Chapter 211

Logan

I watched Ella as she laid beside me under the starlit sky, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful she looked beneath the soft glow of the stars.

The way her white blonde hair caught the moonlight, the sparkle in her eyes as she traced the constellations in the night sky—it was all mesmerizing. In that moment, I couldn’t deny what I had been feeling for a while now, a longing that seemed to grow with each passing day.

My thoughts drifted back to the times we had spent together, particularly when we worked on my race car earlier that night. There was something undeniably attractive about seeing her so immersed in the world of mechanics, her hands skillfully tinkering with the engine, her eyes alight with determination.

It was in those moments that I wished we could be more than just friends, that we could be together for real.

And yet, when we had hooked up the other day, she had pushed me away…

Again.

But for some reason, as we lay there in the desert, her fingers brushed against mine, and she didn’t pull away. I felt our fingers intertwine, and it was like a jolt of electricity was shot through me.

“Kiss her,” my wolf said simply.

His words gave me pause. “She’ll just push me away again,” I thought back to him. “I’m sure of it.”

But my wolf was relentless. “Kiss her.”

I drew in a deep, but almost inaudible breath. My wolf was right; it was now or never. She was giving me all of the signs. Maybe she had begun to change her mind about things, finally.

To hell with it, I thought to myself. If she was going to push me away again, then that was on her. But I needed to kiss her.

My heart pounded in my chest as I leaned closer, propping myself up on my elbow. Ella’s eyes met mine, but she didn’t pull away. I kissed her gently on the lips, tentatively, and let it linger. And in that moment, time seemed to stand still, and the world faded away. It was just us, under the starry sky, sharing a romantic moment that had been a long time coming.

When we finally pulled away, I reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Part of me wanted to say something, to ask how she felt, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was better left unsaid for now.

But there was something else on my mind, too.

“You know, Ella,” I said, my voice low and husky, “maybe it’s time for that tattoo.”

Ella’s eyes widened in shock, and she pulled away to level me with a stern gaze. “Logan, it’s really not necessary,” she said. “It was just a joke. You don’t actually have to go through with it.”

But I was determined. I wanted to keep my word and make this gesture meaningful. “No, I want to do it,” I insisted.

…

A little under an hour later, Ella and I walked into a late-night tattoo parlor. The bell chimed on the door as we walked in, and we were met with the sight of dim colored lights and the sound of heavy metal music playing over the speakers.

Ella shot me a concerned glance, but she said nothing. She had given up trying to talk me out of it when her attempts had fallen flat during the car ride.

And besides, I knew the artist. It was Rickie.

As we walked in, Rickie lifted her head from behind the counter, her eyes widening slightly as she took us both in. “What are you two doing here?” she asked, standing and coming around to greet us.

Ella, who had been oblivious to Rickie’s real profession, looked back and forth between both of us with shock—and maybe even a little relief—written across her face. “Rickie, I didn’t know you were a tattoo artist,” she said.

Rickie smirked. “I’m not just a tattoo artist,” she teased. “I’m the best tattoo artist you’ll find around here.”

“It’s true,” I added with a chuckle. “Rickie is the best. Which is why I wanted to come here, actually.”

I explained the situation, how Ella had bested me in a training battle, and we had made a bet that the loser would have to get a tattoo of the other’s choosing.

Rickie burst into laughter when I was finished, and a mischievous grin spread across her face. “You lost to a girl, Logan?” she asked incredulously. “I thought you were supposed to be all tough and macho.”

I rolled my eyes, not taking her teasing to heart. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Rickie.”

Ella and Rickie disappeared into another room to discuss the tattoo, leaving me alone on the tattoo parlor's table. My mind raced with thoughts of what the design could be. I started to fear the worst, imagining some embarrassing tattoo that would haunt me forever.

After all, Ella had plenty of good reasons to give me the worst tattoo imaginable.

Finally, they returned, both of them wearing smirks that made my nerves spike even more. I couldn’t take the suspense any longer. “Well, what did you pick?” I asked impatiently.

Ella shook her head, a playful glint in her eyes. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

I rolled my eyes in mock exasperation as I lay back on the table, bracing myself for whatever was to come. The tattoo process began, and Rickie and Ella kept up their banter, making jokes about how it would be the most embarrassing tattoo ever.

“Oh my god,” Ella said with a giggle. “I can’t believe he’ll be stuck with this forever.”

“Logan, your girl here is a real doozy,” Rickie added. “She’s getting you good. You never should have agreed to this.”

I swallowed. “I really hope you two are bluffing,” I said, which was just met with more laughter.

But finally, an hour later, it was finally done. The tattoo was located on my right shoulder blade, out of my sight. I really feared the worst by now.

“Alright, and you’re done,” Rickie said, helping me sit up and grabbing a mirror. “Take a look for yourself.”

She handed me the mirror, and I took it, drawing in a deep breath. Surely it had to be something awful, like a cringy, misspelled phrase, or maybe something lewd. But when I held the mirror up and angled it so I could see in the full length mirror, my eyes widened.

“I… I love it,” I murmured. “It’s amazing.”

Rickie and Ella exchanged satisfied glances, but I only had eyes for the image in the mirror. It was the head of a wolf; simple and not overly detailed—mostly linework. But the lines were thick and dark, and there was an air of abstraction about the design that made you want to keep looking at it. It was everything I had ever wanted in a tattoo: simple, clean, interesting, and admittedly… badass.

“I’m so glad,” Ella said, clasping her hands together as a cheeky grin spread across her pretty face. “I was worried you wouldn’t like the design.”

“No,” I said, still ogling the fresh tattoo. “It’s perfect.”

As I lowered the mirror, my eyes met Ella’s. I could see what almost looked like unshed tears in the depths of her gray-blue eyes, but I could tell that they were tears of joy.

“Thank you,” I whispered, standing. “I love it. Really.”

Rickie and Ella both seemed to let out soft sighs of relief. However, I wouldn’t be so quick to let them both live down the torture they had put me through, pretending as if they were giving me the worst tattoo imaginable. And that was why I grinned as I leveled my gaze with Ella’s, and uttered the words that made her eyes widen like a deer in headlights.

“Your turn.”