Page 14 of Shadow of Fury

She smelled of sweat and lavender, sending all kinds of erotic thoughts through his mind. He imagined her in his bed, lavender sheets and the scent of their lovemaking in the air. He swore he could feel their sweat warmed bodies sliding together, fitting together, like two puzzle pieces that had been made for each other.

It was fate playing tricks in his mind. It was the mating heat driving him crazy. It was the bond desperately prodding him to complete the process and make her his. It was intense and uncontrollable and he hated just how good it felt, hated that he knew she’d only hate him more for this need that couldn’t be denied.

Logan kissed her harder and she kissed him back, her tongue stroking against his, causing him to groan. She gave as good as she got. Her nails dug into the flesh at the back of his neck where she’d wrapped her arms around him and sent pain shooting through him that somehow only made his wolf hungrier for her.

He liked the pain. Knew he deserved it. Wanted to let her take all of her anger out on him. He tightened his grip on her throat, holding her in place for the assault of his kiss but she came back at him with teeth this time.

Her teeth sank into his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and he winced, jerking away from her. The sharp pain and gulp of fresh air was enough to break the spell of the desperate mating heat that had taken hold of him. He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his bearings and think rationally but when he raised his fingers to his mouth and saw them come away bloody a shiver ran down his spine.

His gaze jerked back to where Wren stood slumped against the wall. She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling, choppy and uneven. Her dark eyes went wide with horror again as she instinctively licked her lip and tasted his blood. They flashed gold and a whimper escaped her. He fought the urge to go to her, to comfort her, knowing it was the last thing she would want, knowing that it would only make this whole thing worse.

“No.” She covered her mouth as she shook her head, “No, no, no.”

The realization of what just happened was sinking in and she looked like she wanted to cry. It hadn’t been a claiming bite, not by a longshot. They’d need to use their animals for that. But she’d drawn blood, his blood, tasted it, and now the burgeoning connection between them would grow faster and stronger.

It was a tangible link between them that fate would use to bind them together the way she wanted… even if neither of them did.

“Wren…” He held out a hand, trying to offer some sort of reassurance but she shrank back from him.

“I… can’t…” she stammered and then, before he could say anything else, she turned and ran down the alley, away from him.

She ran away, just as she had accused him of trying to do. Logan stood where he was despite the urge to chase after her. His wolf howled with every step she put between them but he would not go after her. He would let her go, just as he should have let Lark go all those years ago instead of holding on to the memory of someone he wasn’t even sure had really existed.

Seeing Wren tonight, feeling the bond begin to form between them, it changed things, changed him. But it didn’t change the past or the mistakes he had made. He’d ruined one Culvert girl and he would carry that burden for the rest of his life. He would not make the same mistake again.

This time, he would leave before he could hurt her, or at least before he could hurt her any more than he already had. He would do the right thing. He would reject the bond, fight fate, leave Shadow Pines and go as far away as he could get. He would do that, for her.

He owed her at least that much… since he couldn’t tell her the truth about Lark.

CHAPTER SIX

Wren ran. She ran away like the coward she’d accused Logan of being. She ran as hard and as fast as she could, knowing she had to put as much distance as possible between them. She ran until her side ached and she wasn’t sure if she couldn’t catch her breath because of her pace or the sobs that were wracking her body. She ran for what felt like ages before she finally reached the safety of home.

Home. Not the house she’d lived in when she was a kid but the home that she had made for herself. She had worked hard to afford it, to fix it up, to make it her own. The white siding could use a new coat of paint and the blue trim had faded in the harsh Oklahoma summer sun, but it was all hers. Her safe space where she didn’t have to keep her facade or her guard up.

She ran inside, slamming the door behind her. As soon as it clicked shut, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor. A cry of absolute despair escaped her and she curled in on herself, trying to hold it together as her wolf threatened to seize control.

Her animal was furious. She didn’t understand why they’d left their mate behind. She didn’t understand why Wren refused to go back. Her wolf had gotten a taste of the man she only knew to be theirs and she wanted more.

The wolf didn’t understand but how could she? Even Wren didn’t fully comprehend what had just happened, or how. It didn’t make any sense.

“Wren?”

It was her sister's voice that pulled her back to reality and she looked up to see a figure step into the living room. Her vision was blurry from the tears so she couldn’t see Raven’s face but from the gasp of surprise and the way her younger sister rushed to her side, it was clear she was horrified to find Wren in such a state.

“Wren? Honey? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Raven was on her knees beside her in an instant, running her hands over her head, her arms, everywhere she could reach, trying to find an injury.

Wren could only shake her head, the sobs still coming too hard and fast to do more than suck in her next gulp of air. Besides, what was she supposed to say? Everything was wrong. Yes she was hurt, not in the way Raven meant.

“No.” Raven caught her by the cheeks and forced her to look at her when she tried to duck her head into her knees. “No. You don’t get to shut down right now. Tell me what’s wrong. You clearly went for your nightly run but you’ve never come back this upset before so tell me what happened?”

Wren cried harder and Raven’s stern voice softened as she pulled her big sister into her arms. She held her as best as she could as Wren cried. Her body shook with the force of her sobs but her wolf calmed a bit in Raven’s presence, sensing that the moment to take control had passed.

Raven was a good sister. She was a better sister than Wren deserved after what she’d done tonight. But she was still grateful that her little sister was there to hold her together when she felt like she might break into a million pieces.

Lark never would have held her like this.

The thought broke Wren’s heart all over again. It felt like a betrayal to think badly of her big sister, even if it was the truth. Lark had never been the kind to comfort or soothe others. She’d have told Wren to suck it up and stop being a baby if she were there. But if Lark were there then Wren never would have felt that confusing, overpowering, infuriating link to Logan in the first place because he was supposed to have bonded with her sister.