by Stormy Glenn
Love frowned. “What is a beta-mate?”
“It’s a formal thing, Love. It’s only acceptable for someone in the clan to address us by our birth names. Anyone else calling us by our names would be an insult and should be immediately dealt with. So, if anyone outside of the clan calls you anything but beta-mate, you let me know.”
Love nodded. He was still confused. “There’s a lot of rules with being mated to you, isn’t there?”
“There are, but I have no doubt you’ll learn them in time.”
Love leaned closer to Logan so he could whisper in his ear. “Will they take my ears from me?”
“No, Love, they won’t.”
Love smiled despite the worry growing in him. He didn’t know a thing about being the mate to a man of importance. He could barely take care of himself. Love wished he had a lollipop.
“Cáel, give me your phone.” The man instantly handed over his cell phone. Love watched with curiosity when a grin began to spread over Logan’s lips as he dialed a number then put the phone up to his ear.
“Who are you calling?” Love whispered.
Logan held up his hand. “Reed, it’s me. Yes, Love and I are safe. Cáel and Garen are here with us now. We’ll be home soon, but I need you to do something for me.”
Love started to feel anxious but not in a bad way. He held his breath.
“I need you to find me a set of fuzzy wolf ears and a handful of lollipops for Love.” Logan paused for a moment and glanced over at Love. “What flavor, Love?”
Love licked his lips, already anticipating the lollipops. “Cherry?”
Logan smiled. “Cherry, as many as you can find. No, Matt will know what to look for.” Logan nodded a couple of times. “Okay, then we’ll see you back at the house.” He snapped the phone closed and handed it back to Cáel.
“Your ears and lollipops are on the way, Love.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Love cried out in relief and jumped into Logan’s arms. He was thrilled down to his toes. It almost made the day he was having worth it.
Love felt the tension between his shoulder blades start to ease when Logan started purring. A feeling of calm came over him like the sound of Logan’s chest rumbling made everything better. It meant he was safe.
“You can keep the ears and lollipops,” Love whispered against Logan’s chest. “Just keep purring”
Logan chuckled. Love felt the man’s large hand brush the back of his head in a gentle caress. “You don’t have to choose, baby. You can have both.”
“Beta,” one of the men behind Love said, “I hesitate to interrupt, but we are too exposed out here. We must get you and your mate to safety.”
Love felt Logan tense, and he knew the man was worried for him. He would have preferred to stay exactly where he was, but he wasn’t dumb. After what happened today, Love knew they needed to get to safety.
Love leaned his head back and looked up into Logan’s worried face. “He’s right. I only killed Mick. He had others working with him. We need to get to safety before they find us.”
Logan’s thumb stroked down the side of Love’s face. “Are you sure, baby?”
“Are you serious?” Love laughed harshly. “I’m pretty damn sure I’ve lost what little of my mind that I had. I’m not sure about anything else except that we’re still in danger. If going back to your place means we stay safe, so be it.”
“Our place, Love.”
Love rolled his eyes. “We’ll discuss it.”
Chapter 10
Logan worried when Love’s head rolled against his arm. The man was out cold, which was weird considering how worked up he had been an hour ago. They had climbed into the car Cáel and Garen brought, and Love crawled right into his arms, curling close and closing his eyes.
Logan didn’t want him anywhere else. He didn’t even complain about Love not wearing a seatbelt. Holding Love in his arms seemed more important at the moment. Logan just needed to have his mate close, to breathe in his sweet scent and know Love was alive. He needed to feel Love’s heart beat next to his.
“We’re almost there,” Cáel said from the driver’s seat.
“Good,” Logan replied, forcing himself to look away from Love’s bruised face. “I want the compound locked down and double the guards. I also want the entire place searched, every building, every home. If anyone protests, they can talk to me.”
“Yes, beta.”
“We were taken from inside the compound, Cáel, right outside my front door. And Mick Red was here before at the moon festival. He knew the layout, and he knew where I lived. He knew about Love.”
