by R. E. Butler
“I love you, Jenna.” He spoke the words that had been on his mind all day. She was his blood bonded truemate, and his heart was entirely hers.
She turned in his arms as the sun began to rise, her eyes back to their original silver color. “I love you, Logan.”
Chapter 9
Jenna woke up slowly to the scent of maple syrup. She opened one eye and saw Logan sitting next to her on the bed with a fork, laden with pancakes soaked with syrup, which he was waving under her nose. His hand was cupped under the fork to catch the syrup.
“Afternoon, sweetheart.” He smiled when she opened her mouth and he popped the fork inside.
With a groan of pleasure, she licked her lips. “Afternoon?”
“It’s almost four. Your stomach was growling in your sleep, and I felt bad so I made you something.”
She wiggled herself up to a seated position. “The last thing I remember is you biting me.”
He grinned. “That’s because you passed out after that. I carried you back here, cleaned you up, and put you to bed. I’ve been up since about two. I was damn tired from shifting twice, but I loved being out in the woods with you.”
She took another bite of the pancakes that he offered to her. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“You’re my mate, sweetheart. I will always take care of you.”
He told her that Teller had stopped by and picked up her gown and the iron shackles that she had been imprisoned with. Teller was a tracker. Most wolves had very good senses of smell and sight, but a tracker had extraordinary talents and could find most anything. Teller had been given the coordinates where Logan had found her off the highway, and was going to start there. Jenna didn’t understand how Teller would be able to find where she’d been held captive if they’d driven her in a vehicle, but Logan had utter faith in his friend, so she decided she would, too.
He fed her four pancakes and three sausage links, which he swirled through the syrup. After a refill of her orange juice, he slid under the covers and pulled her into his arms.
“Now that your belly is full, Jenna, is there anything else I can do for my wonderful mate?” She loved the heated look in his eyes.
“Make love to me,” she cooed, running her fingers through his hair.
“My pleasure.”
* * * * *
After making love and then taking a long shower together, Logan asked if she’d like to go to Bo and Reika’s home for dinner and she happily agreed. Now that she was an honorary member of the pack, and since Logan was a high-ranked member, she needed to get to know his people better. And it was a good chance to make a better impression than she had the night before.
Bo opened the front door of their home and Logan ushered Jenna inside. The house was cozy and warm. Reika gave Jenna a hug and said, “I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”
Logan winked at Jenna. “There isn’t too much a good run can’t fix, right baby?”
Jenna blushed, thinking about how she’d stripped herself naked in the woods and attacked him.
Jenna helped Reika bring the dishes to the table and they sat down together. Logan and Bo waited while Jenna and Reika fixed their plates and then they fixed their own. Jenna had noticed that Logan always made sure she had her plate filled first before he filled his own, and she figured it was something that male wolves did with their mates, to make sure they were taken care of first.
Reika had made a dish she said was called lasagna, and urged Jenna to take a square of the concoction. It looked strange, but it smelled like tomatoes, meat, and cheese, and Jenna was willing to give it a try. Jenna took a bite and was surprised how good it tasted. She complimented Reika on her ability to make something so delicious, and Reika explained that her younger brother, Ben, was the cook in her family and had given her the recipe.
As the meal wore on, Reika and Jenna shared family stories. Jenna wasn’t surprised that the wolves didn’t really know anything about fairies. Her people were secretive and those that lived in the Mortal Realm didn’t advertise their abilities. Reika had healing abilities in her wolf-shift, and was the pack healer, working with Bo’s Aunt Lia who dabbled in natural healing.
Bo and Logan began to clear the table, and when she and Reika stood to help, both men told them to go into the family room and relax.
Reika kissed Bo on the cheek and told him that he was very well trained. He swatted her behind with a playful growl. Jenna and Reika sat down on the couch and Jenna sighed.
“Are you okay?” Reika asked.
