Fated Hearts (Echoes of Darkness Prequel)

28

Ava

A s I put my jeans on, a weird feeling seizes my chest. I’m nervous as fuck about seeing Logan, but it’s not that. It’s something different, as if the mating bond is alerting me of Logan’s presence. It vibrates and makes my skin tingle as goosebumps spread all over my body. Then a loud knock comes from the front door, and I stride toward it, my stomach fisting into a ball of restless energy. My palm is so sweaty that my hand slips when I grab the handle.

Before I can open the door fully, Logan barrels inside and pulls me into his big arms. A shudder passes through him as he bands an arm across my middle, and brings the other to the nape of my neck, holding me possessively while he buries his nose into my hair and closes the door with his heel at the same time.

His woodsy smell envelops me like a cloud, and my heart slams into my ribcage so hard I’m surprised my ribs are still intact. The mating bond purrs between my ribs as my wolf finally settles for the first time in hours. A sense of complete peace encompasses me. I’d like to say I’m allotting myself a few more seconds of pure bliss before I pull back, but the truth is I physically can’t move; my wolf is not allowing me to. She’s locking my muscles while she basks in the warmth rolling off Logan and sinking deep into my bones.

“Fuck, baby. Don’t ever run away from me again. I went crazy looking for you,” he says roughly.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper and swallow hard. “But seeing that look of utter guilt on your face, Logan, it nearly destroyed me. I felt as though someone clawed my heart right out of my chest. I know I acted irrationally…letting my emotions get the best of me, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was get away from you.”

“I know, baby. I know.” Logan pulls back. His gaze zeros in on my lips. A long heartbeat passes before he frames my jaw with his big hand, tracing my lower lip with his thumb, his touch, and the way his body feels against mine, igniting my blood and soaking my panties. “I’m dying to kiss you. Can I kiss you?”

There’s nothing I want more. However, I don’t tell him that. I slip out of his hold and look down, my fingers clenching at my sides as my teeth sink into my lower lip. “What about your fiancé?” That black hole in my chest is cracked wide open again, threatening to swallow me whole.

He runs a hand over his face. “I was never engaged. I was supposed to get engaged yesterday.”

I shake my head and finally lift my eyes to his, my eyebrows pinching in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Let’s take a seat, and I’ll explain everything,” he says, urging me to sit on the couch. He takes off his jacket, drapes it on the back of the couch, and heaves out a deep sigh as he plops down next to me. I can’t stop roving my eyes over the entire length of his body. He looks incredible in jeans and a baby blue tee that stretches over his muscles like second skin and makes his amber skin pop.

“As an Alpha to the pack, I am obligated to take a mate before the age of twenty-five; otherwise, the pack was going to be weakened. But I knew I had a fated mate out there somewhere, and I couldn’t just settle for a chosen mate. I waited and waited and never lost my hope that my fated mate would eventually come to me.”

He pauses, swallows, and then continues, “Then the children of my pack got touched by the weakness and fell into an endless sleep. I suddenly found myself between a rock and a hard place. I did a lot of research in the hopes of finding a cure, but not even Malik was able to bring them back past a certain point. It was just going to get worse and worse from there. The weakness would eventually spread to the whole pack. So, I promised to get engaged to Grace, a wolf from a neighboring pack, a month before my twenty-fifth birthday and marry a chosen mate the day I turned twenty-five. I have never even kissed Grace. Hell, I’ve only met her once. That’s it. I was going to marry her and make her my mate because I had to.”

“Wait. Um, so you didn’t get engaged to her after all?” I interrupt, fumbling with my fingers in my lap because I suddenly don’t know what to do with my hands.

“No, Ava. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I didn’t. She went home. Her father, the Alpha of the Ironclaw pack, was not happy about it when I told them I had found my fated mate, even if fated mates are sacred to our kind. Turns out he was a piece of shit and only wanted to marry Grace to me because of his gambling debts. Anyway, when the truth came out, I offered to pay off his debt as a consolation gift for Grace, and they eventually left.”

“But what about the kids?”

“They woke up the moment we completed the mating bond. That was the only thing needed to cure the children and then strengthen the pack; the wedding was just a formality.”

I take a moment to sit with what he just told me. “Why didn’t you tell me? When we were at the cabin, you could have said something.”

His shoulders slump. “Honestly…I was ashamed and afraid of your reaction. The days I spent with you at the cabin were the best days of my life. I have never known such happiness, such peace.”

His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, and he places a warm hand over mine before continuing. “And deep down, I knew I had to tell you, but I was afraid you would think I betrayed you somehow, that I accepted to take a chosen mate when all I ever wanted was my fated. And I got so lost in you, that I completely forgot about my responsibilities as an Alpha and the engagement party. It felt good not to have the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders for a weekend.”

