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.

Logan somehow sensed my discomfort and softly took my hand in his. "She's had enough of that tonight, Mom," he told her, beginning to tug me down the hall. "We'll see you in the morning!" he called.

Risking the glance over my shoulder, I saw McKenna furrow her eyebrows together. Nicholas came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder and her face instantly broke into a smile. "Goodnight Logan! You too, Dalton!" she called to them. "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" they chorused as we filtered into the rooms that had been officially given to us during our stay. Though, Ashlyn and Michael were the only ones who had gotten a room. David was staying in Rikki's and I was still bunking with Logan. Not that I really minded.

As much.

Logan smiled at me as he let go of my hand. A small smile flickered over my features as I turned for the closet. More than anything I just wanted to go to bed. If Xander interfered with my dreams . . . well I didn't know what I'd do. Shutting the closet door tightly behind me, I walked over to the drawer of things that Rikki had given to me for the time being. Pulling out a pair of shorts, I debated for a minute before snagging one of Logan's t-shirts to sleep in. Stripping out of my earlier clothes, I slid into the much more comfortable attire and breezed back out into the bedroom. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom, so I ran full force and jumped onto the bed. As I snuggled deep into the soft mattress, I purposely left Logan absolutely no room. A few minutes later I heard the bathroom door open. Carefully peeking out from behind the pillow I was currently using as a shield, my breathing stopped.

The only thing Logan was clothed in was a towel that was hanging dangerously low on his hips, and he was drying his hair with another. He had just come out of the shower, so naturally water was running down his chest and trailing across his stomach . . .

"Take a picture, ma vie. It lasts longer," he said, a smug smirk on his face as my eyes slowly moved back up to meet his amused gaze.

My cheeks burned scarlet and my heartbeat quickened as I buried my face into the pillow. "Shut up. It's not my fault," I muttered. Which sounded a lot more like, "Shuh uh. Ish nah meh fall."

He chuckled and the deep, throaty sound made shivers race down my spine. The rustling of fabric met my ears and then the bed dipped beside me as he pulled me tightly against his chest. "Care to explain that?" he asked, laughter still lacing his voice.

Sighing, I rested my chin on his chest as I looked up at him. "It's this stupid shifter hormone. The fact that you're attractive doesn't help matters either. Therefore it's not my fault."

"You find me attractive?" he asked, grinning.

"Of course that's what you would focus on out of that," I grumbled.

He ruffled my hair. "Thanks, ma vie," he teased. "You're not so bad yourself."

Laughing at him, I settled down into the crook of his arm. I was slowly starting to accept the fact that we were mated. Not that I would admit that to Logan anytime in the near future, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fight the mate claim for that much longer. I was already becoming extremely attached to the man that was now softly stroking my hair. "Goodnight, Logan," I murmured as a yawn escaped me.

"Goodnight, Torian," he whispered as he pressed a kiss into my hair.

❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃

It was cold, and the soft mattress was now extremely hard. Scowling, I figured I knew where I was without even opening my eyes. Which I didn't even bother to do when I asked, "What do you want now, Xander?"

The small cot dipped beside me and I grimaced as I scooted even closer to the edge. I was trying to get as far away from him as possible without falling off. "You don't sound very excited to see me, darling," he cooed, his velvet voice sounding almost hurt.

"Considering the fact that I haven't actually seen you yet, you can't say that," I muttered, snorting. He chuckled and shoved me off the cot without warning. My eyes flew open as I reached forward and braced myself for impact. Standing up, I whirled around to face him. "What the hell was that for?" I exclaimed.

"Now you see me," he said, his silver eyes shining.

"Cool. Can I go now?"

"Not quite," he replied with a grin. Within an instant I was against the cave wall with my hands pinned. Xander offered me a warm smile before lowering his mouth onto mine. I struggled with everything I had, but the attempts were useless. Unless I shifted he was stronger than me.

Shifting.

The thought brought a smile to my face as I tried to shift, but nothing happened. Concentrating harder, I tried again. But still, nothing happened. Xander pulled away from me just enough to look into my eyes and see the bewilderment. "This is a dream that I control, darling. Whenever you're here with me, you're nothing more than human." His voice sounded almost smug,

My heart dropped into my stomach. How was I supposed to fight him off if I had no way to? My anger bubbled to the surface to drown out my fear, a defense mechanism I had always resorted to. "This isn't a dream. It's a nightmare," I snapped before I had a chance to think about my words.

I knew I had spoken wrong when his eyes flashed. Before I could even register what was happening, I was flying in the opposite direction. My back collided with the wall and a small whimper of pain slipped past my lips against my will. My right cheek stung and I lifted my hand to it to find that it was bleeding. In the time it took to realize Xander had hit me, he had me suspended off the ground by my throat.

"If you want a nightmare, darling, I'll give you one," he snarled, leaning down to my throat.

His fangs grazed my skin and I couldn't prevent the fear that seized my heart. I didn't want him to bite me again. "Xander, please," I whimpered, despising myself even as the words crept past my lips.

A growl slipped between his teeth as he all but threw me to the ground. "Damnit, Tori!" he scolded, walking away from me. "Why did you make me do that?"

"How is this my fault?" I yelled at him, raising my hand to my cheek again to try and stop the bleeding.

"No one else makes me lose control of my temper the way you do," he muttered, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "You're the only one who's ever been able to flare my anger so quickly."

"So that means I'm to blame because you threw me across the room?"

"Of course not," he murmured, dropping his hand from his face and meeting my gaze. His eyes melted into liquid quicksilver as they met mine. "I'm so sorry."

"Forget it," I spat, attempting to pull myself to my feet on shaky legs.

He was beside me in an instant, helping me over to the cot. I didn't want his help, but every time I tried to shrug him off he just took hold of my waist again. As he sat me down he brushed his fingertips over the cut on my cheek. "Does it hurt?" he asked, sounding like he was the one in pain.

"I'm fine," I said, jerking away from him.

"Torian, let me heal it," he whispered a few minutes later, reaching over and taking my hand in his.

"What?" I replied, withdrawing my hand. His touch was like ice and it chilled my entire body. I just wanted to wake up.

"It's the least I could do. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. Please, darling –"

"Stop calling me that," I snapped.

Xander frowned as the distant sound of Logan's voice carried to us. I had never been happier to hear it, and I knew the relief showed on my face. My gazed darted all around the cave, searching for the sound of his disembodied voice. "I think it's time for you to wake up, darling," Xander flatly stated. "Until we meet again." With a final smirk that sparked my own temper, everything faded to black.

❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃

"Torian. Torian? Ma vie!" Logan's worried voice called as he shook my shoulder.

It was difficult, but I finally pried my eyes open and stared into his terrified emerald eyes. "What's wrong?" I whispered, feeling that he had something warm pressed against my cheek.

He choked in relief as he pulled me tightly against him. "You're alright," he breathed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, furrowing my eyebrows.

He pulled away from me, removing the thing from my cheek as well. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a washcloth that was stained red. Raising my hand to my cheek, I could feel the skin stitching itself back together. Thank God for being a shifter. "What'd he do?" Logan murmured, drawing my attention back to him.

"I pissed him off and he got violent," I said. Then realization dawned on me. "Wait. You mean whatever happened to me in those dreams . . ." I trailed off, too horrified to even complete the thought.

Logan's eyes were hard. "Happens to you in real life."

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Thanks for reading, really hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter should be playful Logan-Tori time, them bonding, probably :)

<3Always

-KC