“Yes, it’s just…about last night —”
Reika raised her hand and waved it dismissively. “It’s all good, sweetie. Don’t even think of apologizing. First of all, you already apologized last night. And secondly, everything that happened was entirely out of your control. It would be like the clouds apologizing for a storm. Whatever passed between you and Logan that saved your life drove you into a frenzy that you couldn’t stop. I saw your eyes, honey. You couldn’t help what you were feeling or what your body was doing, and no one is going to hold that against you.”
Jenna felt her eyes sting at Reika’s sweet, encouraging words. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Our mates are close friends and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better, too.”
On the way home, Logan held her hand, his thumb rubbing circles over the top of her hand as he watched the road in silence.
“Did you have fun tonight, sweetheart?” he asked, breaking the quiet hum of the wheels on the road.
“I did. Thank you for taking me.”
He glanced at her. “Wolves are social, and not only on the full moon. Jason and Cades have dinners frequently at their home for the high-ranked members, and as my mate you’ll be joining us. Bo has been a good friend to me since I joined the pack and so have Jason, Michael, and Linus. You’ll fit right in with the mates and the she-wolves, too.”
“I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone without feeling like my bones are trying to rip through my skin.” She shivered and unbuckled her seatbelt as he pulled into the garage and turned off the truck.
He flashed a smile as he got out of the truck and came around to her side. Opening the door, he pulled her into his arms, maneuvered around the open door and kicked it shut before heading into the house. “I’m sorry about everything.”
“You didn’t know what I was going through, don’t apologize.” She hugged her arms around his neck, taking a deep breath of the spicy, male scent of him. “Let’s put it behind us.”
* * * * *
On Sunday, Teller called Logan to say that he had tracked Jasper and his pack to a cabin in a wooded area twenty miles west of Allen. The cabin was empty.
“Is that it, then?” she asked Logan when he told her.
“Is that what?”
“I mean, what’s going to happen now?”
He tugged her into his lap on the couch and wrapped his big arms around her. Immediately she felt at peace. “Teller is going to do some more digging. Bo’s really good with computers, so he’s going to help out. Don’t worry baby. We’ll find Jasper and deal with him appropriately, and that little punk Maximus.”
The problem was that she was very worried. She didn’t want anything to happen to her mate. Jasper was as unhinged as they came. He’d stormed into the fae-world and had no regard for who he harmed in his path to doing whatever he wanted.
She kept her worries to herself. Logan was the sort of man that wouldn’t want to hear that his mate was questioning his ability to keep her safe. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, because she did. She just didn’t trust anyone else.
His phone buzzed, and she scooted off his lap, mouthing that she was going out to check on the garden. He gave her a look that told her he expected her to stay at the garden and not wander, and she gave him a saucy salute and headed outside. It hadn’t taken the garden long to become established. Plants had an instinctive knowledge when they were being tended to by fae. She clos
ed her eyes and let the sunshine bathe her face as she stood on the back patio for a long moment. It amazed her how quickly Logan’s home had come to feel like home to her as well. He’d graciously opened his home to her without reservation.
Stepping down onto the soft grass, she slipped off her sandals and stepped over the low fence. She checked on the plants, running her hands lightly over the rosemary and bringing her palms to her face to inhale the scent.
She settled in front of the fairy ring and pulled off her top, letting her wings free. Laying her palms on the stones, she concentrated on her friend Kari, reaching out to her through the portal with the same ease that Logan called his friends on his cell.
The portal shimmered and strengthened like glass, and Kari’s face appeared. “Jen! Are you okay?”
“I’m great now. How are you?”
Kari made a face. “I’m angrier than a hungry mullen. I knew Maximus was a slimeball, but I didn’t know he’d betray you and your power. His family is in a tizzy, trying to distance themselves from what he did.”
Jenna wasn’t surprised. Max’s family had high standing within the fae world, and his betrayal would be seen as a reflection on them and their character.
“Your mom told me everything that happened. How is your mating going?”
Jenna blushed sharply and Kari made an interested sound. “Oh, spill! Tell me all the juicy details.”
