The Wolf's Mate Book 6: Logan & Jenna (13 page)

“It is not written anywhere
that wolves can only find their truemates within the breed.  When a wolf finds
a truemate, that mate is accepted into the pack as a treasured member, to be
protected and revered.  If any were to go against the mate, to drive the mate
away or cause the mate harm, the wrath of the alphas would come down on them
without mercy.  Wolf mates are sacred, and to be treated with the utmost
respect.”

Jenna was looking at Jason as
he spoke, but she could feel Logan watching her, could almost taste his worry
for her.  It was making her antsy.  She shifted her weight from one foot to the
other, and pain shot up her leg, like an electric jolt.  She winced
automatically and Logan’s hand tightened against hers.  Glancing down, she
didn’t see anything wrong, but her right knee began to throb and ache.

Her ears buzzed and she was
aware that Jason was talking, but she couldn’t hear him clearly.  She looked at
him and saw his mouth moving but only caught snatches of his words.  He was
asking the pack about her.  She heard howling, distant and echoing, and then
Logan pulled her into his arms and kissed her.  More howling occurred and she
struggled to hear, but it felt as if her ears were plugged up.

When the kiss was over, Logan
pulled off his shirt, handed it to her and continued to undress.  She shook her
head, wondering what would cause her to go suddenly deaf, when another jolt
shook her left leg.  The throbbing in her right knee moved both up and down, to
surround her ankle like a shackle and to cup her hip like a hot hand.  As
quickly as her right leg was throbbing, her left leg began to throb and ache,
as the little jolts and pains moved up her body.

Her eyes watered as the pain
moved upwards, touching each of her ribs one by one, making them feel as if
they were being squeezed in a vise.  Logan kissed her, oblivious to her pain as
he got ready to shift, and slipped down to the ground.  Her fingers curled like
claws, painful and rigid, as Logan’s huge body shifted into his wolf form: a
large, dark gray wolf.

He nuzzled her knee and gazed
up at her, his head cocked to the side as if studying her.

Her ears began to clear some
and she heard Cades ask if she was ready to go back to the house.

Through gritted teeth, Jenna
managed, “Have a good hunt, Logan,” and turned to follow Cades.

Logan barked at her but she
didn’t turn back, trudging after Cades with every ounce of willpower she had. 
If she could just make it back to the house, she could sit down and figure out
why her bones felt like they were trying to jump out of her skin.  Her gums
ached and a headache formed between her eyes as her vision dimmed and then
brightened suddenly.  She could see things so clearly and sharply, but in
strange colors.

Why hadn’t she let Logan take
her home?  She needed him now and he was off hunting and wouldn’t be back for
hours.

She managed to make it into
the kitchen before her spine made several snapping sounds and she fell to the
floor, screaming.

Just as Cades and the other
mates rushed to her aid, Jenna’s hearing cleared and sharpened intensely.

“Jenna?”  Cades said, putting
her hand on Jenna’s skin.

“Stop screaming!”  Jenna
howled, slapping her hands over her ears.  Her skin was sensitive, prickling
like needles were being driven into her flesh.  Her bones throbbed and her
muscles twitched.

“Is she shifting?”  Shyne asked,
in a voice that was still too loud.  In the strange mixed colors of her vision,
Jenna could see that Shyne, Karly, and Cades were kneeling around her.

Cades looked up and shouted,
“Get Logan, now!”

Jenna moaned as the sound
intensified in her ears.

“Help me,” Jenna choked out,
sobs shaking her body as her limbs twitched and her eyes rolled back in her
head.

“We’ve got you.  Let’s get
you to the couch, sweetie,” Cades said, and Jenna felt hands sliding under her
arms and she was lifted up. The three women helped pull her over to the couch,
apologizing as each step made her body jar painfully.  Easing her down onto the
couch, Cades knelt in front of her and picked up her hand.  “Logan’s on his
way, just hold on.”

Karly came into the family
room with a cool, wet cloth and pressed it lightly to Jenna’s forehead.  Shyne
paced nearby, wringing her hands.