“I can understand that, Logan…that you were in a difficult position. I just wish you would have told me.”

“I was going to. I know it sounds like I’m just saying this right now, but I never meant to hurt you. I need you so much, baby. I can’t live without you. You’re everything to me. Please forgive me.”

I look down, slip my hand from under Logan’s big one, and scoot over with the intention of standing up. “I don’t know, Logan. I need some time to thin—”

Before I can finish my sentence or stand, Logan pulls me in his lap in one smooth motion. His fingers bite into my hips as he maneuvers me on top of him so my knees are on either side of his muscular thighs, his huge erection pressing right at my center. His lips crash to mine, and his silken tongue invades my mouth, rendering me stupid. Desire surges in my veins as Logan kisses me so thoroughly he steals the breath in my lungs along with any rational thought I might have.

Logan gets up with me wrapped around his body, and with long strides, he ambles to the bed and throws me on top of it. His hand slips inside my shirt and cups my breast as his finger brushes over my taut nipple, eliciting a desperate whimper from my mouth. His other hand unbuttons my jeans and unzips them with hurried movements before his fingers glide into my panties and find my soaked slit.

“Your pussy is dripping for me, baby,” he rasps through our mental link and shoves two fingers inside me, pumping them in a maddening rhythm as the heel of his palm rubs into my clit. He continues to kiss me ravenously as he moves his fingers, and feral sounds that I don’t even recognize leap from deep within my chest.

“Aaaah…so good, Logan. I’m so close!”

He suddenly pulls back.

My eyebrows furrow. “Why did you stop?”

We’re both breathing hard, our chests heaving as he brings the fingers that were inside me to his mouth and licks them clean. His tongue darts out, tracing his lips like he doesn’t want to waste even a drop of my arousal before saying, “I need to be inside you. And, baby, you can take as much time as you want to think, but I told you before, I’m not above playing dirty, and I’ll use every trick in my arsenal to keep you because you’re my fated mate, and I will never let you go.”

With rapid movements, Logan peels off my jeans along with my lacy thong that he brings to his nose, inhaling the scrap of material deeply before pocketing it with a wink. When he opens his zipper, his massive cock juts out. He enters me with a hiss as our eyes lock. Golden fire sends my pulse into overdrive, and a loud moan tumbles free from my lips.

His nostrils flare as his hips start moving painstakingly slow, so slow I feel every inch of his cock deliciously ravaging my insides.

“You wreck me, Ava.” Thrust. “You’re all I fucking think about every second of every goddamn day, and if you think you can run away from me again, you are sorely mistaken, because. You. Are. Mine.” Thrust.

“You’re all I see.” Thrust.

“You’re running through my veins.” Thrust.

“You’re the breath in my lungs.” Thrust.

“The tether to my soul.” Thrust.

“Mine!” Thrust.

“I’ll chase you to the end of the Earth and beyond if I have to.”

As soon as he finishes saying that, he picks up the rhythm, and soon, pleasure zips through me like a lightning storm. My pussy spasms violently around Logan’s cock and triggers his own release. He comes with a deafening roar and rolls over, draping me over his chest.

“Fuck. I needed that,” he says with a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“Me too,” I whisper through a yawn. The orgasm has left me boneless, and soon enough, exhaustion starts pulling at my eyelids, the steady rhythm of Logan’s heartbeat and the warmth emanating from his body lulling me to sleep.

The peace is only momentary. The sound of a phone ringing slices through the air and startles me awake.

Logan groans as his arms tighten around me. “Ignore it.”

The phone starts ringing again.

“Maybe you should answer. It might be something important.”

“Nothing is more important than being with you right now.”

His phone rings again, and he growls in frustration, finally sliding out from under me gently and pushing up from the bed. He takes it out of his jeans and stabs at the screen before bringing it to his ear. “What?” he clips out, annoyance dripping from his tone. “You better have a good reason for interrupting me, Em.”

“Logan, something happened.” Emily’s concerned voice reaches my ears.

I don’t intend to listen to their conversation, but I can’t help it.

Emily swallows audibly before saying, “Josh is dead.”

All the color drenches from Logan’s face, his expression crestfallen. “What?” he asks with urgency. “What happened?”

“It was the rogue. Josh was on patrol on the eastern border. He was killed so close to our community, Lo.”

Bile surges in my throat at Emily’s words, and I’m suddenly reminded that just a few days ago, Tony was murdered, too. I push the harrowing memory of how he died away as I bend and take my jeans from the floor, then pull them on. Logan needs me right now.

“Motherfucking fuck!” Logan bellows and slams his eyes shut as his fingers fist at his side. His whole body is shaking, fury emanating from him like plumes of fog from dry ice. “Does Layla know? Ryan?”

