Chapter 80

Logan

It took me days before I finally visited him. Even then, I did so hesitantly, more out of morbid curiosity than anything.

The scent of blood hit me before I even stepped into the cell. It was everywhere, filling my nose with its metallic scent on each breath and hanging thickly like a fog.

An overall damp heaviness clung to the stone walls like a second skin, thick with a combination of copper, sweat, and urine. The halls were dimly lit, and when I finally entered his cell, it took my eyes a moment to adjust from the near-total blackness of the space.

Eventually, I was able to make out my surroundings enough to notice that Jesse sat slumped in the chair at the center of the room, his arms tied behind his back. One eye was swollen shut, purple and painful to even witness. His lip was split, and his nose must’ve broken as well, as it sat at an unnatural angle. We would no longer share that feature, it seemed.

Even hours after his last round of interrogations, he was still leaking fresh blood from seemingly every orifice. But even bruised and broken, he grinned when he saw me, his teeth tinged pink from swallowing his own blood.

“Little brother,” he croaked, voice rough and slurred. “Come to finish the job?”

I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Instead, I stepped inside, shutting the heavy iron door behind me with an echoing clang. A guard lingered in the corner but didn’t move. Jesse’s head lolled up just enough for his one good eye to meet mine.

“It’s over,” I said flatly. “The camp is gone. We burned it down to ash on the wind. Whatever remained of your rogues has scattered. More ash in the breeze. You will never see a day of freedom again. We’re rebuilding now. You lost.”

Jesse chuckled, then winced in pain. “You think it’s over?”

“I know it is.”

He smiled through blood-stained teeth. “Oh, Logan… It’s just beginning.”

I took a step forward, arms crossed tightly over my chest. “You can threaten me all you want, Jesse. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re never leaving this cell. Even if your little gang of rogues reconnect, it will be years before they are poised again to strike. And you? You will never have the opportunity to do anything of the sort again.”

“No, no. I did not merely say that to threaten you,” he rasped. “It is the truth. There is so much you still have to overcome. So much still that you have to learn. Tell me something: Do you really think you know the woman you’re wedded to? The one you just risked your life for? She spent so much time in my camp and I got to know her on a different, more… intimate level. I know things you can’t even begin to predict about her.”

My jaw tightened. I didn’t answer. I knew that he was dangling bait in front of my face, but I refused to bite.

“She’s full of secrets,” he continued, voice sly now. “So many dark little truths tucked behind those pretty little eyes. You’ve always been so eager to see the best in her. Maybe that’s your fatal flaw. I always saw her for what she is, though, and I still appreciated her for it. You cannot say the same. But I saw her for the liar she really is.”

I stepped closer, towering over him. “You don’t know her.”

He grinned defiantly again. “Don’t I?”

There was so much implied with those two words. I nearly saw red hearing them. How dare he? He had only spent days with Evelyn; he could not speak to what was in her heart.

“Enough,” I snapped, stepping hastily away from him before I could let the heat behind my ribs take hold. “Your games are done. I won’t play them any longer. Get comfortable. You won’t see outside of these walls for a long, long time. If ever.”

I turned on my heel, ignoring his final laugh behind me, the sound echoing down the corridor like a bad nightmare, lingering long after I had gone.

The weight of his words pressed against me even as I resurfaced from the dungeons, stepping into the daylight. I tried my hardest to push them back and not let those thoughts take root. Jesse thrived on doubt. Lies were his sharpest weapon.

Still, part of me needed to confirm matters for myself. I had to bring this up to Evelyn and hear her say it. I needed her to say that there wasn’t something hiding beneath the surface. That there weren’t secrets like Jesse had implied.

We were in a good place now. She and I were moving forward, together. I had to clear this up so it didn’t hang over us. Whatever this was blooming into would need to be based on trust and communication.

And, fortunately, I didn’t have to search far for her. In fact, she found me first.

She was waiting just beyond the hall that led to the dungeons, her presence like sunlight cutting through the heavy feeling of rot and stone I had just endured. It was like she had been waiting there for me.

There was soot still on her cheeks from the rogue camp where she had been helping to clean up all morning, but her eyes were bright. The questions were there, playing in her irises. Her captor was now a captive. She was free from whatever torment still had lingered in her mind after her escape.

“Logan,” she said, and the way she said my name made my heart shift in my chest. So soft and delicate.

“I was coming to find you,” I admitted, stepping toward her.

“I wanted to thank you.” Her voice was soft now, like we were the only two people in the world.

“Thank me?” I asked, blinking back my surprise.

“You were the only one who stood up for me in the council room. You advocated for me and wanted me to choose my own path. You even stood up against the Alpha King to help grant me that. I appreciate it more than you know.”

“You should choose your own path, Evelyn,” I said.

She smirked. “I’m glad you finally see that. Regardless, you also allowed me to decide what to do with Jesse when you had just enough reason to make the choice.”

“Jesse never kidnapped me,” I pointed out.

“Still, it meant the world… That you believed in me.”

“Of course I believed in you,” I said. “I always have.”

Something passed between us then. It was just a heartbeat long, a flicker in our eyes. But it was like an invisible tether tightening. All that time we’d spent at odds, unsure, was gone now. Burned away like the tents in the rogue camp.

She looked at me with something fierce in her gaze. Something deep, bottomless. Something like longing.

And then she was leaning forward, her whole being eclipsing all other thoughts.

There was a moment when I was just breathing her in, enjoying her closeness and her scent, and then in another moment, she was kissing me.

No hesitation. No warning. Just heat.

Her hands were in my hair, and my arms were pulling her in before I could even think. She melted, warm and soft against me. We fit together in our embrace like we were made for each other. Puzzle pieces falling into place.

It wasn’t delicate. It wasn’t careful. It was the kind of kiss that made my wolf stir beneath my skin and howl his approval.

I wanted more of her. I needed this. Always. Every hour, every breath.

When we finally broke apart, we were both panting.

Her forehead rested against mine for a moment.

“I’m tired of holding back,” she whispered.

I smiled, finally letting myself feel it all. “Then don’t.”