Page 66 of Logan’s Acadian Wolves

“Regrets?” Logan wondered if she was having second thoughts.

“No way,” she replied decidedly. “It feels like I’ve been asleep my whole life, and now? It’s an awakening of sorts. I’ve never in my life known anyone like you, Logan. Tonight…it was incredible.”

“And I’ve never met anyone like you, either.” Logan pressed his lips to her hair. “I’ve never taught a human to be wolf. Even tonight, Wyn, it won’t be a sliver of what you’ll feel tomorrow.”

“Lying there exposed like that…having my eyes covered helped me to concentrate. The only thing missing was how I will see when I’m a wolf. I’m super-excited about getting badass night vision,” she laughed.

“You’re something, you know that?”

“How so?”

“You’re like this little livewire. The secretary thing…I’m still not over that. And waking up to what you did to me the other morning….those things just don’t happen to guys every day.”

“Not even to Alphas?” she asked coyly.

“Not even to Alphas,” he stated truthfully, “even ones as old as me.”

“How old are you?”

“Old enough.”

“Old enough that you remember the turn of the nineteenth century?” she guessed, knowing both wolves and vampires lived a long time.

“Old enough,” he repeated, smiling at her insistence. Another reason why he was falling in love with her. She was tenacious.

“Come on, you have to tell me. I’m going to be your mate. Let’s see…old enough to remember President Lincoln?”

“You really want to know? I don’t want my young hot mate running for the hills when she finds out,” he joked.

“Yes, I do. I love that you’ve experienced the world. Well, maybe not the women part but I don’t mind, really.”

“Born 1871. President Ulysses S. Grant was in office. So I missed President Lincoln by a few years.”

Wynter silently computed the years in her head. “One hundred and forty-two.”

“You got it.” He gave her a tight hug. “Yeah, things were different then. Simpler but harder. I wouldn’t exactly say, ‘good ole days’. I love the technology we’ve got now.”

“Are your parents still alive?” Wynter drew lazy circles on his stomach.

“Yes ma’am. Papá and Maman took to traveling a few years ago.”

“Are they from New Orleans too?”

“Yes and no. Maman came over from France in the early 1700s. Papá, he arrived as part of the Spanish rule a few years later. Nowadays, they travel around the world but still stop home from time to time. I traveled a lot as a pup too,” he reminisced. “They’re going to love you, sweetheart.”

“I wish you could have met my Mom and Dad. God, I miss them. When they died, I was so angry.”

“How did they pass?”

“I was told it was a carjacking…they’d been downtown. It all happened so suddenly. When you’re a kid like that…well, I never got closure. Maybe that’s what bothered me most.” Wynter really didn’t want to talk about it. She’d worked so hard to learn how to accept the loss. She watched the firelight frolic across the cathedral ceiling and stark walls.

“I like your house.” She changed the subject.

“Thanks. It still needs work, but I couldn’t spend another night in Marcel’s place. It’s a reminder of his death and my tumultuous birth as Alpha. The good memories outweigh the bad, but I figure it’s time I make a few new memories of my own.” Logan smiled. “You could help me, you know. I mean, we haven’t talked about it, but I want you here with me…in my home. Wait until you see the wildlife. It’s beautiful.”

He didn’t want to freak her out but he’d be lying if he said that he’d accept her living anywhere else but with him. He knew it might not be easy for either of them. But the strength of the mating bond drove their attraction, the need to be physically close. They could fight it and try to live apart, but he knew it would be excruciating. Still, empathizing with her human mores, he trod lightly around the subject. They had time to get to know each other while she stayed with him, at least until they caught the killer.

Did Logan just ask her to live with him? Wynter wasn’t sure what exactly he was saying. If they mated, did that mean they were married? She felt as if she’d gone to Las Vegas and got involved in some quickie wedding. And even though once upon a time, her conservative nature wouldn’t have entertained the idea, she was too far gone. She’d fallen in love with Logan, the man and the wolf. She couldn’t understand how she could feel so intensely so quickly. As much as she wanted to tell him, she couldn’t. She hadn’t even considered what would happen to their relationship once they mated or even after they were finally out of danger.