A Luna's True Mate

Chapter 3: A Friend’s Advice

-Logan-

I wanted to go talk to Lauren, but I knew now was not the time, and before I knew it, the dinner was over, and my family and my alpha and Kai were all going home again. I had told my daughter goodbye, but I knew she had sensed something was up with me. I could see it on her face, but she had not mentioned anything. We were both a bit alike in that way. We were not good at sharing what went on inside of us. We preferred struggling with these kinds of things on our own until we were finally pushed to talk about what was wrong. I knew I should just be honest, but I simply needed a moment to think. I had not thought I would get a second chance.

I had already in a way had two chances, even though Camilla had not been my true mate, we had cared deeply for each other. We were a good team, and I believed we had raised some wonderful kids. I had no doubt our sons would do just fine, and Noah would be an exceptional beta to Kai, once the two of them stepped up. I did sometimes worry though, about Noah. He was like me and Lara, keeping things bottled up inside. He was so much different from Mason and Alexander. So quiet … and I knew why, but we had avoided talking about it as much as we could. I knew Noah blamed me in many ways, and I had no idea how to fix things between us.

“Are you all right, Logan?” Benjamin asked me.

Our sons had all disappeared as soon as we came home, and my old friend and I had just gone to his office to get a drink.

“Just have a lot on my mind,” I said as he handed me a drink.

We had known each other since we were kids. We had both grown up in his pack, and our fathers had been best friends too, also the beta and alpha of this pack. Our families had always been close, actually. We descended from some old lines, who had ruled this pack for generations.

“You always get a little quiet after seeing your daughter. She does resemble Victoria in many ways, but I must say she looks more like you,” he said as he sat down in front of me on another couch and smiled.

“Yeah, it is no wonder Michael always had his suspicions,” I said. “She does resemble me a lot. Even personality-wise, and I was not even there to raise her.”

“She never told you. You can’t blame yourself,” he said.

“I know … but still, I wish I had been there. I wish I could have helped her,” I said.

“You’re here now,” he said. “You’re involved in her life, and she is happy to have you in it, otherwise she would not have invited you.”

I nodded. I knew Lara and I were still just trying to figure out how to be father and daughter, but it seemed to go great. We were connecting, but even though I sometimes worried about how much I could act like her father, it was not really what was on my mind at the moment.

“Do you think it is ever too late to find yourself a mate?” I asked my friend.

“What?”

“Just wondering. Do you think there is like an age limit to it?”

Benjamin shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I found my mate when I was nineteen. You got mated to Camilla when you were twenty. Are you worried about your sons? I know ours are a bit older than we were when we found our mates, or choose to settle down, but I am sure everything will be fine.”

Our sons were older. Kai was already twenty-eight and Noah was just a year younger, but I was not at all worried. I knew things had changed over time. It was not unusual to find your mate a little later or choose to settle down with one. Kai and Noah had enough to think about anyway, because both Benjamin and I were giving them more and more responsibility. They had pretty much taken over. We had just not made it official yet.

“I think so too,” I said.

“Then what is going on?”

“I was just asking.”

“No, I know you, my friend, you were leading me onto something,” Benjamin said and smiled, as he leaned back on the couch.

“Just answer,” I said.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I am not the Goddess.”

I shook my head a little, as he chuckled.

“What’s going on?” he asked me, concerned.

“Nothing,” I said and sipped my drink.

“Liar!”

“Are you seriously calling me a liar?” I asked, but I was smiling.

“You are my friend,” he said and leaned forward, so his arms were resting on his thighs. “And I know you. Spill it.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

“Then you definitely should. You always keep these things bottled up. Remember how long you kept your affair with Victoria a secret from me?” he asked.

I nodded a little. I had not told anyone about Victoria and me for a long time. Eventually, Benjamin forced me to tell him, because he knew I was acting a bit shady. He had tried helping me figure out what to do and had told me to be honest with Camilla. I had been honest with her, but only shortly after I had told Camilla the truth, Victoria decided to leave me, and there was no longer any reason to fight. Camilla stayed with me though and helped me through the pain and the feeling of betrayal. Now I realized the reason why Victoria had decided to end things. She had gotten pregnant, and she simply feared what Michael would do. I had no idea how she had faked her heat or what she had done to trick Michael, or maybe they had just agreed to both lie about the whole thing to save face. I knew I would never know though. To try to survive her leaving me, I had simply forced myself not to figure out anything about her, and if her name was mentioned I just tuned it out. It was the only thing I could really do to protect myself.

“Be honest, my friend, and let me help,” he said.

“I don’t know if now is the time to talk about it,” I said.

“What?”

I just shook my head.

“How can I help Logan, if you won’t tell me what it is?” he asked.

“You won’t like it.”

“Just tell me!”

“Lauren … she is my mate,” I said.

Benjamin completely froze. He just sat there and looked at me for so long, I was unsure if he had had a brain bleed or something.

“Ben?”

“You have got to be f*cking kidding me!” he said and placed his glass down on the coffee table between us before he stood up and started to pace. “Another luna?!”

“This one at least isn’t mated,” I said.

“Because the queen killed her mate! Ah, by the Goddess,” he shouted.

“I am not really that thrilled either. I had not expected this to happen this late in life,” I said. “But I went to check on her and when I found her …”

“What?”

“There wasn’t really any doubt about it,” I said.

“What did she say? I mean she has just woken up. She is finally clearheaded!”

“She said nothing. Her daughter found us before we could talk about it.”

“Dammit!” Benjamin said and continued to pace. “How did I get a beta who makes my life this complicated?”

I just chuckled a little.

“Aren’t you lucky?” I teased him.

He turned to me and shook his head.

“This is damn difficult,” he said. “Lauren used to be tied to Connor.”

“But she is not bad. You know that.”

He just crossed his arms and looked almost a bit unsure.

“Ben!”

“No, she is not bad, but she has been through a lot of traumatic sh*t. Imagine being mated to that assh*le. You remember how she slowly isolated herself and disappeared pretty much from every party and such. She was turned into a shadow of the luna she could have been because of Connor. Logan, she is fragile.”

I smiled a little as I remembered Lauren telling me not to give her any orders. Fragile? No, she was not fragile. Cautious? Perhaps, but I did not see a fragile luna.

“What are you suggesting?” I asked.

Benjamin sighed and sat down again.

“You should talk to her,” he said.

“I was going to,” I said.

“And you should be honest with your kids. So should Lauren,” he said. “If she has not already told Angela.”

“First, we need a chance to figure out things between us,” I said. “Then I will be honest.”

“Just remember to tell them. They probably had not expected either of you to find a new mate.”

I nodded and knew he was right. Our kids deserved to know, so they could wrap their heads around it, but first, we needed to talk.