Page 30 of Cupcake

Logan

He was a brave boy. A fierce lion. Logan didn’t need a mate. They’d be okay. It didn’t matter that his entire world was falling apart. Worse things had happened to him before and Logan had been just fine. Just fine!

He swallowed a roar that wanted to escape. Stomping through the woods, Logan left his imprints in the mud. It made him happy to see his giant paw prints. He was a lion! Logan didn’t need anyone! He roared! Why hide it? Everyone should know that a lion had been through here.

King of the freaking jungle. Or forest. Or whatever!

Whatever.

Nothing mattered anymore.

His heart ached.

No matter what Logan told himself, he couldn’t help the feeling of devastation.

Logan stumbled but pressed on. Each tree he passed was an opportunity to rub against, leaving his scent behind. Logan didn’t know why his lion wanted to scent mark everything in their path, but he also didn’t care about that either. Because nothing mattered anymore!

It was getting harder and harder to fight the instinct to let his lion be in control.

Why was he even fighting?

Nothing mattered anymore!

Dropping his head, Logan stalked through the forest. How was he going to tell his family that Logan wasn’t good enough to have a mate? That they would forever be stuck with him all alone. Logan would have to watch the other couples go on happily with their lives as the years passed.

Except, maybe he didn’t have to watch that.

He’d allowed his lion to take over before. When he’d first been thrown away. His lion had protected Logan. Well, it seemed that he’d been thrown away once again.

Logan had no idea what was wrong with him.

Why did no one ever want to keep him?

Was there something wrong with him that Logan didn’t know?

Must be. Yes, it would be so much easier to just let his lion be in control. They could travel again. Just keep walking.

He would miss his family. His brothers. The only people that had truly loved him. It was better this way. If Logan left now, he would only have fond memories of his family. The bitterness of watching the happy couples hadn’t tainted everything else he’d shared with his family.

And his pretties!

Logan would never wear pretties again.

A lion didn’t need silk, lace, or satin.

Maybe…could it be because of that? Somehow Dean had figured out his secret?

No, he wasn’t going to think his mate’s name. Say Dean’s name. That was his past. Dean belonged to human Logan, and he wasn’t human any longer.

He was a lion! A fierce lion!

* * * * *

Dean

“It will be okay,” Noah told him for the tenth time in fifteen minutes.

Dean shook his head. “You didn’t see how devastated he was. Didn’t feel it.”

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