by Jade White
Willow and Isabel sat down beside her, giving her a tight hug. They cooed to the baby, but that only made him fussy. It didn’t take much to stop him from crying. All she had to do was speak, and he was calm. It was almost as if he wanted to hear every single word she had to say. Katherine was flattered by her newborn’s attention towards her.
“What are you going to name him?” Willow asked with her voice as gentle and tender as possible. He looked up at her and smiled brightly.
“I was hoping Mason would be here to help me.” She rocked the baby back and forth in her arms, trying to keep him as calm as possible. He couldn’t get much more calm, because he was falling asleep.
“Well, he’s not here right now. Now is he?” Isabel quietly snapped. She gave Katherine a half-assed smile before following it with a sour frown. “You’re the mother, you name him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.” He was so peaceful in her arms. He was so quiet. It was becoming all too apparent that this little boy was already taking over her life. She would do anything for him, no matter what.
“Fifteen minutes ago, that thing was inside its egg. How the hell did it get out?” Torrent softly asked. He was confused.
“I got him out.”
“So it’s a bouncing baby boy?” Lucca rolled his eyes. “You should’ve let that dumbass take him. You’d be better off without him.” His expression was as cold as his heart, and even colder than his soul.
“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” Willow stuck her tongue out at Lucca, her eyes glowing ominously. She had already taken a liking to the baby, and Katherine was happy about it. The more people she had to protect him, the better. Katherine didn’t want any more people stealing him in the middle of the night.
“Only when it’s needed.” He turned away from them, heading back up the stairs.
Katherine tried to pay him no heed. She had someone else to pay attention to, and he was much more important than a sour man. “Did you check the house?”
“Yes. No one else is here. For now you can rest easy,” Erik quickly replied. As slight as the man was, he let her know what was needed, nothing more.
“Are you sure?” She looked over at Torrent, then the baby again. It was far too difficult to remove her eyes from her son.
Torrent nodded, taking a few, slow steps towards Katherine. “Can I hold him?” She didn’t know if she wanted anyone to hold him before Mason could. He would probably be infuriated by the thought.
Mine! The phoenix hissed at Torrent, gnashing its teeth at him. It didn’t want anyone to touch the baby boy.
Katherine shook her head, frowning at the man. “I’m sorry. Not until Mason returns home.” The infant was still fast asleep, curled up in a ball. He buried his head into Katherine’s chest, hiding his face from everyone. He was too precious to comprehend.
CHAPTER TEN
He didn’t know what happened. Mason couldn’t put his finger around what had caused it. His driver was dead, just as much as his car was. The mortal man didn’t stand a chance against whatever did this.
Mason assumed it was something to do with the alpha. If this was the alpha’s attempt at trying to get rid of him, he’d have to do better than that. Mason wasn’t a mortal, he wasn’t young either. He had nearly a millennium under his belt, and he would not go down without a fight.
Mason had heard things about the alpha, things that should never transpire amongst the most elite of shape shifters. He heard the man leading the horde was nothing more than a child with an attitude problem, and a thirst for blood. If that was indeed the case, Mason would have no problem ripping the child’s head off. It would come to that if he wanted to lead the horde.
Some of Katherine’s ways had rubbed off on him. He preferred not to be violent, unless it was needed. Kane was definitely no exception to that. The man had threatened Mason’s rule over his men, and failed to give him a challenge in a fair fight.
If they got to you, they’ll get to her. His beast whispered in his ear. It was slightly injured, but nothing it couldn’t heal from. Nothing Mason couldn’t heal from.
He pulled himself from the car wreck, then his driver. Mason dug him a grave, and said a few words of kindness before burying him. He laid a pile of wildflowers on the fresh grave, and went on his way, limping down the freeway.
His head was bloody, and his leg was cut up. His hip had been dislocated, and as he dragged it beside him, he forced it back into place, brushing off the pain. A few cars passed him by, looking at him in horror and dismay. Some of them stopped and offered him a trip to the hospital, but Mason denied their offers.
