Chapter Twenty Two.

Chapter Twenty Two.

I stared blankly at the walls in Logan's office, a blanket pooled around my waist and a jumper hanging off of my frame to protect me from the cold air of Logan's house. Logan sat behind his desk, his head submerged in maps and paperwork to keep himself busy.

After I had discovered the bodies almost a week ago the whole pack had been turned upside down with the horrifying news. The family members of those who had been murdered were notified almost immediately and a funeral had been held deep in the woods a few days later. I closed my eyes as I remembered the faces of the parents whose children had been killed. Their faces would haunt me every time I closed my eyes and every time I tried to sleep at night it was all I could see.

The two who had been killed were Clara Wood and James Kidd. They were both eighteen years old and were mates who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. James had been selected to patrol the north border and Clara had gone along to keep him company when they were attacked by rogues and no doubt my father had been present as well.

I knew that as soon as I read the letter that had been left I knew who the I was. I had gotten myself so caught up in the events that had happened in the past few weeks and my new found wolf that I had almost forgotten the threat of my father. The accident in the woods was only a reminder that he was still out there and the harm he was capable of inflicting. He was just as heartless as he was before me and my mum had been able to escape. The murder of two innocent pack mates proved that.

The entire pack felt the death of the two mates. Their family had locked themselves away after the funeral and a dark cloud surrounded the packs territory. The weather had worsened adding to the already saddened mood of everyone. My wolf had retreated into the back of my head as she silently grieved for the pack members that we had lost. She kept to herself and left me alone most of the time unless she wanted Logan in which case she would begin to whimper and lightly push against my self-control. My mum had retreated to her bedroom where she spent most of her days only coming out for food.

Logan and his dad had increased security as soon as the news of the deaths had been discovered. Patrols around the borders have been increased so that the border was always being patrolled and those on patrol were in groups of three. A curfew had been set in place and pack members were always meant to be in groups and never on their own.

Everywhere I looked pack members eyes were red and their heads cast down and guilt would slowly consume my entire being. It was all my fault that Clara and James were killed as it was my dad who had killed them and sent the rogues on the territory. If my mum and I had never run away then Clara and James would probably still be alive, their families would be still be complete and the heartache that everyone experience wouldn't have happened.

My dad was a cruel man that would never leave me and my mum alone. He was always going to come after us and he wouldn't rest until my mum and I had suffered to the point that we were broken beyond all repair. I shuddered at the thought of what my dad would do when he made an appearance and demand for my mum and I to return to him.

Logan had already stated that his pack was more than willing to fight for me and mum, for our safety as I was Logan's mate and the future Luna of the pack. I had argued as soon as the words had left Logan's mouth as many people would most likely die when the time came and I couldn't have anyone else die for me. I wanted to walk straight out the front door and in to the forest until I was taken by my dad if it meant that Logan and his pack was safe but I knew Logan wouldn't let me take one step out the door without something being with me.

"Esme," Logan's growl pulled me out of my thoughts as I opened my eyes to see that Logan was staring at me from behind his desk.

Logan looked tired which only added to the guilt I was already feeling. His hair was sticking up in all different directs from the amount of times he had run his fingers through his darks locks and bags decorated the area under his eyes from the lack of sleep he had gotten at night which was my fault as well. Ever since I had found the bodies my nightmares had returned. I would sometimes dream about my dad and when he would beat me and other times I would dream about finding the bodies but this time they would be my loved ones. I had dreamt about the pack hating me last night with Logan handing me and my mum over to my dad without hesitation.

"Yes?" I asked my voice thick as I coughed to remove the lump that had suddenly formed in the back of my throat.

Logan didn't say anything as he stood up from behind his desk and walked around it towards me where I sat on the sofa. I watched his movements through my eyelashes until he was crouching down in front of me, one of his hands resting on my knee and the other resting on the arm of the sofa I sat on.

