Page 27 of Shadow of Fury

“Why do you think he’s so worked up about you working here?”

“I have no idea.” Wren shook her head.

It was partly the truth. She didn’t know for certain why Logan had reacted the way he did to the news that she worked for his father. But she did have a pretty good idea based on what he’d said to her before going back into the Alpha’s office. He thought she was up to something, which meant he was smarter than she’d given him credit for if he’d put it together that fast when his father clearly hadn’t.

“Hmmm.” he hummed now, his gaze looking her over in a way that always sent a shiver of something akin to dread down her spine. “Probably just his history with your family, right? All that awful business with your sister. Maybe he sees you as a reminder of her?”

Wren swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat, “Maybe.”

“Well, it’s too bad for him that he has to wait until I croak to make the hiring and firing decisions around here.” he chuckled, “And good for you, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Smart girl.” He dampened his lips with the tip of his tongue, “Email me the schedule for next week and then bring me a cup of coffee and we can go over it.”

He turned and retreated back into his office without waiting for a reply and she only let out the breath she’d been holding once he was out of sight. She shivered, trying to shake off the urge to use her claws and rip him apart. She hated when he looked at her like that, like she was some pet that he kept close merely for his enjoyment.

She sent the files to him and then turned to check on the coffee she’d started earlier. It wasn’t quite ready yet which would buy her another minute or two to get all her armor in place before dealing with him. He’d mentioned her sister and she hadn’t been ready for that since he’d never brought her up before.

But it seemed with Logan back in town, that the past was never far from any of their minds.

A hacking cough echoed out of the office and Wren glanced at the clock on the far wall. That was a new record. This was the earliest yet that his cough had started up again. She assumed it meant he was growing sicker since the bouts of wellness were shorter and shorter.

He’d said Logan would have to wait for him to die to take over the pack. Did that mean he was close to dying? Is that why Logan was finally back in town? He was the heir after all.

Wren froze with the coffee mug in her hand, her other extended to reach for the pot as something she hadn’t considered hit her.

Logan would be the next Alpha of the Shadow Pines Pack. As his fated mate, if they sealed the bond, she would become the Queen of the pack, second only to him in authority. It was a coveted position, one that her parents had been desperate for Lark to obtain for the status that went along with it. But Lark had never been destined for that role. Wren had. And if she became Queen of the Shadow Pines pack, it would change everything.

Nobody in the pack would be able to defy her. They’d have to tell her the truth, once and for all. She would finally know what had truly happened to her sister. But did she have it in her to seal the bond with Logan before she knew what role he’d played in Lark’s death? She felt sick even considering it.

“Wren? Get a move on. I’m a busy man.”

She flinched when the Alpha yelled at her from his office.

“Coming.” she called back, for once thankful for the distraction because she needed more time to consider her options and to figure out just how long she’d have to wait for the old bastard to die before it would even matter.

CHAPTER TEN

Logan made it halfway down the block before Dominic caught up to him, grabbing him by the arm to slow him down.

“Hey. Hold up.”

He let his old friend pull him to a stop and took a deep breath in an attempt to get himself back under control. He felt like his head was going to explode and he wasn’t sure if it was from fighting with his father or fighting the pull of the mating bond that wanted him to turn around, go back, and claim Wren right where she stood. In truth, it was probably a little bit of both.

“Sorry. He just…” Logan groaned and Dominic snorted.

“Yeah. I know.”

“He’s infuriating. Hard-headed. Stubborn. Mean. He won’t listen to reason.”

“What were you two arguing about?”

Logan paused with a hand on his jaw and then shook off the question he had no intention of answering, “It doesn’t matter. Were you able to talk to the guys?”

Dominic furrowed his brow but nodded and Logan breathed a sigh of relief that despite his obvious curiosity, his friend was going to let him get away with dodging his question. He really didn’t deserve such loyalty. Not when he was still keeping secrets.

He told himself that the situation with Wren was too new, too volatile, to bring anyone else into it. Vivian was one thing. She was his sister and he’d been trying to convince her to get out of town with him. She might be able to dig up some answers for him in the pack library but ultimately this was his problem and he had to deal with it. Dominic had enough on his plate without adding Logan’s messed up mating dilemma to the mix.