Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see whether his admission would diffuse the intense moment. “And we’ll do everything we can to prolong that outcome,” Devlin promised, Vivien nodding in agreement from the couch.
“Capture him and I’ll perform the exorcism.” Gently placing her hand on Zane’s arm, he visibly relaxed at her touch. “We owe that to Daniel.”
“He hurt you,” Zane replied, the real reason behind his aggression exposed.
Vivien gave him a tender smile. “And you healed me.”
Something exchanged between them—something almost too private to be witnessed. “How about we take a few moments to regroup and come back and finish this conversation later?” I asked, looking at everyone. I didn’t need to feel Mason’s thoughts to know he was struggling to control his wolf. While deep down he understood the logic behind Zane’s questioning, that primal part of him viewed it as a very tangible threat toward one of his own. Mason would need time to cool off and regain the perspective he needed.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Devlin agreed, casting a sidelong glance toward Mason. While he was loyal to his King, he also enjoyed a strong friendship with my husband, placing him in a conflicting position. It was his worried frown that caused Zane to realize the severity of what had happened.
“Mason,” he said, his voice calmer.
“We’ll talk later.” Waiting long enough to see Zane’s brusque nod, he took my hand and we quickly left the room.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I need to run. Join me?”
There was nowhere else I’d rather be than where he needed me to be. “Of course.”
It was his turn to nod. Fresh air would help give him back the balance he needed; and if that didn’t work, then I would show him that his faith in Daniel wasn’t in vain.
We would save him.
Death wouldn’t be the end result for his brother.
****
I didn’t know whether those we passed could sense just how tightly wound Mason was, but no one stopped us as we made our way toward the large gilded gates that separated the immaculately manicured gardens from the wild forest beyond it. While Zane and those who resided in his household had no need for acres of wildness, he was mindful of his guests and their needs.
They weren’t the same vast, rich, thick woodlands we enjoyed at Pack property, but they were still teeming with creatures, the perfect diversion for the predator that lurked within every werewolf.
Guards were stationed all around Zane’s property—constantly scanning the inner area where guests could relax and enjoy beautifully planted flowerbeds. They manned the tall brick wall that housed the gate we passed, and finally the security huts positioned around the outer perimeter that ensured nothing would breach the vampire king’s fortress.
It was the safest place to be right now; but unfortunately, the tensions that erupted in Zane’s office had threatened that. Mason prided himself in maintaining a steady grip on his control; however, even the mighty crack under pressure.
“Let’s change around the corner,” I murmured, spotting the perfect place that offered just enough privacy for us to shift.
He grunted, dragging me behind him, nodding ever-so-slightly at the guard who stepped out of our way. The fact he didn’t speak, and he was so intent on running, told me everything I needed to know. He wouldn’t be himself until he could burn off his built-up aggression.
Modesty wasn’t something we usually worried about at home. Whether in human form or the sleek furred bodies of our wolves, we didn’t adopt the popular body image issues many believed in. It was who we were, beautiful in our differences, and we were confident.
Pulling my shirt over my head, the world seemed to tilt as I lost my balance.
“Change of plans,” came the gruff, needy growl of my mate. In one loud, ripping sound, Mason tore my shirt away—his arm wrapped around my back as he pressed me hard against the wall. The delicious coolness of the wall was in direct contradiction to the sweltering heat from his bared chest.
“Mason?” I asked, letting him unbutton my jeans before they dropped to the ground. There was a minor pause as he reached between us and unzipped his own pants. He didn’t need to answer. I knew exactly where his thoughts and intentions had transferred.
He couldn’t wait to shift to find his relief.
He needed it now.
With me.
I tried not to gasp as with one deft move, he slid aside my panties and drove himself home. Not from shock that he’d been so brazen, or that we could be discovered at any moment, but because as soon as that connection was made, I could feel a very physical blast of something emit from him into me.
Balance.
Relief.
Gratitude.
One hundred percent pure, primal need.
Then an equally powerful demand that he conquer his emotions.
I didn’t shrink away from the painfully blissful onslaught that followed—the all-encompassing kisses that left me feeling like I was drowning, set adrift in a sweltering sea of fire. Every touch was calculated and placed with the sole purpose of beating back that part of him that didn’t have the luxury of letting it all go whenever the stress sent him over the edge.
The chilled night air did nothing to satiate the flames licking over my bare skin. Mason was the one generating it all. He controlled it. He stoked it. He would be the one to douse the blaze once he was done.
All I knew was I had never felt so alive, so completely in the present, than I did right then. As the forest buzzed with activity, it paled in comparison to the magic being created.
There was power in sex.
No, it was more than that. There was power and strength that came from not being afraid to strip yourself bare for someone else and trust them to handle you with care. To be comfortable and confident in that level of vulnerability.
Even with the endless and overwhelming pounding that heightened every nerve ending in my body, Mason dominating every breath of our lovemaking, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. He was the keeper of my heart.
All that was left for me to do was enjoy the pleasure he shaped with our bodies.
That was my gift to him.
