Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

I t took exactly one text message for Logan to track down his childhood best friend.

Dominic McMurtry was sitting on a barstool inside The Den, the local bar tucked just off of Main Street. He glanced up when Logan stepped inside and when their eyes met a lead weight filled his chest. It was the weight of years being lost, of phone calls and text messages and an understanding that they may never see each other again and yet here they were.

In those six years, Dominic had changed. His hair, which had always grown a bit wild and curly, was shaved down on the sides and just a bit longer on top. The same dark color hair shadowed his jawline now too. Plus, he was bigger than Logan remembered. His broad shoulders had filled out at 26 in a way no 19-year-old's could. His eyes were the same lake blue but the guilt and pity that looked back at Logan was new and painful to see on his oldest friend's face. Dominic broke eye contact first and reached for the glass of amber colored liquid in front of him.

Logan would have much preferred to have this meeting somewhere private, somewhere without witnesses so that the news of his return might not spread like a wildfire, but it was clear from the way Dominic swayed slightly on his barstool that his friend had been there a while and was in no shape to drive to meet elsewhere.

When Dominic had texted his location Logan had been imagining a crowded bar with a bunch of rowdy wolves celebrating the end of a workday. Instead, the place was almost eerily empty. There was a haggard looking old man behind the bar who caught Logan's eye and dipped his chin in a show of respect, clearly recognizing him, before going back to polishing glasses. At a booth near the back a couple was cuddled together on one side of the table, oblivious to the rest of the world going on around them. There were two men at the pool table in the back who looked vaguely familiar but since neither had glanced up from their game at Logan's entrance he ducked his head a little and quickly moved to take a stool next to Dominic where his back would be to them.

"You're really here." Dominic finished his drink and then held the glass of remaining ice between his big hands.

"I'm really here." Logan confirmed.

"I wasn't sure you'd actually come. He was. I wasn't." Dominic stared at the bar, not looking up, "I'm so sorry, man."

"Hey." Logan reached out and put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nothing to be sorry for. I know he must've forced you to make that call."

"I tried like hell to fight it." Dominic glanced up to snap his fingers at the bartender, "Another. And one for my friend here."

"No, thanks. I'm driving." Logan waved the offer away.

"Suit yourself. I figured if you'd seen your old man, you'd want a drink, or five. I know I did."

"Six." The bartender corrected as he refilled Dominic's glass.

"Ah, fuck off, Carl." Dominic lifted the newly topped off glass to his lips and the old bartender smirked before walking away.

"He used his Alpha voice to force you to call and lie to me about his death, knowing it would get me here. There's no way you could've fought it. I already figured that out so please, don't feel guilty."

"He called me again earlier. Told me I did good, that I got you here, like I'd been on his side." Dominic scowled into his drink, "Your dad is a fucking prick."

"I'd drink to that if I was drinking." Logan nodded his agreement.

"I'll drink fors both." Dominic lifted his glass again and Logan frowned when his friend slurred.

Dominic wasn't just drinking. He was drunk. Being a shifter, it took a solid amount of alcohol to even get a good buzz going and he had a feeling Dominic was far deeper than just five or six drinks if that was the case. He may not have seen his friend in more than six years but he knew enough to know this was out of character and paired with his father's lie to get him here, Logan needed to get to the bottom of what was really going on.

"Hey." Logan reached for the glass when Dominic started to lift it again. "Talk to me."

"Thought I was?"

"Dom. come on. I'm here. I'm back, but I need you to tell me why he forced you to call me home now."

"You saw him, right? He's dying."

"That's what he said but I don't trust a word that comes out of his mouth. Are you sure he's not just sick?"

"Does our kind even get sick?" Dominic shot him a look as if he was stupid and Logan realized just how long he had lived in the human world for him not to have even thought of that.

Dominic was right of course. Shifters very rarely got sick. The magic in their veins that made them stronger and faster than normal people also helped cure most illnesses before they ever knew they'd caught something.

Yet, Logan's father had been visibly sick and said he was dying. Logan had assumed it was part of his ruse but maybe it wasn't. Maybe the old bastard had actually told the truth for once.

"What is it?" he asked Dominic but his friend only shrugged.

"You think he confided in me?"

"Your dad?"

Dominic snorted, "They've been on the outs for a while too."

Logan was shocked to hear that, "What? They used to be as close as we are."

"Things change."

"They had a falling out? What about?"

Dominic shrugged again, tapping his glass against the scarred bar top. "Maybe because your dad's a grade-A prick and he's killing the pack faster than he can die off himself."

Logan rethought ordering a drink. This conversation was not going how he'd thought it would. Dominic was drunk and only giving Logan more questions than answers.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Man, did you look ‘round at all?" Dominic squinted at him. "Things ain't like they were before you left. This place is practically a ghost town."

"I thought it was just a slow night."

"Nah, not in here. Shadow Pines. The pack. People are taking off, or more like disappearing never to be heard from again." Dominic snorted, "Kinda like they are taking a page outta your book."

Logan winced at the low blow. He'd have expected it from his father, even from some of his other old friends, but he hadn't been prepared for it coming from Dominic. They'd stayed in touch and though Logan hadn't been able to tell his oldest friend exactly why he'd run away he had mistakenly assumed Dominic understood.

