Between Two Worlds

Chapter Four

Logan



Anyone could easily see I was getting under her skin. Good. I am still trying to understand what happened a few minutes ago. That feeling of connection I felt with her… it was like we were connected by an invisible force. It didn’t feel like a Siren shenanigan thing this time, but rather something deeper, something that was within me.

Within us.

Did she feel it too? Even studying her facial features and expressions, she isn't showing anything. I can’t know for sure. And now I feel the reminisce of something under my skin, something I can't explain or understand. It's as if my whole body was electrified and had residual energy from the encounter.

I am certain there is a reason to explain what this was and that it has to do with her Siren powers, even though I had a different feeling about it. It’s not like I am going to let my confused mind get the better of me. I felt entranced by her, and at the same time, I felt the strong deep connection between our souls. It was also like a silent song was playing in my core, calling me to her. And that was Siren s**t.

That was the main reason why I switched back to the mean remarks. I was feeling uncomfortable with the situation and how my body reacted to her. Not just my body, but it looks like my soul too. And that’s not a good sign.

Was it because I was yet to find my mate? Even after seven years since I’d turned eighteen… A 24-year-old Alpha mateless was very uncommon. To be honest, it was the first time in our history that an Alpha got so long without finding his Luna.

Was my wolf so desperate to find his other half, that he would be so easily mistaken by the likes of her?

How can this happen? She is not even a werewolf. I am not supposed to feel anything like this for her. I am not supposed to feel anything for her at all. So why is this happening?

I am strong, the Alpha of one of the most powerful packs in our world, and yet here I am, struggling with the attraction I am feeling for this woman.

That's unnatural.

Damn. Why the hell is she here now?

In the beginning, Dominic and I thought she would be back eventually. She always did. Telling us she was leaving meant she would stay away for longer, but none of us truly understood back then how long it would really be. And after a couple of years, I stopped thinking she would.

But not Dom.

He never gave up on the hope of seeing her again. His little adopted sister.

He waited and waited. Five years ago, he found his mate, the Gamma’s daughter of the Midnight Pack, almost on the other side of the Land of Light, close to the Vampire Domain. He had been enchanted with her from the beginning, and their Bonding Ceremony happened just two months after they met each other.

I think I must have seen him honestly happy only a handful of times. That is why I know they were made for each other. I never saw him with a smile so genuine and exhaling delighted energy before he met her.

It was a beautiful ceremony and I was happy for Dominic. Even so, he told Brina all about Liora and how he was still waiting for his little sister to come back. It was not until a few months ago that he finally stopped talking about her… he was finally letting this other bond go. Moving on.

That’s why I won't allow her back in his life again. I will not tolerate having her here hurting him once more. Dominic is the younger brother I never had. We grew up together and shared every single hardship and happy moment by each other’s side. I protect with all I have the ones I care about.

And as the leader of this pack, I have to protect the people under my command from any kind of harm, even if that harm comes in the form of a woman.

And even if this woman was once welcomed in this land.

I was so immersed in my own thoughts about how I was prepared to stop her from coming back to our lives that I didn’t notice when she walked a few long steps closer to me. I was surprised by the sound of her cracked voice:

"Can’t you see I am here because I want to fix the wrong I’ve done? I know I could’ve done things much differently, but I was young, much unprepared, and confused back then, and I was not given much choice… I ran not because I didn’t care, but because I cared too much!" she was almost screaming now. The raw emotion in her eyes showed me her words weren’t a lie. "I am here to apologize with all my heart and accept my guilt for running away, even though it wasn’t completely my fault too!" she stopped to breathe, her next words leaving her mouth almost as a whisper. "I miss him, Alpha Logan. I have missed my best friend every single day since I left".

I don’t know what got into me, but every part of me felt bad for her for the first time in my life. I could swear even my heart ached after hearing her words and all the pain in them. And the fact she called me ''Alpha Logan'' without any contempt or sarcasm in her voice makes a hell of a difference in how her words reach me.

She was holding her hand close to her chest, her grasp so tight her soft skin was ghostly white, if being more white than she already was, was possible. It is the second time I have seen her holding something... what is that? A necklace perhaps?

I don't have a straight line of sight, since whatever that is, it's hidden inside the fabric of her white dress and protected by her hand now. But I would be lying if I say it doesn't make me curious. Because one thing is for sure: it's something important to her. Her actions are involuntary, as if she needed the strength that object gives her to keep arguing with me.

