Fighting Fate (13 page)

He stormed out of the house, no doubt on the way to get their brothers, and Cailin took off after

him, only to be held back by Ellie.

Cailin turned on her heel and growled, immediately feeling like a heel for doing so to this

woman who had been through so much. She needn’t have worried though, as Ellie just raised her chin

and took the brunt of Cailin’s anger.

“Let him go. They were all going to come to blows eventually. They’re your brothers. All of us

Jamenson woman can kick their asses later for acting like brutes.”

“It was my problem. I shouldn’t have shared.”

Ellie shrugged. “Maybe, but it would have come out eventually. Maddox felt your pain, and I had

to hold him back from running after you as it was. I couldn’t do it again. And these men need an outlet

right now. They’re all so lost. We all are.” Ellie’s eyes filled with tears, and Cailin gripped the other

woman’s hand.

“They won’t hurt him. Not really. Logan wants you, and he’s well on his way to loving you. You

know this. Whatever he did, he did it for a reason, which was most likely a man’s reason, which

means he was an idiot.” Ellie gave her a small smile, and Cailin snorted. “They’re men. Sometimes

you have to mold them and guide them the right way. Don’t worry, honey. It will all work out. It might

be fate that you’re together or it could even be preordained, but it takes more than the moon goddess

for a mating to work.”

“I need to go find them,” Cailin said, ignoring the mess in her head. She’d fucked up by coming

here as she’d done, but so had Logan. That didn’t mean Logan should have to bear the brunt of her

brothers’ anger. After all, they were still grieving as much as she was.

“Come sit and eat something, shower, and get dressed. I know you have a couple things here

from when you stayed over to watch Charlotte. We all pretty much have a few things in each other’s

closets. You need to feel fresh and relaxed, and then you can work on what needs to be done.”

Cailin sighed. “I suppose I do need a shower.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Considering you have Logan’s scent drenching you, yeah. I mean, sure, it

works for what you need, but I was ready to hold back Maddox before he calmed you down since he

scented Logan on you right away.”

“Crap.”

“Well, from the whisker burn on your neck, even though you want to kick Logan’s butt right now,

you seemed to have had a good night.”

“I love you, Ellie.”

“As you should.”

Cailin followed the other woman into the kitchen and passed by Charlotte, Ellie and Maddox’s

daughter, taking her hand as she did so. The quiet little girl snuggled close, giving Cailin’s wolf

exactly what she needed to calm down before she took her next steps.

She just prayed her brothers didn’t hurt Logan too bad.

****

Logan scented them before he heard them.

All of them.

It seemed the Jamenson brothers had held back long enough, and it was time to let them see what

he was made of.

His wolf growled.

Good.

Because after that fight, he needed to release some tension before crawling back to Cailin. Oh,

he’d crawl. There would be begging and pleading until she took him back. He’d been a fucking idiot

to hold back, though she’d overreacted too.

Not the best way to start a mating.

Logan rolled his shoulders, rubbed his neck, and then opened his front door. He took a step

outside, closing the door behind him, ready as he’d ever be to face the Jamenson brothers.

Kade was up first, his hands fisted at his side.

“I’m your Alpha, Logan.” Kade’s face and demeanor did not betray any emotion. Good. The

wolf was learning. No weakness would be shown. Their Alpha was strong. Logan knew Kade was

probably howling inside, ready to tear into flesh and kill anyone who had hurt his family, but on

outside, Kade was smooth steel.

Alpha.

Right now, though, he was also an older brother.

Good.

Josh, Reed, Adam, Jasper, North, and Maddox stood behind Kade, similar expressions of

overprotectiveness on their faces. It didn’t surprise Logan in the slightest that Josh was part of the

crew. Though he wasn’t a blood brother, he
was
one of Reed’s mates and the idea behind protecting

the little sister of the bunch rang through clearly.

“Yes, you’re my Alpha,” Logan finally said. “But right now you’re sure as fuck not representing

one. That’s fine. You’re Cailin’s older brother, but you don’t get to try and intimidate me into doing

whatever you think is appropriate in this situation. I know Edward stepped back in most cases when

each of you mated, and I deserve the same respect.”

A couple of them flinched at Logan’s use of Edward’s name, but none of them took a step to

move away.

“Respect?” Adam barked. “You hurt our sister.”

Logan held back the agony of having done so, not wanting to show the others he was in just as

much pain as she was. “What goes on in our mating is between Cailin and myself.”

“Fuck that,” Reed said, surprising Logan. “She’s our little sister, and you don’t get to make her

feel like shit.”

Logan swallowed hard. “Is that what I did?”

Maddox came closer so he was nose to nose with Logan. “She came to me weeping, Logan. I

know you denied the mating. You better tell us why, then you go to Cailin to do the same. You owe

her that. You owe her more than that.”

“You think you can come into our Pack, use Cailin, and get away with it?” Josh added. “You’re

wrong. So fucking wrong.”

“I thought you were better than that,” Adam put in.

Jasper let out a sigh, and Logan turned in the other man’s direction. “Why? Why did you do

that?”

“Yes, Logan,” North said, “tell us.”

Logan lifted a lip, baring fang. “I didn’t deny the mating. I want her. And don’t tell me what the

fuck I’m thinking. She left because I didn’t want to mate last night, the night of your parents’ funeral.”

And because he’d held back, but that was between him and Cailin. “I want to love her, and I want that

same emotion back when we’re mating. I might sound like a pussy, but fuck you for thinking we both

don’t deserve that.”

“You made her cry,” Kade said back.

It was no use. These men needed the fight. Sure, they wanted to protect Cailin and take care of

her problems for her—something Cailin would in no way appreciate—but they also needed to let out

their own aggression.

Well, in that case, Logan could help them out.

