He faltered at that.
I did. I tried.
"Oh, I'm kidding. Geez, Lo, you take everything so seriously. Of course, may I point out that your amazing sister did get you the best gift evah."
"Ignore her," Mom said, walking into the front hall. "We went to town to grab a few groceries and let her talk us into another hot chocolate. Then made the mistake of giving her a ten and letting her run in herself. She got an extra-large. She's been bouncing off the walls eve
r since. Too much sugar."
"Sugar doesn't trigger hyperactivity, Mom," Logan said.
"Smarty pants. Caffeine, then."
"There isn't enough caffeine in hot chocolate--"
"Yes, yes. I'm wrong. Very, very wrong. You do know we're supposed to get a few more years of you thinking your parents know everything, right?"
He smiled. "I never thought that. Sorry."
She smacked his shoulder and waved him into the study. "Your dad needs to talk to you about something. Jer, can I speak to you? And, no, you aren't going to just stay quiet and hope to escape the chaos. If it doesn't work for Logan, it won't work for you. Kate? Go . . . run around the house ten times or something." She steered Logan toward the study and motioned for Jeremy to follow her.
"What's up?" Logan said as he walked into the study. He said it as casually as he could, considering his palms were sweating so hard he had to shove his hands in his pockets.
He's found the puppy. He went for a walk and found it, and now I'm in trouble. He doesn't want to bother Mom about it, not when tomorrow's Christmas Eve.
Christmas was important to Mom. Logan and Kate had always known that. Dad went out of his way to make it perfect, and he was a little more inclined to discipline them himself at this time of year, to keep everything running smoothly. Logan and Kate never asked why it was important. It just was, which meant they had a magical Christmas themselves every year, because that's what Mom wanted for them.
Dad was busy cleaning out the fireplace--his head stuck in it--and he didn't seem to hear Logan's question. Logan had to smile at that and said, "You, uh, don't need to do that this year, Dad. We know. Remember?"
"What?" Dad backed up. "Oh. Right." He rubbed his chin, leaving a smudge of soot, and he looked . . . disappointed. As if he'd forgotten this year would be different, part of the magic left behind in the world of childhood that the twins were quickly leaving.
"You probably should, though," Logan said. "Kate may have been the one to insist on an honest answer, but . . . ," he said, lowering his voice, "I think she still believes."
Dad smiled and shook his head. He'd know Logan was humoring him, but he'd do it anyway. It was tradition, and they still believed in that.
Dad backed out and Logan said, "Should I, uh, shut the door?"
"What?" Dad's face screwed up. "No, no. You aren't in trouble, Logan. I just need to talk to you about something. Before we went to town, your mom, Kate and I took a walk out back, and we smelled something."
Logan clenched his fists, breath jammed in his throat. I'm sorry. That's what he'd lead with. I'm so, so sorry.
"A mutt," Dad said.
"What?"
"Yeah, I know. There hasn't been a mutt near Stonehaven in years."
"R-right. They know better." At first, when Dad said mutt, all Logan could think of was the puppy. It was a mutt: a crossbreed. But that was also their word for non-Pack werewolves, and it showed how distracted Logan was that it took him a moment to remember that.
"I'm 99% sure we're wrong," Dad said. "It was just a whiff, and it passed so fast that all I can say for sure is that we smelled canine and human, and hell, it might have just been some guy walking a dog along the road."
Or a puppy, covered in your son's scent.
"Your mom is sure it's nothing, but"--Dad shrugged--"I'm not taking any chances. We don't need to go for a run until the Pack Meet, so there's no reason to head out back. We'll be on alert, but Jeremy's still leaving later, and no one's changing any plans. The only thing is that I need to ask you and Kate to stay out of the woods."
Logan went still.
Dad peered at him. "Is that a problem? I know your mom said you've been restless. We can go for a drive later, the two of us."