“Is his name really Love?” Garen asked.
“Yes, it is.” Logan arched an eyebrow. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, no, just asking. I wasn’t sure if it was proper to call him that without losing my head.”
Logan chuckled, suddenly seeing the amusement in the situation. “Yes, his name is Love Star, so named by his mother, Moon Star.” Logan clutched Love tightly when the car suddenly swerved. “Watch what you’re doing!”
“Did you say Moon Star?”
Logan met Cáel’s wide eyes in the rearview mirror. “Yes, why?”
Cáel shook his head, his eyes going back to the road.
“Cáel, if you know something that concerns Love, I need to hear it.”
“I’m probably wrong, Logan.”
Love whimpered and pressed his face closer to Logan’s chest when his heart began to beat faster. Logan stroked the silky black hair back from Love’s face and tried to calm himself enough to purr for his mate. Once he did, Love calmed down and went back to sleep.
Logan looked up and caught Cáel’s eyes in the rearview mirror again. “Tell me,” he said softly. He breathed in and out slowly, keeping control of his temper.
“Several years ago, before I joined this clan, I met a woman at another gathering. Her name was Moon Star. We spent the weekend together and then I got called home. I never saw her again.”
Logan mulled Cáel’s words around in his head, trying to see a possible connection to his mate. Granted, Moon Star was an odd name and probably not very common. That didn’t mean they were the same person. She could have been anyone.
“It was a clan gathering?” Logan asked.
Cáel nodded.
“Did she know about us?”
“She knew,” Cáel replied.
Logan drew in a relieved sigh. “Then it couldn’t be the same woman. Love knew nothing about us before I told him. If this woman was his mother, then it would stand to reason she would have said something to him.”
“Unless she decided to keep it a secret,” Garen said from the passenger seat. “It’s possible.”
Logan looked at Cáel again. “How long ago did you meet this woman?”
“How old is Love?”
Logan glanced down at Love and wondered the same thing. Cáel was several years older than Logan, but that didn’t matter much in the clan. Wolf shifters tended to live longer than humans.
The mere thought made Logan’s heart ache. Now that he had found Love, he didn’t want to spend a moment without him. He knew being mated would extend Love’s life span, but there was no guarantee it would be as long as Logan’s.
“He goes to school with Matt. I suspect that they are about the same age.”
“I met Moon a little over twenty-five years ago.”
Logan swallowed hard. As Logan’s eyes met Cáel’s in the mirror, he felt a shock run through him. “Do you think…?”
“Anything is possible, Logan.”
Logan took a deep breath punctuated with several even gasps as the implications of Cáel’s words filled him. If what Cáel said was true and he had met Moon several years ago, the possibility of his being Love’s father was pretty high. Love could be a half breed.
Part of Logan was elated at the possibility. Love would be part wolf. He might have some of the abilities of a wolf-like scent and hearing, maybe even
the ability to grow claws. Love might be able to have ears and a tail.
Another part of Logan grieved at the possibility. Half breeds were not widely accepted in the clan, hell, in any clan. The animosity and hatred that would be sent in Love’s direction would destroy the sweet nature of the man’s personality.
The anguish and confusion Love would go through made Logan’s heart ache. He wasn’t even sure if it was allowed for Love to be his beta-mate if he was a half breed. Most were ostracized, banished from their clans.
“No one is to know of this, do you understand? If word were to get out, they could take Love from us.”
“Someone is bound to find out at some point, Logan,” Garen said as he turned in his seat to look back at him. “Wouldn’t it be better to be truthful right from the start, show a united front of support?”
Logan opened his mouth to argue, but Cáel interrupted him.
“I agree with Garen. If we show a united front, if we support Love and show everyone that we refuse to give him up, what can they do to us? You’ve already mated him, Logan. You’re already bonded. That can’t be undone.”