He knew the extent of his body. He would heal soon, and he’d be on his way back home. Mason hoped that when he returned he would find his wife still intact, and his friends alive. Most of all, he hoped the egg would be left unharmed. He didn’t want to lose his first child. He didn’t want to lose his first chance at being the father his never was.
Mason felt his wounds stitching back together. He felt his bones creak as they found their proper place. He wiped the blood from his brow.
Mason’s limp turned into a sprint. He forced himself to shift. His arms turned into legs, and he braced them for impact as he went down on all fours. The vibrant colors all around him turned to black, greys and whites. His senses heightened, everything becoming so much more focused.
Cars slammed on their breaks as Mason passed by in his huge bear form. He roared with discontent at the sounds of squealing car breaks and crashing metals. Mason tried to stay as focused as possible on his task at hand.
Every one of his animalistic instincts told him to run in the opposite direction. Every part of his animal form told him to be free, and enjoy the life that an animal had. Mason didn’t want that, he wanted his family. He wanted his woman. He wanted to be home and cradle his wife in his arms, and watch their child grow and grow.
Mason brushed against a wild tree, barely making it passed the mysterious figure. He didn’t see it there.
Faster. His beast chanted, edging Mason on. Must get to her. It needed to be as close to Katherine as he did. It needed to know that she was okay, and no one was threatening her life. If something was, Mason would destroy it.
He imagined her hanging onto life by a thread. He imagined her bloodied corpse lying on the floor, and her dead eyes gazing up at him. It only made him angrier. It only made Mason want to kill even more.
It was becoming harder for Mason to control his emotions every time he shifted. He didn’t know if it was contributed to his bond with Katherine, or if it was because his beast sensed a threat and always reacted terribly. If it was his bond to Katherine, he’d have to work with her on controlling her overwhelming emotional attachment. Both of them would.
His paws hit wetland, and he knew he’d have to tread carefully. Too many shifters had lost their lives in the wetlands because of venomous and poisonous creatures that lived in its depths. Too many shifters died after being devoured by a swarm of alligators or crocodiles. Mason didn’t want to be one of those shifters.
He tried his best to stay on the dry patches of land. As agile as bears were, and as he was, swimming wasn’t one of their strong suits. Big things always sank fast, and fluffy never floated. He was a giant, menacing, fluffy bear.
The wetlands had been vast. It felt like it would never end. The only safe part was the freeway that drove straight through it, and even then there were times people were hurt by roaming animals. Mason couldn’t travel on the freeway though. He took up too much space, and he would scare the drivers. He already did. He already caused a few car accidents.
Mason could see the edge of the wetlands. He could feel the land getting more and more dry beneath his feet. As he passed through the final tread of the wetlands, he felt a cool wind pass through his fur. Those winds were all too familiar.
Must get to her! His beast chanted again, ramming against Mason’s skull with all its might. If the beast wasn’t careful, Mason would lose his mental balance and po
ssibly turn in the opposite direction.
We’ll get there soon. Mason wished he was something faster than a bear. Then again, most mortals couldn’t handle seeing a ten-foot-tall bear, he was sure they couldn’t handle anything else. He could already hear their screams if he was something slightly more terrifying than a bear. Mason couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
His paws brushed through tall, thick grass. No matter how hard he pushed through it, it got tougher and tougher. Mason was eventually barely walking through the tall grass, trying not to tangle himself with the long, deadly strands. They looked as though they were ready to reach out and choke him.
Mason could smell lava. He could smell Katherine’s fresh and beautiful scent as it danced through the air. He was close. He was very, very close to being home.
As he pushed through the last bit of grass, he saw his home. Its exterior walls were built of stone, keeping out any intruders who were not brave enough to enter it. On the inside of those walls, he saw the rustic, brick mansion. He saw the too big windows, and the pillars that held up the balcony of his old room.
