Page 16 of Shadow of Fury

She turned back towards him, brows furrowed, “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? We were tricked into coming here and we’re leaving.”

Her eyes were dark in the dimly lit room and he felt them studying him, “No.”

“No?” He scowled.

“Not until you explain what’s going on. You said you’d stay until we got answers.”

“Viv. Please, just get in the car.”

She held her ground, “You said you talked to Dominic. You said he needed your help, that the pack needed your help. You said you…”

“Have a mate.” The words came out coated in the agony that was eating him alive. “I have a mate, Viv.”

Her eyes went wide and she took a step towards him, “What? What do you mean? You can’t have a mate, not if…”

When she trailed off he groaned and moved to sit on the edge of her old bed, and dropped his head in his hands, “Not if Lark was truly my mate. I know.”

“Oh, Logan.” His sister moved to sit at his side, a hand on his back.

He shook his head, “All this time, I thought it was Lark. It had to be Lark. I loved her. Some part of me still does, even after everything… But she wasn’t eighteen when the… when she…”

“I know.” Vivian didn’t force him to say the words and her kindness somehow only made him feel worse.

“It was just a feeling we had. We were teenagers. We were in love. We thought we knew what fate had in store for us but if she’d lived until her eighteenth birthday, I think we would have realized we were wrong.”

“I don’t understand. You loved her. How could that be wrong?”

“Loving her wasn’t wrong but…” He shuddered out a breath. “I think, maybe, that’s all it was. Teenage hormones, lust and love. I don’t think it was the mating bond. How could it be when I just felt the real thing spark to life inside of me?”

“I don’t know.” Vivian admitted. “Maybe because she never came of age, fate saw fit to gift you with a different fated mate?”

“If it was someone else, maybe I might believe that but it’s more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean? Who is it, Logan? Who sparked the mating bond and has you so out of sorts you’re demanding we leave town?”

He licked his lip hesitantly but that only reminded him of what he’d done. Reminded him of the way she’d tasted. Reminded him of how right she had felt in his arms. Reminded him that the bond between them would continue to grow and the mating heat would only get stronger until they couldn’t deny their wolves and sealed their fates forever.

“Logan?” Vivian pressed and he knew she was too stubborn to give in until he answered.

“I ran into Wren when I was leaving Dominic’s and…”

“Wren?” Vivian’s voice was practically a screech and he winced. “Wren Culvert?”

“Do you know another Wren?” he groaned as Vivian all but leapt up from the bed and started pacing the room, her agitation making his already riled up wolf nervous.

“You’re telling me that your fated mate is Lark’s sister?”

He nodded and Vivian looked as horrified as he felt.

“Oh brother. This is bad.”

“I know.”

“I remember when Lark died. Wren blamed you. She thought you killed her sister.”

“She still does.”