Logan felt proud of the way his men stood by his side. He took a moment to gain control when he felt tears prickle the corner of his eyes. “I thank you for your support, and Love would, too, if he wasn’t passed out.”
“Is he doing okay?”
Logan nodded. He could see Cáel looking through the rearview mirror trying to get a good look at Love. He frowned. “Keep your eyes on the road or he’s not going to be okay.”
“I’m just worried about him. He seems pretty out of it.”
“Of course you’re worried, Cáel.” Garen chuckled. “You’re his guardian, just like I am. It’s ingrained in us to care for the beta-mate.”
Logan smiled at the glare Cáel sent Garen. He knew it was more than the instincts of a guardian that made Cáel feel concerned about Love. If there were the least little bit of a possibility that Love cold be his son, Cáel would be ecstatic.
Cáel, being several years older than Logan, had been dreaming of finding his mate and having a family since Logan first met the man. If Love were his son, then half of his dream would be realized. The other half, well…
“Cáel, Moon wasn’t your mate, was she?”
“She was a wonderful woman, and I would have been very happy if she had been but, no, Moon was not my mate.” Cáel shook his head. “That might be why I never felt the strong need to track her down after we lost contact. It would have been unfair of me to keep her to myself when her mate could be waiting out there for her.”
“Not to mention your mate.” Garen chuckled.
“There is that.”
“Did you know Reed’s mate is a man?” Logan grinned when Garen’s mouth dropped open. There was some amusement in the shocked look on the man’s face.
“Reed’s mate is a man?” Garen asked. “I thought Barbara was Reed’s mate.”
“Nope, seems Reed has always known it, too. He just married Barbara because she showed up pregnant and he wasn’t going to give up his child, even if it meant taking her, too. He wasn’t in the least bit upset when she took off.”
“So, if Barbara wasn’t Reed’s mate,” Cáel asked, “who is?”
“Believe it or not, a friend of Love’s named Drea.”
“Drea Rutledge?” Carl asked. “Skinny little guy with blue hair?”
Logan nodded.
Cáel started laughing.
“What?” Logan asked.
“Reed is going to have a hell of a time keeping Drea under control. The kid is a regular firecracker. I spent most of last night keeping his ass out of trouble. It was like every unmated wolf in the clan was trying to hump him.”
Logan blinked. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack, man.” Cáel laughed again. “I even thought about giving the guy a go myself. I may be a bit older, but he’s damn hot.”
“He has blue hair, Cáel.”
“And?”
Logan burst out laughing as he shook his head. He hadn’t gotten that good of a look at Drea when the man arrived. He had been too focused on keeping him away from Love. Still, what he had seen didn’t do a damn thing for him. Love was much sexier.
And he didn’t have blue hair.
“To each his own I suppose, but Reed will have your head if you make a move toward Drea now. He could barely stand for me to be in the same room with Drea, and I’m his brother. No telling what he would do if you looked at Drea cross-eyed.”
“Oh, hell, I’m gonna need popcorn for this show.” Garen started laughing.
Logan enjoyed the man’s amusement. He imagined it would be just the sort of show Garen envisioned. Reed had been waiting a lot of years for his mate, and if the blue hair and arguing was anything to go by, he might be waiting a little longer. Logan didn’t think Drea was going to let Reed be the top dog all the time.
“Just remember that he’s Reed’s mate, okay? He deserves the same protection that Love does.” Logan pointed at both of his guardians. “And that includes protecting him from the two of you.”
“Ah, we know that, Logan,” Cáel said. “We would never poach another shifter’s mate. You just have to remember I’ve met Drea. Like I said, Reed is going to have one hell of time keeping him under control. The man has no filter on his mouth.”
“Must be why he’s such good friends with Love,” Logan said as he looked down at his sleeping mate. “They both seem to have trouble written all over them.”
Love’s facial bones were delicately curved, his mouth full and pouty. His features were so perfect, so symmetrical, that any more delicacy would have made Love too beautiful to be a man. In a word, Love’s beauty was exquisite and fragile all at the same time.
