Free Fighting Fate by Carrie Ann Ryan Page B

shimmering.
    The knock at the door startled her, but the scent behind it calmed her.
    Logan.
    He’d come for her so she wouldn’t have to walk alone.
    Goddess, she could love him.
    When she opened the door, she held back a sigh. Long legs in dark pants and a shirt that molded
    to his build quite nicely. Maybe if she focused on Logan, she wouldn’t have to think about what was
    coming.
    He seemed to understand she needed something…else, so he lifted her chin with a finger before
    leaning down to brush a tender kiss against her lips.
    “Ready?”
    “No,” she answered honestly.
    He nodded then held out his arm. She closed the door behind her and tucked her arm into his. As
    they made their way to the circle, Pack members joined their trek, heads lowered, wolves in pain. No
    one spoke—there was no need to.
    Nothing to say until they found themselves in the circle.
    Logan’s arm on hers steadied her as she raised her chin, trying to show the others that they could
    be strong. It was her job as a Jamenson—a role she held with pride.
    Her brothers, their mates and children were standing at their places in the circle. The raised
    platform would soon be too small for her growing family, but the absence of the two people who
    meant the most to her was stark in its evidence.
    Each of her brothers noticed her in turn, their eyes narrowing slightly at Logan before schooling
    their features. This was not the time to deal with big-brother bullshit.
    She glared, and each of them turned away, their mates leaning into them. As she stood beside
    Maddox, she tried to let go of Logan, only to have Logan grip her hand and squeeze. Her wolf calmed,
    needing the man near them.
    Her brother Kade, her new Alpha, rose to stand in front of the Pack. Melanie and their three
    children stood off to the side, still visible but allowing Kade to speak first.
    “We’ve lost an Alpha, a wolf, a father, a friend,” Kade began.
    Cailin swallowed hard, keeping her head high, leaning slightly into Logan, not so much that
    anyone would notice, but he knew. Her head pounded, creating a roaring in her ears. She could see
    Kade’s mouth moving, could see the others in her family standing tall, grief on their faces, tears
    staining some of their cheeks.
    The other Pack members openly wept, their emotions so strong she could taste them on her
    tongue. She would not cry. Not then, maybe not ever again.
    Kade spoke once more, and the others in the Pack howled.
    She threw her head back and joined them, Logan’s howl a sweet harmony to hers—the first thing
    she could hear.
    She could feel others’ gazes on her and Logan, but she didn’t care. Her heart hurt too much and
    the confusion in her mind too tangled to unravel. The reason they were all here was because of her
    parents. Not who was with whom. What mattered in her heart was that she and Logan shared a
    connection beyond mating.
    They were the reasons her parents were dead. Not that she'd ever blame Logan for that.
    No, the blame lay solely with her.
    When the enforcers came to take her parents’ bodies—already covered in silk—she held back a
    shudder. She hadn’t looked down into the circle, she couldn’t. Goddess, her parents were right
    there…yet so far away.
    So far out of reach.
    Logan let go of her hand, only to wrap his arm around her side, squeezing her other hip. He
    didn’t pull her close, didn’t pat her and tell her everything would be okay.
    He knew exactly what to do to help her.
    The others started to leave, their own mourning taking place quietly and in private. Cailin
    followed her brothers back to Kade’s house for another meeting. Only, unlike the last time, Logan
    wouldn’t be leaving her side. It might be selfish, but she needed him.
    As soon as they were in Kade’s living room, she knew something was coming that she wouldn’t
    like. From the firm set of Melanie’s mouth, she had a feeling her sister-in-law, the new Alpha female,
    didn’t like it