clang of metal. Logan winced, as the sound had his ears ringing, but the bloodcurdling scream from upstairs had him leaping into action. He stripped and shifted before Orsen managed to turn and get back up the stairs.
He burst into the kitchen, ready to rip apart whatever it was that had attacked Bailey, only to find him staring wide-eyed at the wolf in the doorway. “L-L-Logan!”
Logan hurried closer, unable to see anything menacing in the room. In his current form, he couldn’t ask. Luckily, Orsen and Gus entered the room behind him.
“Bailey? What’s wrong?” Orsen asked.
Bailey couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Logan moved to his side and pressed against him, hoping his wolf would bring comfort. Bailey didn’t seem to know what to do with him, though.
“Puppy!”
Before he could shift back, Gus scrambled off Orsen’s shoulder and shifted midleap. He landed on Logan’s back in a tangle of toddler clothes.
“Gus!”
Bailey slid down the wall. “What’s happening?”
It took about five more seconds before the flaming portal opened and Vice stepped through.
Bailey’s breath became choppy.
Logan shifted back, and then handed the red-panda-shaped Gus back to his stunned father.
“What’s going on?” Vice asked.
Logan knelt in front of Bailey and took his cheeks in his hands. “Breathe, Bails. Come on. You’re okay. I’m here.”
“We don’t know,” Orsen said, answering Vice’s question. “He screamed, and Logan shifted and came running.”
“He doesn’t know?” Vice asked.
“No,” Logan said. “But I wanted to tell him. I’ve been trying to find a way.”
Bailey grabbed Logan’s wrist and stared into his eyes. His wolf surged forward again.
“Blue,” Bailey said softly, his breathing still choppy.
“Sometimes blue, sometimes brown. When I’m a wolf, they’re blue.”
Bailey’s heart raced, and he squeezed Logan’s wrist tighter.
“H-he said…” Bailey closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the wall. “He said I reeked of wolf.”
Logan growled.
Bailey opened his eyes. “He meant I smelled like you.”
Logan nodded. “Oracle, call the team in. It’s time Bailey knew the truth.”
“We’re going to go home,” Orsen said softly. “Bailey, if you need anything, you’ve got my number.”
Bailey didn’t look away from Logan, and Logan wondered if he’d even heard Orsen’s words. Maybe not.
“He’s in shock,” Vice said. “Happens a lot.”
“Let’s go find somewhere else to sit,” Logan said softly. “The rest of the guys will be here soon, and then I’ll tell you everything, okay?”
Bailey squeezed his arm tighter, and Logan smiled.
“You’re going to be okay. Just wait until you find out what’s really been looking after you all this time. You’re going to love it.”
Logan lifted Bailey off the floor and into his arms. Bailey tucked his face into Logan’s neck and breathed. He had no idea how much Logan loved it, how much it meant to both him and his wolf that he trusted Bailey enough to let him at his throat. It was one of the most vulnerable spots on his body, but Logan wanted nothing more than Bailey’s warm breath there.
“I’ll need to speak to him,” Vice said. “I’ll stop back by later. And Logan? He can’t tell the others. Not unless—”
“I make them pack too. I know. I’m thinking about it. I’ll let you know.”
The rules were clear. If Vice didn’t think Bailey could keep the secret, he wouldn’t be allowed to remember what he’d witnessed. It was the last thing Logan wanted. He couldn’t keep Bailey without his secret constantly being at risk. It wasn’t good for either him or his team to have to tiptoe around their abilities, especially when they were as on edge as they’d been since Bailey’s attack.
The others left as Logan carried Bailey through the warehouse and into his apartment. He settled them on the couch and pulled the soft throw blanket Bailey’d brought over with him onto them.
“He knew,” Bailey whispered. “He knew.”
The shock of finding out Logan could shift into a wolf wasn’t what had upset Bailey the most.
“What did he know?” Logan stroked his hand softly down Bailey’s back. His heart still raced, and he still smelled of fear.
“That you’re—what are you, Logan?”
“I’m a shifter. A wolf shifter.”
“And the guy who attacked me… he knew?”
“Yes. We believe he is an incubus.”
Bailey tucked his face back into Logan’s neck. “Did he…? Why did he pick me?”
25
Bailey
“So,” Bailey said, glancing at Logan’s team while processing the new information he’d been told but still hadn’t quite managed to absorb. He’d sat on Logan’s lap for a long time, trying to figure out if he’d actually seen Logan turn from a wolf into a man.
And little Gus had