Chapter 39

Harper’s POV

I can’t breathe.

I’m going to suffocate in the growing tension if he doesn’t say something.

“He’s not a murderer,” Lucas says while dragging a hand through his hair. He watches me closely as if to make sure I’m not going to run, but I stay planted in place.

“What do you mean? I saw—”

“Like I said, whatever you saw is wrong, and I’d bet my life on it,” he says calmly. Too calmly. Does he know something I don’t? Lucas and I stare at each other for a few minutes, until my legs take the opportunity to be dramatic and give out.

I shriek as my legs turn to jelly, but Lucas catches me. His hands clamp down on my waist, sending tingles racing across my skin. It makes me gasp, but I don’t pull away in fear of falling again.

“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed,” Lucas huffs. “You’re weak and need to replenish your energy by resting and eating.”

For the first time since I stormed out here, I realize he’s holding a bag of food.

“Will you let me explain what happened without going all crazy on me again?” He asks, and I can do nothing but nod as he leads me back to the room I woke up in. I carefully settle in the bed, accepting the food when he sets it on the foldout table.

Lucas waits and watches me unwrap the sandwich he brought. He doesn’t start explaining until I’ve started eating. It’s strange, but also, it’s kind of nice that someone cares enough to make sure I’m okay before doing something else.

“I’m sure what you saw wasn’t pleasant, and I’m sorry about that, but there’s more going on than you know,” he says again. I nod, letting him know I’m listening, and he continues, “Do you remember the attack from a few days ago where I was patrolling with Jonathan and Jack?”

Just the thought of the warrior’s death makes my heart ache.

“You don’t forget something like that so easily,” I mutter, taking a bite of my sandwich to try to distract my hurting heart. I’ll never forget how Jonathan reacted when I told him his brother couldn’t be healed.

Jack was already gone by the time Jonathan brought him to me.

“The rogue that Ryan killed was the only survivor from that attack. He was not an innocent man. In fact, he’s a killer. He killed Jack,” Lucas says, making me look up. All hunger I felt falls away at his words.

“He looked so young, though.” It makes me sick to think that someone only a little older than me could be so cruel. I know there are murderers out there, but to see one is different than just knowing about it.

Lucas nods and frowns, “Yes, but I guess killers come in all shapes and sizes. We captured him that day and locked him in the cellar to interrogate. I wanted to see if he could tell us why we’re being attacked and what the rogue king is planning.”

I nod, fully invested now.

“While he was being transported earlier today, the rogue got free and ran. Ryan, the warrior you saw, was one of the men out looking for the rogue,” Lucas explains. “We couldn’t let him get away, so I ordered that he be executed for his crime of killing one of our own.”

I nod, finally understanding the lack of hesitation in the warrior. It wasn’t murder. He was following orders and getting justice for our fallen pack member.

“Ryan isn’t a bad guy, and he felt awful for scaring you,” Lucas says, making me look up. “In fact…” I watch as Lucas stands up, walks to the door, and pokes his head out. He calls out for Ryan, and a moment later, the man who chased me through the forest appears.

He stops in the doorway, only entering when I wave him in.

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you.”

“And I’m sorry for scaring you, Healer Harper. It wasn’t my intention,” he says, smiling stiffly.

Another knock sounds at the door just before Logan walks in. When he sees me, he rushes over, taking my face in his hands and looking me over.

“I’m so sorry, Harper. I didn’t mean for you to be in the forest alone for so long, but I got held up and—“

A rumbling growl fills the room, and we all turn to Lucas. He blinks then stands, and the sound disappears.

“Alpha, are you—”

“I have to go. Logan, I expect to see you at the training grounds tomorrow morning.”

“Of course, Alpha. We’ll be there.”

Lucas glances at me briefly before he and Ryan leave the room and leave me and Logan alone.

“You can sit under this tree and watch,” Logan says with a smile. “I’m glad you came to watch. Training might be early, but it’s a great way to star the day.”

Yesterday, he asked me to come watch his first training session with the warriors since he’s now officially in the ranks. Of course, I accepted.

“Go, before you get in trouble,” I tell him, pushing him toward the large group of men gathering in the field. He nods and jogs off, leaving me to sit underneath the large tree.

I watch as he and several men break off into groups, practicing fighting moves and running through workout circuits. They’re all fit and moving through the exercises easily, and I wish that I could do that.

My body is too weak, though, and I’d never last this long. Just look at yesterday. I barely ran four miles, and I passed out. Anyone here could probably run ten or fifteen miles without breaking a sweat.

As Logan begins to spar with the men around him, I realize he’s pretty good at fighting. I pick at the grass while they run through techniques, watching as Logan gets the upper hand in a lot of the fights he has.

I also admit that he looks pretty handsome out there.

However, as they continue, I find my eyes being drawn off to the left where Lucas is training. I try to keep my eyes off his half-naked form, but no matter how many times I refocus on Logan, my eyes always make their way back to Lucas’s muscular form.

Lucas really is attractive, and the way his muscles flex when he moves makes my face and other parts of me heat up.

“So, what do you think?”

I yelp, jumping at the sound of Logan’s voice.

Looking up, I find him smiling down at me with his hand outstretched, “Lost in thought?”

“Y-Yeah, sorry.”

“No problem,” he says, pulling me to my feet. “I asked what you thought of the training.”

“Oh, it was awesome,” I say while brushing off my pants. “I wish I could train and get stronger. Maybe then I won’t pass out after exerting myself a little bit.”

Logan turns and looks at me, “Why don’t I train you? It could be a good way for us to get to know each other while also building trust.”

I didn’t think he’d offer, but I’m glad he did. “I’d like that, but I have to warn you, I’m kind of weak.”

Logan chuckles and throws a sweaty arm around my shoulders, “That’s fine. We’ll work on your strength and endurance as well as hand-to-hand combat. From there, we’ll figure out where to go later.”

Nodding, I smile up at him, but again, I find my eyes moving past his shoulder and landing on a form much further away.