The same chauffeured car that had driven Logan and Casper away brought them back. It was on the same day that the maid had seen the tattoo on Aella's shoulder.Logan quickly stepped down from the car with his beta Casper. He was in better spirits than when he had left. The mere two days that he had spent away from his pack had left a physical and emotional strain on him. And the strain he had gotten from being physically separated from Aella had been worse. On the journey down south, he had suffered a terrible headache and moodiness. The physical strain had reduced tremendously the moment the chauffeured car had driven past the border of the pack.Right now, it felt good to be back.He crossed the pack house lawn from where the car had been packed and walked to the front door, where Jesse his gamma was waiting for him."Welcome back, Alpha Logan. And a good afternoon to you." Jesse said, all smiles."Good afternoon to you too, Jesse. I trust you're good?" Logan asked."Yes, I am, Alph
Logan watched in utter disbelief as the rest of the Head Wolves stood up from the foyer chairs and stood behind Elias in support. He looked into all the faces of the men behind Elias—some of whom he had helped at one point or the other in their lives— and for the first time ever, the hope in his heart died. What was the use of trying to protect people who would turn on him the moment they heard a scandal?Within two days that he had been away, Elias had managed to gather the majority of the Council to his side, to poison the hearts of the pack members against him. Logan knew that Elias was a very dim-witted man, but he almost admired the man's courage and smartness at this point. Only a smart man could manage to do that within the space of a few short days."We, the people of this pack have come to a conclusion that having you as alpha will only do us more harm than good in the long run." Elias said, his face lit up in a confident smirk. "We urge you to step down, Alpha, and to do so
Logan woke up the next morning feeling like he had been run over by a tractor. His whole body ached, and his head was banging like a tribal drum. His eyes were prickly with unshed tears and his throat was extremely dry. He groaned and rolled to the other side of the bed. He flung his arm out, searching for any warmth from Aella but he felt none. He frowned and opened his eyes which had been gummed shut by sleep, and sat up. The arm which he had flung to the side was stiff and full of pins and needles. He groaned and flexed the arm a little bit, trying to resume blood flow to it. "Fuck it." He muttered under his breath and tried to move out of bed but was attacked by a sharp pain to his head. His vision swimmed as vertigo came over him and he closed his eyes for some seconds, trying to regain his bearing. He felt like a narcotic patient going through withdrawal symptoms. Perhaps, I am going through withdrawal symptoms, he thought. One of the few things he really cared about was the da
Aella's POVAella quietly left the room after Logan fell into another sleep. She realised that she needed a bit of fresh air after her cuddle with him. Being his mate and sharing in his emotions had taken a huge toll on her own emotions. It was an automatic thing, almost unavoidable. If Logan was feeling pain, she would feel it too. She'd had to set aside her own burdens and carry his own. Now that he was asleep, she was free to organise her thoughts again.She walked downstairs to the foyer while looking around warily. Since her tattoo had been discovered by that buck-toothed maid, she had been extra careful and wary, carefully watching and guarding herself against danger. And so far, she hadn't heard or seen anything that could point to her tattoo becoming public news.But it seemed today was going to be a different story, because as she came down the staircase into the large glossy foyer, she saw some maids moping the floor and discussing amongst themselves. Her alert wolf ears cau
Logan was sitting in his study with Casper. He sighed and took his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. The activities of the recent days were beginning to take a toll on him.After he had gone to Aella and she had comforted him, Louve had come to wake him up and tell him that the warriors from her father's pack was around. Logan was surprised: he hadn't asked for the warriors to come up north already. But Louve had told him that it had all been her doing. She had noticed the state of unrest in the pack and what Elias was trying to do by turning the people against Logan, and so she had called her father to send his troops, just in case. The warriors had been given strict instructions to protect Logan and his mate no matter what.Logan had gone down to see them and had been amazed at their sheer number. His uncle had sent way more than the 700 he had originally requested for, 900 to be precise. He had wondered aloud to Louve how they would house and feed the 900 men, and Louve h
Logan stepped back as he realised what he had done, what Elias had pushed him to do. The man was still standing at a distance, laughing like a lunatic. The alpha closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. Damn, what had he done? He had let a crazy man like Elias get under his skin. Now the people of the pack would think he was not worthy to be their alpha.He opened his eyes and looked at the people that stood before him. They were all looking at him with anger and disappointment in their eyes. Logan felt his whole world crashing around his ears.One by one the pack members and the Head Wolves began to walk away, led by Elias. Logan wanted to reverse the hands of time and rethink his decisions. It was as though he had made the worst thinkable decision of his life. How was he to face the people now when he had let his emotions ride roughshod over him?Casper led him back into the study and led him to a nearby sofa. Logan sank into it and buried his head in his hands. He felt l
Aella nodded as Logan made that statement. They both stared at each other with grim determination etched on their faces. They were trying to show more bravery than they felt, because deep down, fear was taking over.They separated from each other and Aella walked to the closet. She opened it and went inside, picking a few clothes and other things she thought she might need. She picked two of her dresses, a few toiletries and underwear, and one of Logan's shirts as a sort of reminder. Before stuffing it in the duffel bag, she put the shirt to her nose and sniffed appreciatively, closing her eyes in rapture. She would miss his cedarwood scent and what it did to her senses.She opened her eyes and looked at the shirt. It was the black button shirt that she had worn on that memorable afternoon when she had turned Logan's room upside down to annoy him. She remembered how he had stared at her bare legs, how his eyes had burned into her, stripping her naked with its intensity, and shuddered.
"It's cozy." Aella commented as she continued to look around."Yeah, I know right?" Logan answered as he moved left her at the entrance and moved further inside, turning on lights as he went. "My dad told me his great great-something grandfather found this cabin when he came to this place to settle, long before the seat of the alpha ever came to our family. It has been in our family ever since then."Aella moved inside and continued to look around. She ran her hand over the faded red plaid material of the chairs around the fireplace, over the slightly dusty array of things on the shelf. They were mostly small ceramic figures: little dancing men, women and children. Aella picked one up and examined it. "Do you come here often?""Not as often as I used to, but I was here about a week ago." He replied. Aella nodded. That would explain the minimal dust.After he had finished turning on the lights, Logan came back to where she was standing. He was wearing clothes now, while she was still n