The Wolf's Mate Book 6: Logan & Jenna

by R. E. Butler

  “You can go with him,” Reika said from behind her.

  Jenna looked over her shoulder. “He needs to hunt; I’d just slow him down.”

  Reika sat down on the top step. “I don’t think Logan’s going to leave without you. Yes, he needs to be in his shift, he needs to hunt and run. But that doesn’t mean he can’t also be with you, too. That you can’t join him.” She looked thoughtful. “Bo and I are used to going out together. We do hunt a little, but it’s more just being together, playing, chasing. It’s very freeing, but it also helps us to feel more connected.”

  She thanked Reika, and when she had left her and Logan alone, Jenna looked down at him. “I’m wondering if our blood bond is making it a little more difficult for you to leave me, especially since it was so recently that I was attacked.”

  He made a humming sound of agreement.

  Standing, she walked into the house to tell the women that she was going for a walk with Logan, and then met her mate at the bottom of the steps. They walked through the yard and into the woods, away from the full moon meeting place. He paced beside her. The full moon was bright in the sky and allowed her to see where they were going.

  Eventually she filled the silence between them with chatting, talking about her childhood, and her hopes for their future together. She loved that he made little wolfy noises to let her know he was listening. She’d stopped walking to tell him how much she loved him, when she heard branches cracking nearby. Logan’s head snapped to the side and he lifted his head to sniff the air.

  “Race you!” she whispered and took off in the direction of the noise. She was not stealthy at all as she ran, but she didn’t care because Logan was running with her. She tore through the trees as fast as her feet would move. Past a dense thicket, she caught sight of a deer as it bolted away from them deeper into the woods. They chased after the deer until a stitch in her side made her slow down, and she eased to a walk and then leaned on a tree, easing down to the ground and gulping in oxygen.

  Logan pressed his nose against her throat, his scratchy tongue licking her pulse. She shivered and hugged her arms around him. “That was fun. You could have gotten the deer, though, right?”

  When she looked at him, she was positive that he rolled his eyes. She leaned her head back against the trunk and Logan sat on his haunches next to her until she caught her breath and was ready to go back. There was something utterly peaceful about the two of them in the deep woods alone at night. She loved it, and she wanted to do it again. The woods were getting darker and she knew that meant the moon was setting and Logan would be able to shift back into his human form.

  They meandered back to Jason and Cades’ home, and by the time they crossed from the woods into the backyard, the house was dark and it appeared that everyone had gone home. She picked up Logan’s clothes from the steps as he shifted. She handed him his jeans and whispered, “Wonder what time it is?”

  “Pretty late, if everyone’s gone home.”

  He tugged the shirt on and picked her up in his arms, walking towards the front of the house.

  “I can walk,” she said as she snuggled closer against him. He smelled wild, like the woods and his wolf.

  “You just romped around the woods with me for hours, baby.” That was his only argument and she didn’t disagree. She did feel worn out, but deliciously, happily so.

  When they were in the truck, she leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  “Sleepy, baby?” He kissed the top of her head.

  Opening one eye to see what the clock on the GPS screen said, she closed it and said, “Nah, it’s only four a.m. We could go dancing.”

  His shoulder shook when he chuckled. He slipped his arm around her. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for the evening, sweetheart. You can sleep now, I’ll take care of you.”

  And she knew he would.

  Chapter 16

  *Three Weeks Later*

  Logan waited at the door to the garage while Jenna retrieved something from the shed. She came into the house with two glass bottles filled with tinted liquid and a fabric sack. She elbowed the door shut and he took the sack from her, surprised to find it heavy. “What’s all this?”

  “Some of the she-wolves liked the soap I gave to Reika so much that I’ve had requests. Reika made me promise that I would charge for them, so I took some orders and I thought I’d deliver them while we’re at lunch since they’re all going to be there with us.”

  Jason had called for a high-ranked meeting, and Jenna was welcome as Logan’s mate. The mates were going to hang out together while the males, and Cades as female alpha, talked pack business. Jenna was excited to spend time with the other mates.

  “How much are you charging?” He opened the door to the garage for her.

  “I thought two dollars a bar and maybe five for the shampoo? What do you think?”

  “I think you’re really talented and you could charge a lot more and people would still pay for it.”

  She quirked her brow. “Yeah, but would they pay it because they liked it or because they thought you might pound them flat if they didn’t?”

  He laughed. “I guess you’ll have to take a chance on never knowing.”

  She opened the passenger door and he said, “Would you like to drive?”

  Her excited grin lit up her face. “Oh yes!”

  She darted around the back of the truck and opened the driver’s door, putting the two bottles in the cup holders. He stowed the bars of soap on the floor between his feet as he settled in the passenger seat and buckled himself in. He’d helped her study for her temporary license and had taken her to a two-day driver’s education course. She passed the exam and he’d been taking her driving a couple hours each day since. She was still learning, but overall had come very far in a short amount of time considering she hadn’t ever driven anything with an engine before.

  She opened the garage door with the remote clipped to the visor, and then buckled her seatbelt and turned on the truck. She bounced excitedly in the seat.

