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Ian smiled at him. “I haven’t seen you this interested in anything since you came. You like doing this kind of thing, don’t you?”
Logan shrugged. “It’s what I was trained for. I can’t just sit around all day, Ian. It would drive me crazy. ”
Ian nodded, chewing on the inside of his lip thoughtfully“Okay, honey. I hate the idea of putting you in harm’s way, but if I was there with you, maybe. Let me talk to Marco. It’s worth a try. ”
“Are you serious? You’d actually trust me to go with you?”
Ian was silent for a long moment and then looked him directly at him. “Of course. I’ll talk to Marco. ”
“Absolutely not. It’s out of the question. ” Marco slammed his fist down on the table as he spoke, making Ian frown. “Why? It makes perfect sense. ” Ian stood up and paced around the room. “Logan knows the layout and the operation better than anyone. He’s been trained in munitions and knows how to set up a remote switch. I would go along, mainly as muscle in case we encountered any guards, but Logan said we could watch them and verify their schedule before we make the attempt. ”
“Logan says, Logan says. ” Casey stood up and addressed Ian. “I’m sorry, but he hasn’t been turned long enough. He’s barely had time to come out of the transition, and he was a Hunter. How do you know he’s not saying all this just to get himself back to his people and get you captured?”
Ian tried to hold onto his temper. “I trust Logan with my life. He was a Hunter, past tense. He’s Werekin now, my mate. You know how the mating bite works as well as I do. ”
“I know it’s possible to defy it!”
“If you don’t know it, he also despiseshis father!”
“Enough!” Marco ordered, furious atCasey’s reminderof Nicky’s defiance even if Rory had gone through some as well.
Suffering a stab of guilt, Ian knew it too. The defiance thing was something he hadn’t included when he told Logan why Nicky had stopped feeding. He did tell Logan he could reject their mating, but he hadn’t gone into details on how he had to defy the mating changes and compulsions to do it.
Marco shook his head. “Please, everyone sit down. Let’s try to discuss this reasonably. Ian, it’s not that I don’
t trust Logan. I do. I still think it’s too dangerous for just two men. ”
“Then others can come along to guard the perimeter of the warehouse—take care of any guards, but the operation itself is best for only two men. ” He slanted a look at Casey. “Actually, it would be better for two human-sized males to do. My size or any wolf’s will stand out and draw attention. I thought the perfect wolf for the job would be Rory. ”
Casey jumped back to his feet, fury on his face. “No! Not just no, but hell no! Leave my mate out of this crazy plan!”
“I anticipated you’d feel that way. I simply said he would be perfect for the job. He’s a wolf, but smaller than the rest of us. ”
Casey threw himself back in his chair. “Out of the question!”
Marco spoke up, looking concerned. “Ian, I understand how important this could be, but you can’t ask any of us to risk our mates. It would upset the entire pack if something happened to one of them. ”
“I know. Although I would like to point out I’d be putting my own mate at risk. I’m willing to do that, though, as long as I can go along to protect him, like I’m sure each and every one of you would want to do. ”
Marco narrowed his eyes at Ian. “Uh-huh. I see what you’re doing, Ian, but I still think it’s too dangerous. Maybe if we sent a small group in, say, four wolves. Do you think it could be managedwith that?”
“Three wolves and Logan. ”
Marco smiled and nodded. “All right. Agreed. ”
Casey spoke up. “As battle leader, I claim a place on the team. ”
Marco nodded. “I’ll go along too. ”
Casey and Ian both immediately objected. Marco held up a hand for quiet. “If this mission succeeds, it could mean the end to the fighting for years to come. We might even be able to forge a truce with the Hunters that could lead to a lasting peace. It’s the job of an alpha to lead his people, and I want to do that. I’m going. ”
He turned to the opening door, again signalingfor silence. “I have Nicky and Rory coming in to meetLogan,” Marco stated.
Logan arrived first, brought in by one of the gammas. He looked around the room in uncertainty until his eyes fell on Casey and the look of hostility on his face. He frowned, thinking nothing good was going to happen, but looked down, not challenging him by holding his gaze. Ian cleared his throat, and immediately Logan raised his head and started over toward him. Before he reached him, the door opened behind him. Nicky and Rory entered. Logan stopped and stared at the newcomers.
Recognizing who was who wasn’t difficult. Nicky, dressed in tight black leather pants, had golden hair tucked in curls behind his ears. He gave everyone a big smile as he came in, looking around the room with interest. When he spotted Marco at the head of the table his smile grew even wider, and he sauntered over to him to plop down on the chair arm next to him and twined his arm around his neck. Marco laughed indulgently and leaned up to kiss him with a possessive air. Logan was shocked as he watched them. Rory followed in a more sedate manner, walking over to stand beside Casey’s chair, as befit the dignity of a wolf. He did squeeze Casey’s hand when he offered it, his only acknowledgement of their bond.
Ian watched Nicky with a strangely wistful look. A sharp stab of some unfamiliar emotion ran through Logan. He didn’t want Ian looking at anyone like that. Ever. Nicky was beautiful—there was no other word to describe him. Oddly, though he hung all over Marco, he didn’t look gay at all, if there was such a look. He was lean, but muscular and had a manly swagger with nothing feminine in his movements. Everything Logan had ever been taught on the subject of homosexual love was topsy-turvy. Watching the men openly express their affection only made him feel worse. He walked over to Ian and touched his shoulder. He was rewarded with a warm smile, but he still had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.
