Chapter 40

Logan’s POV

Harper smiles as I lead her out to the training grounds. My eyes sweep the area, wondering if Alpha Lucas will be out here this early. Sometimes he comes out before the warrior sessions to prepare and do his own training.

It’s why I chose the hour before my own training. If he’s out here, I could spark that jealousy I’ve seen coming through lately. Maybe then, he’ll finally make a move and claim Harper.

“So, what will we be working on first?” Harper asks as we walk onto the grass. I drop my bag and the two water bottles to the ground, spotting someone running in the distance.

He’s here.

“We’ll work on some stretching first and then I’ll show you a few hand-to-hand fighting techniques,” I tell her, splitting my attention between Lucas as he runs toward us and Harper as she unzips her jacket to reveal a cropped athletic top and tight leggings.

I have to admit that she’s gorgeous, with curves in the right places and skin that looks soft to the touch. If I didn’t love my real mate, I feel like I could find a way to be with Harper, but she’s not the one for me.

Setting her and Lucas up would be the best and fastest way to get Sierra back. Once Lucas chooses Harper, Sierra will see what a mistake it was to reject me, and she’ll come running back to me where she belongs.

Lucas’s POV

I grow closer and closer to the training field and realize there are people there. When I look closer, I notice it’s Logan and Harper.

“What are they doing out here?” I mutter, tapping into my wolf senses and using my wolf’s eyes to see across the mile that’s between me and Harper.

And when I see her clearly, I nearly trip over my own feet. The tight leggings she wears hugs every curve of her hips then her ass and thighs. Then, my eyes move up, and I growl. A thin strip of her stomach, between her shirt and leggings, is on display. Like the leggings, her top is tight and shows every curve.

The heat from my run turns into an entirely different kind of heat as I look at Harper. She’s beautiful, and not just because of her body. Everything about her is amazing, and the more I learn, the more I’m drawn to her.

I slow to a jog, appreciating the view, until Logan grabs Harper by the waist and pulls her into his chest. His hands are on her waist, touching her bare skin, and something in me snaps.

Before I can stop myself, I’m sprinting over to them, grabbing Logan’s arm, and yanking him away from my—from Harper. Harper gasps and whips her head up to look at me. Her eyes widen, and she freezes, staring up at me with a confused pinch to her brows.

“L-Lucas, what are you doing?”

I don’t know how to answer that because I’m not even sure what I’m doing. I glance at Logan, who smirks.

“Alpha, please release me so I can start my workout session with my mate.”

My wolf growls, his hackles raising at Logan’s claim, and he’s so angry that the growl bubbles up and forces its way out of my chest. It takes everything in me to release Logan and watch as he wraps an arm around Harper’s waist.

His hand slides across her skin before he grips her waist. Harper doesn’t notice the way he smirks arrogantly at me, and for some reason, it only makes me angrier. They’re mates but watching Logan touch her and pull her so close grates against my nerves and burrows under my skin.

Harper doesn’t seem to mind that he’s touching her, but I do.

I want nothing more than to rip them apart and order him to leave.

“Alpha, we’re running out of time, so if you could excuse us…” Logan motions to the training field, clearly intending for me to leave. Again, Harper watches me with raised eyebrows, silently asking what I’m doing.

“Lucas, I’d like to do my workout now while we still have time,” Harper says. Her words are like a knife slicing through my emotions, severing the little bit of connection I thought was between us.

Does she know what her words do to me?

Because I sure as hell would like to know why she has such an effect on me when my own mate doesn’t even bring forth this kind of feeling.

Harper’s POV

Panting, I lean over and rest my hands on my knees.

“Running…” I cough and glare at Nora. “R-Running is not for me.”

“Well, Logan said you need work on your endurance, and running is one of the best ways to do just that,” she says, stopping beside me. Of course, she’s not sweating a drop while I’m over here sweating buckets from just taking fifteen laps around the training grounds.

I nearly dropped dead twice while running, but Nora wouldn’t let me stop. She’s pushing me harder than Logan does.

Lately, Logan and I have been working out together in the mornings, and he’s been helping me with my strength and fight training. He’s busy today, which is why Nora is with me, and now, she has dubbed herself my personal running buddy.

“Yes, but why does running suck so bad,” I grumble, lowering to the ground and trying to breathe through the burning in my chest.

“Yeah. Yeah,” she chuckles and sits next to me. “So, how are things going with you and my brother anyways?”

I glance at her, “We’ve decided to take thing slow since out situation isn’t exactly normal.”

Nora bursts into laughter. I sit up and stare at her, confused, until she shakes her head, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Logan move slowly with a girl befo—” She pauses and cringes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to speak badly about your mate.”

I understand why she’s apologizing, but interestingly enough, I’m not angry about it. I should be, but I’m not.

Filing the information away to study later, I look up at Nora. “It’s fine. I understand that siblings make jabs at each other, and besides, we’ve already talked about his past relationships.”

Barely.

I don’t add that thought, though.

“Speaking of family,” Nora drawls, resting her forearms on her knees. “Did you hear about your dad?”

“My dad? No,” I mutter. “I try to avoid everything about that man. You know that.”

She nods and hums, and this fully takes my attention. She’s holding something back. I can tell just by looking at her face and by how stiff her shoulders are.

“What did my dad do this time?” I ask, picking at the grass. I yank at it and watch the tiny green pieces flutter to the ground.

“It’s not what he did… It’s about what Alpha Lucas did.”

“Excuse me?”

“Three days ago, the day you were chased through the forest by Ryan, your father was stripped of both his wolf and title,” she answers, and I freeze.

When I look at Nora she’s already watching me, her expression a bit guarded as she waits for my response. All I can think about is the night Lucas told my father he would be punished for what he did to me.

He took my father’s wolf. Like my father took mine.

The irony doesn’t escape me, and somehow, knowing that Lucas did this for me is surprisingly comforting.