  Each time they got in the car, he went over the basics. “Alright, baby, what do you do first?”

  “Check the mirrors.”

  “Good.” When she did that, he said, “Now what?”

  “Look behind me as I shift into reverse.”

  “Right. Go easy with the gas.”

  She backed out of the garage as slow as a snail, stopped long enough to put the door down, and backed all the way into the street. Shifting into drive, she kept her foot on the brake and looked at him expectantly.

  “Do you remember everything we talked about in your lesson yesterday?”

  She grinned. “I remember your version of a reward for doing well.” When they came back from their lesson, they’d made love for hours.

  “But do you remember what you learned?”

  “Yes, Logan,” she said in a sing-song voice, grinning so hard her cheeks had to hurt.

  “Do you think you can get to Jason’s on your own?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  She carefully switched her foot from the brake to the gas and drove down the street. When she stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street, she looked at him, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “Thank you for being my teacher, Logan.”

  “You’re welcome, love. You’re doing really well, just keep your eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.”

  She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the road as she turned down the next street and picked up speed. “You don’t keep both hands on the wheel.”

  True. One of his hands was usually either on her thigh or holding her hand.

  “I’ve been driving for a long time, baby.”

  “I think you just like touching me.”

  “I don’t like it, I love it.” He put his hand on her knee and her leg jerked, her foot pressing harder against the gas and the engine revving. He laughed and removed his hand. “You are too easily distr
acted.”

  “It’s not my fault you’re irresistible.”

  “So are you, baby.”

  She made it to Jason’s house without needing directions. She stopped in front of Jason’s home, parking between Michael’s SUV and Bo’s truck. Peeking out the side window, she said, “Pretty good, yeah?”

  He chuckled. “You’re crooked, but otherwise you did really well. You’ll be ready to take the driver’s test in no time.”

  She got out of the truck and met him at the front, looking back at her parking job. She huffed. “It’s barely crooked. In fact, I’d say it’s mostly straight.”

  Cupping her face, he kissed her. “I love you, sweetheart, but you’re utterly delusional if you think that mostly straight counts.”

  She laughed and they walked into the house together. Everyone was milling around the kitchen, and since they were apparently the last to arrive, the meeting could start. Logan kissed Jenna and watched her join the mates, who chattered excitedly over the things she had made. She cast her eyes back to him and smiled, and he returned it.

  “We’ll eat after the meeting,” Jason said as he sat down at the head of the kitchen table. Cades sat on his left and Michael on his right, then Bo and Linus on opposite sides. Logan sat next to Bo and Teller sat across from Logan.

  After everyone was settled, Jason cleared his throat and rested his elbows on the tabletop, clasping his hands together. “The Tressel Pack territory has been in my family for over two hundred years, before the town of Allen was founded. We’ve always lived harmoniously with the human residents, and aside from minor skirmishes over the years, as a pack we’ve never had any real issues with the humans around us. Linus?”

  Linus stood and walked into the mudroom, returning a few moments later with an old-fashioned jaw trap. The iron trap had been tripped, the thick, sharp-toothed jaws closed. Linus said, “This was found just inside the far western territory last night. A few of the younger wolves were practicing hunting in teams to prepare for the full moon, and found it buried under some leaves.”

  Michael asked, “How do you know it’s been set recently?

  Teller said, “Aside from the fact that we patrol the borders regularly, the trap was set with fresh deer meat.”

  Jason said, “Last week, one of the customers at the garage said that he’d heard a rumor about some coyotes stealing chickens from one of the farms that butts up to our territory. We’ve never seen any evidence of natural coyotes in our territory, but that’s not to say that there aren’t any outside of our land. It’s entirely possible that whoever set the trap didn’t mean to put it in our territory.” He touched the trap. “This is an old trap, but it’s been taken care of. These sorts of traps can shatter bones, the teeth can puncture arteries. If one of our people were caught in this trap, they wouldn’t be able to shift into their human form to figure out how to open it, and they could bleed to death before anyone found them.”

  Cades said, “Jas and I are going to the neighboring farms to speak to them about the traps and see if anyone owns up to them. Then we’ll know if we have a real problem or just a simple misunderstanding.”

  Jason nodded. “Nevertheless, for the foreseeable future, all wolves have to hunt in packs of three or more to assure that no one is left alone. Any wolves that go off on their own will be punished by me personally in front of the pack. And Teller is going to head up more frequent patrols of the borders as well.”

  Silence settled over the group as they all stared at the trap. Logan wanted to believe that it was something as simple as one of the other landowners around the pack’s territory not knowing where the border was, but he had serious doubts. And judging from the dark looks on the rest of the men at the table, they had doubts as well. He’d only been part of two packs his entire life, and both packs had lived in a town populated by humans. They interacted with humans — worked, shopped, and lived around them — and both sides respected the others. But there were humans out there that despised shifters for no valid reason, as well as wolves that hated humans.

  Jason spoke for a few minutes longer about pack business, but once Logan heard Jenna’s sweet laugh, his thoughts refused to stay on anything but her. He had a surprise planned for her, but not until later.

