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Mom: Oh thank God. I was about to call the cavalry.

Me: A little premature, don't you think?

Mom: Never too early to come to the rescue.

Me: You could have gone camping with me.

Mom: Next time. Let me know when you’re back in Willow Creek.

Me: Will do. Love you.

Mom: Love you too.

At least I wasn't talking to her on the phone. If I had been speaking to her, she would have known something was wrong. She knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.

At this rate, it wasn’t like I knew when I’d make it back to Willow Creek. Logan acted like I could leave once my head was cleared, but would they let me go?

I held out my phone. “I assume you want this back.”

Logan waved it off. “No, it’s yours. Keep it.”

My stomach growled again, and it felt like mystomach was eating itself from the inside out. “You said there's food downstairs?”

Olivia offered her arm as though I was supposed to walk out of the room with her, like her bestie. I gave her a nasty look, and she dropped her arm. “Fine. Suit yourself, but the stairs might be a bitch since some lingering dizziness happens after the first time you shift.”

“I’ll use the banister. When I feel like it.”

“You can come or not. I don't give a flock. I’m going down to eat my weight in bacon.” She turned to Logan. “Why you ever brought her here, I'll never know.” Her gaze dropped to his crotch. “Actually, scratch that. I do know, and boy, can you fucking pick ‘em. See you two downstairs. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She leered so hard I recoiled, but she finally left.

Logan stood and crossed to where I sat on the edge of the bed. “Listen, you have no reason to trust me, none, but I'd like you to try. Your mom knows you're safe, and I have no interest in hurting you, but you need to learn what to do with your shifting ability.”

“Will you let me leave?”

“As soon as I think you can drive, you can leave.” And then he smiled. Not a leering one or a flirty one. Just him being friendly and inviting.

I made a sour face at him. “You shouldn’t be grinning at me like that after kidnapping me.”

He shrugged and wiped the happiness off his face. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.”

What did I have to lose? I knew who Logan was, and he hadn’t been aggressive toward me since the passengerseat of his truck. I had my phone in my hand, I could share my pinned location with anybody and everybody right now, and I was famished and likely unfit to drive.

He gestured toward the door, waving me ahead of him. “If you stay, I’ll help you figure out how to harness your powers.”

Carefully, I stood, grabbing at the bedpost to gain my balance before taking a step forward. “I’m not sure I believe you about all that, but I’d like to have a tour of the grounds.”

“Sure, when your legs are steady. In the meantime, I’ll introduce you to some of the shifters in our pack, and you can watch them change. Olivia’s invited a few of our members to breakfast, so there’s plenty of food downstairs.”

“I’ll stay long enough to eat, and then I have to get back to my life in Willow Creek.”

I had worked hard for that life, and I wasn’t willing to give it up on the whim of curiosity. I moved over the threshold and out into the hallway, noticing again how the floor creaked. At least my risk-taking self was back.

“What did Olivia mean by calling you the alpha?” I asked.

Logan’s mouth twisted into a wolfish smile as he joined me in the hallway, and his gaze traveled up and down the length of me, sending excitement tripping through my bones. “Oh, you’ll see,” he said, “but I promise you, Emma Carter. Your life will never be the same.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

logan