Howls of the Lost | Now Published!

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Xander softly growled as he gazed through the window. He had thought she hated Logan, but there Torian stood, locking lips with him. Xander whipped around in the opposite direction and ran for all he was worth back to the small cave he had begun to call home. Just before he reached the opening, he caught her scent.

Raven.

As he stepped farther into the cave, he saw her sitting on the cot. She was swinging her legs back and forth like a child, a lifeless body at her feet. He sighed. Recruiting her had been a mistake and he knew it. Raven had always been uncontrollable, but he had needed her and he knew that her past affections for him would cause her to help him. "Really, Raven?" he asked, exasperation evident in his tone.

Her head snapped up and her cold blue gaze met Xander's. He couldn't help but compare her eyes to Torian's. The colors were so similar, but where Raven's were icy and cruel, Torian's were crystal and warm. The vampire in front of him scowled. "Yes, really. You want this army quick? Stop trying to tell me what to do. You can't keep them back there forever," she said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the tunnel leading to the room Xander had the newborns in. "We're going to have to start training them once we reach about a hundred or they'll start attacking each other," she told him.

"We have plenty of time," Xander replied, rolling his eyes at her. "You need to slow down or else you're going to start alerting the humans."

Raven growled and had him pinned against the wall of the cave in a matter of seconds. "You do not control me, Xander," she snarled.

Rolling his eyes once again, he flipped them around so that she was against the wall with her face pressed against the rock. "You seem to forget, Raven. I'm over fifty years older than you, which in turn means I am over fifty years stronger than you." He wrenched her arm behind her back for emphasis and she gasped in pain. "So yes, I do control you," he spat, throwing her to the ground next to the body she had brought with her. "You'd do well to remember that."

She spat onto the floor before righting herself. "Have it your way," she muttered. "Maybe you'll get to keep the shifter as a pet." With that she was gone.

Xander snarled and punched the wall. Why did she have to bring Torian up? Raven was still jealous. Just because he had had a fling with her all those years ago, she was still irritated over his interest in Torian. It infuriated Raven that she had never meant more to him than a one night stand.

Xander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't know why he was so interested in Torian, but the attraction was there plain as day. Every time he closed his eyes her crystal blue ones were staring back at him. Mocking the fact that he couldn't have her.

He slowly opened his eyes, exhaling the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. Then and there a plan began to form in his head. Xander decided he would have Torian if he had to die trying. This time would not end the same as the last. He always got what he wanted in the end.

This would be no different.

❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃

Logan's parents were amazing. After only a few more minutes of thoroughly introducing ourselves, they quickly accepted us as if we had always been there. Surprisingly, they made me feel at ease. Almost at home. Something I hadn't felt in a very long time. Before I knew it, the full day had passed and I was saying goodnight to everyone.

McKenna pulled me into a hug. "I'm so glad Logan finally found his mate," she whispered in my ear.

"Yeah," I replied, fitting a forced smile onto my face. C'mon, Tori. Play the act a little better, I scolded myself.