he hauled one suitcase onto his shoulder. “We couldn’t have two suitcases of the same color.”
“Come and eat, Katey,” Logan beckoned from the kitchen. Katey hurried back and scarfed the meal down before running upstairs to get ready. She didn’t want everyone to be waiting on her, even though the idea of the plane flight ahead was less than appealing.
Darren turned to Logan who was already fully dressed and ready to go besides the half full plate of breakfast in his hand.
“She stayed in your room last night?” he asked, a thread of authority in his voice that demanded honesty.
Logan looked up to his alpha. “Yeah, but we didn’t do what you’re thinking.”
Darren folded his arms across his thick chest and gave Logan a look.
“I’m serious, we didn’t do that.”
“I sincerely hope you’re telling the truth.”
“He is,” Dustin called back from the living room. “I would have smelled it on them.”
Darren raised an eyebrow, finding it a little unsettling that Dustin would detect that kind of scent and recognize it so readily. “Fine,” he sighed. “How did the fight go?”
Logan chewed up the last bit of bacon and set his plate in the sink. He then relayed to his alpha the details of the fight, even about how Erik had him in the shoulder grab.
“It’s a good thing that Katey was there to stop it,” Darren said. “If she hadn’t, you might not be standing here right now.”
Logan nodded. “I realize that.” He was eternally grateful that she was there and it was enough to soothe his wounded pride that he didn’t succeed in killing Erik as he had hoped. He knew that he would have more chances. It was not over between them, not by a long shot but he didn’t want to think of such hatred when a more powerful feeling was at hand. Katey’s love trumped everything.
His beloved came bounding down the stairs dressed in a pair of comfortable baggy pants and a hoodie, carrying her laptop bag around her shoulders. Now, everyone was ready to go. Without another word to his alpha, Logan came to Katey’s side and ushered her out of the house.
Darren quickly followed behind them, taking one last look around the living room for anything he may have missed. He swiped a bottle of hunger pills from the bookcase, then joined the rest outside.
They arrived at the airport with enough time to make their way through the security checkpoints. They parked in the extended stay parking garage and each of the loups-garous took their own luggage while Logan grabbed both his and Katey’s.
“I can get my own,” she protested as they made their way inside the local airport.
“No, I’ve got it,” Logan said with a wink. She let it go and followed him through the sliding doors to the ticket counter to check in their luggage.
Katey stayed close to Logan, looking around at the other flyers that were heading out that morning. Some turned to look at the odd bunch, but most just passed by without a second glance.
When Darren finished checking in all five suitcases and made sure they were under the poundage limit, he led them toward the security check-in.
“We’ve got a layover in Dallas, then Phoenix, and it’s straight on to Alaska from there. We should arrive at about nine o’clock Alaskan time,” he said as he began passing out their boarding passes. Katey quickly did the math and figured that meant a sixteen-hour flight. Could she survive that long?
“Are we staying in a hotel or something once we get there?” Katey asked.
“Sort of,” Logan replied. “It’s a lodge boarding house that we use every year that’s maintained by the pack up there. It’s just outside the national park. Most of everyone that will be up there for the gathering will be staying in that lodge.” He took her hand in his as they waited in line.
She looked to the others, wondering if they would notice or grow suspicious of their new intimacy. Darren’s conversation with Logan in the kitchen was far from private and she hoped that they took Logan at his word. The last thing she wanted was for them to think ill of her. If Logan was old fashioned in his sexual celibacy, then she could imagine how the older members of the pack felt on the subject. Except, perhaps Dustin.
“So... I’m going to be the only girl in that house?”
“Oh heavens, no,” Darren said from ahead, turning to face them. “There will be their wives and children with them.”
“Wives?” Katey questioned. “Children? But wouldn’t they die before them?”
Dustin decided to jump in on the conversation. “Yep, they would. But they ignore that little fact and get hitched anyway.”
“Some men,” Ben added, “will kill themselves after their wife dies. Others will keep remarrying. It all depends on the loup-garou.”
Katey retreated into Logan, who held her tight. She was glad she would never have to go through that. Logan’s reasons for changing her were far more legitimized than she thought. “That’s terrible. The whole her dying before the man thing, I mean.”
She glanced up to the others and each exhibited a strange dullness to their expressions that made her realize that all of them must have gone through something similar in their lives.
“It is very difficult. That’s why most just stay single,” Darren said gravely while taking off his shoes and belt as they approached the head of the line. “Isn’t that right, Dustin?” he said with a playful upturn in his voice to pull the pack out of their glum thoughts.
“I just haven’t met the right girl yet!” Dustin retorted, taking his own shoes off as the others emptied their pockets of loose change and wallets.
“But even when you do, she’s going to have trouble keeping you,” Logan teased.
“That may be true,” he said with a laugh. “It takes a strong, bull-headed woman to keep me in line.”
The group passed through security without any trouble. That surprised Katey a little. She expected something like the metal detectors to go off or for every single one of them to be patted down and checked for concealed weapons. The only peculiar thing that occurred was that the airport employees were extremely friendly. If only they knew who they were allowing to board their planes.
After they re-stuffed their pockets, slipped on their shoes, and fastened their belts, the pack exited security to find their gate.
The plane was more cramped than she had imagined, but big enough to accommodate four passengers in a row. Darren and Dustin sat together in one set of double seats near the front, while Ben sat next to them in the opposite row. Logan and Katey sat next to each other near the back.
Katey thought that being in such a confined space would send her wolf into a frenzy, but surprisingly she hadn’t heard a peep out of the beast since they left the house. Regardless of what was going on inside her, Darren was right. The smells, roaring noise of the plane, and its passengers were a little more than she was used to, even after experiencing the unruly hordes of students at the school. It took her a moment to adjust and block out what she didn’t need to pay attention to.
“I’ll
let you have the window seat,” Logan said as he stood in the aisle and waited for her to scuttle in.
She shook her head and waved him on. “No, you can have it,” she said cheerfully, trying to hide her anxiety. She didn’t want to see how high up they would be once they were at cruising altitude.
“What’s wrong?” Logan could still sense her apprehension no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Katey bit her lip. “I’m scared of heights and I really wish we could be driving to Alaska instead of flying,” she muttered, giving him a nervous shrug.
Logan only smiled and leaned his forehead against hers with an adorable twinkle in his eyes. “You’ll be just fine. But, if you insist, I’ll take the window seat.”
Katey gladly sat herself down next to the aisle and stowed her laptop bag under the seat in front of her. She knew that more people died in car accidents than in plane crashes, but at least one could walk away from a car accident. Not many people can say they’ve walked away from a plane crash, loup-garou or not.
As the plane began to take off, Katey gripped the edge of the armrests so tightly that she could feel the metal bend beneath her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe normally as she felt the plane lift off the tarmac.
Logan could feel the tenseness radiate from her and carefully pried her hand away from the armrests.
“Just hold my hand and it will be okay,” he whispered in her ear. So Katey grasped his hand eagerly and she could feel his bones cracking beneath her grip.
He winced and Katey quickly let go. “Oh! Sorry!” she gasped.
“It’s fine. Already healed, remember?” he replied, flexing his fingers, then taking hold of her hands once more. This time, Katey tried not to clutch too hard but it was difficult to try and keep the hold gentle when unmitigated panic streaked through her.
Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2) Page 20