It was just a plus that Love’s mind worked in wonderfully wicked ways and he had an inner strength that rivaled Logan’s. Logan had no doubt whatsoever that Love was going to give him a run for his money. It was something Logan eagerly looked forward to.
After almost losing him twice, once when Love ran in fear from him and again when Mick kidnapped them both, Logan didn’t care if Love argued with him, stood up to him, or generally drove him crazy. Each moment would be a blessing.
“We’re here, Logan.”
Logan looked up just as they passed through the front gates of the clan compound. He was glad to see guards manning the towers on either side of the large gate. Even more guards were patrolling the fences that encircled the entire two hundred thousand acre compound. What couldn’t be patrolled frequently was monitored by cameras and an infrared tracking system.
Asher Stone had invested a lot of money in providing a safe place for his clan when he bought the place several years ago. No expense had been spared. He wanted to insure that his clan had a safe place to raise their families.
A guest compound sat near the front gates, encircled by fencing that kept it separate from the rest of the main compound. Guests were not allowed past the gates into the area where the clan lived. It was strictly forbidden.
The main compound itself consisted of several residential apartment buildings and separate houses, a main hall with an infirmary, cafeteria, and schoolhouse. There was also a training facility, a motor pool, and guard barracks.
Behind the main compound was a river, mountain range, and large forest for the clan to run through that went for miles. Logan even had a hidden cave in the mountains that towered over the small clan compound. He hoped to be able to show it to Love one day.
“Don’t forget to double the guard and have a search done of the entire compound,” Logan reminded Cáel and Garen. “I don’t know how Mick made it into the festival, but he had to know someone. He’s a coyote shifter, but he can mask his sent because his mother was a wolf.”
“A coyote?” Garen growled. “Nasty creatures.”
“Well, thanks to Love, Mick is dead, but his goons aren’t. Neither is his father from what I understand. Coyote or not, the man might take except
ion to a human killing his son. He might try and take revenge on Love.”
“We’ll protect him with our lives, beta,” Cáel said.
“I have no doubt of that. You’ve never let me down before. I see no reason for that to change now.” Logan grimaced as he looked into Love’s slumbering features. “Just try and make it look like you’re not guarding him. Love seems to have an issue with it.”
“Logan,” Cáel said slowly, “I have to tell you, I don’t think Love has an issue with us guarding him. It seems to me that he’s more concerned with us protecting you.”
Logan smiled and reached up to stroke his hand down the side of Love’s face. Cáel was right. Love hadn’t balked about Cáel and Garen guarding him. His issue had been with them not protecting Logan as he felt they should.
“He’s amazing, huh?”
Cáel chuckled. “He is something all right.”
“He’s going to keep you on your toes,” Logan said.
“Yeah.” Cáel smirked. “I kind of got that when he threatened to gut us with a knife.”
Logan grinned. He couldn’t help it. Love was a fierce little thing that was just as likely to be blown over by a stiff wind as he was to be shorter than most everyone he knew. No one looking at the five-foot-six man would ever think he could fight anything.
And yet he did, saving Logan’s life and his own. Love was a mix of bravery and fear, wit and uncertainty. He was perfect. He would make a perfect beta-mate. Logan couldn’t have been more blessed with a mate if he had handpicked Love himself.
Now he just had to keep Love safe.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Logan opened the door. Cáel and Garen were both waiting beside the car when he scooted out, holding Love in his arms. Logan was in no way surprised when the two men flanked him as he carried Love toward his apartment.
Logan didn’t even need to say anything. He stopped by the door and waited as Garen went inside and checked the place over. It took about ten minutes, as Garen was also checking for bugs, cameras, and any type of explosive device besides intruders.
“Cáel, I think we need to consider moving my apartment to the second floor next to my office. The gathering room can be converted into an apartment without too much hassle, and it’s right next door. We can put a door in between the two rooms.”