“Well,” Jenna said, “I won’t tell you everything, but you won’t believe what happened to me on the full moon!” Jenna told Kari what had happened to her, from her strange feelings to the run through the woods.
“Oh, wow. That’s so resh!” Kari gushed, fanning herself. “You’re lucky your truemate is amazing. I can’t wait to meet him for your joining ceremony.”
Jenna and Kari chatted about the joining ceremony, which would happen on Saturday.
Kari sighed. “I’m going to miss seeing you all the time.”
“You’re about to marry Raynir, Kari. We wouldn’t have been seeing each other as much, anyway.”
“I know, but at least we would have been in the same realm! Oops! Looks like you have a little guest!”
Jenna turned, thinking Logan was behind her, but didn’t see him.
“Guest?”
“Below you!” Kari whispered.
Jenna looked down and found a tiny sprite sitting on one of the nearby mushrooms, watching her intently. “Oh! I see I do.”
“That’s good luck, you know. They only hang out where our kind are. She must have felt your energy.”
“Resh.” Jenna smiled at the little sprite.
Kari inclined her ear to the side and said, “My mom’s calling, I have to go. See you on Saturday, lovey!”
Kari blew kisses at Jenna, and she returned them, cutting the connection. The portal disappeared. Jenna let her wings recede and slipped her shirt back on.
Looking down at the sprite, Jenna smiled. She was pale green from head to toe, with green-veined wings and long, dark green hair. She wore a tiny skirt and top that looked suspiciously like they were made from the leaves of her new fairy roses.
The sprite was no bigger than Jenna’s palm, sitting perfectly still on the mushroom with her thin arms wrapped around her knees.
“My name is Jenna,” she said, settling back on her heels.
The sprite cocked her head to the side with a curious look and said, “My name is Darlie.”
“Where are you from, Darlie?”
“I lived in the woods. I saw you and the wolf running together. I followed your energy here after you were gone and I waited for you to come out and visit your garden.” She rubbed her tiny hands on the mushroom cap. “It’s quite lovely. Do you live here?”
“I used to live in the Fae Realm, but I live here now in the big house, with my mate. His name is Logan.”
Darlie stood slowly and smoothed the petals that made her skirt. She zipped to the rosemary and landed on one of the branches. Jenna heard the back door open and Logan came out. Darlie was hiding from Logan.
“Come see our guest, Logan,” Jenna said, smiling at him.
He joined her in the garden, squatting down with an amused expression on his face. “Guest?”
Jenna said, “It’s okay, Darlie. This is my mate, Logan. He won’t hurt you.”
“If you’re certain? He’s awfully big and he’s scowling,” Darlie said from the depths of the rosemary.
“Who said that?” Logan asked in surprise.
“A sprite. Her name is Darlie.”
“A sprite? Like an elf?” he asked and Darlie huffed, storming out onto the rosemary branch.
“An elf? How dare you, sir! I am Darlie of the Flaxe House. An elf, indeed!”
Logan gave Jenna an incredulous look, but managed to contain the smile that she was sure was desperate to break free. “I’m sorry, Darlie. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ve never met one of your kind before.”
Darlie harrumphed, turning her back to Logan and tapping her little bare foot in annoyance.
Logan shook his head in amusement and turned to Jenna. Pressing a kiss to her lips he said, “I expected to find you darting into the woods to tease me, sweetheart.”
“I considered it.” She grinned.
“I thought so.” He stood and said, “I’ll see you inside, love. It was nice to meet you, Darlie.”
A small rock went airborne and hit Logan in the knee. “Did she just throw a rock at me?”
Jenna covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh. “Darlie!”
“I’m out of here before she finds anything heavier to throw,” Logan said, flashing a smile at Jenna and leaving her alone in the garden.
Darlie turned around when Logan was back in the house and flew down to one of the rocks that made up the ring. “Are you certain you can be with such a brute? Aren’t there he-fairies that are nicer?”
Jenna laughed. “He’s very nice. It’s different here in the Mortal Realm. They don’t know a lot about mythical creatures like us.”