"You need to stop thinking the way you are," Logan told me softly as his brown eyes gazed into my own with a silent plea, "It's not your fault as no one could have known that your father would attack and kill when he did. The pack is more than willing to protect you from you father, it would be an honour to protect you as you are the Luna without you I would be nothing which in turn would affect the pack which would also become nothing if it wasn't for you."

"I can't stop seeing their faces." I whispered to Logan knowing he would know who I was talking about.

"I know," he hushed gently, "but Clara and James wouldn't want you to suffer, they are together with the moon goddess watching over them and so they are happy."

"But they're dead and it's all my fault." I cired, my lower lips trembling as tears gathered behind my eyes.

"It's not your fault." Logan growled lowly as he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

I bit my lower lip as I unwrapped my legs from under me so that I could sit on the edge of the sofa and wrap my arms tightly around Logan's broad shoulders. I hugged him tightly as if he would disappear if I didn't. My face buried in Logan's shoulder as I silently cried into him for the two lost teenagers who had been unfairly taken from us to soon. Logan's arms were around me instantly as he pulled my forward until I sat in his lap with his legs crossed and my legs straddling his hips.

It was silent as I cried into Logan who held me tightly to him; every time I hiccupped he would gently squeeze me reassuring me that he was there for me. My wolf was slowly reacting to his touch until I could once again feel her inside the back of my head just as I had once I had shifted. She had come out of her shell and I could tell that she was back to being there with me. She wasn't the same as she once had been but she was almost there. I knew that with Logan by our side she would soon become herself once again.

"Esme," Logan spoke my name softly once again.

I pulled myself away from his shoulder so that I could look at him, "Logan."

He reached up and gently took my face in his hands so that he could wipe away the tears from under my eyes with the pads of his thumb before he spoke softly to me, "I will do everything I can to protect you. You're my mate, my Luna and someday my wife and the mother of our children and I will never let anything happen to you."

My heart rate increased with each word he said until it felt like it was going to explode in my chest as my wolf was soaring at his declaration and I knew then the intensity of my feelings for Logan and the words seemed to tumble out of my mouth before I could stop myself, "I love you."

The room was silent and my already pounding heart now beat painfully against my ribs as I waited for Logan to reply. The silencing was almost defining the small space of the office and I began to panic as I realised I meant every word that I had said. I blushed a deep shade of pink.

I had known before my shift that I was slowly falling in love with Logan and my wolf had only seemed to intensify my feelings for Logan when we first came into contact with Logan as one. The situation in which I was telling Logan that I loved him could have been better, more romantic. I was slowly regretting the way in which I had told him but it didn't mean that I regretted telling him what I felt.

My wolf slowly whimpered at the thought of Logan not saying it back, as it would mean that Logan didn't feel the same way about us as we did about him and his wolf. Although I was surprisingly calm about the thought of Logan not loving me back as I knew that it may have been too soon and with everything that had happened in the past few weeks it was understandable if he didn't say it back. I had caused him so much trouble in the short time that I had been in his life.

"You don't have to say it back or anything," I began to ramble after another minute of defining silence, "I just thou-"

"Say it again." Logan growled as he interrupted my rumbling.

"What?" I blushed. It was weird to think that a few minutes ago that the mood had been dark and clouded with sadness but now a different electricity hummed in the air more than it ever had before and I knew that it was because of my recent confession.

"Say it again." He repeated.

My mind drew a blank as I began to repeat my rambling, "you don't have to say it back, I underst-"

"Not that," Logan cut me off with a small chuckle as I blushed whilst he clarified what he meant before, "What you said before."

"I love you." I told him softly, my heart that had calmed down once again began to flutter as a swarm of butterflies gathered in my stomach.

"Again." He growled. His eyes darkened considerable until I thought that they had turned as black as coal. It wasn't the black eyes that I had first seen when Logan had gotten angry in the beginning as I could see the lustful haze that clouded his vision and my body became alive at the sight instead of cowering away as I would have done in what seemed like a long time ago.

"I love you." I told him again a smile curving the edges of my lips upwards.