"I wish I could explain…" he started but Dominic was pushing his glass away and starting to stand.

"I need some air and…" He swayed on his feet and Logan jumped up to catch him.

He grunted as Dominic's weight smacked into him. Yeah, his friend was definitely bigger these days. Dominic was solid muscle, and he was trying to shove Logan's hands away even as his friend held him upright.

"Lemme go. I'm gonna hurl."

"Don't you make a mess in my bar, McMurtry!" The grizzled man behind the counter snapped and pointed towards the door. "Get him out of here. He can settle his tab tomorrow."

"Come on." Logan nodded, heaving Dominic back onto his own feet. "Let's get some air."

Dominic grumbled about not needing help but let Logan guide him out of the bar and onto the sidewalk. There was a little park just down the street and Logan managed to get them to one of the benches. He dropped Dominic down onto it and then sat beside his friend as he groaned and tucked his head between his legs.

"If you're going to puke, do it the other direction, please." Logan blew out a breath from all but carrying the big man half a block.

Dominic didn't respond and Logan let him be.

They sat together on the bench for a long time in total silence. Long enough that Logan noticed there were no cars on the road coming and going. Long enough that he realized nobody else was walking up and down the street. They seemed to be the only people out and about and it was barely past sunset.

Despite Shadow Pines being a small town, it had never been the kind that rolled up the welcome mat at dark.

When Logan was a kid there was always something going on in town. The parks would be lit up with little league games or music would be rolling out of the auditorium from a concert recital. There had been festivals and street performances nearly every weekend and even if there wasn't some official reason to celebrate, there had typically been people just out and about running errands after work, visiting friends, or having dinner. Now everything was quiet and dark, shut-up and shut-down, and it had the eerie feeling of a ghost town, just like Dominic had said back at the bar.

Dominic finally sat back upright and blew out a long breath.

"You okay?" Logan shot him a concerned look.

"Yeah. I think I'm okay now. The cool air helped."

"You sound a little less tanked, so that's good."

"Sorry about that, your old man just…"

Logan held up a hand, "You don't have to explain anything to me. Believe me, I get it."

Dominic scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned, "Damn, it's good to see you again. I just wish it wasn't like this."

"Like what?"

"You came back thinking you could bury that bastard and start fresh only to find him still upright. You must've wanted to bash my face in when you figured it out."

Logan's lips quirked, "The idea crossed my mind before I realized what he'd done. I blame him. Not you."

"You probably thought you were coming home to inherit the pack you left behind but, it's not the same as you remember."

"I'm starting to see that."

"You have no idea." Dominic's eyes were less hazy but still sad. "Come on, walk me home and I'll show you what I mean."

"Okay." Logan shot his vehicle a meaningful look, "Is it safe to leave it here?"

Dominic snorted, "Maybe you are starting to figure out this place has changed. That's not a question you would've even had to ask before, huh?"

"Dom?"

"Leave it. It'll be fine. Come on."

Dominic headed up the street and Logan dutifully fell into step beside him. When Logan had driven through town on his way to the Kemp estate earlier, he'd thought Shadow Pines looked unchanged but up close like this, he realized just how wrong he had been. Sure, most of the stores still had the same awnings and signage up, but behind the glass storefronts, many of them were gutted down to the studs.

"Remember the Smiths used to run the little pharmacy and corner store there." Dominic pointed to one of the large empty spaces. "They left about six months ago."

"Where'd they go?"

"Same place everyone else went I suppose, off to other packs, other states." Dominic shrugged. "One day, they were here. The next, they were gone. There was a sign taped to the door one morning saying they were closed. Eventually someone broke in, looted the place, probably made a small fortune selling off the prescription painkillers, but we never caught the person, but I'll admit no one ever looked all that hard either."

"Why not?"

Dominic shot him a bored look, "Because by then, nobody really cared anymore."

"I take it the Smiths weren't the first to leave in the middle of the night?"

"Not the first. Not the last." Dominic pointed around, "The Andersen family shut down the sports and outdoors store and got the hell out of Dodge. The flower shop shuttered when the Rose family left. The Coffmans, the Johnsons, the Stephens, all gone. More too. Those are just the ones that ran shops here in town."

"Wow." Logan shook his head in shock, "They all just left? Abandoned the pack in the middle of the night like traitors?"

"You can't blame them. Not once it became clear the Pack Alpha would use his power for anything that fit his purpose. If they'd gone through the proper channels, asked to leave, he'd have forced them to stay and they knew it."

Logan stopped walking and stared at his friend warily. It was clear from Dominic's words that he was aware Byron Kemp wasn't above abusing his power but how much did Dominic actually know? He wished there was a way to ask because he was starting to understand that the evil he had witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg with his father.

"Is that why your dad had a falling out with him? Because he was abusing his power?"

Dominic shrugged and continued walking, forcing Logan to do the same to keep up, "Maybe. I don't know."