Jenna curled into herself,
leaning against the arm of the couch for support, her muscles twitching as
throbbing pain coursed through her body.  When would this nightmare end?

She had no concept of time as
the three women moved around her, replacing the wet cloth, offering her cool
drinks and food, speaking in low tones so they wouldn’t hurt her sensitive
ears.

She wished she hadn’t sent
Logan away.  She wanted him by her side, because even in the haze of her pain
she knew that he would help her.  As her hands clenched against her will, her
knuckles cracking loudly, she closed her eyes and prayed he would get to her
soon.

Chapter 8

Logan watched Jenna turn away
with his clothes in her hands, her shoulders hunched and her movements stiff. 
Something was definitely wrong with her.  He barked sharply, but she didn’t
turn around to look at him.  Was she angry with him?

He’d been so surprised by her
behavior at Jason’s home.  It had embarrassed him when she snapped at his alpha
about his cooking skills, but he shouldn’t have shamed her like that.  Clearly
she wasn’t feeling like herself, and she’d needed his support, not his
annoyance.

He watched her until she
disappeared into the trees, following the other mates and the she-wolves who
were going to watch them while the others hunted.  If she needed him, she would
call for him, wouldn’t she?  He just wasn’t sure, and the indecision tore at him.

Michael barked at him, and
Logan turned away and padded over to where he, Jason, and Linus were waiting. 
Before Bo had mated the she-wolf Reika, Bo had hunted with them as well, but
now he hunted with his wife.  Their small group headed deeper into the woods to
find something to hunt.  The wolves’ territory was filled with plenty to hunt,
from field mice and rabbits to deer, and in the hotter summer months, there was
a stream with fish that were fun to chase.

He tried to focus his
thoughts on the hunt, to support his friends and do what the wolf in him wanted
to do every full moon — let loose and chase prey — but he couldn’t stop
thinking about Jenna.  The further away from her he got, the worse he felt, and
even his wolf, who had been anxious for a good hunt, wanted to go back to their
mate.

He stopped and barked to his
friends, just as a low, warning howl came in the distance.  It was the sound of
a she-wolf calling for help!  Without a glance back at his friends, Logan
bolted towards the howling she-wolf, regret filling his mind.  Had something
happened to Jenna?  Was she okay?  He would never get over abandoning her when
he’d known in his heart that something was wrong.

McKenna saw Logan and wheeled
around, heading back towards the house.  Logan pushed forward, moving as fast
as his paws would carry him over the rough ground.  The woods became a dark
blur around him as his senses all focused on getting back to his mate as soon
as possible.  He knew his pack was with him, following close behind.  They would
all be worried that maybe it was one of their mates that was in trouble.  But a
tightening in Logan’s gut told him that it was Jenna who needed help.

The house loomed into view
and Logan shifted on the fly, leaping up onto the porch and racing through the
open back door.

His eyes roamed the room
quickly, seeing Cades and the other females standing watch over Jenna as she
sat huddled in the corner of the couch, her arms wrapped around her knees and
her hands clenched into tight fists.  Her body jerked and she sobbed softly.

He went to his knees on the
couch in front of her.  “Baby?”

She blinked pain-filled amber
eyes at him. 
Holy shit.

Her voice was scratchy and
rough.  “Hurts.”

“I know, baby.”  He touched
her hands, which were curled together, her nails digging into her palms.  She
looked to be in incredible pain, her breath coming out in fast pants and her
eyes glazed.

There was a knock at the door
and Cades left the room.  After a fast, quiet conversation, she came into the
room with a man that Logan didn’t recognize.

Jason, his parents Peter and
Tina, his brother Michael, Linus, Bo, and Reika all came into the family room. 
Jason said, “Doc?  What are you doing here?”

Cades said, “I called Doc Mirelli’s
house and his mate called him in from his hunt and said he would come right
over.”

The older man came over with
a red emergency bag slung over his shoulder and said to Logan, “I need to
examine her, is that okay?”

