Chapter 56

Logan’s POV

Sierra laughs at something one of her friends says, and I can’t stop myself from smiling. No matter what she does or how she treats me, I want her. She’s my true mate, and I don’t care if she rejected me.

I will win her back.

She may want power and wealth now, but soon, she’ll see how important our connection is. Once she sees how Lucas will choose someone else over her, Sierra will come running back to me.

However, even as I think about my plans, I remember the conversation Lucas and Harper. He wants to take her to the underground market he found, which could mean bad things for me as well as for her father. Lucas wasn’t wrong when he suggested that Harper’s father sold her wolf, but I can’t admit that.

The market— also known as the Domain— isn’t advertised to the more upright Alphas. Like Lucas, there are many leaders and elders who would shut down the market if they knew about it, and at that point, many people would lose access to potions and items that can only be found at the market.

Things like the wolf souls Lucas found.

If he were to go back and expose the Domain or retrieve Harper’s wolf soul, the truth of my plans could come out. My lies and all the effort I put into faking my bond with Harper would be uncovered, and there’s no telling what Lucas and the pack elders would do.

So, instead of walking over to Sierra, I take a seat beside Harper and set my lunch down.

“Harper, I’m glad I found you,” I say, smiling at her. “I’m so sorry about last night. I didn’t realize Lucas would be running around and ruin our date.”

She offers a tight smile before waving it off, “It’s okay. I didn’t expect him to show up either, but maybe we could go somewhere else next time. Somewhere more public or normal?”

“We could go out today,” I suggest, needing a way to keep her distracted. While I want to push her and Lucas together, I don’t want them to mess with the Domain. If they go back and cause trouble, the people who run the Domain could revolt and bring problems to the pack.

“I don’t think I want to go anywhere today, or for a little while,” Harper says softly before taking a bite of her lunch. “I’m a bit tired and busy with healing people, and it’s taking a lot out of me.”

I nod, “I understand. I could make you dinner…” She bites her lip and looks away. The expression on her face tells me she doesn’t like that idea either. “Or maybe not. Is there something wrong, Harper? You look distracted.”

Which could be good for me, unless she’s thinking about the Domain.

“I’m just…” she pauses and sighs before looking up at me, “I’m feeling a bit conflicted. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but my emotions are all over the place. Now, Lucas has told me about an underground market that might have my wolf, and I don’t know what to think.”

“You don’t believe him, do you?”

If I’d known Lucas would tell her about the Domain, I wouldn’t have let them meet yesterday. I also realize, now, that their conversation went too long yesterday and it had more of an effect on Harper than I realized.

“I don’t know what to believe,” she whispers. “I’ve wanted to have my wolf back for what feels like forever, but I don’t want to get excited for nothing.”

“Did he ask you to go with him?” I ask, trying to remember everything from their talk yesterday. I didn’t hear Lucas ask Harper to go to the Domain, but I was also busy trying to hide and keep from being spotted.

Harper nods, sets her fork down, and looks at me, “He did. Lucas thinks that one of the wolves is my wolf. It’s being auctioned off soon, and he wants me to go to the auction with him.”

A slight panic bubbles in my chest at the information. If she goes to that auction, it could cause me all sorts of trouble.

“You can’t go. It’s too dangerous.”

Harper’s POV

The sharp bite in Logan’s tone sets off an alarm bell in my mind.

“And how would you know the market is dangerous?” I question, looking up and into Logan’s eyes. There’s a guarded expression there and something else that I can’t quite place.

“I just… it’s an underground market. That means it’s probably run by people who aren’t exactly into legal operations,” Logan says, glancing around like he doesn’t want anyone to hear us.

Shaking my head, I sigh. He’s probably right, but if there’s a chance that my wolf is down there, shouldn’t I go? I know it’s a long shot and that the wolf Lucas saw is probably not mine. Like I told Lucas, it’s been a year since my father took my wolf. I didn’t see the physical wolf that Lucas mentioned, and even if he sold my wolf, it’s been an entire year.

There’s no way my wolf is this close, and I don’t know about it.

“You shouldn’t go,” Logan repeats.

“Why shouldn’t she?”

We both look up to find Lucas standing next to our table with his arms crossed over his chest. He narrows his eyes suspiciously at Logan.

“Because it’s dangerous, and she could get hurt.”

The intense stare down sends a ripple of tension through the air as they glare at each other.

“The market is safe enough to visit once if you don’t bring too much attention to yourself,” Lucas says, then looks at me. His expression softens a bit, changing into something much more tender that sends a wave of comfort through me. “And I would never let anything happen to Harper.”

The same warm and fuzzy feeling that always appears when Lucas is around returns.

“I won’t allow Harper to go into a dangerous situation like that,” Logan growls. “We don’t know what could happen in a secret, probably illegal underground market. What if she gets lost or hurt? I won’t let that happen, so she won’t be going.”

While my mate is demanding that I not go, my Alpha is offering to protect me— which, by the way, is something my mate should be doing.

“Like I said, I will protect Harper if she chooses to go,” Lucas says, glaring at Logan. “And it is Harper’s choice, not yours.”

Logan jumps to his feet, crowding into Lucas’s space, “Not my choice? I’m her mate!”

I gasp and push my way between the two of them, “Stop, you shouldn’t be fighting.” I turn to Logan and push him back, “And Lucas is right. It is my choice whether I go to the market or not.”

Before I can add anything else, Logan grabs me by the shoulders gently and makes me look at him, “Harper, Lucas just wants you to go with him because he has feelings for you.”

“What?” I pull away from Logan.

“I’m a man, so I know what I’m talking about, but if you really want to go, I want you to do something for me,” Logan says, glancing at Lucas who still stands behind me. “I want you to let me mark you, to prove your love for me.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Lucas growls.

I feel him at my back, but I just stare at Logan.

“You want me to do what?”