Glued to the screen, he observed her aversion posturing; her eyes darted to Dimitri and then back down to the floor. He could practically smell her fear through the fiber optics. Perhaps she should be nervous, but fear was not an emotion he planned on eliciting…yet. Logan wasn’t into pain, but as Alpha, he’d do what he needed to do to protect the pack. As Tristan had pointed out to him on many occasions, an Alpha’s decisions weren’t based on popularity; rather, they needed to be calculated and implemented in the best interest of the pack. No matter how much his dick longed for her, the small, but real, possibility of her being a threat existed. Even a pocket knife could kill a large man if used correctly. He needed to get his shit together and focus on getting answers instead of getting laid.
He’d already called Jax, letting him know that one of his wolves had gone astray in New Orleans. The brief but necessary conversation caused his gut to twist. She does not belong to you. He just needed to keep telling himself those words. It should be easy to remember, considering it was true. Oddly, Jax didn’t claim her outright, but instead indicated he or one of his associates would be on a plane as soon as possible to assess the situation. Logan found that interesting in itself. What was there to assess? An Alpha knows all his wolves. But then again, after meeting Jax a few times, his penchant for drama tended to weave itself into everything he did.
The ding of the elevator caused him to suck a breath. This was it; time for answers. Showtime. Like clockwork, Jeanette, his secretary, buzzed his speaker, alerting him to their arrival. Jeanette, a human, had been working for Marcel for over forty years. She’d been crushed by his passing but agreed to Logan’s offer to stay on, working for him. She was the consummate professional, and he suspected her loyalties ran nearly as deep as those of the wolves in his pack.
Dimitri knocked once on the door and strode into Logan’s office, shutting it behind him.
“What did you do to her?” Logan accused, giving him a sardonic stare.
“Nothin’, she’s perfectly fine. You saw her. She’s fed and dressed; just like you asked.” Dimitri smiled and dropped into one of the tan leather seats facing Logan’s desk.
“Really? Then tell me why she looks like she’s scared shitless?” His mouth tightened into a fine line.
Dimitri diverted his gaze looking out the window and back to his Alpha. “It was nothing.”
“What was nothing?”
“I swear I was gentle with her,” Dimitri assured him. “She wanted to call Jax. I said no. I can’t help that she’s a little wisp of a thing. And well, I’m…I’m me.” He gave Logan a lopsided grin.
“You think this is funny?”
“Well, boss, I must admit it’s a little funny. I mean, come on. When was the last time a little she-wolf had the Alpha tearing out of his own home at the crack of dawn? And at the risk of pointing out the obvious, you still seem a little on edge.”
Logan rolled his eyes, swiveled in his chair and glanced out the window to look over the cityscape. He took a breath and blew it out, frustrated. “Fuck, yeah, I’m on edge. You try sleeping with a girl like her for a few hours while she calls out Jax Chandler’s name. Hearing his name should’ve been enough to make me treat her like a nun, but man, I was so not saying my prayers. It’s so wrong.”
Dimitri laughed out loud. “Well, she is fine, but she’s not ours. And she very well may be going home tonight. You get ahold of Jax?”
“Yeah, I called him. Cagey bastard’s playing his damn games. Says he’s coming here to ‘assess’ the situation. Didn’t claim her outright but didn’t deny it either. As for little Miss Wynter out there…there’s part of me that would like to keep her.” Logan smiled over at him like he’d discovered treasure.
“She’s not a lost dog, Alpha. You can’t just ‘keep her’.”
“You’d be surprised at what I can do when I put my mind to things,” he pondered. Was he really considering keeping her? Yes, yes he was. And why not? Jax didn’t exactly claim her. Then again, aside from a few hours of cuddling like a horny, blue-balled teen, he didn’t even know her. For all he knew, she had the personality of a honey badger.
“That you do. But as your beta, my advice is to go easy.” Dimitri shook his head and laughed. Damn if his Alpha wasn’t considering the unthinkable.
“I don’t do easy,” Logan remarked. “I do what I need to do. And right now, I plan to get the truth.” He stood, walked over to the bar and pulled a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge. “Speaking of which, we have a meeting with Kade later tonight at Mordez.”
“Mordez, huh? Love me a vamp club,” Dimitri said sarcastically.
“Yeah, you and me both. You know the vamps. They can’t meet in offices like normal people.” He shrugged. “Bring Zeke and Jake in case there’s trouble. Have them keep eyes on us…discreetly. You know the drill.”
Logan detested meeting at a blood club as much as the next wolf, but he’d do it to meet Kade. If there was one vampire he remotely trusted, it was him. Logan would mete out justice when necessary, but it was Kade’s job to get his people in line, not his.
“Done,” Dimitri responded, making his way over to the door.
“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Logan said with a wry smile.
Within seconds of Dimitri’s exit, Logan’s blonde angel stood in the archway.
Heart racing, Wynter passed through the doorway and looked up at the magnificent stranger who’d saved her. As his eyes locked on hers, her breath caught in her lungs. Alpha. The word resounded through her mind like an echo in a valley as she looked over to Logan, who sat carefully watching her every move from behind his desk. Memories of his arms around her body in the heart of the night swirled in her mind. Her face flushed at the confounding arousal she’d felt. Although she tried so hard not to stare, it became impossible to stop. The Alpha was both incredibly sexy and handsome yet he looked dangerous as his lips formed a knowing smile. Dressed in a dark blue suit, his confident posture exuded power. And sex. She tensed as her desire flared again. No, no, no. How could she be attracted to an Alpha? That could not happen. Jax would not be pleased, not one damn bit.
What was wrong with her? She’d been gone from society for months, and she was ready to throw herself at the first man to cross her path? Wynter reasoned that perhaps it was the drugs they gave her. Yes, that had to be it. Maybe she was still feeling the effects of her illness? But as she gazed into his eyes, she couldn’t deny the lure of his powerful presence. She tried to shake it off; her brain told her to be cautious. She knew better than to assume a handsome man equated to nice. In her experience, she’d learned that Alphas were charming, often good-looking and exceedingly deadly.
She took a deep breath, trying to tamp down her reaction. Do not think about how it felt to lie against him in bed. You don’t even know him. No matter how much her libido just got thrown into overdrive, she needed to get it the hell together. Concentrate, she told herself. She needed to call Jax, transfer the intelligence to him and initiate a new plan of action. Pulling over a façade of indifference, she exhaled.
With her misplaced emotions tucked away, she opened her eyes. The Alpha gave her a broad smile as if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking….every dirty, lustful thought. This cannot be happening. His voice jarred her back into reality.
“Have a seat.” Logan gestured to one of the seats across from his desk.
It was not lost on him how Wynter averted her gaze submissively at his words. Definitely wolf. How could he have been so wrong when he first met her in the alley, thinking she’d been human? Sensing both fear and arousal from Wynter, he struggled to remain objective. His wolf sought to pounce on the prey that tempted him so. Logan reminded himself that he really didn’t know this woman, no matter how delicious she looked.