“Ah,” she moaned, not exactly protesting.
“Enjoying the sun?” Logan asked softly. His hands held tight to her knees, not moving.
“Yes. It feels so good. The sun…I needed this.”
“I see you found the suits Fi brought you,” he acknowledged. He’d arranged for clothing to be sent while they’d been at lunch.
“Thank you. I really appreciate everything you’ve done. I don’t know how I can repay you for helping me.” Ah, so that’s where all the new suits came from. Wynter knew it was silly but she felt relieved to know that he’d brought bikinis to his pool house just for her.
“Just showing you a little southern hospitality is all. I’ve got lots of things to show you as a matter of fact,” he laughed.
“I just bet you do,” she flirted. “And something tells me that I’d like to see them.”
“Well, I’m sure that can be arranged after we’re done with our business.”
“Yes, that.” The reference to business dulled the ache between her legs considerably. How could she forget?
“I got a text from Jax,” he mentioned nonchalantly. “He can’t get down here tonight. Looks like he’ll be here tomorrow at the earliest.”
“Why not?” she asked, concerned he wasn’t going to come for her. She was about to get up but Logan held her still, placing his palms on the tops of her thighs.
“Snow. Airport’s closed. No flights in, no flights out,” he explained in a calm voice. “But don’t worry; I told him that I’ll take good care of you.”
“I’m sure you will,” Wynter replied sarcastically. And wouldn’t she just love it, she thought.
He smiled broadly. Truth was that he wasn’t a damn bit upset that Jax was delayed. It gave him more time to get to know Wynter and hopefully, find out what secrets she held.
“In the meantime, we’re meeting with some vamps tonight.”
Her face went white with fear. Too soon. They’d take her. As much as she wanted to trust Logan, there was no way she could be around another vampire.
“Hey there. It’s okay,” he coaxed, caressing her skin. “Come on, look at me, Wynter.”
She complied, meeting his eyes. Once again tears threatened to fall. “You don’t know…what they did. I can’t go back.”
“I told you that you’re safe with me. No one will get to you while you are in my protection. Do you understand?” he asked calmly. What did they do to her? He’d seen the bite marks, but hadn’t delved any deeper. A serious expression washed over his face. “I would never put you in danger. Ever.”
A tear ran down her face as she struggled to maintain contact with the powerful Alpha. She wanted to trust him, but it was so very difficult after everything that had happened.
“Listen sweetheart, I don’t know what happened to you…what they did to you, but I promise to stop whatever’s happening. Do you remember?” He had to ask. In a low, soft voice he proceeded, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible. “You can tell me…what they did to you. The bite marks…I saw them. They’re mostly on your arms, but there were a few on your legs…your thighs.”
Wynter closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. She’d thought long and hard about her periods of unconsciousness. “I wasn’t raped,” she stated definitively. “That is something I’d know. But everything else…”
She’d been violated. Bled. Infected. She looked away from him, embarrassed that she even had to discuss it.
Logan waited for her to finish. He wanted to hold and hide her so that no one could ever hurt her again, but he needed her to open up to him.
“There were times in the beginning…the guards…they fed on me. I was conscious. But then they stopped because the blood loss made it hard for me to work…I couldn’t think straight. They eventually figured out it was slowing my progress,” she recalled with disgust. “So they stopped…for the most part. If I refused to work, they’d attack me…shove me against my cot…their fangs.” She rubbed her arms, reliving the pain.
Logan deliberately calmed himself. He detested the bloodsucking demons he’d met over the years. Yes, most vampires were mainly well integrated within society. But some vampires skated the edge of morality, often justifying the torture they inflicted on their victims. He refocused on Wynter, absorbing every detail she shared.
“The bottom line is that there are missing time periods. I don’t remember. Did they bleed me? Yes. Did they infect me with something…change me? I was human. Now look at me,” she pleaded. “I don’t know what they did…I don’t know what I am…I don’t know…” Her words trailed off as she shook her head in frustration.
“I’m sorry,” Logan told her sincerely. “I don’t know what they did to you either, but I promise you that we’ll find out.”
“I don’t know, Logan. This was my responsibility. It’s so messed up,” she confessed.
“Right now, you’re safe. And we’re going to work things out. Now, of course, it would be a whole lot easier if you’d tell me everything, but I get that you need time with Jax. I may be new to this Alpha gig, but I assure you that I’ve been a wolf a very long time. I know protocol. Been livin’ and breathin’ it for over a hundred years. The last thing I want to do is get you in trouble with your Alpha. In the meantime, we’re meeting with Kade Issacson tonight. Yes, he’s a vampire. And as hard as it is to believe, he is one of the good guys. I hate to have to drag you there with me, but I can’t leave you alone, and this can’t wait.”
Wynter pursed her lips, unsure that any vampires could be anything less than vicious. But she wanted to trust him. “You’re sure? You’re sure the vampires won’t attack me?”
Logan laughed, “Questioning the Alpha, huh? Seems we’re going to have to work on those pack skills of yours.”
Wynter gave him a small smile in return. “Ha, ha. Funny wolf.”
“And you, too, are a wolf.”
“So you say.”
“And that is what counts. Hey, I want to tell you a story.”
“A story, huh?”
“Yes. A story,” he confirmed. “A few months ago in Philadelphia, my Alpha met his mate, Kalli. The interesting thing about Kalli is that she’s a lovely little hybrid, but at one time, she denied her wolf. And in the process, she just happened to invent this nasty little drug that essentially masked her scent and stopped her from shifting.”
“So if she took the drug you would think she was a human?”
“Exactly.” Logan let his hands wander down to her calves as he spoke. Goddess, she felt so good.
“And do you think that is happening to me? Maybe they drugged me?”
“Well, if you were human and now you are wolf, they did something. A drug? Maybe. The drug she created? No. But my point is that there’re always things in this world that we don’t understand. People will always push the frontier of what we think is possible. Biology. Nature. It’s always changing. Slowly but changing. And like what Kalli did, supernaturals and humans are finding ways to accelerate the process regardless of whether it’s the right thing to do.”
If you only knew, she thought guiltily.
“I’m Alpha for a reason, Wynter. Like Jax, I’ve been around a long time. I’m not going to sugarcoat what I sense, what I know. You may have been human when you started but I can tell you with certainty that you’re wolf now. I don’t know how they did it or why they did it, but it’s who you are.”
Wynter stared off, refusing to verbally acknowledge what he was saying. Deep inside, she knew he was right. Her recovery, even since this morning, had been accelerated, deviating far from what would be considered normal for a human. She was feeling good. No, not just good but excellent. As a scientist, she knew there was no logical reason to explain it. After being bitten and chased, it should take her days to recuperate.