Logan Chapter 69

-Emory-

I really thought Logan forgot about his little interrogation earlier today. I don’t want to throw Anna under the bus, but I assume that sharing a few of the particulars of our unpleasant conversation will keep him from imagining worse things. I just hope I can talk him down from mentioning anything to her. I don’t need him to fight my battles, and she’ll only get worse if she thinks I tattled.

“It was really no big deal, Logan. She’s just protective of you. She’s worried I’m here for your money.” I pat his chest to preemptively calm him down.

Logan’s mouth is a grim line when he shakes his head at me. “She made you feel uncomfortable in a place you couldn’t leave because of me. She called you out for starting a relationship with me based on something you didn’t even know about. Even if she doesn’t like you, that doesn’t give her an excuse to treat my mate poorly. I’ll fix it tomorrow.”

I try to tamp down my panic at that. “You absolutely will not. I don’t want you to say anything to her. How will she ever respect me or learn that I’m not who she thought if she believes I told her boss on her to get her in trouble for saying something mean to me? Do you hear how childish that makes me sound? I want you to drop it. She’ll figure it out on her own eventually.”

I can tell that Logan thinks I just don’t want to deal with confrontation. It’s true that I’m really not comfortable with it, but that’s only part of the reason. She’ll come around or she won’t, but I don’t need any more fake people in my life. I’d rather have someone tell me point blank that they don’t like me than have someone pretend to be my best friend while they make every effort to ruin my life. I can’t do that again.

“Logan. For real. Don’t say anything to her. Promise me, please?” Logan heaves a huge sigh but finally agrees, like it’s the hardest thing he’s ever done. “What else did you want to debrief on? The guys were funny, except for James. Something is up with him. Did you ask him later on if he was okay?”

Logan looks at me like I’m weird to suggest it. “No, he’s a grown man. He’ll talk about it if he wants to. You handled Elias well, and it seems like you’ll get along well with the Triple Threat.”

“Triple threat! I’ve been trying to come up with a name for them for hours now! That’s a good one.” I can feel the huge smile on my face. It’s super cute for the three of them.

Logan rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling too. “Blanche came up with it years ago and insisted on it. It was weeks before they’d answer to anything else when they were together. For little old ladies, they really are a menace.” We both laugh before Logan gets serious again. “I know you were worried, going into that meeting. Are you feeling better now that we’re on the other side of it?” I can’t help but sigh a little, and Logan sits down so he can pull me onto his lap.

With my head on Logan’s chest, I unload some of the worries I still have. “I’m wondering what changing that radically is going to feel like. I’m glad our kids are going to be okay. The telepathy has come up too many times for comfort, and you might be stuck with my anxiety spirals forever. Also, I’ve heard you all say that the full moon ceremony is similar for fated mates, but I haven’t heard what the full moon ceremony for anybody is like yet. Only that it’s on the full moon and we’ll feel better after. Should I be worried about that? Is it like a wedding?”

Logan goes still beneath me, then starts rubbing my back with one hand. “The full moon ceremony… serves the same purpose as wedding ceremonies do. It’s a little different, though. Or maybe, a little more like where your current wedding traditions come from.” He pauses. What does that mean?

“That doesn’t tell me anything. Just give me a play-by-play. Do you have an officiant?” I pull back to look at his face. Why is he so uncomfortable?

“Not exactly. We wait until the full moon, of course, until it’s at its brightest in the sky for the night, and that’s usually pretty early in the night during the winter. The whole pack will gather, and the oldest in the pack- Orson- will ask for a blessing for us and for the pack through us. After that, all the single wolves shift and go on a run. It’s a nice event for the whole pack, really.” That does sound nice, actually.

It’s a shame I can’t shift to run with them- I wonder what it’s like? I wouldn’t be able to, anyway, because I’m not single. Wait. “What do the couples end up doing while the single people run around?” Logan looks uncomfortable for a second before making frank eye contact with me.

“You’re not going to like it, but shifter dynamics are different than human ones. The mated couples usually find a corner somewhere semi-private to consummate. So I’ve heard, anyway. I’ve always been single for mating ceremonies.” He was right about that, at least. I definitely don’t like it.

“Outside? Naked with the grass and bugs and everything? In front of people?” I can feel myself flinch back at the thought.

“Well, you don’t have to be naked, and we’d wander off somewhere. I can lay a blanket down, if it makes you feel better. That’s the tradition, though.” Logan rubs the back of his neck.

“Huh. Tradition.” Now I have a choice to make. Do I fully integrate with the pack and try to accept… all of this? Do I go bridezilla and try to impose some human traditions onto the mating ceremony? Will it work if I do? I think I would do just about anything to be able to walk more than ten feet from Logan without itching. Bathroom trips are nearly impossible in public and I don’t know how long I could live like that. If it were easier to be ‘half-mates’ or whatever they call it, I would say absolutely. How far am I willing to gamble pushing it?