A little over a week ago I had be certain that I wasn't ready to mate with Logan but the loss of the two pack members who had been mates had made me realise that at any moment the person that I love the most could be taken from me. The threat of my father meant that Logan was at more of a risk being taken from me and I came to the realisation that I was ready to mate with Logan. I wanted to be one with Logan in every way possible, the purest of ways being mated with Logan.

I had been scared before that Logan would leave me as soon as I gave myself to him but I had been stupid to believe myself when I had thought that Logan would leave me. I knew now that Logan would never leave me as he had proven to me so many times that he would stand by my side forever. I was ready to let my walls down and let Logan in, in all ways possible and I was ready to be Logan's in every way, heart, body, mind and soul.

Logan pounced quickly as I had a few seconds ago been seated comfortable on his lap and I know lay on the sofa with my legs wrapped tightly around his waist with Logan hovering above me, a huge, genuine smile gracing his face. I reached up and wrapped a hand gently in his hair whilst my fingers tips on my other had gently traced his check, traveling across the wrinkles created by his smile.

Logan dipped his head and I found his lips against my own for the first time in what felt like months but had actually been a week. I had distanced myself from Logan after the incident but now I wanted nothing more than to be one with Logan in every way possible. The clothes bothered me in a way they never had before as they stopped my bare skin from touching Logan's skin.

My body seemed to come alive with want and need as I wrapped my legs tightly around Logan's waist succeeding in pulling his body closer to mine. A sensation bubbled in my lower stomach that I had never felt before and I wanted nothing more than for Logan to explore the sensation further as I knew that he was the reason for the bubble.

Logan suddenly pulled away from my lips causing a small whimper to escape from my now parted lips and I blushed at the sound. I shifted uncomfortably underneath Logan at my sudden rise in body temperature that I knew could only be decreased with a some sort of release.

"I love you," Logan told me halting my movements.

I gazed up at Logan, my eyes wide and no longer clouded with lust, "excuse me."

"I love you," Logan chuckled as he nuzzled his head in my neck and kissed my mark, my hands tangled themselves in his hair as a breathless moan left me from the shudder that ran through my body from the simple kiss. "I love you, my little mate."

Logan continued to make his way up my neck, kissing and sucking the tender skin before his lips were once again pressed to my own. I felt his arms wrap around me tightly, holding me to him as he easily stood up from the sofa with me still in his arms. He began to make his way out of his office and though the house, never once taking his lips away from mine as they began to move against each other.

The sound of a door being slammed shut made me jump and pull away to see that Logan had carried me to our bedroom with the door shut. In one swift movement I found myself lying on my back on top of the covers with Logan standing a few feet away from me a grin on his face and his eyes a light with mischief as he launched himself towards me causing a small, nervous giggle to blossom within me as he was one again seated between my legs, resting his weight on his elbows.

"You're so beautiful," He whispered as he stroked my cheek with his fingertips and the other brushing the hair that had fallen in my face when he threw me onto the bed.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply as his scent wrapped itself around my wolf and I, "mate with me."

I felt Logan still above me and I opened my eyes to see that he was staring down at me with an unreadable expression but the lust was evident in his black eyes.

"What?" He muttered never breaking eye contact with me.

"Logan, I'm ready," I told him with a small, nervous smile, "I want to be one with you in every way possible, heart, mind, soul and body."

"Esme," he began, "I don't kn-"

I cut Logan off quickly with my lips pressing against his. My hands reached up and cupped his cheeks, pulling him closer to me so that we were now chest to chest. I could feel a second of resistance from Logan before he gave in and kissed me back. His hands dropped to my hips where they ducked under my jumper and rested on my waist, his thumbs gently caressing the skin at the bottom of my ribcage. A shudder ran through my body as excitement gathered in my stomach.

Logan pulled away from me, his forehead leaning against mine, "are you sure? We can wait, we have forever."

"Then let this be the beginning of our forever." I whispered.

~

Logan didn't need any more convincing as he pressed his lips to mine and showed me just how much he loved me.

Every touch, every kiss and every word spoken showed me just how much Logan loved me.

AN:// Ah they mated!