Chapter 104

Logan

As soon as I got Reid’s text about the gala that he wanted Emily and I to attend together, I knew that it was a trap. I knew that there was something he was hiding up his sleeve, one last attempt to break my fiancée and I apart from one another. This is his last attempt to get our family’s title of Alpha away from me.

Well, it is not going to work. I refuse to let him win in a petty manner such as this one, especially since he decided to drag Emily into the mix of things. That is a line he never should have crossed in the first place, earning my anger instead of compliance.

Emily and I stand next to each other, her arm linked in with mine as I guide her inside of the exquisitely decorated event. It's a networking event for the packs in the city. Politicians and business owners can come together and meet to form business plans with one another away from the public eye.

Most of the deals that are made here are shady. They are made under the table and away from the prying eyes of the law. It is why I never really bothered to come to an event such as this, but here I am, indulging my brother and his final attempt to ruin my life.

I never really bothered to come to these events in the first place, but I suppose that if I am to be the future Alpha King of this country, than I have to indulge in the city’s events and ceremonies. I was never really interested in attending an event like this, but I know that something is bound to go wrong.

Looking down at emily, I can't help but feel a sense of guilt built inside of my chest. I did not tell her that I know that this is a plan for my brother to try and destroy us. I know that we promised to each other to remain honest and open, but it feels as if it will only cost problems in the moment if I open up about my secret plan.

Emily should know, though, that my heart belongs to her and her alone. Nobody else.

“Would you like me to get you a drink?” I ask Emily after I spot the bar just up ahead. If I am going to get through this night, I am going to need the help from alcohol to push through and persevere.

She looks up at me with a hesitant expression on her face. Her grip on my arm tightens, her silent sign of anxiety showing. I know that she must feel nervous, having a drink made by a stranger after the whole ordeal with Jack.

I give her hand to squeeze, trying to reassure her that everything will be okay, that I will not let anything happen to her drink. She looks up at me and nods, hesitant yet sure that I will protect her. I lean down and press a kiss to the top of her head, noticing my brother standing just off to the side, ready to steal her away.

“I will be back soon, okay?” I quietly speak. She gives my hand squeeze before I walk away, slowly walking towards the bar.

I order two drinks for us, simple glasses of champagne, and watch as the bartender rushes to hand it to me. Once the glasses are in my hand, I turn around just to come face-to-face with Chloe, the last person I really wanted to see at an event like this. I do not react, though, and simply raise an eyebrow down at her, watching as she slips Emily's drink free from my hand.

“Let’s talk, Logan,” Chloe’s voice is sickeningly sweet, “as my future brother-in-law, there are some things we need to…discuss.”

“Fine,” I gruff. I swallow mu drink in one gulp and set the glass onto the bar.

Chloe's fingers wrapped around my bicep. She gives it a squeeze before pulling me away from the networking event, pulling me into a nearby room. It is dark inside, a single light flickered on overhead, and the door remains open, a clear shot into the banquet hall, where the event is being held.

With one look to the side, I noticed that Emily and Reid are in view. This reeks of a plan, one so desperate and futile. It is pathetic

I look down at Chloe, not wanting to spend any more time in the room with her than I need to. Just her mere presence disgusts me, makes me feel like I am being watched by a predator in the shadows.

I wait for her to talk, but she says nothing. She simply steps forward and places her hands on my chest. Feeling me up and down as if I belong to her instead of Emily.

I roll my eyes at her attempt to seduce me, grabbing her wrists in my hands, and pushing her away from me ever so slightly. I tilt my head to the side, our eyes meeting, and I realize that I can't believe I allowed myself to like a woman such as herself.

Chloe moves her hands away from mine, wrapping them around my neck. She leans up on her toes and goes to kiss me. I move my head to the side, not allowing this to happen.

There is a flash. It is blinding. I roll my eyes and shove her off of me, fixing my clothes.

“Did you get the pictures you needed?” I ask her, impatience in my tone of voice. She looks up at me, confused. I smirk. “You know…I have pictures of my own that I can use to destroy you even more than you already are. I wanted to even the playing field between us. I thought it would make things interesting, don’t you agree?”

Shock registers across her face. Her silence is deafening, and I simply do not wish to hear it all in the first place. I push past her and make my way back into the banquet hall, approaching emily and Reid who watched us from the distance.

“I can't believe you would do this to her,” Reid says in an attempt to rub salt in the wound.

“Eat shit, Reid. We both know that it was a plan you had with Chloe,” I bark the words at him. I gently wrap my arm around Emily's waist and guide her away from the crowd, seeking solace and comforts on the balcony just outside the glass doors of the event.

The night wind is cold against our skin, helping me cool, my anger. It does not, though, help Emily calm down at all. She wears a scowl on her face and I can't help but smile at the site, my love for her overwhelming me.

Doesn't she know that she owns me? It doesn't she know that I have dedicated my love and life to her? That I am willing to walk through the fires of hell and suffer the torment of life just so I can see that smile on her face, to wake up beside her in bed?

I brush her hair out of her face, gently cupping her cheek, drawing her attention back up to me.