Logan (Wolf Mountain Shifters #3)

4. Logan

FOUR

LOGAN

I rolled over, throwing the covers off me. Nothing I did made me comfortable enough to fall asleep. It didn’t help that my wolf was being an ass. He was pushing at me, but with no real purpose. Not that he was asking to run or hunt or even curl up in his fur and have us sleep like that. He was just below the surface, nudging at me.

It didn’t help that it was the middle of the day. But I’d had two sleepless nights, my beast and I both on edge. I’d spent most of the past couple of nights in my fur hunting. I needed sleep before I collapsed.

Please let me sleep , I pleaded.

Can’t.

Why?

I don’t know.

And that made two of us. It was such an odd sensation. I was on alert, but without sensing looming danger. If it was just me, I’d have assumed I was all up in my head. But it was my wolf, too.

I attempted to catch more sleep, but about an hour later, I gave up. Maybe the fresh air would do me some good. It was better than my current plan, which was to get grumpy at my wolf for being on edge when I was as well.

My wolf didn’t show any desire to come out, and I would not force him. Instead, I pulled on my jeans and shirt and headed outside.

One thing I loved about Wolf Mountain was the lack of car exhaust. Sure, there was some from time to time, especially with our own vehicles. But all I could smell was nature. It was a balm that fixed nearly everything.

I wandered with no particular direction in mind. I had no place to be, and the surrounding land was ours. “Goddess, if there’s a reason you brought me out here, show me the way.”

It had been a long time since I spoke to the goddess, and it hadn’t been something I’d thought about; the words just flowed from my lips. But after I did, a crinkling of leaves had me sending her a thank you. It was probably a fox or rabbit scampering away after scenting me. But on the off chance it wasn’t, I was walking my ass there.

“Okay, what was that?” I looked around the small clearing and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Not that I expected I would. Nothing odd happened here.

Except when Blaze found his mate escaping from a piece-of-shit human.

Oh, and there was the time Jake found his mate in her grandfather’s old shack.

“Nothing odd happens here except for meeting our mates.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Or their mates, anyway.” I sighed.

I didn’t enjoy having green eyes regarding my friends’ happiness. They deserved it, all four of them. Jealousy stank.

There was another rustle of leaves, this time on the other side of the clearing.

“I guess I’m doing this.” Following random woodland sounds in the hopes the goddess had a reason. Gods, I was being ridiculous.

This time, I didn’t reach the source, the wind shifting and the most delicious scent tickling my nose. Amber and rose and lavender filled my senses.

Mate . My wolf was right up close, not pushing to get out, but angling to be front and center.

Where? If he sensed our mate, she was near.

Mate. Follow her scent.

Oh, yeah. Duh.

It took my wolf bugging me to make me understand what was right before me. Then again, that was why we had beasts, I supposed. I walked quickly, scenting the air with every breath. She was here. No wonder I was on edge. My body felt her presence before my dumb ass figured it out.

Around a large tree, I stopped dead in my tracks. It was her. The woman in my dreams. Unlike in my subconscious, she had a face. Even with her looking into the distance, I admired the beauty of her cheekbones and the adorable upturn to her nose.

“Mate.” I tasted the word as my eyes roamed over her.

Mate.

She’s our mate, but also… not a wolf. We must be careful. If we scared her… I shivered at the mere thought of it.

Mate.

Her head snapped up, her face brimming into a smile. Did she feel it too? Did she sense our connection?

Mate . My wolf tore through me before I could stop him.

I expected her to scream and run or take out a weapon. But she didn’t. The woman looked at me in awe. She wasn’t frightened. That was a good start. An amazing one, even.

“Can you talk like this?” she asked.

My wolf was not impressed, especially after I commanded he give me back my skin. You met her first. Now it’s my turn.

“Meeting” was a bit of a stretch, but it worked, and he fell back enough for me to take my human form.

“I’m Logan from over there.” I pointed toward a slope in the distance, not wanting to take my eyes off of her long enough to get my physical bearings.

“Emerson.” She blinked a few times in succession. “My friends call me Emmie. You’re real.”

“I was thinking the same thing about you.” That and how much I wanted to kiss her, to hug her, to learn everything there was to know about her.