Lola's sharp intake of breath has us all looking at her. Reaching for her mouth, she touches her tongue and laughs. “You don’t realize how hard you chew your food until you bite your tongue,” she says, blood coating her fingertips.
“Goodness Lola, are you alright?” Lucy looks ready to jump up.
Lola waves her off. “Of course. The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body.”
We all stare at her silently for a long moment before Kai clears his throat and turns to Grady. “What were you saying, old man?”
Grady blinks a few times, looking lost. “I forgot what I was going to say.”
“Where does a thought go when it's forgotten?” Lola pipes up, popping another piece of meat in her mouth as she looks around at all of us.
“That’s an excellent question,” Felix admits.
Lola looks at me and I shrug. “Beats me.”
Kai laughs, pointing a fork in Lola’s direction. “You and your weird ass thoughts.”
“What?” She looks affronted.
Rose giggles. “You always have us thinking outside the box.”
Dinner passes with easy conversation, and I find it hard to tear my gaze from Logan. Every time our gazes meet, butterflies erupt in my stomach. Logan seems relaxed. I don’t think I’ve heard him speak more than ten words at a time. But here he is, chatting with my brothers and indulging Lola in her stories. My pack is overjoyed to have him here, to get to know their alpha’s mate. I’m lost in my own thoughts when I hear Kai say my name.
“Salena’s heading that way. She can take you home.”
My gaze snaps to Logan, nerves filling me, making my pulse speed up.
“Where’s your car?” I ask.
Logan scratches the back of his head. “Kai picked me up.
“Yeah, so he wouldn’t bail!” Kai yelled over the group.
I rub my lips together with a smile, making Logan’s eyes drop and linger for a moment. He swallows roughly, and for a moment, I think he might kiss me. I can sense that he wants to, but he seems to shake it off and step away. I try not to show my disappointment.
“Yeah, I can take you back,” I say.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden,” Logan replies.
I wave off his concerns. “It's fine.”
I tap my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to hum along with the music, the sun’s setting, casting the sky in reds and oranges. I look over in the fading light at Logan and smile. As I turn my head back to the road, my body freezes, muscles locking up tight as my stomach drops. I whip my eyes back toward Logan and gasp. Not a second later, I have the brakes locked up and am out of the car, my heart pounding.
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god,” I chant, my entire body shaking while jumping on the spot. I tip my head down and run my hands through my hair. Goosebumps break out over my arms, sending a course of shivers racing over my skin. It feels like tiny ants are crawling all over me. I run my hands over my clothes, wiping down my arms. When I look back up, Logan is looking at me over the top of the car, one eyebrow raised in question.
“Any reason you’re dancing all over the middle of the road?”
“There is aspideron the back of your headrest!” I shriek, patting my body down again.
Logan's head ducks back into the car and he comes back out holding the massive spider. I leap back another few feet, even though there are already several yards between us, plus the car.
Logan looks up at me and smirks. “This tiny thing?”
I gasp, absolutely horrified. “That thing ishuge!”
“Only because it’s carrying babies.”
“Oh my god!!” I screech as another round of full body tremors rack my body.