Mason shifted back into his form, paying no heed to his nudity. He shoved the gates open, and stalked onto the grounds. At first, his dogs barked. They went quiet after Mason gave them a deadly glare. As he approached the front door of his home, he pulled an apple down from one of his trees, one that Katherine had failed to pick from. Her petite size made it difficult to reach the taller trees, no matter how high she jumped.
Mason made his way inside. No one was around. Everyone was asleep, even the annoying sisters Isabel and Willow. It was dead silent, and it made Mason very unnerved.
Slowly, he walked up the stairs, trying not to wake his friends. When he finally got to the top of the stairs, he paused, trying to imagine where Katherine would have been. So he headed towards his old room.
He shoved the door open, quickly scanning the room. The nest was detached and Katherine was nowhere in sight. The egg was gone, and a lonesome body laid on the floor. It had a hole in its chest, and a marred expression that made Mason shiver. Clearly someone got the end of Katherine’s wrath. He closed the door behind him.
The halls were long. It made his search for his woman even more tedious. Mason rounded a corner, and tried his hardest not to ram his freshly healed hip into the corner of a table. He barely made it past the wooden object.
Mason put his hand on a doorknob, slowly turning it. He peeked his head inside, and was relieved to find his woman sleeping on his bed. Mason sighed with relief, entering the room.
Her long black locks were splayed across her pillow, and some even fell off the bed. She was curled up, her knees tucked just to her stomach. Her arm was wrapped around something, and her expression was peaceful.
Upon further investigation, Mason was able to conclude that the egg had hatched while he was gone. He was hoping he’d be here for that moment, but he was a little tied up with his car wreck and running home as fast as he could.
The little bundle of joy was swaddled in a blanket, and its eyes were tightly closed. Its nose was scrunched up, almost as if it was smelling something. A smile poured out across the baby’s face.
Katherine yawned, her eyes fluttering apart. She looked at the baby, checking to make sure that it was okay. Her smokey eyes shot to him, and she frowned. “Why are you naked?” she whispered.
Mason didn’t want to tell her what had happened. She would worry, and the last thing he wanted was for her to worry. “I had a bit of an accident. I came home as quick as possible. Shifting was the fastest way.” Mason went to the closet. He reached inside and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and boxers. He rushed to put them on.
“Are you sure there’s not another female I should be worried about?” Mason looked back to check on Katherine. She was adjusting the baby’s blanket, not even paying him any attention.
“No,” he chuckled. Mason climbed onto the bed, trying to be careful. “When did the egg crack?”
“I had to crack the egg.” She looked at him, then sighed. “Actually, I had to eat it.” Gently, Katherine picked the baby up and placed him in Mason’s arms. “Meet your son.”
He had a son. Mason could hear his heart beating in his ear. Daughter, or son, he would’ve been happy. Now, he was ecstatic. He had someone to teach everything he knew about being immortal, and about being a benevolent ruler. He had someone to teach how to behave, and how to be the best that he could so possibly be. “He’s so beautiful.”
Katherine nodded, yawning. “I was hoping you would want to name him.”
Mason locked eyes with her and smiled. “You want me to name him?”
“I thought you might like to.” She sat up, stretching out her arms and back.
It took Mason a few moments to think. There were so many choices of names. So many of those names could seal his fate, be they good or bad names. He took a few good looks at him, and tried his hardest to think of something. The baby’s eyes opened, and the first thing he did was smile at him. “Louis.”
*
“Louis? Who the hell names their son Louis?” Isabel complained as she rocked the baby in her arms. She wasn’t loud, in fact both of Katherine’s sisters had learned to quiet down for the better bit of a day or two. It was for the baby. Katherine didn’t want him disturbed, or getting fussy.
Apart from dirty diapers, Louis was a perfect baby. At least so far. He never cried. He only laughed and giggled when he saw people, and fell asleep after hearing Katherine talk. She had fallen luck, and she was very happy about that. Both her and Mason were.