Logan swallowed the anger
that welled inside him at the thought of someone touching Jenna and nodded,
sitting back on his heels.  Something hit him in the back and he looked and saw
that Bo had tossed Logan’s clothes at him.  He dressed quickly and stood as
close to Jenna as he could without interfering with the doctor’s examination.

The doctor tugged on one of
her clenched hands, slowly stretching out her arm, and tears streamed from
Jenna’s eyes.  Logan could see that she was struggling to keep it together, and
it broke his heart that she was in so much pain.

And he wanted to kill the
doctor for hurting her further.

He reminded himself that the
doctor was going to help her, but it didn’t stop him from thinking about
throwing him across the room.

Doc Mirelli looked up at him
as he opened his case and took out a stethoscope.  “I can see the mark on her
palm, so I know she’s your blood bonded mate.  Tell me everything that’s
happened since that moment.”

Clearing his mind of vengeful
thoughts, Logan told the doctor about finding her in the woods, the blood
bonding, and what had happened over the last week.

“She almost died from the
iron poisoning?”  Doc Mirelli asked as he listened to Jenna’s heart and then
clicked a penlight and flashed it into her eyes.

“Yeah.  The fairy that healed
her said that another hour and she’d have been too far gone to heal.  Does that
matter?”

“Actually, yes.”  The doctor
replaced what he’d taken from the bag and after a few quiet moments of
rummaging, pulled out a small vial of clear liquid and a needle.  “Blood
bondings are extremely serious.  In the history of our people, blood bondings
were done fairly frequently, when wolves found their truemates.  It was a
ritual that bound the two by blood.  With the blood of the male inside the
female, it was said that he was linked to her in an extra, stronger way.  Over
time, and with less of our people finding their truemates, blood bondings
stopped being performed.  Except in extreme cases like this.  When one of the
truemates is injured, a blood bond can strengthen the wounded one.”

The doctor paused and looked
at Jenna.  She shook slightly, the muscles in her arms spasming.  Logan growled
softly, sat down on the couch, and put his arm around her.  She whimpered, but
didn’t pull away from him.  He had to comfort her.  He couldn’t help himself.

“So what are you saying,
doc?”  Logan asked.

“I’m saying that Jenna was so
weak from the iron poisoning that your blood overwhelmed her system.  She’s
acting both like a new wolf and a caged wolf.”

Logan frowned.  “A new wolf?”

“I’m sure you recall what it
was like when you first shifted, how crazy your emotions could get.  Young
males and females can have wild mood swings, out-of-control feelings, and
aggression.”

Peter moved closer to the
couch.  “Did you say caged wolf?”

Doc Mirelli nodded.  “Yes.  I
don’t know if you’ve ever seen a wolf that’s been denied shifting on the full
moon, but after a few months, the full moon becomes like torture for them. 
Their bodies beg to shift but they can’t.”

“Jenna’s not a wolf.”  Logan
pointed out.

“No, but she’s acting as if
she’s a real wolf and has been denied the ability to shift for so long that the
full moon is driving her insane.”  Doc Mirelli said.

Logan’s mouth dropped open. 
“Full moon fever?”

Cades said, “Is there
anything you can do for her?”

“I can inject her with a
strong muscle relaxant.  That should help to ease her knotted muscles and
relieve the tension in her joints.  And then I think you need to take her out
for a run.”

“What?”  Logan said, not sure
he had heard right.

The doctor turned up the
sleeve of Jenna’s top until her upper arm was exposed and swiped an alcohol pad
across her skin.  As he uncapped the needle and filled it with the clear liquid
from the vial, he said, “She’s definitely not going to shift, but there’s a
part of her that needs to be let free, and the easiest way to do that is to
take her outside.  She needs to run the tension from her body and give into the
moon like a wolf would.  It’s my best suggestion for how to help her.  I can
drug her, if you’d rather, and she’ll sleep until dawn, but her body will still
ache and it will take her longer to recover.”