“Darcy,” he whispered, his lips now travelling down the side of my neck where his teeth grazed and nipped. Each bite sent zinging pulses down through me until they erupted. “Sweetheart.”
Adjusting my legs around his hips, there was no fear of falling. He held me secure. “Let go, baby,” I crooned, my fingers threading through his hair as I desperately tried to keep myself from shattering.
I wasn’t sure whether the snap was actually audible or if I just felt it from him, but the thin thread that had been keeping him together broke, and with it came a fresh round of passion.
There was no trying to remain quiet. There were some things that needed to be given a voice. They needed to become real.
Tilting his head back, Mason howled a mixture of frenzied joy and unrestrained freedom. He had chased whatever had threatened his inner peace, caught it, and brought it back under his submission.
“I love you,” he murmured, falling into me, ensuring I didn’t slip from his grasp as I recovered from my own release. “I meant to run, I really did.”
“I know,” I answered, chuckling softly. “I’m not complaining. You rocked my world in the process.”
Both of our skin glistened from exertion and as the night air enveloped around us, nothing stopped its soothing effects from taking over. I loved the contrast—the feeling of boiling inside while goose bumps rose over my flesh from the chill.
“I didn’t hurt you?” Carefully setting me back on the ground, he peered around at my back. “Damn, Darcy.” I could only assume he found cuts and scrapes from the friction of his hips grinding me into the wall.
“They’ll heal. Seriously, that was intense.” My chest still heaved, but it didn’t detract from the fact I couldn’t stop grinning. “You were amazing.�
�
Something in my face, or maybe my voice, convinced him I was fine and he let out a low laugh. “I believe that was all you, sweetheart.”
When he began picking up my clothes, I interrupted. “Still need to run? We can take all the time we want. The conversation can wait.”
Handing me my jeans, Mason shook his head. “This,” he said, gesturing to where we had just moments ago been wrapped up in each other. “This was exactly what I needed. I feel more like me, again.”
“Ahhh, the power of hot and sweaty sex, huh?” I teased.
Cupping my cheek, his expression was suddenly tender. “No, the power of you.”
Whenever he said things like that, a part of me melted. What made it even more significant was I knew it wasn’t simply a line to get into my pants the next time. He meant every word.
“The power of us,” I added, knowing that it was our connection that created that unbreakable bond. It was our devotion to the other that added that profound depth.
“I’m sorry about your shirt.” Sure enough, it was unsalvageable.
“Just means I get to wear yours.” Taking it from him, I slipped it over my head, trying not to laugh as it fell mid-thigh. “And I get to smell like you.”
Mason stood, bare-chested, with his jeans zipped up. “Saying things like that makes me want a repeat performance . . . over and over, again. To touch and kiss you until all you smell is me and vice versa.”
I didn’t hesitate, my fingers already tugging at the hemline of his shirt. “Just say the word, Mason.”
Crushing me against him, he inhaled deeply, nuzzling his face into my hair. “You don’t know how badly I want to, sweetheart. I want to bury myself inside you and never leave. Something tells me it’s the safest place to be right now, a haven from the coming storm.”
The longing in his words hurt my heart. I felt the exact same way. It would be so easy to hide away and hope that everything blew over in time. “But that’s not who you are, who we are. We might take small breaks, but we never walk away from a fight or challenge.”
“Never. Even if it’s against those we love more than life, itself.” The finality in his comment rang out. Zane had pushed a hot button earlier and triggered an angry response, but Mason still understood the truth at the core.
“I hate that you’re in this position,” I confessed. “It feels so unfair.”
“Sometimes life is unfair. Sometimes the important choices force us to not just take a stand against right and wrong, but against situations where there are no winners. Doesn’t make it any easier, no matter how much we beg for a different option.”
“I don’t want you to have to kill Daniel.”
“Me, neither. So I have to hold onto hope that there is still a way to remove the Master from him. That’s what I needed Zane to see. I recognize his point . . . that we might not have a chance. War brings out the worst in people . . . I also believe it brings out the best.” Combing my hair with his fingers before tucking it behind my ear, Mason smiled. “I have to believe that despite the odds, we will still try our damnedest to find the best possible solution. Daniel is one of those lives we’re trying to save.”
“Zane knows that,” I replied delicately.
“He does. He also knows that if we can’t bring Daniel under control, the death toll could be more than any of us could bare.”
It reminded me of something I’d seen on Zane’s face when Mason and he had argued. “I think he speaks from experience, Mason. Even though he doesn’t talk much about his past, like Devlin, and while I know they are incredibly close, I caught a flash of guilt in his eyes and a quick glance between the two when you confronted him. Maybe that’s why he was so forceful in getting an answer?” I might have been grabbing at straws, but when Devlin didn’t flinch at hearing his King say he’d sacrifice himself if it meant saving others, it raised the question.
Mason shrugged, still thoughtful. “I don’t know, but that’s a possibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if Zane has been in this position before.”
“You ready to go back and finish the discussion?”
Staring deep into my eyes, his gaze dropped to my lips. “One more thing and then we can return.”
