CHAPTER TWELVE

"Maria."

She stiffened as she heard her name being called by the last person she wanted to see today.

She didn't respond. It was too soon to discuss the events of last night. Frankly, she wasn't in the mood and she would certainly lose her composure and crumble to a sad pile of sobbing if she opened her mouth to talk about anything relating to emotions with him.

"Maria, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm bothering you, but I do need to talk to you."

She paused for a few seconds before slamming her locker door shut.

"What do you want from me, Logan?" She sighed, turning to face him.

"Listen, I'm sorry for everything that has happened. You didn't deserve any of that, not by any stretch of the imagination."

Maria hugged her books to her chest tighter, unsure of what to say.

"I want to make things up with you, I have to. Can you meet me in the cabin after school hours, we'll go over a few lessons and talk about a few things that need to be addressed. That is if your friend doesn't mind and with your permission as well." I said, hoping to convince her.

"I don't know what to say, Logan. I don't, you have me confused here. You ignore my existence for a long time, then you come back and say things like you did last night and now, you want to talk to me?" Maria asked, struggling to contain her rising anger.

"That's why I'm asking for a chance to explain myself. I'll make it worth your time, I promise. Besides, you owe me one for making me miss dinner with my father last night because I was worried to death about you."

"You meant what you said last night about being concerned about my well-being?" Maria gaped.

"I might be many things but I'm always honest when it comes to you."

"Ohh." Maria was at a loss for words.

The alarm bell rang out at that instant, saving her before she embarrassed herself.

"I'll see you after class, I hope that I do," I said softly before walking off to class.

On my way to school, I already figured out what to do. It would be the same as killing two birds with a stone. I'll get my father what he wants and make him see me as a worthy successor when the time comes and still keep Maria by my side after I had gotten what I wanted. There was still the unsolved conflict between both our families but I was hoping it would be resolved soon once my father became Lycan king and all alphas of each family swore fealty to his crown.

Because, there was no way I was going to let her go, even if the moon goddess intervened on her behalf.

She belonged to me now.

"What do you mean I've barely spoken to you all day?" Maria pouted as I laughed.

"I can't remember you saying more than five words to me at a go." I retorted.

"I'm not in the mood to talk, that's why. I usually am not this quiet."

"You're acting like a little girl on her first day at school," I teased. "You look the part too."

"I am not a little girl, Logan. I am a woman." I don't why I felt the need to affirm my status as a woman. I wasn't up to 18 yet, I would be in a few months but my face looked very young, I sometimes looked like a 14-year-old child. Despite how much I hated it, people often treated me like I was a child. Personally, some of my suitors thought it was funny that I had a lot to say given the fact that I looked like a child.

I merely stared at her. I didn't expect her to take my comment to heart.

"You don't look like a 14-year-old child to me," I said.

Wait a minute…

"Did I say that out loud?" Maria felt her cheeks heat up.

She stared at Logan as he smiled at her.

"You said it too loudly,"

She couldn't tear her eyes off him as she watched him speak. His voice was soothing, she could listen to him talk all day.

"When are we going to talk about how aroused you are?" I added. "I've been waiting to see if you'll take me on now we're alone."

"That's not true, Logan. You're lying." Maria cried out. Her voice was louder than it had been earlier.

I stared at her with a blank expression on my face.

"Do you shout every time you get caught red-handed?"

"I don't, I am a proper lady."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Maria gulped. She couldn't stop the thoughts from flooding her mind, her wolf was getting restless. She desperately wanted to touch him.

"Do you lie instead? I can smell your arousal and it's pretty strong. Do you mind explaining?"

She opened my mouth to speak and snapped it shut. My wolf whined in disagreement. There was no way I was going to make the first move.

She looked up at him out of the corner of her eyes and she could see his lips tug upwards. He was laughing at the expense of her being uncomfortable.

It was her turn to scowl at him and he burst out in laughter.

"You look so cute when you're embarrassed. I have to admit." I began.

Maria looked stunned. Did he just compliment her? What had gotten into Logan? He hadn't always been like this.

"I need to stop laughing. My ribs are beginning to hurt." I said, pressing one of my hands into my side but I couldn't stop myself from laughing further.

Maria couldn't help but wonder why he was laughing as hard as he was.

His laughter even became louder.

Wasn't he exaggerating things to an extreme level? She could see him wiping tears from the corner of his eyes as he continued to laugh. She wasn't an overly funny person, many people had even confessed that she had a low sense of humor, so she doubted if she could make him laugh as hard as he was doing right now.

While he laughed, she took her time to study his features. He looked extremely handsome and relaxed, she couldn't quite place it but he seemed free. His prominent jaw and nicely trimmed beard still stood out. His full lips fixed nicely on his face, the perfect shade of dark pink. He had added a few pounds of muscles, she wondered why she hadn't noticed the way his shirt clung to his figure and his eyes, they seemed to pull her to him.

I curse myself for having no self-control when it came to him but I couldn't help it. I yearned for his touch so badly, that she was beginning to pant. If he didn't pull her towards him in the next few minutes, she was going to do it herself, consequences are damned. It was too late for her to control herself, there was only so much restraint she could offer and she had exhausted the last of it. She was at the mercy of her wolf and its desires right now.