Chapter 30

Lucas’s POV

Logan is my mate. Where is Logan. Logan is waiting.

I can’t get Harper’s words out of my head. She kept bringing Logan up, and I wish she wouldn’t. It only makes me feel more guilty about what happened after the mating ball. I wasn’t thinking straight, but that was no excuse.

Attacking, practically assaulting, Harper wasn’t my intention. I didn’t know my heat would be triggered before the run, and I couldn’t get far enough away before she found me.

All it took was one touch, and I was a goner. I couldn’t control it. Harper’s scent and her touch set me on fire in a way I can’t explain or describe. It’s like how I feel when Sierra touches me except this was a hundred times stronger.

I’ve been digging through my brain trying to come up with a reason that I would get that reaction, but all I remember is Harper.

Even though I was out of my mind that night, I remember her. The way she felt against me, the way she moaned, the way she dug her nails into my shoulders… every bit of our interaction is burned into my mind.

It’s been driving me crazy in my dreams for the last week.

Another thing driving me crazy is her mate. They’ve been spending time together. I noticed. First the date and then breakfast every morning. Each time she smiles at him, something in my chest tightens.

I can’t even enjoy my breakfast anymore because I’m distracted by the two of them. This morning, Logan had his hand on her thigh, and I had to take my breakfast in my office.

Why?

Because I almost came out of my chair to walk over and snap every finger that touched her thigh.

The more I think of them getting closer to each other, the angrier I become. I can’t stop the feeling from surfacing no matter what I do, and it’s more than confusing. It’s distracting— so distracting that I can’t focus on anything else.

“Bro, what’s wrong with you?” Mason asks. He leans over my desk and waves a hand in my face, bringing me back to the present.

“No—”

“Don’t say nothing because your mind is nowhere near this office,” Mason says. “You’re a million miles away.”

“Sorry. What were you saying?” I ask, looking up. Brandon, my Gamma, stands off to the side with a curious look on his face. He’s studying me as well, but I ignore their stares.

“I was saying that we need to amp up the warrior’s training and make sure our patrols have more of a presence,” Mason says, glancing at the board with the upcoming patrols. Each patrol is made of pairs or groups of three, which has been a problem lately.

I walk over to the board and study the schedule. We make it at the beginning of every month, but now we’ll need to change things.

“These two- and three-man patrols aren’t going to cut it anymore,” Brandon says, mirroring my thoughts.

When I look at my Gamma, I instantly see Logan’s face. The pair of brothers resemble each other, and I have to look away to force my thoughts away from Logan to focus. I don’t have time to be distracted.

The attacks from the rogues are becoming more frequent and more deadly. Two of my men nearly died the other day, and the only reason they survived is because Harper could heal them. If we didn’t have her, I’m afraid they wouldn’t have been able to heal on their own, even with the advanced healing werewolves have.

“We’ll schedule patrols that are no smaller than five or six to a group,” I announce, moving a few name markers around. “For now, make sure each warrior is armed with a weapon.”

“Weapons?” Mason asks.

I nod, glancing at my men, “I want them to have more than just their wolf forms in case something happens where they can’t shift. Knives or guns, nothing larger than a pistol.”

“What about training?” Mason asks.

“Training every morning at seven,” I answer. “We’ll schedule our strongest warriors to patrol at that time, and they can train after their patrols.”

“I’ll help lead the training sessions,” Mason says, while Brandon moves to the board.

“And I’ll create the new patrol schedule. I’ll have it complete and dispersed by the end of the day so new patrols can start tomorrow morning,” Brandon says, looking back at me for confirmation.

I nod and rake my fingers through my hair.

At the moment, there isn’t much else I can do to facilitate better patrols. Mason and Brandon are my best men, which is why I chose them as my Beta and Gamma, and having them step up is more than helpful.

“Mason, I’ll lead training since I train every morning anyways.,” I tell him, remembering the task I’d given him last week. “You’re still tasked with forming the scout team. How’s that going, by the way?”

My Beta sighs and leans against the wall, and just from the sound, I know I’m not about to hear the news I want.

“We’ve only found one man who is willing to sneak into the rogue land to snoop around, but we need more than that,” he tells me, plucking a name off the wall. He passes the small name plaque to me, and I glance at it.

Jeremy Allen. He’s two years younger than me, lives on the edge of the forest with his family, is unmated, and is one of our top warriors.

“He’s the only one?” I ask.

Mason nods, “Which is great, but he’s not enough. We need at least three for a semblance of safety.”

“That’s probably why no one wants to go,” Brandon says with a shrug.

Three seems low, but more than three and it would draw attention. Rogues may not be as organized as official packs, but they’ve become more organized since the rogue king took over. Rogues have been causing more trouble ever since the rogue king took over.

“Alright, offer a high warrior rank status to those who volunteer. Once you have a list of names, bring it to me, and I’ll approve it,” I tell him before looking back at the two of my officers.

With a nod, they both leave my office, and it takes all of five seconds for Harper to invade my thoughts again. Logan then also pops into my mind, and the irritation from earlier resurfaces.

Before I can think about it, I find myself reaching for the phone. Then the phone is ringing, the line is connecting, and my mouth is moving.

“Come to my office.”

A few minutes later, there’s a knock on my office door. Harper walks in a moment later, looking confused.

“You wanted to see me? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine, but I need to inform you that your mate, that Logan isn’t the clean and simple man you think he is. He’s had many women before you and doesn’t like to stick to just one woman at a time, either—”

“Why are you acting like a bitter ex-boyfriend, Lucas?” Harper snaps, narrowing her eyes. Her anger bleeds through her tone, and I understand why. It’s for good reason because I obviously can’t control myself, which is becoming problematic.

I don’t want to admit that seeing them together makes me feel things I shouldn’t, so I avoid the question.

“I just wanted to inform you so that you know what you’re getting yourself into.”