As they drove home past St James’s Park, Logan pointed out the window. “Fancy a run later?”
“Yeah, okay.”
The McKillan pack were based in Westminster.
As mid-level ranking pack members, Logan and Aaron had studio flats in Pimlico. McKillan liked to keep his pack together. The area was lovely, but often Logan wished they lived in a place where you got more for your money. An actual bedroom would be nice.
At least they didn’t have trouble parking.
With the cut down on cars since shifters had come into power, it was never an issue any more.
Even in London.
Aaron pulled in front of their building and let out a heavy sigh when he turned off the engine. “Home sweet home.”
Logan glanced up at the windows. Humans lived in these flats as well.
All of them affiliated to the McKillan pack.
Logan wondered how many of them would still be human this time next year. And how many of them had felt like he suspected Cole Moreton did.
Their earlier conversation rang in his mind.
“Packs can get a little... aggressive when they want something badly enough.”
“Yeah, we’ve all heard the rumours about yours.”
If only they were just rumours.
Aaron and Logan had flats on the same floor.
They reached Logan’s first.
“I’m gonna fill in my report on today’s candidates, then come get you about nine?”
The sun would just be setting. “Yeah, perfect.”
Aaron clapped him on the shoulder and headed further down the hall.
An insistent meow greeted him as he opened his front door, and Logan reached down to scoop up the bundle of grey fur wrapping itself around his ankles. “Hey, gorgeous.” Smudge purred loudly, butting her head against Logan’s chin.
Generally cats tended to avoid him, instinct probably keeping them away, but not Smudge. Logan’s theory was that she’d almost given up when he found her and had neither the energy nor the will to run away.
He assumed she’d been hit by a car.
Some wanker that hadn’t bothered to stop and see if she was okay.
She’d lost her right front leg and the sight in her right eye, and one of her ears looked a bit ragged too. She was the best thing about coming home, and Logan loved her fiercely.
Crawling up onto his shoulder, Smudge clung there while Logan walked into the kitchen area to get her some food. “What’ve you been up to today,” he crooned, making her purr louder.
Being on the ground floor, he had a cat flap in one of the windows, but she hardly ever left the flat. Too nervous of the outside world. Logan didn’t blame her. It was dangerous out there these days.
With the cat fed, Logan grabbed last night’s leftovers out of the fridge and a stack of candidate files, then parked himself on the sofa. Top of the pile was Cole’s.
Logan opened it and stared at the colour photo on the first page. It was a good photo, striking, but the photographer obviously managed to piss him off, because Cole stared into the camera like he wanted to kill it. Logan ran his finger across Cole’s cheek and along his jaw, a stirring of attraction deep in his belly. In another life he might’ve pursued it, seen if there was any interest on Cole’s part, but Logan’s life didn’t allow for complications.
With any luck, Cole’s test would prove him incompatible and they’d never see each other again.
