Andrew POV
I rushed back toward Logan’s office.
My body was shaking.
I didn’t like him. I didn’t fucking want him near Emma.
Something about him was making my skin crawl. Something about him kept Asher on constant edge. Something about him made me nervous.
I didn’t trust him. Not even a little bit.
Logan? I mind-linked him.
Yes? He answered immediately.
Where are you? I asked.
My office. He responded with a hint of worry in his voice. Is everything okay?
Is Emma there? I asked.
I really didn’t want to talk about Nathan in front of Emma. No matter what, he was her mate. I didn’t want to hurt her by saying something wrong.
She is. Logan answered. What’s wrong?
I don’t want to talk about it in front of her. I sighed. I don’t like him, Logan. Something about him is making me so fucking tense.
I know. Logan sighed. We’ll talk about it later.
I was in front of his office. I knocked and opened the door.
Logan and Emma were sitting on the couch. Emma was sitting on Logan’s lap. Her head was on his shoulder, and she barely looked up at me. She looked exhausted.
My heart clenched painfully.
“How are you, love?” I asked, knowing what a stupid question that was.
Emma looked up at me and took a deep breath.
“Tired.” she mumbled. “I wish that I had a solution for this problem.”
She looked up at Logan and furrowed her eyebrows.
“Well, I do have a solution, but Logan doesn’t want to listen.” Emma said, making Logan close his eyes and take a deep breath.
“I am not marking you until we find proof that I am really your Goddess-given mate.” Logan said. “I am not going to kill my own mate.”
I narrowed my eyes at my sister, and a quiet growl escaped me. She looked at me, still frowning.
“Logan is right.” I said sternly. “He can’t mark you until we know for sure.”
“I know for sure.” Emma said quietly.
“I trust you, baby.” Logan told her, making her look back at him. “I know in my heart that you really are mine. I know in my heart that our bond isn’t fake. I know in my heart that it wasn’t created by some curse. I know...”
“Why won’t you mark me then?” Emma interrupted him.
“If there is even the slightest chance that we are wrong...” Logan spoke, his voice breaking.
He cupped her cheeks and took a deep breath.
“I need proof.” he said. “I need to find solid evidence that you won’t die when I sink my canines into your neck.”
“There has to be something.” I mumbled, making them both look at me.
I furrowed my eyebrows and rubbed my chin.
“The second bond was created by the curse, right?” I said, making them nod. “There has to be a way to break it without marking Emma. There has to be a way to find out which one was created by magic.”
“There has to be a loophole.” my sister mumbled.
I nodded.
“Where are the books we found in Samuel’s cave?” Emma asked as she stood up.
“Locked up in a safe in our home.” Logan said.
Emma started pacing around.
“We need to give them to Anna.” Emma said. “She knows how to read them. Something about breaking the curse could be written in there.”
“She said that she already knows what’s written in those books.” Logan said, looking up at Emma.
She stopped pacing and looked at him.
“Samuel had those books for years.” Emma said. “I don’t believe that she remembers every single detail from those books.”
“I doubt that it’s written there anyway.” I mumbled, making Emma look at me.
“Yes, but she is a witch.” Emma said. “She knows magic. If she found out more about the curse and how it was created, she could figure out how to break it too.”
She was making some good points.
Logan furrowed his eyebrows, looked down at his lap, and sighed.
“I don’t really trust her yet.” Logan mumbled, clenching his fists.
“Why?” Emma asked. “She has done nothing wrong.”
Logan looked up at her and took a deep breath.
“What if she uses knowledge from the books to hurt you?” Logan asked, making me tense up. “What if there was something dangerous written in there?”
“What use do we have of them if they are just sitting in our safe?” Emma sighed as she started pacing again. “And why would she hurt me? She could have done it by now, but she didn’t.”
I completely understood Logan’s fear.
I was terrified that someone would hurt her. I was suspicious of everything and everyone. I still wasn’t sure about Anna either.
But Emma was right. Anna could have hurt her, but she didn’t. She could have kept quiet about Nathan, but she didn’t. She seemed like she genuinely wanted to help.
“Emma is right.” I said, making Logan look at me. “We need to give the books to Anna.”
Logan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tightened his jaw.
“We aren’t going to find anyone else who knows how to read them.” Emma said as she sat down next to Logan and placed her hand on his back. “We’ve been trying to do that for four years. Something that could help us could be written in there.”
She was right. She was completely right.
How the fuck did she manage to think more clearly than Logan and I even now when she was in distress?!
Logan looked at her and gave her a small nod.
“Okay.” he mumbled and looked at me. “I need you to guard Anna while she is reading them. You are the only one I trust.”
“Why do you want him to guard her?” Emma asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
“I don’t trust her, Emma.” Logan sighed, looking back at her. “I need someone I trust to make sure that she won’t steal the books. I need someone I trust to make sure that she doesn’t give the information she finds out to someone else. It’s the only way I will allow her to get near those books. It’s non-negotiable, Emma.”
I agreed with him. We needed to be careful.
“I agree.” I said, making them both look at me. “Better safe than sorry.”
Emma sighed and nodded. “Okay.”
Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.
I took a deep breath.
Everything would be okay. Everything would have to be okay.
I couldn’t lose my sister. Not again.