Page 50 of Logan’s Acadian Wolves

Corpses. Logan opted to tell her about the computer instead. “The place was empty except for a laptop. Dimitri grabbed it. It’s probably wiped. But if they left anything at all, D will find the crumbs. Let’s hope they got sloppy.”

“Really, nothing else?”

“No, I’m afraid it was all just a ploy to get to you…to us. Devereoux’s a pain in my ass, but he’s right, they’re trying to play with us. Intimidate.”

Wynter didn’t respond, thinking of how easily they’d gotten to her.

“Hey, let’s not talk about this anymore tonight. We’ve got other things to talk about. Lots of things, actually,” he disclosed. My mark. The fact that you’re my mate.

“Okay.”

Logan took the bar of soap and lathered his hands. “We should probably talk about tomorrow.” He blew out a breath. “We’ve got Dana’s funeral. It’s here in the city. At twilight.”

“Don’t wolves usually have some kind of special thing they do? I mean when my parents died, I remember going to Jax’s country house. Mom and Dad weren’t wolves, but Jax, well, he did it his way,” she explained. “Buried them on his property. They’ve got headstones but he told me that wolves don’t.”

“Well, yeah, that’s true. We usually bury the body on our land. ‘From the earth we came and back into the earth we go’ and all that stuff. We use scent and then later, memory, to know where someone’s been buried,” Logan described. “But Dana, she’s a hybrid. She was pretty much raised by her human mother. Her father died in a challenge when she was younger.”

“What happens during a challenge?” Wynter asked.

“Anyone can challenge an Alpha if they want to lead the pack. Honestly, though, it doesn’t happen very often.” Except when you become Alpha like I did. “You fight…as wolf.”

“Do challenges always end in death?”

Logan paused, wondering how much he should tell her. Marcel had killed Dana’s father during a particularly nasty battle for power. Everyone in the pack knew and accepted the fact without bitterness. It was pack law. He himself had threatened to kill the next wolf who challenged him, to quell dissension.

“Not usually but occasionally it happens. Not all with wolves is dark, nor is it light,” he asserted. “The bottom line is that too many challenges to the Alpha disrupt the flow of nature. When it’s going on, there’s no peace. It’s not good for anyone in the pack.”

“Yeah, I can see how if people are always peckin’ at the Alpha, they wouldn’t ever feel like they could rest. I mean, how is the Alpha supposed to be leading if he’s always in a sparring match?”

“So like I was sayin’, Dana’s mother raised her. And her family’s plot is in St. Lafayette cemetery. She’ll be interred there.”

“But why at sundown? Don’t the cemeteries close at night?”

“Yes and that’s exactly why we prefer it at night. She may have human family, but she’s got us too. Wolves may want to shift. We don’t need spectators or tourists. No, this’ll be private. It may not be what I would want for myself, but the least we can do is support Dana’s wishes. Generations of her kin have been put in that plot.”

“I’ll come with you if you want,” Wynter offered quietly.

“Of course you will, sweetheart. I’m not leavin’ you alone for a second,” Logan told her with a kiss to her shoulder. “After we leave the funeral, we’re taking off. Goin’ bayou. It’ll make it harder for this psycho to find you. Plus the full moon is in two nights.”

“It is?”

“Yes, it is. But you know that, don’t you?” he chuckled.

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean I want it to come. I mean, who knows what’s going to happen to me? Could be anything. Or nothing.”

“Or something in between. Either way, I’ll be there for you, Wyn. No matter what, you can count on me,” he said with conviction. “You can trust me.”

“Logan,” Wynter paused. The thought of shifting was terrifying. “I’m scared. I know I can’t control what’s happened. But I do…I trust you.’”

Logan’s heart warmed at her words. She really did trust him and not just with the shift either. Yet he still hadn’t told her that he’d gone and marked her. That wasn’t the kind of man he was. To go any longer withholding the truth would not only be disingenuous but could forever fracture their relationship.

“Listen, Wynter, I’ve got to tell you something…something I should have told you earlier,” Logan began.

“Hmm…yes.’ Wynter reached out, seeking Logan’s wrist. Once found, she wrapped her hands onto his forearms, and brought them around her waist.

“Today, in the conference room.” How the hell was he supposed to tell her he’d lost control?

“Ooh, is this dirty story time? Because that one is my favorite,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. All the talk about the funeral and death weighed heavily on her mind. “Once upon a time there was a wolf and his secretary. I love this one.”