Chapter 96

Logan

I froze. My hand clasped around the weapon slung across my waist as I pushed myself to my feet as quietly as I could manage it. My eyes were trained forward at the dark parting between the trees where the noise had come from and where I knew she would be standing.

Though my mind was sluggish from the drink, I knew who would step toward me before she soundlessly seemed to float from between the trees.

Emma.

Her hair was loose, catching the faint light like gold. Despite the days on the run, she seemed well bathed, fed, and watered. I wondered where she had freshened up and how she had found me, but my tongue was leaden against asking her.

Her eyes glittered with something that looked far too much like victory, and a smirk pulled the corners of her lips.

“Logan,” she purred, my name like a caress. “I’ve been looking for you. I knew you would come for me.”

I staggered back a step, nearly tripping over my feet. The alcohol had made me unsteady, and I silently cursed myself for letting my guard down and unwinding.

She must have sensed that I was about to wake the others because she shook her head and crooked a finger, beckoning me forward. “Follow me, and no one will get hurt. Did you think I would reveal myself to you without taking precautions? There are other rogues among these trees, Logan. Best not to test their patience… or mine.”

She took a step back, but lingered, waiting for me to follow. I felt the panicked pressure that preceded a quick decision. If I woke the others, we might be able to capture her, as we had set out to do. But if she really did have rogues watching over our conversation, the others might be dead before they even blinked their eyes awake.

As I weighed up my options, my hand twitched instinctively toward my blade again, but she noticed and smiled. “Don’t get any ideas there, Alpha.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I muttered, though the words came out slurred.

She smiled like a cat toying with a mouse. “Shouldn’t I? You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you? Come and follow me just a little further.”

She waved another hand, stepping deeper into the shadows. There was no more time to debate it. My feet moved to follow her without further thought.

We walked just a few steps deeper into the forest, allowing for enough space that we were able to speak in hushed tones without risking waking the others.

In the darkness of the forest, she was illuminated only by the distant fire that continued to crackle. When she turned to me, I could see the mischief flickering like the flames in her eyes.

“How did you find us?” I asked.

“It wasn’t exactly hard. I only had to wait for you all to catch up. Then I hid and turned around to start stalking you instead.”

I huffed out a frustrated breath and raked a hand through my hair. “So we’ve been chasing our tails.”

Emma pouted mockingly. “Don’t be too disappointed about it. You might have caught me if I hadn’t heard of you coming beforehand.”

“Did your rogues tell you?”

Her grin grew. “Yes. There are more rogues than you think. Many of us refused to follow Jesse when he began to build his army. Being a true rogue means there are no real allegiances. Those who devotedly followed Jesse forgot about that. The ones I am with now understand this, though. They were waiting.”

“Waiting for you?”

She tilted her head. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Are they truly watching us now?” I asked. My tongue still felt heavy and useless as I stumbled through my words. I was really regretting all of those drinks. Navigating a conversation with Emma and convincing her to return with us would require a clear head. I simply didn’t have the capacity for that now.

She took another step closer. “Don’t worry,” she said, her voice dropping low. “They know when to look away.”

She closed the space between us by leaning forward. The scent of her wrapped around me, sweet and cloying. How did she still smell so sweet after days on the run? My head was already spinning from the drink, and now it was worse, harder to think past the warmth in my blood.

But as her lips met mine, my body remained tense and my hands stayed at my sides as one thought crested above the rest, shutting off any sense of desire.

Evelyn.

I forced myself to focus on her face in my mind. Evelyn’s eyes, her hair, her smile.

Emma’s hand slid up my chest. “Come on,” she purred. “Don’t you want to be rewarded for finding me?”

“I… No. No,” I said, but it came out weak, even to my own ears. My body was slow to react, too heavy, too intoxicated from the drink still.

Then her hands were on my shoulders, pushing me back until my spine hit the rough bark of a tree. I felt nothing as she groped me in the dark, nothing that might hint that her touch elicited something more in me. I only recoiled from her touch, too drunk to properly fight back but not too far gone to be carried away by something as base as lust.

“Emma,” I began.

She pressed her mouth to mine again before I could finish, her body wrapping around mine and pinning me there against that tree. My hands came up automatically, trying to push her away, but I was drunk enough that it barely counted as resistance.

Evelyn. Evelyn. Evelyn.

I kept repeating her name in my head like it was the only thing keeping me from falling into the trap Emma had set. It felt like a betrayal to even endure this assault. I couldn’t sink back any further into the tree’s bark, but I tried to distance myself as she melted into me, a moan slipping between her lips.

Then a voice ripped through the haze.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

At the sound of his voice, even she jumped back. Her head whipped around to see Alex standing between the trees, backlit by the dying fire.

Emma pulled back just enough to glance over her shoulder at him, her grin wicked and mocking. Alex was already on his feet, swaying slightly but holding his dagger steady.

“Get off of him,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Or I’ll gut you where you stand.” In his hand, a knife flashed menacingly. I wondered how many other blades around us from the hidden rogues had been drawn in reaction to this.

Emma laughed at the sight of it, clearly unthreatened. She threw her head back, and the noise of her glee unspooled into the night. It was a sound so sharp and unhinged it made my skin crawl. Then she slid off me, taking a step back with a look of delight.

“Such a pity,” she said lightly. “I was almost starting to have fun. Catch me if you can, princeling."

She disappeared into the darkness, still laughing, until even the sound was gone. But Alex didn’t follow her. He only turned his attention to me, disbelief apparent as he resheathed his blade.

The fire crackled in the heavy silence she left behind.

Alex turned to me, his jaw tight. “You need to tell my sister exactly what happened here. I hope you know that.”

The humiliation hit like a punch to the gut. It was a new assault, a fresh feeling of violation. My stomach twisted, not just from the drink, but from the thought of Evelyn’s face when she heard this. If she was not already devastated by my previous betrayals, she certainly would be now.

“She’s never going to forgive me,” I muttered, my voice hoarse.

“Maybe not,” Alex said. “But that’s her decision to make. Either you say something about this, or I will.”

He trudged back to the campfire where the now-awakened guards were waiting, looking stunned. I watched him go, hating Emma, hating myself, and terrified of the moment I’d have to face Evelyn with this new development.