Darlie hummed for a moment and said, “Well, in spite of the brute, I think I’ll stay. Your garden needs tending, and I find myself tired of the darkness of the woods.”
“That would be wonderful.”
She tiptoed off the rock and wiggled her toes in the moss. Jenna watched her explore the garden a little while longer, and as Darlie began gathering leaves and twigs to make a bed, Jenna said goodbye and headed into the house to find her mate.
On Thursday, Bo and Reika met Jenna and Logan for dinner at Lonestar’s, the only restaurant in Allen. It was run by Karly, Linus’s mate, and many members of the pack worked there, along with humans who filled in during the full moon. Logan had taken Jenna around town on Monday, showing her the garage where vehicles were fixed, a private neighborhood where older wolves lived, and the school. Things were very different in the Mortal Realm. Vehicles were everywhere on the paved roads, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry.
Jenna looked over the plastic-covered menu and wasn’t sure what to get. Logan slipped his arm around her shoulder and looked at the menu. “What sounds good?”
“I don’t know. What do you like?”
“I always get a steak.”
Jenna made a face. She didn’t want to think about steak after what had happened during the full moon. Logan chuckled. “Okay, no steak. How about a grilled pork chop with mashed potatoes?”
Jenna shut the menu. “Sounds good.”
While they waited for their meal, Logan and Bo talked about a fight that was going to be on TV on Friday night, and she and Reika talked about cooking. Jenna considered herself quite a good cook, but she didn’t know how to cook the things that Logan liked. Reika promised to come over sometime with her brother, Ben, who was a professional cook, for some cooking classes.
When Jenna took a bite of the grilled chop, she hummed in surprise. It was juicy and slightly smoky tasting. After finishing her meal, she was too stuffed for dessert.
She stood from
the booth and took Logan’s hand when he stood next to her. All four of them walked out together and Logan took her to Bo’s truck. He bent to kiss her and she leaned away. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“I have to go to work, love. Bo and Reika are going to take you home.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t realized it was so close to the time for him to go to work.
Reika piped up. “We can go hang out at the bar for a little while.”
Logan eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. Jenna knew then that he didn’t want her at his job. She tried not to let it bother her, but it did.
He growled and said, “It’s not that I don’t want you there, but there will be unmated males there. I’m supposed to keep the peace, not knock heads because males are making eyes at my mate.”
Jenna looked at Reika and Bo. “Bo doesn’t mind Reika going to the bar.”
“Actually,” Bo said as he cleared his throat, “I do mind. I don’t like Reika around unmated males, either, but Logan feels it more acutely than I do because of the blood bond. And it’s different for him there anyway, because while I can sit with Reika and growl at anyone that looks at her for a second too long, Logan would have to leave you so he could work.”
“I’ve never been to a bar before. What if I promise to stay with Bo and Reika the whole time?” She knew she was playing the guilt card with him, but she wasn’t ready for the evening to end. And she was very curious about the bar and wanted to get to know his friends better.
Logan seemed to seriously debate the situation, his brows drawn and his lips pressed into a thin line. After what seemed like forever, he finally sighed grudgingly. “Fine. But you don’t leave their sight.”
Bo clapped him on the shoulder. “She’ll be safe, man. Only a brain-dead idiot would mess with your mate.”
Logan snorted and took Jenna’s arm, leading her to his truck. They drove the short distance to the bar. A large wooden sign over the front door of the nondescript building read Jake’s in script. The dark lettering glowed under the spotlights. There was a line down the front of the bar and a large man was sitting on a stool checking IDs. She recognized him as Toby, one of the wolves in the pack, and the other bouncer at the bar. Toby worked the human door, which meant that he was in charge of who got into the bar and who didn’t. The wolf pack had a separate entrance at the back. Logan parked in the pack-only parking lot at the back of the bar and came around to her side of the truck to open her door. As she took his offered hand and stepped down from the truck, Bo and Reika arrived and parked next to them.