The sight was both terrifying and mesmerising.
It looked every bit as painful as Logan had described and just as darkly amazing as Cole had imagined.
Those few seconds seemed to last a lifetime, and then in the blink of an eye, Logan shifted back to human, the blood on his lips and fingers the only evidence that anything had happened at all.
Cole knew he should feel guilty for coaxing him to do it in the first place, but he was too in awe to manage it. Not that it was anything he’d ever want to be able to do, but there was no denying seeing it for himself was amazing. As Logan licked his lips and wiped the blood off his hands, Cole finally found his tongue.
“Wow,” he whispered. “I’m sorry it hurt, but... wow.” Now Logan was back to normal, it was hard not to believe he’d imagined the whole thing.
Logan took a long drink from his beer, and Cole couldn’t look away, watching Logan’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. Stubble covered his throat, and for the briefest of moments, Cole imagined how it would feel.
Fuck.
“On a scale of one to ten,” he said quickly to distract himself, “how painful was that?”
“On a scale of one to ten, how impressed were you?” Logan countered.
Cole grinned. “Ten.”
“Snap.”
“Ouch.” Cole did feel guilty then. A little anyway. “Sorry.”
Shrugging, Logan finished off the rest of his beer. “I healed. And it was worth it to see the look of awe on your face.” His expression sobered. “I might look scary, Cole, but you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m here to help you.”
“I know.” Sort of.
“And I need you to trust me.”
“I’m trying, but it’s difficult when I hardly know you.” He swallowed. “And I know nothing about what you’re offering except that I should just go with you.” There, that was vague enough if anyone was listening.
Instead of answering, Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “It’s easier,” he said in response to Cole’s raised eyebrows, then slid it over the table towards him.
Cole opened it, heart rate picking up again.
Just in case there are ears listening that I can’t sense.
If you choose to leave London, we’ll leave on or around July 5th, along with a few more in your position. I’ll only take you so far, then others will do the rest. I can’t give you names or the route, for obvious reasons. There’s always the risk of being caught. No, the authorities don’t know who we are, but they suspect there’s a group helping people escape. They’re not stupid, but they have no proof. We need to keep it that way, so I can’t tell you the place you’ll hopefully end up, but I can say that it’s beautiful, and you’ll be welcome there. Yes, there are shifters there, but it’s nothing like it is here. They don’t subscribe to the new laws being enforced. There’s no shifter hierarchy. You’ll be safe.
Cole read it twice.
When he was done, he handed it back to Logan, absently watching as he pulled out a lighter and burnt it in the ashtray. In that moment it all seemed that much more real. With just some vague idea that he’d leave London, but nothing beyond that, it hadn’t sunk in that Cole’s life would essentially end and he’d start a new one somewhere else.
But after reading that short note, it had started to.
He wouldn’t know a soul.
Where would he live? How would he earn money for food, clothes, and whatever else he was going to need? For all he knew, the people where he was going lived in tents and caught their food. Not that he was opposed to a rustic life, but the not-knowing made his gut tighten and pulse race even more. And not in a good way this time.
Did he really want to leave that badly, that he’d rather live in a foreign place with strangers than join a pack and become a shifter, yet have his family close enough to visit? He pictured Logan with teeth and claws and then tried to imagine it was him instead.
He couldn’t do it.
Couldn’t see himself roaming around as a fully-fledged wolf either.
Reaching across the table, he traced his fingers lightly over the ends of Logan’s fingers. “I know it’s a natural thing for you now,” he lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “But it won’t ever be like that for me. I don’t want it.” But the idea of leaving his family, letting them think he was dead, physically hurt. He rubbed a hand over his chest. “Please ask whoever you need to.Please.”
Logan sighed, the sound not encouraging in the least. He knew Logan had little hope they’d say yes—whoevertheywere—but Cole would cling to that sliver of hope for as long as possible. “I will. But you need to strongly consider the possibility nothing will come of it.”
