Gone with the Wolf - By Kristin Miller Page 0,49
like a linebacker, rough and ready to do some real damage.
“Logan, I presume?” Emelia asked, scanning through the weekend’s numbers. “Have you come to put me in my place?”
“No, ma’am,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. “I came to serve you. What can I do?”
Hmm. This werewolf was different. Instead of picking up a warm, protective vibe from Logan, Emelia sensed an aloof type of coldness about him. Like pushing everyone away was his usual MO.
“Nothing,” she said, lost in a document detailing profits and losses. “I’m used to handling everything on my own, but thanks for the offer.”
“My pleasure. If you need me, I’ll be manning the front door.” As Logan retreated into the bar, Emelia called him back.
“There is one thing,” she said, swiveling her chair around to him.
“Anything.”
“Do you know Drake—Mr. Wilder very well?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Logan said, with a quick, marine-like nod. “I owe him my life.”
“How’s that?”
Logan shifted his feet as if what he was about to say made him uncomfortable. “He set up a part of the Vanguard Foundation to take care of werewolves who are left parentless. I was abandoned by my parents, who wanted to roam the world without a child hooked to their hip. I was left on the streets for years and had to fend for myself.” He spoke as if the past were distant to him, a detached piece of his soul that floated around his body. “Turned werewolves only shift on the full moon, but born werewolves like me turn when they get angry. When you’re left on the streets, nothing angers you more than having to fight for food. Until someone helps you control your anger, you get into heaps of trouble. Mr. Wilder was the one who helped me.”
“Oh.” It seemed like a stupid thing to say after what he’d just told her, but Emelia couldn’t think of another word to take its place. The more she learned about Drake, the more he amazed her. She was terribly wrong on her first judgment. Drake wasn’t evil. He was kind. Generous and loving. And for reasons Emelia still didn’t understand, he cared for her. “How long have you known him?”
Logan couldn’t have been more than thirty.
“Two hundred years, ma’am, and I can’t say I’ve met a better man since then.” Logan stepped into the room and took to a knee so that his steel-gray eyes were level with Emelia’s. “If you don’t mind my saying so, I heard what happened with Silas. I should say I’m sorry you were transitioned that way, but I truly think it’s for the better.”
Emelia sighed. “Yeah, well, there’s nothing I can do about it now, even if I wanted to.”
“Not that my opinion matters, but you should complete the bond with Mr. Wilder.”
“Not that your opinion matters,” she joked.
“Right.” He nodded slowly as a smile teased the corners of his mouth. “I can sense your connection to him, and I can sense your apprehension. But I can sense more stirring within you, too. You’re powerful, Ms. Hudson. You’re graceful and unique, so much more than you believe yourself to be. You’d be a perfect match for him.”
“Me? Graceful?” Emelia laughed, and felt for the first time like she had a friend in Drake’s world. “Guess you haven’t seen my feet get tangled together yet.”
Logan matched her laugh, easing the tension in her middle. “You’re very special, Ms. Hudson.”
“I don’t think she needs to hear that from you.”
Emelia hadn’t noticed Drake walk up behind him. Either the dimly lit bar cloaked Drake in shadow, or he moved with deadly stealth.
“Mr. Wilder,” Logan said, standing, pulling his shoulders back.
“Mr. Black.” Drake’s words melted together into a growl.
“I was just asking Ms. Hudson if there was anything she needed.”
“Bet you were.”
The two faced off, toe-to-toe, and the next few seconds were taut with silence. If glares shot daggers in the literal sense, they would’ve been skewered through.
“What are you doing here, Drake?” Emelia shut down her computer and stood, smoothing down her jeans. “I thought you had business to take care of.”
“I did,” Drake said, not taking his eyes off Logan. Their gazes remained locked like ram horns in a brutal clash. “Emelia, may I speak to you in private?”
Logan nodded as if the question were meant for him, and left the office. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hudson,” he said without looking back.
“You too.” Emelia pointed to the spot where Logan stood moments before. “What was that about?”
“I don’t like him talking