Page 4 of The Alpha’s Sin (Forbidden Omegaverse #7)

POPPY

I sit on the bed in Logan’s spare room, feeling dazed. At first I was sure he was mad at me—he got so angry looking and his pale gray eyes almost seemed to glow—seriously scary. But then he assured me it was Dirk he was angry at, not me.

I’m impressed by the way he didn’t try to make any excuses for his little brother.

I wonder if he can really help me get the money back.

I hope so but even if he can’t, at least he’s taking my side.

And it was nice of him to say I could stay here and even nicer of him to give me a room to sleep in instead of the couch.

Yeah, he’s nice now, but wait until he finds out you’re pregnant! whispers a mean little voice in my head.

I push it away. It was a cheap test. I’m not really pregnant. I’m almost totally sure about that. Probably being under all this stress is what made me miss my period. I bet I’ll get it any day now and then I’ll feel stupid for being worried.

I look around the room to take my mind off my anxiety.

It’s nice and bachelor neat—it’s clear a single man lives here.

The furniture is sturdy and clean but hardly decorative—a solid oak bed and a dresser to match dominate the room.

In the corner there’s a bookshelf, which has several Tom Clancy novels on it.

The only decoration is a picture that looks hand-painted—a forest at night with a full moon overhead.

I wonder if Logan painted the picture—he doesn’t look like the artistic type, but you never can tell, I guess.

It’s pretty, in a wild kind of way. In one corner there’s a big gray wolf with glowing eyes and there are more eyes glowing among the painted trees.

Interesting …and a little bit scary, I decide.

And sure enough, in the other corner is a signature— CH in bold letters.

I try to imagine Logan holding a brush and making this art…

and I can’t quite do it. Then again, I never would have imagined him putting an arm around me and letting me cry all over him either.

My brother-in-law has hidden depths, I can’t help thinking.

I felt so small in his arms—but safe too.

And when he said he was going to take care of the situation and I could stay as long as I wanted, I felt so relieved. He? —

My thoughts are cut off by Logan bringing in my suitcases.

“Just have a few boxes left to bring in,” he says, laying the battered suitcases on the bed. “ Is this all you have or is there more back at the apartment?”

“There’s nothing else.” I shake my head. “ I , uh, didn’t bring much with me. Dirk got me to leave most of my things and all my Grandma’s furniture in a storage unit.” I have a sudden thought and put a hand to my mouth.

“What? What is it?” Logan asks, frowning in concern.

“Oh, it’s just that he promised me he would pay the rent on the unit, and I never checked to see if he was really paying.” I rub my temples as a tension headache squeezes my head in a vice. I hate to say it—hate to even think it—but I really doubt my runaway husband actually paid any rent.

Logan looks grim.

“Do you know the name of the place?”

I nod.

“U- Store - It Storage in Tampa , Florida .”

“Maybe you’d better call them and see,” Logan says.

I twist my fingers together, feeling my cheeks get hot again.

“I, er, I can’t,” I admit. “ Dirk didn’t pay the bill and my phone service got cut off.”

Logan looks angry again, but this time I know he’s not mad at me.

“Okay, we’re going to get that paid for you ASAP but in the meantime, you can use my phone to call.”

He takes it out of his pocket, unlocks it for me, and hands it over. I have to admit, I’m surprised at this. Dirk would never let me touch his phone. He said phone privacy is important for couples.

“I wouldn’t ask to use your phone, babe,” he told me, when I had left my phone upstairs and asked to use his to Google something. “ I don’t think you should ask to use mine either.”

But Logan doesn’t seem to feel that way. Then again, we’re not dating—he’s my brother-in-law—so he doesn’t have anything to hide from me.

I accept the phone gratefully and look up the number of the storage place. But by the time he brings in the last of my boxes, I’ve gotten hold of the front office and found out what I already knew in my heart.

“Let me guess—more fucking bad news,” Logan growls, when he puts down the last box at my feet and gets a look at my face.

I nod dejectedly.

“He didn’t pay the rent. Then , when they gave him a courtesy call about it, he authorized them to auction off the contents of the whole unit.”

I feel like crying all over again. All my Grandma’s furniture has been sold to the highest bidder.

The brass bed I slept in growing up…her upright piano where she taught me to play…

the old-fashioned hurricane lamps that she had in the living room for as long as I could remember…

and so much more. All of it, gone. Just … gone.

Logan swears and rakes a hand through his hair.

“Fuck! If I catch that little shit I’m going to break every bone in his body,” he growls and he really looks like he means it. His eyes are almost glowing and there’s an air of animalistic menace about him—a primal fury unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

“They wouldn’t say how much it went for,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself. “ Just that they sent him the money a few weeks ago. Oh God , I wish I’d never met him!”

“I don’t blame you!” Logan is pacing again, wearing a hole in the dark blue carpet of the bedroom. “ God , that little shit!”

“It doesn’t matter— I can’t get back to Florida anyway and even if I could, I’d have no place to put all that stuff,” I say dully.

But still, it hurts. I’m not a materialistic person— I’ve never been someone who feels the need to have the biggest or the newest or the best stuff.

It bothers me, though, to lose things that have value to me—things that have memories attached to them.

Dirk didn’t just auction off my Grandma’s furniture—he auctioned off my childhood. At least, that’s what it feels like.

Suddenly, Logan drops to one knee before me. I’m so surprised I don’t react, other than to widen my eyes—even when he takes my hands in his.

“Listen, Poppy , I swear to you, I’m going to make this right,” he says, searching my eyes with his own.

He’s so big that even with him kneeling and me sitting on the side of the bed, we’re eye-to-eye.

“ I swear it by the First Pack and by Lady Moon . I’m taking you under my protection and if I can’t find Dirk and get back your property and money, I’ll pay my no-good brother’s debt in full. ”

“Oh, no, Logan !” I protest, finding my voice at last. “ I don’t expect you to pay for what Dirk did. That’s crazy —none of this is your fault!”

He gets a stubborn look on his face.

“I won’t take no for an answer. Dirk’s my younger brother. I should have tried harder to rein him in when our parents died. After all, he’s just a Beta and I’m an Alpha — I could have exerted more influence over him.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I nod—mainly because of the way he’s staring at me so intently.

The way those pale gray eyes look into mine gives me a little shiver down my spine.

Also , why does he smell so good? Like fur and spice and leather?

It must be his cologne, right? Is it weird that I’m noticing this now?

It’s probably weird and wrong—after all, he’s my brother-in-law.

“Um…” I manage and then run out of words. I literally feel weak in the knees. It’s a good thing I’m sitting down. “ Okay , thank you,” I say at last, uncertain what else to say.

“Good.” He squeezes my fingers gently—he’s so big that my hands are completely swallowed up in his. I can’t help noticing how warm his skin is. “ It’s a pact,” he adds. “ You’re under my protection until I can either find my brother or I pay his debt to you.”

Then he rises smoothly—he moves with an animalistic grace that’s surprising for such a large man—nods at me, and leaves the room.

I just sit there, feeling dazed. What just happened? And why can’t I forget the intense look on his face?