Page 157 of Chaos At Second Sight

Logan glanced at me, eyes softening, until his dad spoke again.

“Francisca lost everything and⁠—”

“Spare me the philanthropic bullshit!”

“She also wants to meet Yvaine. She thinks you two need guidance after the changes.”

“That woman is in no fucking position to meddle with our life!” He pulled free from my hand and went for him. “How dare you let her into our pack after all she did?”

“I did what I thought was best for you.”

“In the same way she did the best for Bella and me? Hmm?”

“She’s still your mother.” Jonathan’s tone was placid.

“Really? Is that what she was while she sedated us?”

Jonathan winced; my hand flew to my mouth. That explains why Bella is claustrophobic.

“Is that what she was when she cheated on you with half the countryside?”

Pain flashed across the Alpha’s face.

“I still remember hearing them, Dad.” Logan’s voice had become strangely calm. “That house, the one you broke your back to build for us, and she filled it with strangers. She fucked strangers upstairs while you were bleeding to death downstairs, Dad!”

“How many times do we have to discuss this? She was a newly turned lycan who didn’t know what she was! She was out of control, confused. She had no guidance!” Jonathan was breathing hard now, frowning—a rare show of anger on the perpetually composed and stoic Alpha.

“Ah.” Logan smiled like a demon. “You feel that rage? That consuming parasite? That’s what I felt when I finally understood what that woman did to you, what that bleeding meant.” He struck his own chest. “That’s what I felt when I was six, patching you up and holding you until the pack doctor arrived for the usual transfusion! That’s what I felt when Lucien killed my brother, and…that’s what I feel now.” His voice cracked as he swallowed hard. “And I hate her more than I hate that rage, Dad! I hate that she looks like me. I hate that she bleeds like me. I hate that we have a bond I can’t ever fucking sever! She wants what’s best for me? Then she can crawl into a hole and rot there!”

Jonathan didn’t answer. I could only stand there and feel Logan’s emotions pour through the mate bond, a bridge that carried every shard of his pain straight into me.

Eyes flashing red, Logan looked feral. “And you know what? You can fucking go with her!”

Then he stormed out, leaving behind a broken chair and a silent dad with bloodshot eyes.

CHAPTER FORTY

YVAINE

Logan and I returned to my apartment on campus. It was quiet—no roommates, no Zeus. Only my keys jingling against the ceramic holder next to Spiky, our pet cactus, and the tiny shrine for Gertrude B. Elion.

Logan remained by the door—like he was waiting for my permission to come in. His eyes were closed, his chest unmoving—as though he was waiting for my permission to live.

I went to him before he could retreat further into himself.

Rising onto my tiptoes, I cupped his face. “Rudy, look at me.”

He did. Desolation was all I saw.

“I’m here. I’m your family. Bella and Big Feet are your family. Killian and Callum, too.” I brushed my thumbs over his cheeks. “And you have your granny, even if she insists on matchmaking you with another girl.”

His lip curled up an inch. Small victory. “But…” I paused, considering carefully. “That woman…is not necessary.”

I studied the harsh lines carved into his handsome face.

“You didn’t choose her to be your mother.” My fingers traced his jaw. “But every choice she made to not be one was hers alone.”

There was a bitter story written behind the contours of Logan’s clenched hands and tense shoulders. Could his sometimes oversized ego be a shield? Could his emotional distance from women be the result of his mother’s distance? And his violence…