Page 10 of Marked For A Bite (Rebellious Mates #2)

EIGHT

LOGAN

L ogan guided Zoe through his cabin's reinforced back door, and his combat boots crunched on the fallen autumn leaves that carpeted his property.

The morning air bit sharp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and the distant promise of snow.

His large property stretched out before them—ten acres of dense forest that butted up against the wild heart of Silvercrest territory, where ancient trees stood sentinel and shadows held secrets.

Maya knew that he was Zoe's mate, Logan thought, watching Zoe's ponytail swing as she took in the towering evergreens that ringed his land. She had recognized what he meant to Zoe after she and Zoe spoke this morning.

After Zoe had spoken to Maya, she'd handed Logan his phone back.

His and Maya's phone conversation that followed replayed in his mind.

Maya's voice had been knowing, almost amused, when she'd suggested he train Zoe himself.

"Since she's your mate, you'll be the best one to guide her," Maya had said, no doubt in her tone, just acceptance of what Logan himself was still grappling with.

But Logan said to Maya what he'd always said to any directive he'd ever received. 'Understood.'

He hadn't confirmed that Zoe was indeed his fated mate on the phone—hadn't needed to. The mate bond sang between him and Zoe like a tuning fork struck against steel, impossible to miss for anyone with the sensitivity to recognize it.

"This place is incredible," Zoe said, spinning in a slow circle to take in the view. Her black leggings hugged every curve, and the fitted long-sleeved shirt emphasized her athletic build. "How long have you lived here?"

"Five years." Logan's eyes tracked her movement, cataloging the way the morning light brought out the honey highlights in her hair, and the grace in her movements despite her human upbringing. "I built most of the fortifications myself."

She paused, studying the reinforced fencing that bordered the property, the strategically placed cameras, and the subtle signs of a man who expected trouble. "Expecting company these days?"

"Yeah, the kind that doesn't knock." His voice held the weight of too many battles fought on this very ground. "My line of work makes me enemies, Zoe. People who would use you to get to me."

The admission tasted bitter in his mouth. I should send her away now, his logical mind insisted. Keep her safe from my world.

But his wolf snarled at the thought, possessive and fierce. Mine. Protect. Train. Keep.

Zoe turned to face him fully, those unusual hazel eyes flecked with gold meeting his green ones. "Then teach me to be ready for them."

The fierce determination in her voice sent heat racing through his veins. She wasn't backing down and wasn't running from the danger he represented. Instead, she was choosing to stand and fight.

Dangerous thinking, Logan warned himself. She doesn't know what she's asking for.

"Maya said she's a hybrid too," Zoe continued, stepping closer. "That's why she understands what I'm going through right now."

"Maya is pretty remarkable," Logan agreed. "Kieran guided her through her transformation. She thinks I should do the same for you."

Because we're mates .

"And you agree?"

Logan studied her face, searching for any sign of fear or hesitation. He found only eager anticipation and that stubbornness that both frustrated and excited him in equal measure.

"Training with me won't be easy," he said finally. "I'm not gentle, and I don't coddle. If you're going to survive in my world—if you're going to be around my lifestyle—you need to be lethal."

Her pulse quickened at his words. He could hear it, and he could scent the spike of adrenaline mixed with something else. Arousal.

She likes the idea of being dangerous, he realized, his own body responding to that knowledge. She wants to be strong enough to stand beside me.

"I still can't believe I killed someone yesterday," Zoe said quietly. "For you. To protect you. It felt..." She searched for words. "Right. Like my wolf knew exactly what it needed to do."

Logan's control cracked again at the memory of her fierce protectiveness, and the way she'd moved with predatory grace despite her inexperience. The knowledge that his mate—his beautiful, brave mate—had shed someone's blood to keep him safe stirred something primitive and possessive in his chest.

"That was instinct," he said. "But instinct alone won't keep you alive. You need training, discipline, and control."

"Then teach me now. All of it." She stepped closer, close enough that he caught her scent—sweet and wild and something uniquely her.

All of it. The words carried layers of meaning that made his blood run hot. Training her to shift, to fight, to survive—but also to be his. To accept the claiming that his wolf demanded with increasing urgency.

"We'll start with basics," Logan said, forcing his voice back to professional neutrality even as his eyes burned with intensity that caused her breath to catch.

He gestured toward a clearing deeper in the forest where he'd set up training equipment over the years—rope courses, targets, and obstacles designed to push physical limits.

"But first," he continued, as he stepped closer to her, "you need to fully understand what you're asking for.

My enemies don't play by rules, Zoe. They'll come for you with everything they have.

Silver bullets, wolfsbane, worse things.

Training with me means accepting that violence is part of your life now. "

Her chin lifted with that defiant tilt he was beginning to recognize as uniquely hers. "I already accepted that the moment I chose to come with you to your cabin."

Mine, his wolf purred. Strong mate. Fierce mate.

"And if I train you too hard? If my methods break something inside you that can't be fixed?"

Zoe's hand found his, her fingers intertwining with his larger ones. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through him, the mate bond humming with contentment.

"Then I trust that you will find a way to put me back together."

Logan's heart thundered in his chest as her words sank in. The absolute faith in her sweet voice, and the unwavering certainty that he would protect and heal her—it shattered something inside his chest and rebuilt it stronger.