He was trying to figure out who tried to kill him, and his friends tried to help them. It seemed no one could help but want to hold Louis all day. Katherine tried to make a schedule so everyone could get a fair amount of time, but no one wanted to follow it.
Erik and Lucca had already gotten the chance to feed Louis, though he never ate much. Phoenixes never did, and if they did it was usually a whole animal every now and again. Katherine doubted Louis was capable of eating that though.
Isabel and Willow were switching back and forth, making faces at Louis. His laughter filled the air with a tender happiness. It felt good to have a family. It felt good to know her sisters weren’t trying to destroy everything that was good in her life.
“How’s work coming along?” Katherine asked, setting a plate of food down beside Mason. She wrapped her arms around him, and gave him the biggest hug she could manage. She placed a kiss between her shoulder blades.
He didn’t even spare her a glance. “That depends if you want to hear it.”
“I asked, didn’t I?” She propped herself up on his work table, trying her best not to sit on any important documents. It always amazed her how fast he was at getting information. He must’ve had a lot of contacts. If he did, it meant she did too.
“The attack on my car, is linked to the activities of the horde alpha.” He locked eyes with her. His expression was dead. Serious. “If he tried to kill me, he’ll try to kill you. Maybe even Louis.”
“He can try. Phoenixes don’t die easily,” Willow intervened. She had Louis in her arms. She bounced up and down in place, cooing to the infant and making funny faces. It was always strange to see the effects that babies had on people, women most of all.
“I don’t know who tipped him off about my meeting with a few friends.”
“Maybe it was Kane,” Katherine replied. She frowned at him. “We can’t find him, and he knows a lot about all of us, except my sisters.”
“He called us. Not the other three,” Isabel said. She was lounged against the wall of the fireplace with her arms folded over her chest. She had her hair tied up in a tight bun, and it pulled her eyes. It made her look slightly Japanese. “Clearly he knows enough about us to contact us.” She was chewing on a piece of gum, blowing bubbles and snapping it obnoxiously.
Katherine shook her head. “Maybe he sent the poor bastard who tried to take Louis.” She looked at Lucca, Erik and Torrent. They bo
th nodded their heads in unison. Lucca gave no response. He only stared back at her. Katherine’s gaze switched back to Mason.
“He wouldn’t be dumb enough to do that,” he tried to reassure.
“Yes he is,” Lucca grumbled. “The moron would’ve done anything to humiliate you, or ruin you. What better way than to start with your offspring?”
Katherine didn’t like Kane. She didn’t like him from the first day. As beautiful as the man was, he was nothing more than a viper. “Isabel, what did Kane tell you when he called you?”
“He said something needed to be exterminated, and we were the people to do it.”
“He also said he’d pay us to kill you.” Katherine was insulted slightly by her sisters’ quick actions. Kane was foolish though. Anyone who knew the Phoenix, knew they would happily kill their own blood if it meant money, or something shiny as their reward.
“We would’ve done it for free.” Willow looked Katherine up and down, smiling. “But things are different now.”
“I sure hope they are.” She maneuvered to Willow, taking her baby from her arms. Katherine smiled down at Louis, and he gave her a gummy smile back. Precious. She reached down and caressed his little cherub cheek.
“You would’ve killed your flesh and blood for free?” Torrent gawked. “That’s a little cold. Even for me.” He shook his head at Isabel and Willow, disapproving.
“Loyalty is hard to get from a phoenix. Besides, it would have been our pleasure to kill her. She was nothing like our people,” Isabel said. She played with the piercings in her right ear, scowling at Torrent.
“Your people sound like a bunch of assholes,” Erik said. He walked around the two women, clearly trying hard not to get near them. “I wouldn’t trust you with anything, especially if it was watching my child.” He looked at Katherine, shaking his head. “But that was your mistake in letting them here.”