"But…"

"You know my dad, Logan. He's loyal to the pack. He'd never talk shit about the Pack Alpha so instead he just doesn't say much anymore. He goes out and does his job as Head Enforcer. He follows orders and goes home at night and drinks too much. It's not a good coping mechanism but I guess I inherited it right along with my loyalty to the pack."

"Is that why you never told me about all of this?" Logan scrubbed his jaw.

Dominic shoved his hands into his pockets, "Maybe."

"Maybe. Probably. You don't know." Logan grunted, "You've become a vague son of a bitch, you know that?"

"What do you want me to say, Logan?" Dominic snapped, blue eyes blazing with a sudden rush of anger. "You left. I know you were going through hell after Lark died and I know I can't understand what you lost back then because I haven't found my mate but…"

"But?" Logan prompted when his friend trailed off.

"But I never could have turned my back and left the pack like you did. This place is my home. This pack is my family. It deserves my blood, sweat and tears and I'll fight for it until I take my last breath, but you? You just walked away…"

"I had to go, Dom, and I had to take Viv with me. I couldn't leave her with them."

Dominic's eyes flashed, "Don't even get me started on the way you wrapped Vivian up in that mess."

"Dom…" he groaned but his friend held up a hand.

"Look, I just figured when you reached out and said you wanted to stay in touch that what you really meant was that you felt guilty and you wanted to ease your conscience. So no, I didn't tell you how bad things had really gotten because truth be told, I didn't think you'd care."

"Of course I care." Logan winced. "I'm here aren't I?"

"Because he made me lie and say he was dead. You wouldn't have come back for anything else and we both know it."

Logan swiped a hand over his face, pain ricocheting through him with every blow Dominic landed. He couldn't blame Dominic for being angry with him though because what he said was true. It hurt, but it wasn't a lie. He had felt guilty for leaving, for running away, and he'd wanted Dominic to keep him in the loop to ease that guilt. His oldest friend knew him better than anyone so he let him call him on his bullshit and took it.

"I wish I could tell you why I left but…"

"You can't." Dominic finished for him. "I figured as much."

They exchanged a look that Logan felt down to his soul. His friend did understand, even if he didn't want to. He might not know the details but he understood what Logan had been running from and why only his father's death would have brought him back.

They walked on for another couple blocks in silence. It wasn't exactly comfortable but it was companionable and that was more than Logan figured he deserved. When Dominic stopped and motioned to a small apartment building, Logan frowned.

"You live here?"

"Yeah, in 2B. Have for a few years now." His friend nodded. "You want to come up?"

"No, thanks. I should get back to the house and check on Viv."

Dominic's eyes went wide, "You brought Vivian back with you?"

"Yeah, of course. She wouldn't let me come alone."

A scowl darkened Dominic's face, "And you returned that favor by leaving her alone up at that house with your parents?"

"Whoa, easy." Logan held his hands up when he felt Dominic's wolf made itself known. He didn't shift. His eyes didn't even go gold with his wolf's power. But the animal was there, lurking just under the surface of his friend's skin, and he was angry. Logan could sense him and his eagerness to draw blood. "Easy, Dom. She's fine."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually." Logan scoffed. "She's been texting me updates since I left to find you. She's up at the house because she's digging for information, trying to figure out what Dad is up to."

"She shouldn't be doing that. It could be dangerous."

"Yeah, you try telling her that because I already did."

"Gladly."

Logan chuckled when his friend growled, "She's not the same kid you remember, Dom. She's stubborn as hell and she gives as good as she takes."

"She always did." Dominic scrubbed a hand over his jaw. "You're sure she's okay?"

"She's fine. Promise."

"Okay." Dominic seemed to breathe a little easier at the reassurance, "Well, you get back and check on her and we'll talk more tomorrow. Come up with a plan for what you want to do. If you're staying, that is."

"I'm staying." Logan promised, uncertain he meant it until he tasted the truth of the words on his tongue. "We'll figure out what Dad's up to and then we'll figure out a way to turn things around for our pack."

" Our pack, huh?" Dominic almost smiled.

"We always said you'd be my second when the time came. Can I still count on you for that?"

"Always."

"Good." Logan gave his friend a clap on the back. "Rest. Get the booze out of your system and I'll check in with you in the morning."

"Sounds good." Dominic turned to head up the stairs but paused, "Oh and Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"It really is good to see you."

"You too." He smiled before turning and heading back the way they'd come to retrieve his vehicle.

It had been a long, stressful day, so when he felt his wolf snap to attention inside of him, he inwardly warned the animal to relax. They were not going for a run tonight. Not even if his animal half had been itching to run on pack territory for years. He had more important things to do tonight than let his wolf out to roam the woods of his childhood.

He kept walking but when his wolf lunged for the surface a moment later he nearly lost himself to the change before getting a tight grip on his humanity. He sucked in a gulp of the cool night air, trying to calm his riled animal but that only made the beast inside him roar more fiercely and Logan spun around in confusion.

It wasn't possible. Logically, rationally, he knew it wasn't possible. But he couldn't help himself.

He began to follow the scent that had come to him on the wind, the one that was making his wolf feral with a need to possess and claim, the one that had just sparked the mating bond inside of him, the bond that should have died all those years ago with his mate.

And yet, his wolf roared.

Mine!