She understands, he realized, watching the way her eyes held steady on his. She's beginning to grasp what the mate bond means. What we mean to each other.

"You still have no idea what you're in for," Logan said, his voice roughening. "The training I put myself through would break most seasoned warriors."

"Good thing I'm not most people."

There was that stubborn tilt to her chin again. His mate was incredibly fierce, and every display of her strength made his blood sing with pride and hunger.

She could stand beside me, he thought, the possibility both thrilling and terrifying. She could be just as lethal, just as dangerous.

But the darker thought followed immediately—the image of Zoe forced to carry out the brutal enforcement duties he'd shouldered for years.

Killing humans who discovered their secret.

Executing pack members who defied the High Council's archaic laws.

The weight of those deaths, and the way they carved pieces from your soul until you wondered if anything good remained.

No. His wolf snarled at the thought. Not her. Never her.

"Come on," Logan said, pushing the dark visions away. His tactical mind was spiraling into scenarios that hadn't happened and might never happen. "Let's see what you're actually made of."

He led her deeper into the clearing where years of solitary training had worn paths in the forest floor. Rope courses stretched between ancient pines, targets hung from sturdy branches, and obstacles he'd crafted from fallen logs and boulders created a challenging circuit through the trees.

"One demonstration, one guided run, and one solo attempt," Logan explained, checking the security of the rope anchor points with practiced efficiency. "That's how we'll handle each element."

The rope course demanded upper body strength and coordination—thirty feet of rope-to-rope traversal with gaps that required leaps of faith and muscles that burned with sustained effort.

Logan moved through it with the fluid grace of countless repetitions, his powerful frame making the challenging course look effortless.

"Show off," Zoe called from below, and the teasing note in her voice made him grin despite himself.

When he dropped down beside her, she was studying the course with the analytical focus he was learning was pure Zoe—cataloging each obstacle, and calculating angles and distances.

"Your turn," Logan said, positioning himself behind her as she gripped the first rope. "Trust your instincts. Your wolf knows how to move."

The moment her feet left the ground, Logan's breath caught.

She moved with natural athleticism that spoke of her wolf heritage—sure-footed and graceful, even when her muscles trembled from exertion.

Sweat dampened her black shirt, making the fabric cling to the curves of her body in ways that tested his focus on training rather than claiming.

Concentrate, he ordered himself. She needs a trainer, not a distracted mate.

But watching her push through fatigue with grim determination and seeing the way her eyes flashed golden when she made a particularly challenging leap—every instinct in him roared with pride and possessiveness.

When she completed the course and dropped down beside him, chest heaving and ponytail askew, she looked more alive than he'd seen her since Portland.

"That was incredible," she panted, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "I feel like my body knows things my mind doesn't understand yet."

"That's your wolf," Logan confirmed. "She's been sleeping, but she's waking up fast."

Her solo run proved that point dramatically. Without his guidance, Zoe attacked the rope course with aggressive confidence that made his heart race. She was learning, adapting, and growing stronger with each challenge.

Too strong, whispered a treacherous voice in his mind. Strong enough that the High Council will want to use her. Strong enough that they'll see her as a weapon instead of a person.

"Next," Logan announced, shoving the worry down deep. "Half-mile obstacle course through the forest."

This circuit tested everything—speed, agility, and problem-solving under pressure. Logan had designed it to simulate real combat scenarios, the kind where hesitation meant death.

He ran it first, his powerful strides eating up ground as he vaulted fallen logs, scaled rock faces, and navigated narrow passages between massive tree trunks. The familiar burn of exertion centered his mind, pushing away the protective anxiety that threatened to overwhelm his training instincts.

Running beside Zoe on the second pass was pure torture and transcendent joy.

Her scent mixed with pine and earth, creating something that called to every primal part of him.

She matched his pace through most of the course, only falling behind on the sections that demanded raw upper body power he'd built through years of brutal conditioning.

She's going to be magnificent, Logan realized, watching her refuse to quit even when her muscles shook with fatigue. Absolutely lethal when she's fully trained.

The thought sparked both fierce pride and cold terror. Because if she became as dangerous as him, if she transformed into the kind of weapon he was—would she still be the bright, defiant woman who'd chosen to trust him? Or would the violence change her the way it had changed him?

When Zoe completed her solo run, she wasn't even breathing that hard. If anything, she looked more energized and more alive, as though the physical challenge had awakened something fundamental in her nature.

"I feel like I could run for miles," she said, stretching her arms overhead in a way that made her shirt ride up, exposing the light brown skin of her stomach and making his mouth go completely dry. "Is that normal?"

"For a wolf waking up? Yeah." Logan's voice came out rougher than he'd intended. "Your endurance will keep building as your body adapts."

She's incredible, he thought, watching the way golden flecks danced in her hazel eyes. She really could fight beside me. Be my equal in every way.

But a darker realization followed—if she became his equal, she'd also become his biggest weakness. Because Logan Cross, feared enforcer of the Silvercrest pack, had just discovered he had something precious enough to destroy him. And not just by the hand of his enemies, but by his own.

"We need a break," he announced abruptly, his tactical mind demanding space to process the implications of her rapid development. "Lunch, then we'll work on more techniques."

Because teaching her to transform into her true nature would mean teaching her to kill. And Logan wasn't sure his heart could survive watching his bright, fierce mate learn to carry the same darkness he'd been carrying for a decade.