THE NORD BROTHERS

CHAPTER 13

Logan. 

Laying a claim on one's mate was possibly the equivalent of engagement ring you couldn't remove. The mark stays for forever, the mate bound strengthens until the two mates are inseparable. It's a promise between two destined souls. 

Claiming mate was an intimate moment. Certainly it wasn't supposed to end with him clutching an iceberg to his crotch. 

I'm an idiot. 

Logan had lost control. Him trying to mark her - naked in a bathroom - was like proposing in Walmart. Fucking dumb. 

With a groan, he pinched the bridge of his nose. She had been so tempting, her skin silk soft and inviting, her scent intoxicating. And he screwed it all up with his primal urges. He could feel father's disapproving frown drilling through him from Heaven. 

"Nords never lose control. You're the next Alpha of this pack, so act like one.Do not disappoint me again."  The old man had once said, scowling down at his son who had given in to Caleb's request to chase ball in the backyard. His younger brother got away with everything, always.

Logan was an example. First born. The next Alpha. The one who was always in control - until he got kneed in the family jewels by Mariana. That woman was something else entirely, wild and untamable like a tornado. 

The door to his office swung open. Caleb waltzed in, unusually serious look on his face. "Is it true? You tried to mark her?" 

Logan skewered him with an angry glower. "Can't you learn how to knock?" 

"You didn't answer my question." 

"And you didn't answer mine." 

The two brothers glared at each other before Caleb's gaze dropped to the pack of ice. "She has a good aim." His expression lifted with amusement. "That one was well deserved." 

"What? Did she run crying to you?" The fierce jealousy turned his mood sour. 

"She didn't have to. I can smell her scent on you," Caleb pointed to his sibling's groin. "Doesn't take much to draw conclusions from there." 

Logan inhaled deeply. His brother was right. If there would be Oscars for dumb ideas, he'd be giving his acceptance speech already. "You came here to shove it in my face?" He growled, irritation having just reached top of Everest and stuck a flag there. 

"Can't really deny that." Caleb shrugged unapologetically. That smug bastard. "I would've punched you if Mariana didn't have that covered already. That move could cost us our mate." 

Last time Logan had seen his brother this serious was right after their parents died. He joked to cope, but for once that mask wasn't there. "You think I don't know that?" 

"She nearly lost control this morning." 

What...

The news had him stall. Mariana was a rogue. She was brash and didn't bend a knee to anyone. Omega or Alpha, all was the same to her. No one really knew how far gone she was - how keen her wolf was to bloodlust. 

"Several pack members stood witness." Caleb continued, "Granted, she also got provoked." 

"By whom?" 

"Vivian." 

Logan frowned deeply. "I want her brought before me-" 

"I will take care of her." Caleb cut in, dark look overcoming his ebony eyes. "She's part of my past, therefor my problem. You better apologize to Mariana or our next talk won't be the same." His tone grew threatening. "I won't lose her because of you. Do you understand?"