Logan stopped and looked out over the water. “My father had been ill: prostate cancer. It can be hereditary, apparently, so rather than take the risk, they asked McKillan to give me the bite when I was eight.” He shrugged. “My mum admits they panicked a little at the time.”
“Oh.” What the fuck did he say to that? Would his parents have done the same in that position? Probably. No one wanted their child to die. At any age.
An awkward silence settled between them, and Cole toed the loose ground, trying to think of something to say that wasn’t confrontational. He had to tread lightly, word his questions so he sounded interested, not horrified at the thought of joining a pack.
“Anything you want to ask me?” Logan said, still facing the water. “I mean, there’s a lot I need to go through with you, so I’m sure you’ll have lots of questions, but we don’t have to do all that today. I thought we could get to know each other a bit better first. So, is there anything that you’re dying to know?”
Get to know each other?
If he was honest, Cole had expected Logan to show up with a list of demands and tell Cole what the pack expected of him. He hadn’t figured on Logan wanting to ‘get to know him better.’ “Why?” he asked, frowning.
“Why what?”
“Why do you want to get to know me better? It’s not like I have much choice in anything that happens next, so why bother with small talk?” Anger built inside him, and Cole struggled to tamp it down. It wouldn’t do him any good to get pissy with Logan. Even if he really wanted to.
Logan’s sigh got under his skin too. “Look, believe it or not, I want you to want to join our pack. I want you to be happy.”
“Yeah, right,” Cole scoffed, couldn’t help it.
“It’s true, Cole. I’m many things, but I’m not a liar.”
“What if I don’t want to join your fucking pack? What if that wouldn’t make me happy, eh?” The words escaped before he realised what he was saying.Jesus fuck. Eyes wide, he stared out at the lake, terror crawling through his veins as he waited for Logan to say something.
Another sigh, softer this time, and Cole risked a glance out of the corner of his eye. Logan was looking out at the lake too, bottom lip pulled between his teeth. Cole had only meant to have a quick look at him, but his gaze caught and held. The expression on Logan’s face was a mixture of sad and resigned, with a little uncertainty thrown in for good measure. He’d never met someone so open and easy to read before. Not a shifter anyway.
It didn’t last.
As Cole watched, Logan’s face morphed into the stoic look he associated with pack members, especially from somewhere like the McKillan pack. He filed away the glimpse he’d been given of Logan’s vulnerable side, even if he suspected he’d never been meant to see it.
Logan turned to face him, too quick for Cole to look away. “I know pack affiliation isn’t something that everybody wants. I’m not that naive.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and motioned for Cole to start walking again. “But it’s the law, Cole, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Regret tinged his words, and for a second, Cole believed he was sorry about the way things were. But he caught himself before it took hold. Shifters had everything the way they wanted it; they didn’t give a shit about humans. “Right,” he muttered. “Like you care one way or the other.”
“Cole,” Logan murmured, stopping him with a hand on his arm. “Not all shifters are bad.” He glanced around them, then tilted his head, eyes closed, and Cole wondered if he was listening for eavesdroppers. Seemingly satisfied, he started walking again. “It’s not so long ago that shifters were in a similar position. We know how it feels to have little to no control over what happens to you.”
Cole hated that that was true, but it still didn’t change the fact that the laws they’d introduced were bollocks. “Are you saying we deserve this?” He glanced over at him, temper rising again. “That we had it coming?” His hands clenched into fists, heart rate picking up. “I remember the promises your lot made when they challenged for power. My parents voted for you. For ajointgovernment. But that never fucking happened, did it?”
The majority of the human population had been against what was being done to shifters, how they were treated, but as soon as the alphas got a sniff of power, ofrealpower, none of that seemed to matter. “It’s like we’re all being punished for the decision a small minority made,” he spat. “You’re as bad as the government you fought so hard to replace.”
Cole braced himself, fully expecting Logan to lose his temper, every inch of his body on high alert.
But instead, Logan glanced up at the sky and blew out a breath. “I understand how you feel, Cole. I might not agree with all of it, but I understand.” When he turned to face Cole, the intensity in his eyes pinned Cole to the spot. “You can’t go around saying shit like that, though,” he said, voice so low Cole had to edge closer to catch it. “If they think for one second you might run, they’ll have security on you in a heartbeat, or worse, take you now and confine you to one of the training facilities. Either way, it won’t be the most pleasant of experiences.”
“They?” Cole’s eyebrow rose with the question. “Don’t you mean,we?”
Logan ran a hand through his hair, gripping the strands tightly before letting go again.
Cole’s attention caught on the taut lines of his forearm, the tattoo a stark reminder of who and what he was. Cole should be scared. Should be trying to backtrack, say he didn’t mean any of what he’d just said. But he wasn’t, and he’d meant every word.
The silence between them stretched out so long, Cole had almost forgotten he’d asked a question.
“Yes, I meanwe. Ordinarily I should report you for what you’ve just said.”
“But?” Cole didn’t shrink away from Logan’s gaze, even though he wanted to.
“As pack recruiter, it’s my job to get you to join us willingly, to persuade you that affiliating with the McKillan pack is the best thing for you to do. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I reported you for saying what you think when it was me that encouraged you to talk in the first place.” He smiled, and despite himself, Cole felt the corners of his mouth curl up in response.
“You’re not doing it very well, anyway,” Cole muttered. “I still don’t want to join.”