“Not yet. We just found him. And, Lo…there’s something else. The rogue left a note. It’s addressed to you.”

“I’ll be there. Don’t let anyone else know, and don’t move his body. I have to be the one that gives Layla the news.” He opens his eyes and rakes his hand through his curls in frustration. “Fuck! I’m going to blow up her entire world.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know…But they just got their son back. Ryan only got to spend a few hours with his dad, and now Josh is dead. That poor kid.”

“Is Ava with you?”

“Yeah, I’m at her place.”

“The rogue, he…You need to keep her safe. The rogue might be after her.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll understand once you’ll see the note. Just come back home.”

“Okay. Wait for me,” Logan says grimly. He slides his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, but he doesn’t move. Rather, he’s paralyzed by tension and twitching fingers as his eyes turn glassy.

Standing and closing the small space between us, I envelop Logan in a tight hug. His arms come around me like steel bands, and he clings to me with desperation as though I’m both his lifeline and the only thing that’s tethering him to sanity. Raw pain mixed with sadness and white-hot fury filters through my veins until my wolf goes crazy. My eyebrows knit in confusion at the foreign emotions sieging me. Then, a gasp tumbles free from my mouth when I realize I can feel what Logan is feeling at this moment through our bond. The pain is debilitating, like a black hole of despair cleaving me in two. I can’t stop the tears that stab at the back of my eyes from falling and rolling over my cheeks.

I don’t know how long we stand here, clinging to each other. It might be minutes or hours. After a while, Logan pulls back. He gently thumbs away the tears from my damp cheeks before clearing his throat. His voice comes out rough and scratchy as he says, “I need to go back to our community in the national park. There are a lot of things that I need to take care of. Will you come with me? I won’t be able to concentrate on anything if I don’t have eyes on you at all times.”

Sighing, I say, “My best friend Chloe is visiting. I don’t want to upset you even more, but she’s only staying a few days...I want to spend some time with her. I missed her like crazy. She wants me to stay at her hotel until she leaves. Plus, I’m working tonight. I can’t blow off work.”

Logan’s nostrils flare. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Emily said something about the rogue…that he might come after you. I can’t risk you getting hurt, baby. I just can’t.”

I step back from his arms and fold my lower lip between my teeth, gnawing on it. “I can’t live my life in fear. Besides, you will be busy with pack matters, and I don’t think me interfering or meeting everyone at a time like this is a good idea. And Chloe’s boyfriend is a famous musician. He’s got an army of bodyguards following him and Chloe everywhere. I’ll be safe staying with them, and then when she leaves, I’ll come stay with you, or we can work something else out until you find the rogue.”

He sucks on his teeth and mulls over what I said. The muscle feathering in his jaw clearly indicates that he’s not exactly happy, but he reluctantly agrees. “Fine. You’ll stay with your friend, and I’ll go inform the pack and plan Josh’s funeral. But I’ll assign a security detail from my pack to watch the hotel and accompany you to the bar. Just promise me you won’t leave the hotel, okay?”

I nod. “Promise.”

Logan strides to the kitchen area and paces the room while making a few calls, letting Kaiden know about Josh’s death, and arranging the security detail. In the meantime, I text Chloe and tell her I’m ready to go. After twenty minutes, my phone vibrates with a text message.

Chloe: I’m waiting outside in the car. Blacked-out Escalade. Xx

Me: K. See you in five. X

“Chloe’s here. She’s waiting for me in the car downstairs, ” I tell Logan. After he grabs my overnight bag, we both get out of my apartment and stride toward the elevator. Unexpectedly, Logan reaches for my hand before entwining his fingers with mine. My pulse hiccups at how my palm fits in his big one. I know we’re just holding hands and that he just fucked me three ways to Sunday, but I can’t help feeling giddy at the small gesture.

The blacked-out Escalade is idling in front of the building. Before I can say anything, Logan drops my hand and pulls me to him, his lips slanting over mine in a soul-scorching kiss. He takes his time as he languidly explores my mouth until everything around us fades into a blurry background. When he pulls back, I’m flushed all over. You wouldn’t think, that after the way he fucked me earlier, I would get turned on so easily, but here we are, ladies and gentlemen. I’m dripping. Again.

Logan smirks, dipping down to whisper in the shell of my ear. “The smell of your arousal is making me crazy, little wolf. All I want is to strip you naked and sink my cock into that perfect pussy again. I can’t wait to have you in my bed. I’m going to worship your body for hours.”

I whimper in response and melt in his arms like butter on warm toast, his hot breath eliciting tingles all over my body. His lips find mine again, but as we start kissing fervently, we’re interrupted by Chloe opening the door of the SUV and clearing her throat with cartoonish exaggeration.