  When the meeting adjourned, they joined the mates outside. Logan sat next to Jenna at a picnic table, across from Logan and Reika. They were joined by Jason and Cades, the others sitting at a second picnic table nearby. The meal of barbecued ribs, sweet corn, and potato salad had been prepared by Karly earlier in the day. The dessert of pink champagne cupcakes for the women and black forest cake for the men came courtesy of Lonestar’s baker-extraordinaire Mrs. B., who had been Karly’s neighbor before she met Linus.

  Logan held a bite of cake up to Jenna’s lips and she took it, making a happy sound and licking her lips. The afternoon passed quickly as they lounged around the backyard and talked. Logan couldn’t remember a more relaxing day.

  Instead of going home, they headed to her cousin Leah’s home for dinner. Leah and her mate, a were-fox named Todd, lived in Belvin. Logan drove, since Jenna wasn’t comfortable with highway driving yet. When they were on the way she said, “So I made thirty dollars.”

  “Yeah? Look at you, Miss Moneybags,” he teased. “Do you have any plans for the money?”

  She hummed. “Can I give it to you?”

  “Nope. You worked hard for that and I want you keep whatever you make.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure, love. So whatever you make with your girly stuff, I want you to keep and do whatever you want with it, okay? I know I’m a little old-fashioned, but I like being the one that works in our family. And I really like coming home to you. If you worked away from the house, then I’d have to share you with others and that would make me pretty damn miserable.”

  She leaned over and hooked her arm around his, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “I love you, Logan.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Belvin was a town similar to Allen, but mostly human. Jenna said that Todd was a rogue were-fox, and that they lived away from his family and pack, or what foxes called a leash. Logan had never met a were-fox before, but Jenna said he was a nice male, if not extremely overprotective. Leah and Todd’s home was a small brick ranch on a few acres of land next to a cornfield.

  A tall, thin young man opened the door for them. “I’m Todd. Leah’s in the kitchen, come on in.”

  Logan introduced himself, shaking his hand. Leah came out from the kitchen and she and Jenna squealed and hugged, bouncing together and talking so fast that Logan had trouble following the conversation. Leah had Jenna’s dark hair streaked with silver, but that was where the similarities ended. Leah was several inches taller than Jenna, and thin, with a narrow face.

  “I’m glad you guys could come by. Beer?” Todd asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  After meeting Leah, Logan followed Todd to the back patio. Todd sat down in an Adirondack chair and Logan sat in a nearby one. The view from the backyard was of the cornfields, and far in the distance, a farm house. They chatted about their work and being married to fairies. Logan found Todd to be an easy-going guy.

  After a leisurely dinner in the kitchen, they returned to the patio and the girls sat on their mates’ laps.

  “I’m so glad you could come visit,” Leah said.

  “Me, too. Next time, you guys can come over to our house for dinner,” Jenna said.

  The girls chatted until the sun set and the stars came out. With a bit of a drive ahead of them, they said goodbye and headed home. Jenna yawned, leaning on his shoulder again.

  “Sleepy, baby?”

  “A little. You and Todd seemed to get along well. Do you know why he left his leash?”

  “He said that when he and Leah got together, the leader of his leash thought it was a mistake and was quite verbal about it. It didn’t take him long to take off and they’ve been in Belvin ever since.”

  “Leah works at a
health-food store, where they sell all-natural foods and home goods. She said if I make up a few batches of soaps that she’ll sell them for me. They’re always looking for good quality items, and Leah knows my products first-hand. I used to bring her things whenever I visited here.”

  “She doesn’t make her own?”

  “She could if she wanted to, but she’s never been inclined.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Sounds good, sweetheart. As long as you’re happy.”

  “I’d be really happy if we were home now and naked.”

  “Won’t be too long,” he chuckled.

  She managed to stay awake until they got home, and he debated about giving her the surprise then or not. It wasn’t until she stepped out onto the back porch and remarked on how pretty the sky looked, with all the stars shining brightly, that he knew the timing was just right.

  He went into the garage and pulled out the box he’d arranged the day before while Jenna had been working in the shed.

  “Baby?” He asked, coming out onto the porch. “Can you open this? I found it on a back shelf. It belonged to my grandma and it’s locked.”

  The key was sitting in a tin on a shelf in the garage where he’d left it after he locked the box. The size of a shoebox, the box had been made by his grandpa as an anniversary gift for his grandma. The oak had been shaped and polished by hand, the top carved with the image of a she-wolf.

  “Sure.” Jenna took the box and looked at it for a moment, and then laid her hand over the brass lock. When there was a tiny audible click, she lifted the lid. The box was empty except for one thing.

  “What’s this?” She lifted the ring from the box and held it up. “Oh!” She gasped and the wooden box tipped from her hand. Logan snatched it before it could fall. Setting the box on the porch, he took the ring from her fingers and got down on one knee.

  Taking her left hand in his he said, “Jenna, I never expected to love my truemate so fiercely. We’re already married by fae and wolf standards, and the only thing I’d change about you is your last name. Will you marry me by human standards and do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Anderson?”