It was night time already. Logan was yawning sleepily as he looked around the littered library. Casper, on the other hand, was pacing the library frantically. At intervals he would groan and mutter to himself.

"Casper, stop pacing please. You're making me nervous." Logan spoke up.

"I should not have said those things I said to Louve. Now I can't find peace again. I didn't mean any of those things I said."

"I know you didn't, Casper." Logan replied. "You only did that to protect her and to protect your feelings. I know firsthand how it feels to lose a mate. I mean, look at my father."

"I am scared to lose her, alpha. As I am equally scared of dying and making her go through pain on my account." Casper confessed. Logan could see the regret on his face. "Even now, with the possibility of battle in front of us, I don't want either of us to feel any pain because of the other's death. I thought if I told her she wasn't capable of going to battle that she would actually stay put."

"Well, Casper, it seems you don't know your mate as much as you think." Logan replied wisely. "My cousin would never do anything anybody tells her if it is something she doesn't want to do. Under that carefree facade is a very heady and stubborn person. Now she will do all in her power to join us if we happen to go into battle.

After that, Casper had stared at the alpha for a few seconds, then groaned and continued pacing the room.

"Casper, go and make it up to your mate." Logan had said after watching his beta pace the length of the room for another five minutes. "I think Louve deserves an apology."

Casper paused and stared at Logan. "You think that would work? I sort of got the idea that she wanted to be away from me."

"Well, if you know how to place your words it should be easy." Logan had replied with a subtle hint in his voice.

That was a few hours ago, after Louve had stormed off angrily. Right now Logan was in the library, alone. He had gone through every single book in the library and nothing was even remotely pointing towards anything to do with rogue pack tattoos. He was tired and frustrated and, most of all, sad.

Casper and Louve's fight had made him realise that not all relationships are something to look up to. Here he was, thinking his beta and his cousin's marriage was perfect and with none of the drama that could be found in his and Aella's relationship. What had happened today in the library had proven him otherwise.

His mind suddenly went to Aella and he realised that he had been so preoccupied with his aimless search in the library that he hadn't given any thought to her in hours. He realised how harsh he had been to her the last time they talked. He had heard her cry because of him: it had broken his heart beyond measure. 

He still wasn't sure he could trust her wholeheartedly, but he knew he had fallen in love with her first and foremost before the tattoo issue came up. 

He opened their mind link and said a tentative good evening Aella, but he was greeted with a light snore which showed that she was definitely asleep. He closed the mind link and got up from the chair, moving towards the door. He would check up on her, then go to bed.

He walked out of the library and closed the door behind him, then moved towards his and Aella's room. He knocked first, and when there was no answer, he opened the door slowly and peeped in. 

Aella was on the bed, fast asleep and snoring lightly. He walked in and closed the door quietly behind him so he wouldn't wake her. She looked so peaceful when she slept, he thought. None of the anger and stubbornness he had grown used to on that face.

He walked closer to her and sat gently on the bed beside her. He stretched out his hand and lightly pulled her dark curly hair backwards so he could see her face more clearly, and smiled gently as he looked at her features. Her thick black eyebrows, the highlight of her face as usual. Long dark eyelashes that cast dark shadows on her cheekbones. A small pointy nose that was usually raised in a haughty expression whenever its owner was awake. Full pouty pale pink lips that Logan terribly missed kissing.

She was wearing the black slip that he had seen on her the last time he had been in the room. The hand was slipping down from her shoulder again and one of her pert boobs was almost exposed. He raised the strap of the slip and returned it to her shoulder, and at the touch of her smooth shoulder, she stirred and moaned his name.

Damn, this was not what he needed. He could feel himself get painfully hard again.

He snapped himself out of his scrutiny of her body and stood up before he could do anything they would both regret. He moved to the bathroom and quickly stripped, taking a cold shower. Throughout the shower his mind kept going to his mate lying on the bed and the way she had unconsciously moaned his name. He shook his head, trying to push the very sexual thought out of his mind.

He finished his shower and dried his hair, wearing the same sweat shirt and sweatpants that he had been putting on. When he walked back into the room, he was a little taken aback to find her already awake and staring at him from the other side of the room. 

She looked so sexy when she was sleepy. Her eyes were dropping with sleep and her full hair was in disarray. The strap of her slip was falling down again and her lips looked fuller and more kissable than ever.

"Logan." She croaked in a sleepy voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought...it's been long since I had some time with you, but when I came here you were asleep, so I just thought to have a quick shower."

"Okay." She replied. She seemed to be a little more awake now. She rubbed her eyes and avoided his eyes. "I'll just go back to bed then. Close the door on your way out, will you?"

A former Logan would have argued back that the room was as much his as it was hers, but Logan now was very tired of picking petty fights with her. Instead he called out. "Aella, wait. I have something to say."

Aella paused for a moment as she considered his words. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked.

He slowly moved closer to the bed and sat by it, leaving a considerable distance between them. He still wasn't sure if he could touch her. "I wanted to apologize for...you know, what happened between us the last time I was here. They were mean and hurtful things and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologise for anything, Logan." She said. "I know it was a bit hard for me to gain your trust seeing that I wasn't the most normal of mates. I was found at the border with no explanation for why or how I got there."

"Yet, it doesn't give me enough right to say those things." He murmured. Then, when Logan couldn't take the distance between them anymore, he stood up and moved closer to her, then took her in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, baby." He murmured as he stroked her hair "Won't ever do that again."

She raised her head to look at him, and suddenly they fount themselves kissing. Logan claimed her mouth in his and groaned lightly when she nibbled on his lower lip. She tasted of  honey: warm, melting and sweet.

He hadn't realised just how much he had missed her warmth. He kept planting kisses all over her lips, her cheek, her neck, as his hands traveled all over her body. The thin slip she wore gave him just enough access to touch her but it wasn't enough. He frantically tugged at the slip and soon she had pulled down both straps, exposing her perky breasts.

He cupped them both with his hands and gently kneaded. Aella moaned and threw her head back, using her hands as support. Soon Logan's hands were replaced by his mouth as he took one of her nipples then the other and gave her pleasure with his lips. She groaned and closed her eyes, letting the wave after wave of pleasure wash over her. This was utter bliss.