“Bring it then,” Logan said. “All of you. I’ll take you all at once or one at a time. I don’t give a

fuck. You want to fight? I’m game.”

The punch to his face didn’t surprise him. The fact that it was Maddox who threw it did. Logan

didn’t fight back hard, knowing he deserved what he got. He’d hurt his mate, and he needed to bleed.

There was no question. He wouldn’t, however, show weakness.

Each of the brothers looked at each other then Adam nodded. Apparently he’d been the one to

draw the shortest straw. Adam growled and Logan sighed, knowing he’d have to fight back to protect

his wolf, but not too hard in order to protect Cailin. Neither one was putting much effort behind their

hits, but each of them had blood on them nonetheless.

“Stop!”

Logan turned at Cailin’s voice and therefore didn’t duck in time, letting Adam’s fist hit him

square in the jaw. The man might have only one leg, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t punch like a

fucking mountain man.

Fuck.

“Jesus, Adam! I said stop.”

“I was in mid-swing.”

Logan was kneeling on the ground by that time, trying to see past the stars and little birdies

circling around his head. Cailin had her hands on his face, his wolf leaning into the touch.

“Baby, are you okay?”

Baby? Was that him? He blinked up into her pale green eyes and nodded. “I have a harder head

that that.”

“Don’t I know it?” she mumbled then narrowed her eyes. “I can’t believe you were all fighting

like a bunch of fucking idiots and rednecks.”

“We needed to fight,” Reed said from behind him.

“We’re men. It happens,” Josh added in.

Cailin stood and put her fists on her hips. Logan could see the pain ravaging her features, but she

didn’t cry. He didn’t think she would in front of them. And considering how much he’d fucked up, he

wasn’t sure she would in front of him either.

“Go home to your mates. They all know what you’ve been doing out here and will deal with the

lot of you. For the record, I went to Maddox because I needed my Omega, not my brother. Shut up.”

She said that last part as North opened his mouth to speak. The man might be blind, but he still could

hit really fucking hard. “Don’t talk. I don’t want to hear it. What happens with me and Logan from

now on is between us. And, for that matter, what
doesn’t
happen between us is only for us. No more

interfering. No more waving your dicks around. There is enough to worry about without adding what

Logan and I do or do not do.”

Kade cupped her face as Logan leaned into her, needing her touch. “You’re important, Cailin.

You’re our sister. We get to be overprotective. It’s part of the job.” Cailin opened her mouth to

speak, and their Alpha shook his head. “But we’ll let you be alone with him now.”

“Let?” Cailin growled.

Jasper let out a breath. “Fine, not
let
. Like we could ever let you do anything. We’re your

brothers, so we’re allowed to be idiots when it comes to you. Now go fix whatever the fuck you did

wrong, Logan. Then come to us as a couple or not. We just need you both. Got it?”

Logan nodded and stood, taking Cailin’s hand in his. She didn’t pull away, so he took it as the

best sign he’d get.

The brothers touched her cheek, one by one, slowly walking away, bruised, bloody, and slightly

worse for wear. No doubt they’d each go home to their mates and get their asses kicked once again

for interfering in Cailin’s life.

He squeezed Cailin’s hand, but she didn’t squeeze it back.

Didn’t look at him.

Time for the groveling to begin.

Chapter Eight

Cailin used all of her strength not to fling herself onto Logan and never let him go. Damn wolf

and mating urge. She was stronger than that.

Or at least she pretended to be most days.

“Let’s go inside and talk,” Logan said.

She didn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at him. Not when her emotions were all over the place.

Anger, fear, hurt, need, desire, and pure rage roared within her, pushing down the pain of her loss that

she knew she’d never quite lose, only numb over time.

By the time they were in his living room, she was seated on the couch with her hands in her lap

and he sitting on the coffee table in front of her, Cailin had started to sift through her emotions.

“I’m sorry I ran out without actually listening or talking this morning,” Cailin started.

Logan’s eyes widened, and she held back a snort. Yeah, she might have surprised him with that

one, but she was far from done speaking.

“You don’t have to apologize, princess.” Logan’s gruff voice washed over her, tingling in some

places she’d rather not think about at the moment.

“You’re right. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I left and then ran to Maddox, not thinking about

how he and the others would react. I brought our own problems out in public and ended up having to

break up a fight. Don’t even get me started on that.”

The side of his mouth quirked up in a grin, and she held back a moan at how charming he looked.

She was still in pain and didn’t have time to moon over him.

He’d have to explain himself fully.

And grovel.

Yes, groveling would be good right now.

“I was so pissed off, Logan. I still am. You don’t get to decide what’s good for us, what works

for us. Life-altering decisions, and mating is a big one, need to be made between us, not declared by

you.”

Logan sighed, running his hand up and down her thigh. Her wolf took comfort in the action while

the woman did her best not to jump his bones. He wasn’t in the clear yet. Far from it.

“You see that mating right away is out of the norm for some, right?”

Cailin narrowed her eyes. “Telling me what’s right again, are you?”

Logan growled. “We spent a year tiptoeing around each other, Cailin. You held yourself back

from me, and I did the same. Then the night that we bury your parents,
after
they die for us, you want

to mate? Yes, I wanted to hold back. I didn’t want to be your mistake. I’m sorry that I hurt you, but I

was protecting both of us. Yeah, I went about it the wrong way, but I didn’t want to end up with you

resenting me for taking advantage of your pain. Can’t you see that? I’ve loved your strength since I’ve

met you, and I know that I’m well on the way to full-out loving you. But if we had mated when we

both weren’t thinking clearly? We would have ended up like Adam and Bay when they first started,

crying, in pain, and not happy. I wanted more for us. I’m sorry.”

Cailin blinked, startled by Logan’s impassioned speech. “Logan…”