CHAPTER 4: THE PREDATOR

Logan's POV

I had spent twenty-three years building control, discipline, duty, and dominance. Then a silver-eyed wolf walked into my house and destroyed everything.

I paced my room like a caged animal, my wolf raging inside me with a violence I had never experienced. Claim her. Mate. OURS. 

The words repeated in my head like a drumbeat, and it was unstoppable. My human side fought back. She was forbidden, my stepsister by marriage, a liar who had hidden her wolf, chaos incarnate wrapped in soft skin and defiant eyes. But I could not stop seeing her. Naked by the stream, powerful and vulnerable at once, her silver wolf magnificent in the moonlight. I had never wanted anything this badly. I had never lost control.

The memory of that first dinner flashed through my mind. The moment her eyes flashed silver, my wolf had recognized her instantly. Some part of me knew what she was before my brain could catch up. I knew then she was dangerous, to the pack and to me. I had tried to hate her, I tried to push her away with cruelty and distance. It was not working. If anything, the pull had grown stronger every day.

My phone buzzed. Pack security report. "Lucas Pierce left property, heading toward town." 

I checked the time. Seven fifteen. Lucas was picking her up. My wolf snarled and before I could stop myself, I punched the wall. Plaster cracked under my knuckles and pain shot through my hand, but it did nothing to calm the rage burning through my veins.

I found Lucas in the garage, dressed sharp in dark jeans and a button-down shirt, car keys in hand. He grinned when he saw me. "Come to wish me luck, brother?"

"Stay away from her." 

"Aurora?" His grin widened. "Why would I do that? She is fascinating."

I stepped closer, using my height to intimidate. "She is off-limits."

Lucas's grin sharpened into something more dangerous. "To you, maybe. But I do not see your name on her."

I grabbed his collar and slammed him against his car, the metal denting under the impact. "I am not joking."

Lucas did not fight back. He just studied my face with those eyes that saw too much, that knew me too well. "You want her. Holy shit, you actually want her."

I released him and stepped back. "I want her gone."

"Liar." Lucas straightened his shirt, still watching me with that infuriating knowing look. "I can smell it on you. Obsession and desire. When did this happen?"

"It did not."

"You know what I think?" Lucas leaned against his car, arms crossed. "I think you are terrified. The great Logan Pierce, afraid of a pretty wolf from Vancouver."

"She is not what she seems." I forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"Neither are you, apparently. The cold, controlled Alpha heir, losing his mind over our stepsister." He said the word mockingly, like he knew exactly how little that label meant to either of us.

"She is dangerous."

Lucas's expression turned serious. "Then why do you care if I take her to dinner?"

Silence fell between us. I had no answer that would not reveal everything, that would not expose the truth clawing at my insides. Lucas knew it. He could see it written all over my face.

"That is what I thought." He got in his car and drove away, leaving me standing alone in the garage with my wolf howling inside me.

I went to my dad's office. My parents were out for pack business and the house was empty. I broke into the filing cabinet, something I had never done before, and found Aurora's pack transfer documents. Birth certificate. Aurora Steele, Silver Falls Pack. Mother listed as Elena Steele, maiden name Thorne.

Thorne. I knew that name. I pulled up pack histories on my dad's computer, cross-referencing bloodlines and territory records. The Thorne bloodline was old and rare, carriers of the Silver Wolf gene. I dug deeper, finding records from fifty years ago. Silver Wolves had been hunted to near-extinction. Claiming wars, forced matings, and bloodline theft. Only a handful of female Silver Wolves were left and most were in hiding.

An unmated Silver Wolf in a powerful pack like Shadowpine? Every Alpha within five hundred miles would challenge Vincent for claiming rights. She was a ticking time bomb that could tear apart everything we had built. But my wolf did not care about politics or pack stability. Protect her. Claim her first. OURS.

My phone buzzed. It was Lucas, forty-five minutes into their date. "She's incredible. Thanks for the recommendation, brother." A photo was attached. Aurora was laughing at a restaurant table, candlelight making her skin glow, looking relaxed and beautiful in a way I had never seen. My vision went red.

I tracked Lucas's location using our shared family GPS. Downtown Seattle, an upscale restaurant. I parked across the street and watched through the window like some kind of stalker. Lucas and Aurora sat at a corner table. He was making her laugh, touching her hand, leaning close. She looked happy, genuinely happy, the tension I always saw in her shoulders completely gone.

My wolf screamed to go in there, to drag her out, to mark her so everyone would know she was mine. I forced myself to stay in the car. This was insane. I could not do this. She was my stepsister. She was forbidden. 

They finished dinner. Lucas paid and they walked out together. I ducked down as they passed my car, feeling ridiculous and furious and desperate all at once. Lucas walked Aurora to her car. She had driven separately, smart girl. He leaned in and my entire body tensed. Was he going to kiss her? Aurora turned her head at the last second and his lips hit her cheek instead. She said something I could not hear, got in her car, and drove away.

Lucas watched her go, then turned and looked directly at my car. He walked over and tapped on my window. I rolled it down, not bothering to pretend I had not been watching.

"Stalking now? That is low, even for you."

"What did you tell her?" I asked.

"That I think she is beautiful. That I want to see her again. That she deserves better than secrets and hostility." He gave me a pointed look.

"She is in danger."

Lucas's expression turned serious. "From who? Other Alphas? Or from you?"

I did not answer. I could not.

"Figure out what you want, Logan. Because I know what I want. And unlike you, I am not afraid to go after it." He walked to his car and drove away.

I sat alone in the darkness and pulled up Aurora's contact from the pack directory. I typed, "We need to talk." Deleted it. Typed, "Stay away from Lucas." Deleted it. Typed, "I can't stop thinking about you." I stared at those words for a full minute before deleting them too. Then I drove home.

I entered the mansion through the side door and found Aurora in the kitchen getting water, still dressed from her date, smelling like Lucas's cologne. She froze when she saw me. My wolf was barely contained and I knew my eyes were flickering gold.

"Logan—" she started.

I crossed the room in three strides and backed her against the counter, caging her in with my arms on either side of her body. My voice came out barely human. "Tell me you feel nothing."

Her heart hammered against her ribs. I could hear it, could smell her fear and something else underneath, something that made my wolf purr.

I leaned closer until my lips brushed her ear. "Tell me you do not feel this, and I will walk away. Lie to me, Aurora."

Her wolf purred and I heard it, felt it vibrate through the air between us. She had never lied worse than when she whispered, "I feel nothing."

I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. They were flickering silver, betraying her words. I smiled, it was dangerous and devastating. "Liar."

Then I walked away, leaving her trembling against the counter. 

Her phone buzzed as I climbed the stairs. I heard her read the text aloud in a shaky whisper. "I had a great time tonight. Let's do it again soon." Lucas. 

She looked at my retreating back and I felt her eyes on me like a physical touch. She was caught between two wolves who wanted to devour her. And her wolf wanted to let them.