Chapter 348


    Chapter 348 Dna


    Logan


    I could barely focus on the objects around me, my mind still echoing with the remnants of the day, but it


    was the mask in my hand, thest piece of evidence from the fight in the empty warehouse, that rang


    the loudest.


    “Garrett, was there really nothing else?” I asked, my voice terse as I tried to suppress the rising anxiety


    inside of me.


    My trusted Beta nced at me, his face etched with lines of strain from days of working nonstop.


    “That’s it, Sir. The boys and I went over the entire ce with a fine-toothb. But if you’d like to look


    yourself…”


    I nodded even though I was exhausted from my brother’s wedding shower. “I would. Let’s go.”


    Without any argument, Garrett followed me to the car. He was used to this by now; I rarely did


    anything, especially not anything like this, without a personal hand in the process. It wasn’t that I


    distrusted my men, but I distrusted the idea of an Alpha in my position doing too much delegating.


    The air was dense as we pulled up to the warehouse a little whileter. Last time, I found a


    handkerchief with the initials “D.L.” on it, half of a clue, a phantom leading nowhere.


    We had sent it in for testing, but there was no DNA to be found on it. It was almost as though it was


    ced there for me, as either a tease or a lead. I couldn’t figure out which, but I was leaning toward a


    tease.


    Vicious mockery indeed, I thought to myself as I climbed out of the car. Whoever this “D.L.” was -if they


    were even real-was elusive. If my brother hired this person, he was doing a damn good job of causing


    unrest.


    And maybe that was exactly what my brother wanted. But when it came to E being in danger, that


    was where I drew the line. Baseless threat or not, I didn’t care. My brother could mess with me all he


    wanted, but E?


    I’d kill him and spend the rest of my life in prison before heid a finger on her.


    As I scanned the area, a piece of rubber, perhaps from a shoe, caught my eye. Another puzzle piece. I


    picked it up, resolved to unearth its secrets. A part of me cursed, feeling the divide between E and


    me widening.


    “You miss this?” I called out to Garrett, my voice echoing in the spacious warehouse. I held the piece of


    rubber up in the light, causing Garrett’s eyes to narrow. He gingerly took it from me, turning it over in


    his palm.


    “What’s this?” he asked, eyeing me confusedly “Piece of rubber? From a tire, maybe? It is a


    warehouse, after all.”


    I shook my head, a sigh escaping my lips. “Look at the ridges. Looks like the sole of a shoe. Boot,


    probably. Send it in for testing.”


    Garrett looked a little taken aback. “Sir?” he asked. “Sorry, but-”


    “I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “That it’ll juste back with nothing but dirt and dust on the


    results. But I want to check. We need to be thorough.”


    Garrett was silent for a moment, thinking, before he finally nodded. “Yes sir.”


    I was back in my roomter that night. My shoulders felt tight and sore, the skin still stinging on the spot


    where the bullet had grazed me. The ss of whiskey in my hand caught the light as I turned the


    crystal ss around in my fingers, but my wolf was taking up all of my attention.


    “We need her,” he growled softly within me, the longing apparent in his every word.


    “I know,” I sighed, my fists clenched, a cacophony of emotions warring within me. “But she was right:


    we’re from twopletely different worlds. She’s from the light side, I’m from the darkness. And


    frankly, I doubt I’ll ever really escape from this. It would never work out between us.”


    The memories of her touch, of her fervent kisses in my childhood yroom were still fresh on my mind.


    “She’ll never want us,” murmured, feeling the sting of that reality. “She’s in a world we can never


    touch.”


    My wolf persisted, his growl louder. “She’s our mate! We can’t just give up on her!”


    “But we’ll never really get away from this criminal lifestyle,” I mused aloud. “It was a fleeting dream. It’ll


    never happen.”


    I was born in shadows, raised amongst whispers and secrets, my soul tainted with the darkness of the


    underworld. Could I truly leave it all behind, cut the strings that bound me to this life?


    For a moment, a fleeting thought of faking my own death and starting anew somewhere else danced in


    my mind, but the chains of my upbringing seemed too entrenched, too deeply woven into my being for


    me to simply leave. Someone would find me, somehow. They’d just pull me right back into the


    shadows.


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    “I can’t do it…” I whispered to my wolf as I took another swig of my whiskey. “I can’t just run away and


    start fresh.”


    The thought of having E by my side in a new life was tantalizing, but the harsh truth resonated


    louder. She would never run away with me.


    She would never want to be a part of my shadows. She belonged here, doing good things for good


    people, not changing her name and running off to kingdome with an ex- mobster. The divide


    between us seemed too vast, her light too bright for my engulfing shadows.


    “She would never want us,” I whispered, my voice breaking, “but I can’t… I can’t stop trying.”


    Trying to reach out to her light was painful, knowing I may never touch it, but the pull was irresistible. I


    wanted her light to pierce my shadows, to bring life to my dark world. But I could feel the shadows


    resisting, wrapping tighter around me.


    The criminal impulses, the residue of my upbringing, were like chains, pulling me back every time I tried


    to reach out to her, to her world.


    It made me wonder, was I truly different from the man who yielded to his darkness, who beat a man up


    because he couldn’t control the shadows within him? Was I deserving of her light?


    “I hate this…” I muttered. “I hate that I can’t deny these impulses… that I can’t be the man she


    deserves.”


    My wolf was silent, feeling the pain and the struggle inside of me. The battle between the shadows and


    the longing for E’s light was tearing me apart.


    “Is it really impossible, Logan?” my wolf pondered. “Surely you don’t really believe that you’re


    condemned to the shadows. Especially not with her by your side.”


    My wolf’s words made me wince. It hurt because he was wrong; even with E by my side, I wasn’t


    convinced that I could ever really extricate myself from my past. Especially not when it involved putting


    E and her family in danger. As much as I wanted her, I needed to ept that.


    With a sigh, I stood, crossing to the window. It was dark outside, causing my reflection to stare back at


    me from the clear ss, like a portal to another world. Maybe it was one in which I could finally pave a


    new way for myself and be the man that I wanted to be.


    But I was stuck on this side with scars on my knuckles that would never fade.