I let out a long breath, sighing as if I had just been defeated in my own one-sided fight. I was so determined not to let her get to me, to send her back to wherever she came from, that now I am just confused. All these new feelings about her are so foreign, like a virus getting inside my brain and messing with my thoughts.

Maybe I am indeed sick?

I am not supposed to feel sorry for her. Her words were not supposed to matter. Her excuses, her explanations… it doesn’t matter. Nothing was supposed to change my mind. So why is it that I am doing what I was set dead against?

Why is all of this happening in the first place?

"Are you going to stay this time? Or are all of these theatrical apologies you plan on giving to Dominic just something fleeting again?" I ask rudely, my tone full of condescending trust.

Now it's her turn to sigh loudly. I see her pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself before lashing out at me (something I know she would do if the circumstances were different and she didn't need something so important from me). It's the same for me when I literally have to bite my tongue in order not to reprimand my people when I am not in the mood to talk or when I am not having any of their bullshit.

"Did any of the things I have just said to you at least register inside this tough skull of yours?" she asked, raising her hands above her head in a sign of hopelessness.

I chuckled. It was kind of cute looking at her disgruntled face.

When she looked at me with an arched eyebrow, I studied my expressions again, assuming the cold-faced Alpha facade I always had around her. Or my enemies. Which are kind of the same thing…

"Is something funny here, Alpha?" she asked unamused, her tone changing when saying my title. And we are again with contempt. The normal Liora is back…

I knew it was a rhetorical question, but I shook my shoulders, as if not really caring for my next words: "For a matter of fact, yes, but maybe not for you".

"Nothing new here, since you were always too bad at jokes or making people laugh in general" she retorted back, with a smug side-smile, as if she was proud of her smart reply.

After a few seconds of no answer from me, just keeping the same nonchalant expression on my face, I saw Liora crossing her arms in front of her chest to show her disapproval.

She expected me to bite back at her remark about me not being funny.

''Yeah, I am not gonna play this game at your pace, little one. I choose when to provoke you, not you'', I thought to myself.

Little one? Whatafuck am I thinking calling her by the nickname Dominic gave her when we were teenagers? Argh!

Shaking my head to get rid of my idiotic inner dialogue, I looked back at her. It was then that I was finally able to get a glance at the item she was holding so secured in her hand before. It was indeed a necklace. But it wasn't an ordinary one.

That thing had an aura of its own, like it was alive or something. I felt a shiver run down my spine when I looked directly at the thing for a few seconds before Liora noticed where my eyes were and changed the position of her arms, concealing the object from me again.

It was a deliberate act. As if she knew that necklace caught my full attention and she needed to hide it from me.

"Are you gonna let me in or not?" she asked without patience this time.

It was obvious to me now that the time for bickering was over.

"Yes". The words left my mouth before I could honestly think about what I was doing or the repercussions of it.

Her demeanor changed instantly as if she was ready to keep fighting with me. She thought I would say no.

To be honest, I also thought I would send her away without having zero regrets. I don't know what I am doing or what's happening inside my mind right now.

"Thank you, Alpha Logan!" she said honestly.

"But I have some conditions..."

She sighed. Moving her hands as a sign for me to continue while muttering under her breath "This was too good to be the truth..." But I am a werewolf and it was obvious I could hear her words clearly. And I know she knows that too.

"I am not in the wrong for wanting to protect my people, Liora" I said with finality and getting her attention once more. "You can wait for Dominic in our Pack grounds, but you will be under my supervision the entire time. Don't expect me to blindly trust you because I won't. I don't know the present you".

"Fair" was the only thing she said.

"And you will be staying at the Packhouse where I can keep a close eye on you".

She opened her mouth to say something but thought better about it. She knew my conditions weren't open to discussion. It was like this or nothing at all.

"Thank you!" and this time, her words came with a bright, genuine smile I don't think I've seen on her face before.

It made my heart flutter.

What?! I don't want my heart reacting to her, Goddammit!

Why is that s**t happening now? I thought while I signaled for her to follow me.

As we walked further inside our land, in the direction of my safe heaven and my people, I kept thinking if I was really making a good decision or if I just didn't make a freaking huge mistake letting her in.

Inside our lives and our pack once again.

Damn, Liora! You are nothing but trouble! And it seems the amount of trouble you bring is growing at the same rate as you.