“You’re going to get arrested for public indecency if you keep going like that. I think you gave a granny on the sidewalk a heart attack,” she chuckles out as she exits the car, slams the door shut, and closes the space between us. “So, I guess it’s safe to say you two made up.” She thrusts her right hand in Logan’s direction, and they shake hands. “I’m Chloe.”

“Logan. It’s nice meeting you, Chloe.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “I’m not so sure if it’s nice meeting you, too, Logan,” she drawls. With a saccharine smile, she says, “If you make my bestie cry ever again, I’ll cut up your balls in your sleep.”

Logan’s lips twist in amusement. “Don’t worry. If that ever happens again, I’ll cut up my own balls, and then I’ll gift you the knife to cut off my dick, too.”

“Deal,” Chloe says, folding her arms in front of her chest. She reaches for the overnight bag in Logan’s hand. “I’ll take this.”

The driver quickly exits the car, all flustered. “Miss Lim, let me get that for you.” He takes the bag from Logan before Chloe can reach it and places it in the trunk.

“Thanks, Allan. And I told you a hundred times before, call me Chloe, please.”

I lift an eyebrow and snort a laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Lim. We wouldn’t want you to break a precious nail,” I drawl with mock aggravation.

She rolls her eyes and then gives me a dirty look. “Oh, shut up. Can we go? Knox is waiting for us. They just finished rehearsal.”

“Yeah,” I say.

Logan gives me one last hug and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll call you. Be safe.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and watches us get into the SUV. Allan puts the car into drive and glides smoothly into the traffic as I say hello to the hunky bodyguard in the passenger seat.

“Dude, you didn’t tell me how fucking hot he is,” Chloe says as she fans herself. “Jesus fucking Christ, that man is fine as hell, and he’s so goddamn tall and muscly. So, is he engaged or not? Because if he’s stringing you along, I swear to God, Ave, I’ll slash his tires and set his house on fire. I don’t care how hot he is.”

“He’s not. It was all a misunderstanding.” Just as I finish telling Chloe this, my phone starts ringing. I pull it out from the pocket of my jacket. Marnie’s name appears on the screen, and I answer, sinking into the buttery soft leather of the seat. “Hey, Marnie.”

“Hey, Ava.” She sighs and takes a few seconds to blow her nose. I can tell she’s been crying. “I think you already heard the news about Tony.”

“Yeah, Emily told me,” I blurt out and then have a mini panic attack because I don’t know if she has spoken to Emily yet.

“What happened to him is so sad. He was such a kind soul and so young…he didn’t deserve to go like that. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be closing the bar this week, possibly next week, too. It just doesn’t feel right to entertain people while we’re mourning. His mom was a very good friend of mine. I saw Tony grow up and become a wonderful man.” She heaves out another weighted sigh. “I’ll be helping her with everything she might need. I’ll let you know when the funeral is; maybe you’ll want to come.”

“Thanks for letting me know. Of course, I want to come. Tony has become a very good friend in the short time I’ve known him.” My voice breaks, and I bite my lip, sniffling, a fresh curtain of tears blurring my vision. “Please let me know if you need any help.”

“There’s no need, we’ll handle it. I’ll let you know about the funeral. Bye, Ava.”

“’Kay, Marnie. Bye.”

A mournful sob leaves me as I press my trembling hand to the center of my heaving chest. I close my eyes and take deep breaths, but it only makes it worse because in the darkness, I see the rogue tearing into Tony again and again in vivid detail, his helpless body torn to pieces on the blood-soaked ground. I was so wrapped up in Logan I pushed Tony’s horrible death into a corner of my mind and then labeled it ‘Later.’ It was deliberate, of course. I just couldn’t deal with it, so I thought that maybe if I kept it there, it wouldn’t hurt as much…later, but now I feel as if my lungs are collapsing and my already shattered heart is being stomped all over by an elephant.

The dam breaks, and I start ugly crying again for the umpteenth time today. I thought I had a broken heart before the transplant, but it’s nothing compared to how I’m feeling right now.

“What the fuck? Who was that? Why are you crying again?” Chloe asks, alarmed, from beside me.

“My f-friend T-tony. H-he’s…he’s dead.”

She hugs me tightly. “Holy shit, Ave, I’m so sorry.” She tightens her hold, placing a kiss atop my head. After I calm down, she pulls back and looks into my eyes. “We’ll hole up in my room and order everything they have on the menu for room service. We’ll pig out and do a movie marathon. How does that sound?”

I wipe at my tear-streaked cheeks and offer her a half-smile that I bet looks more like a grimace. “Like heaven.”