Logan Chapter 150

-Emory-

Logan walks in from one of his last half-days at Industries while I’m working on design samples for the Summer Moon party. It’s just a few days away now, and I’ve changed my mind about the decorations twice already. He kisses me on my head and makes a conscious decision not to mention my preoccupation with streamers. “Hello, Luna. James hacked into the precinct again. They’ve labeled Cora’s disappearance a cold case. They’ve decided that she was a sore loser, with a side of psychotic break where she hallucinated about people watching her.”

I still don’t think she’s the type, but she does hate losing. Maybe knowing she would lose the trial is what prompted her to give up her whole life in the city we both love. She’s a cold case, just like in the shows we used to watch sometimes. I’m relieved detectives will stop showing up to our home, even if Valentine is a treasure. “I wonder if Cora might be keeping an eye on her old life? Do you think she’s proud that she out-smarted everyone and managed to give even shifters the slip? That would be a Cora kind of thing to be proud of.“

“Well, Landon came home from his vacation with a dazzling smile under his scraggly mountain man beard, so there’s no hard feelings on his part.” Logan squeezes me extra hard for a second.

“He acts like we never visited him at the cabin. I just want to apologize.”

“Baby, it’s clear Landon never wants to speak of the argument again. We should respect his wishes.” I guess I can do that, for the sake of everyone’s peace. I still have this nagging guilt for suspecting him, but that might be carry-over from Logan’s emotions. Every now and then, he’ll have an unfamiliar female scent on him- the same one every time. I suppose if he wants to try to date someone on the sly with a bunch of wolf shifters around, that’s his challenge to navigate. I just want him to be happy.

“With you returning to the pack full time, we’re too busy, anyway.” I say as Logan risks a glance at my pile of color swatches.

“At least we get to do almost everything together. Like decide on this. Again. Do we need to go back to the party store tonight? We don’t have to tell the shadow.” Logan has tried to dismiss Hammer at least four times, but Hammer keeps insisting we need him.

“Honestly, I think he’s dating one of the cooks. I’m still trying to find an air freshener that isn’t offensive to sensitive noses. I don’t need to be smelling arousal all over the place. Especially on Hammer or my brother in law. It’s just weird and gross.”Logan laughs, clearly used to the little awkward moments that come with heightened senses of smell.

I’m finally starting to settle in with my wolf! There were a few embarrassing moments where I shifted unexpectedly at pack events or when emotions ran high between Logan and me. I mostly have a handle on it now, and I’m more trustworthy in public. Now that Logan isn’t the billionaire playboy CEO of Industries anymore, the news outlets have mostly lost interest in us and I don’t have run-ins with people recognizing me anymore. I still go out in more casual clothes than I would have before, just in case. Landon loves to startle me in public or prank me around the pack house just to “test my control.” The big jerk. Logan seems to think it’s hilarious, though, and with things still weird between them, I’ll let them have this.

I shift the topic so I can stop thinking about Landon. He’s a problem for another day. “Speaking of weird and maybe gross, James is still acting strange. Admittedly, I didn’t know his “normal” self as long as I’ve known this personality-shifted version now, but all of you guys have commented on it at this point.”

“He’s distracted and pissy, yeah.” Logan plays along. “He still provides some of the best security in the world, but he has to lean on his staff a little more than he did before. He’ll figure it out or say something when he’s ready. Deek and Ollie are both the same as ever, though- doing great. Ollie has ramped up the teasing with the addition of Anna to Deek’s life, but no one can deny that he’s doing way better with someone to keep him on task and organized. She might just be a miracle worker.”

Derek is almost always on time now, and if he doesn’t know where a file is then Anna does. “I feel like she’s starting to warm up to me. Maybe one day we can even be friends” I really think it could happen, even if I don’t see her for more than a few minutes at a time when we all get together for lunch.

“Maybe we should start inviting her. She might be able to keep the two chuckle heads on task.” I’ve put my foot down and demanded monthly “strategy lunches” for the Alpha Alliance. The guys need each other in their lives, and all of our packs benefit from being more tightly allied. My idea for pulling all the shifters together for my Summer Moon party was shot down, but I’m still working on them to get something together. They don’t believe me yet, but I just know that pulling all the packs together will lead to something special.

“Now that we got all the finances together for the pack and put into a spreadsheet, we could put a line in to host alpha alliance lunches!”

“Those freeloaders can pay for their own lunches. At least until we work out a raise for our enforcers.” Logan disagrees.

We have a dedicated enforcer team now, rather than a rotating list of volunteers that will give an hour here or there. They even get paid for their efforts, now. They have a long way to go, but Hammer is having so much fun training them that he almost never bullies me into exercise anymore. The elder’s council gets a stipend as well now, too, and Orson’s wife was able to get medical help that no one else knew she needed. They were both too proud to ask for a handout- her more than Orson- and it turns out that she’s a lovely addition to the council. She’s able to cut to the quick of any argument and back everyone’s emotions down to reasonable levels. It’s such a relief to have her.

I reluctantly agree with Logan. The enforcers do need a raise first. We need to get a couple of months under our belts with the new budget so we can see what needs to be adjusted before I get crazy with adding things. I lean my head on Logan’s shoulder as we go over his day, content. Nothing is perfect, of course. Life never will be. There’s always a way to be better, stronger, happier. But we’re finally doing well. I’m so excited to get to our happily ever after.

As soon as Landon and James straighten out whatever they’re dealing with, we’ll be all set.

The End

The End