A Luna's True Mate

Chapter 3: A Friend’s Advice

-Logan-

I wanted to go talk to Lauren, but I knew now was not the time. Before I knew it, dinner was over, and my family, along with my alpha and Kai, were all heading home again.

I said goodbye to my daughter, knowing she had sensed something was up with me. I could see it on her face, but she hadn’t mentioned anything. We were both alike in that way. We weren’t good at sharing what was going on inside us.

We preferred struggling with these kinds of things on our own until we were finally pushed to talk about what was wrong. I knew I should just be honest, but I simply needed a moment to think. I hadn’t thought I would get a second chance.

In a way, I’d already had two chances. Even though Camilla hadn’t been my true mate, we had cared deeply for each other. We were a good team, and I believed we had raised some wonderful kids.

I had no doubt our sons would do just fine, and Noah would be an exceptional beta to Kai once the two of them stepped up. However, I sometimes worried about Noah. He was like me and Lara, keeping things bottled up inside. He was so much different from Mason and Alexander.

So quiet... and I knew why, but we had avoided talking about it as much as we could. I knew Noah blamed me in many ways, and I had no idea how to fix things between us.

“Are you all right, Logan?” Benjamin questioned.

Our sons had all disappeared as soon as we came home, and my old friend and I had gone to his office to get a drink.

“Just have a lot on my mind,” I said as he handed me a drink.

We had known each other since we were kids. We had both grown up in his pack, and our fathers had been best friends too—also the beta and alpha of this pack. Our families had always been close, actually. We descended from some old lines that had ruled this pack for generations.

“You always get a little quiet after seeing your daughter. She does resemble Victoria in many ways, but I must say she looks more like you,” he said as he sat down in front of me on another couch and smiled.

“Yeah, it is no wonder Michael always had his suspicions,” I said. “She does resemble me a lot. Even personality-wise, and I wasn’t even there to raise her.”

“She never told you. You can’t blame yourself,” he told me.

“I know… but still, I wish I had been there. I wish I could have helped her,” I whispered.

“You’re here now,” he reminded me. “You’re involved in her life, and she is happy to have you in it. Otherwise, she would not have invited you.”

I nodded. Lara and I were still trying to figure out how to be father and daughter, but it seemed to be going great. We were connecting. But even though I sometimes worried about how much I could act like her father, it wasn’t really what was on my mind at the moment.

“Do you think it’s ever too late to find yourself a mate?” I inquired.

“What?” he asked, puzzled.

“Just wondering. Do you think there’s like an age limit to it?”

Benjamin shrugged. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I found my mate when I was nineteen. You got mated to Camilla when you were twenty. Are you worried about your sons? I know ours are a bit older than we were when we found our mates or chose to settle down, but I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Our sons were older. Kai was already twenty-eight, and Noah was just a year younger, but I wasn’t worried at all. I knew things had changed over time.

It wasn’t unusual to find your mate a little later or choose to settle down with one. Kai and Noah had enough to think about anyway because both Benjamin and I were giving them more and more responsibility. They had pretty much taken over. We just hadn’t made it official yet.

“I think so too,” I affirmed.

“Then what’s going on?” he asked.

“I was just asking.”

“No, I know you, my friend, you were leading me onto something,” Benjamin remarked, smiling as he leaned back on the couch.

“Just answer,” I insisted.

“I don’t know,” he responded. “I am not the Goddess.”

I shook my head a little as he chuckled.

“What’s going on?” he inquired, concerned.

“Nothing,” I replied and sipped my drink.

“Liar!”

“Are you seriously calling me a liar?” I asked, though I was smiling.

“You are my friend,” he said, leaning forward so his arms rested on his thighs. “And I know you. Spill it.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk about it,” I countered.

“Then you definitely should. You always keep these things bottled up. Remember how long you kept your affair with Victoria a secret from me?” he prodded.

I nodded a little. I had not told anyone about Victoria and me for a long time. Eventually, Benjamin forced me to tell him because he knew I was acting a bit shady.

He had tried to help me figure out what to do and had urged me to be honest with Camilla, and I had been, but shortly after I had told Camilla the truth, Victoria decided to leave me, and there was no longer any reason to fight.

Camilla stayed with me, though, and helped me through the pain and the feeling of betrayal. Now I realized the reason why Victoria had decided to end things. She had gotten pregnant, and she simply feared what Michael would do.

I had no idea how she had faked her heat or what she had done to trick Michael, or maybe they had just agreed to both lie about the whole thing to save face.

However, I knew I would never know. To try to survive her leaving me, I had simply forced myself not to figure out anything about her, and if her name was mentioned, I just tuned it out. It was the only thing I could really do to protect myself.

“Be honest, my friend, and let me help,” he urged.

“I don’t know if now is the time to talk about it,” I hesitated.

“What?” he pressed.

I just shook my head.

“How can I help, Logan, if you won’t tell me what it is?” he insisted.

“You won’t like it," I told him.

“Just tell me!”

“Lauren… she is my mate,” I revealed.

Benjamin completely froze. He just sat there and looked at me for so long that I was unsure if he had had a brain bleed or something.

“Ben?” I called.

“You have got to be kidding me!” he exclaimed, placing his glass down on the coffee table between us before he stood up and started to pace. “Another luna?!”

“This one, at least, isn’t mated,” I clarified.

“Because the queen killed her mate! Ah, by the Goddess,” he shouted.

“I am not really that thrilled either. I had not expected this to happen this late in life,” I admitted. “But I went to check on her, and when I found her…”

“What?” he pressed.

“There wasn’t really any doubt about it,” I explained.

“What did she say? I mean, she has just woken up. She is finally herself!”

“She said nothing. Her daughter found us before we could talk about it.”

“Dammit!” Benjamin cursed and continued to pace. “How did I get a beta who makes my life this complicated?”

I just chuckled a little.

“Aren’t you fortunate?” I teased him.

He turned to me and shook his head.

“This is incredibly challenging,” he remarked. “Lauren used to be tied to Connor.”

“But she’s not a bad person. You know that.”

He just crossed his arms and looked somewhat uncertain.

“Ben!” I exclaimed.

“No, she’s not bad, but she’s been through a lot of traumatic experiences. Imagine being mated to that jerk. You remember how she gradually isolated herself and withdrew from every social gathering. She was transformed into a mere shadow of the luna she could have been because of Connor. Logan, she’s fragile.”

I smiled a little as I recalled Lauren telling me not to issue any orders. Fragile? No, she wasn’t fragile. Cautious? Perhaps, but I didn’t see her as fragile.

“What are you proposing?” I inquired.

Benjamin sighed and sat down again.

“You should have a conversation with her,” he suggested.

“I was planning to,” I responded.

“And you should be honest with your kids. So should Lauren,” he advised. “If she hasn’t already told Angela.”

“First, we need an opportunity to sort things out between us,” I said. “Then I’ll be forthright.”

“Just remember to inform them. They likely didn’t expect either of you to find a new mate.”

I nodded and acknowledged that he was right. Our children deserved to know so they could come to terms with it, but first, we needed to have a discussion.