Page 64 of Shadow of Fury
“And I’m sorry I couldn’t find any way to tell you, to really help you. I should have stopped him before he ever had a chance to get close to you but the moment I saw you come out of that office crying, I knew I couldn’t let him continue his reign of terror even one more day.”
“Will you tell me what happened when you went inside?” She bit her lip and he sighed.
“He was bleeding and spitting mad because you’d gotten the better of him. I tried to be reasonable and asked him to step down, to let me take the pack peacefully, after all, that’s why he called me home, but he was too angry to be logical. I warned him and instead of heeding my warning, he taunted me into snapping. I launched myself at him and I swear, for a second there, the bastard smiled.”
“You think he wanted you to fight him for the pack?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But I’m done trying to figure out what went on in his sick head.” Logan rubbed his eyes, “So, anyway, I hit him and then I hit him again and again because once I started to release all the anger I’d been holding back, I couldn’t stop.”
There was a long pause but he knew better than to think she was done with her questions. Not Wren. Not his mate. She was as curious as a kitten and he had promised her the truth so he waited until she spoke again.
Her voice was softer now, “What happened to Vivian?”
“She tried to stop the fight. She jumped on him to try and get him off me and he swung around to shrug her off. When he did, she lost her grip and fell. She hit her head on the corner of the desk and the crack was so loud… it felt like my world just stopped.”
“That must have been awful.” She reached out and smoothed a strand of his hair.
“I spent most of my life taking care of Viv. She’s my little sister but in so many ways, I raised her too. Our parents were never really involved in our upbringing and then, once we left, it was just me and her against the world. Seeing her lying there, bloody and unconscious, I thought she was dead and some part of me wanted to die too.”
“Oh, Logan.”
“I probably would have killed him with my bare hands at that moment but I didn't get the chance. When I looked back at him he grabbed his chest and stumbled away before he fell over. Heart attack, which is ironic I guess because I never thought he had a heart to begin with.”
Wren was worrying her bottom lip again and he reached out and freed it from her teeth.
“What is it?”
“It’s just… nobody in the pack really knew he was ill but you said he called you home to take over the pack. Did you know he was sick then?”
He snorted, “No. I only came home because Dominic told me he was dead.”
“What? Why would Dominic do that?”
“Because he had to. Dad used his Alpha voice to force him to lie to me. He knew it was the only way to get me back here.”
“But if he wasn’t ready to give you the pack, why did he force you to come back now?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since I got here.” he admitted. “I think it came down to him wanting to make sure I’d stay in line once he was gone. He showed me a letter from a pack in Louisiana that’s trying to form an Alliance. He was opposed to it of course and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps and keep the pack solitary and insulated.”
Wren looked thoughtful, “He was trying to protect his legacy by bringing you back into the fold.”
“Yeah, I think so. But he realized fairly quickly just how much I hated him and that I wouldn’t keep his secrets once his power over me disappeared.”
“He silenced you, didn’t he? About what you knew, about what he did. Not just with the other females of the pack but… Lark?”
The way she said her sister’s name had him sitting up in bed so they were face to face, “Yes.”
Her dark eyes studied him intently, “He’s the reason Lark’s dead, isn’t he? It wasn’t you. It was him.”
“Wren, I need you to hear me out. Can you do that?” He swallowed hard when she nodded. “I’ve thought about that night a lot, probably more than is healthy to be honest but I couldn’t talk about it with anyone so… anyway, I’ve replayed it over and over and the truth is, it was my fault.”
Wren’s eyes widened and he hurried on.
“I knew what my father was like. I’d put together what he was doing with the younger females of the pack a year or so before and I’d told my mom, thinking she would put a stop to it.” he groaned, “She told me she’d talked to him, taken care of it, but I don’t think she did. I don’t think she was strong enough to stand up to him, even then. I spent a long time blaming her for not stopping him.”
“Maybe she tried.” Wren offered quietly. “Maybe he silenced her too?”
“Maybe.” he conceded with a nod. “But the point is, I knew how he was and I kept bringing Lark to the house anyway. She was my girlfriend. I didn’t think he’d cross that line but Lark, well, she was Lark. She was wild and funny and carefree. She lit up a room and made whoever she was with feel special. Being with her, it was like I was dangling a mouse under a cat’s nose.”