That was the beauty of Mason. While he had all the right words and spoke beautifully, it wasn’t the only thing he excelled at when it came to his mouth.
Kissing me, once more, he chuckled lightly when he finally pulled away, leaving me caught up in the breathlessness of the moment.
“Now we can go.”
Chapter Nine
Mason
We barely made it back inside the mansion before Devlin found us, his face dark like an approaching thunderstorm. Instantly, it raised my hackles. He was the bearer of bad news.
“What’s happened?” I asked, not giving him a chance to speak first.
“We need to leave as soon as possible. You left your phone in Zane’s office and I took the liberty of answering it. Wade needs you immediately.”
I’d sent my newly appointed Enforcer to check on things with Michael’s old pack, the Silver Canyon Wolves, earlier, and had yet to hear back from him. My defeating their Alpha meant I assumed all responsibilities of the members, but with the Master and his possessing Daniel, there hadn’t been time to go formalize the shifting of power.
Accepting my cell from Devlin, I didn’t waste any time in calling Wade, myself. “Talk to me.” Anger flared and settled deep within my chest as he rapidly updated me on what he’d found upon arrival. Chaos. Fear. Wolves barely holding on to their humanity. Daniel had beaten Wade there and, in his wake, left a mess only I could clean up. “I’m leaving now. Do your best to keep everyone safe.”
“How bad is it?” Darcy asked, worry filling her beautiful features. It pained me to see the joy and contentment that had been there only minutes go replaced by the all-too-familiar concern.
“Daniel and his group paid the Pack a visit, and from what Wade’s been able to glean from those who survived, he wasn’t too gentle.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘survived’?”
Bile rose in my throat at the thought of relaying the answer. “Those who refused to renounce me as their new Alpha, and follow him, were slaughtered.”
Devlin’s choice of words mirrored those on the tip of my tongue. “But some still live?”
“Barely. Wade seemed to arrive in the middle of Daniel’s attempts to break those who resisted. I don’t have all the details, but from the sound of it, he’s also lucky to have come out of it unscathed.” The grief that had hit so strongly evaporated, as a crystal clear focus penetrated my mind. “They need their Alpha. Only I can help bring them back from the brink. I’m going to need a group to come with me.” Staring at Devlin, I ignored the way Darcy’s mouth opened and closed, like she wanted to ask something. “See if Asher and Vlad can join us. I’ll find Moses, as well. I’d invite Enforcers to come, but from the sound of things, we’ll need to act quickly when we arrive, and bringing vampire strangers might trigger a more violent response.”
“What about me, Mason?”
I knew she’d want to come. Closing my eyes for the briefest of seconds, I warred my own internal battle to keep her far away from danger and safe. “Stay close to me. They’ll need to see you, as well.”
She’d expected me to refuse her and I almost had. We were going into a volatile scene and there were too many uncertainties for me to be completely comfortable with. But, despite my fears, she was my mate.
Even without taking into account she held vampiric traits, which made her more than capable of handling herself, I couldn’t ignore the fact she would be just as much of a soothing influence on the survivors as me, their new Alpha.
“Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks, sweetheart. Promise me.”
“I only want to help.”
“Then let’s go. We’ll take two vehicles, in case we need to transport people back here.” I couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling that we
were already too late to save those hurt by Daniel’s cruelty.
The Master, Darcy’s voice infiltrated my thoughts at the same time I corrected myself. This isn’t our Daniel.
I didn’t have the heart to deny the next fear that surfaced.
That might be true, but it won’t keep me from having to deliver a fatal deathblow if he’s not stopped.
Before too much more damage is done.
****
Everything was still. Too quiet even for my liking. I’d been to Michael’s home on different occasions; but this, by far, was the most eerie. A faint scent of blood tinged the air, but not enough to indicate a bloodbath had occurred.
If there was one thing I’d learned quickly, however, it was that looks could be deceiving.
“Asher and Vlad are together. They’re finishing up business and will meet us here as soon as possible,” Devlin said, walking over from his truck parked under a large weeping willow. “What do you think?”
I hadn’t moved from where I stood assessing the situation, scanning for any evidence that might give me a clue of what to expect. “I want us to all be on guard. I haven’t heard from Wade since we left Zane’s and it would be foolish to not wonder if we’re walking into a trap.”
“My thoughts, exactly,” Moses agreed. His gaze darted back and forth, his shoulders bunched tightly. It had been a long drive to the Silver Canyon Pack house, one spent in nervous silence.
“We need to go inside,” Darcy whispered, and the slight quiver in her voice drew my attention. She sensed something.
“What is it?” I asked, noting how she didn’t answer immediately, but instead glanced at Devlin. When he nodded, her brow wrinkled as her hands clenched into fists.
“Blood. And a lot of it.”
Moses stepped closer to stand side by side with me. “Something doesn’t make sense, Mason. Something’s missing.”
Nodding, I’d noticed it, too. It wasn’t about what we could see, but more about what we couldn’t feel. “Wolves. I don’t sense them. I should be filled with their pain right now, yet I feel nothing.”
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