Chapter 10: Chapter Ten - Mason

Seth stood down the dirt road leading to the estate when I tore myself away from her.

My wolf felt feral when she texted that Seth had dropped by. In the middle of the night? Had he lost his mind? Because I was going to find it for him.

He turned to face me as I approached him with his tongue pressed against the side of his cheek. “What was that? Is there something you want to talk to me about?” he asked.

I stopped inches from him. “Jacob said not to go over there, and you did.”

Seth shifted and folded his arms across his chest. “What are you doing? You’ve always been our Beta but you’ve never been like this. So, are you going to go tell Jacob every time that we step out of line, huh?”

My wolf stirred inside of me. Fight him, he pushed me.

I shook my head slowly. “Don’t step out of line and we won’t have anything to worry about, will we?”

Seth chuckled and slid his palm down his face. “We have enough to worry about. There are wolf tracks all over our town and you’re worried that I might make a move on Jacob’s cousin….” He went silent for several minutes and then laughed humorlessly. “Do you have a thing for her? Is this why you’re being a complete dickhead? You’ve been on edge for a week.”

My wolf wanted me to tell him and show my dominance. But I didn’t want Jacob to know yet. Not until I figured out if she was my mate. I wasn’t sure. Maybe if we’d grown up in a normal pack house with other wolves and she-wolves. But we hadn’t.

I wasn’t sure how to go about this, especially with it being Jacob’s cousin.

“I don’t even know her and neither do you.”

Seth slid his tongue over his teeth. “How do you suppose someone gets to know someone? Looking from a distance. I find her attractive. Very attractive. I’m not going to hurt the girl, Mason. You know me better than that. You need to chill out before I make you.”

I stepped forward and my palms flew up to his chest before I could stop myself. He slid back several yards and glared at me. His eyes danced in the moonlight and his wolf skimmed the surface ready to defend himself.

“I’ve been looking for y’all!” Jacob called out from behind us.

He skidded to a stop on the dirt road beside me and instantly noticed the tension. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Seth was at Jessica’s house when she texted me tonight.”

Jacob mumbled under my breath. “What did I tell you?” he shouted as Seth walked back toward us. “Leave my cousin alone. We can't let her too close or she'll find out about us."

Seth’s face was tugged into an irritated snarl when he neared us. “The better question is why she’s texting your Beta?”

“Because I trust him more than you,” Jacob said.

The slice of that sentence cut me deep. We needed to trust one another because we were Alpha and Beta. We ruled over the pack. But if he knew the things I wanted to do to Jessica, he’d never trust me again.

For lying to him, and not coming to him in the first place.

Seth cursed under his breath. “Whatever. Why were you looking for us?”

Jacob sighed heavily. “We followed the scent to the land near the waterfall and it disappeared. We picked up on a few new scents.”

“Is there a pack near us?” I asked.

Jacob shrugged. “That or several rogues that hang out together…”

“Why were you over here anyway?” Seth asked.

“What?” I asked.

He pointed toward the estate. “She said she saw a gray wolf outside of her kitchen window. Your wolf is gray. Why were you over here?”

My body warmed in anger of him bringing it up in front of Jacob but it didn’t surprise me. “I was checking on her. Because I know she’s afraid. She mentioned on the ride home she was afraid and after seeing the wolf, I wanted to check. I don’t like you questioning me.”

“But you questioning me is fine?” Seth asked, stepping closer to me.

Jacob growled lowly and Seth stopped immediately. He pointed at Seth and then at me. “I don’t know what the hell is going on between the two of you but I don’t want to hear another word about it. Got it? I want Mason to keep her safe. If she feels frightened, she’ll leave. Grandma wanted her to stay here, and so did I. You don’t question your Alpha ever.”

Seth tore away from us and stalked toward the woods. “I’ll meet you back at the pack house.”

He shifted and darted into the trees.

“This is crazy,” Jacob said. “What crawled up his tail and died?”

I shrugged, pretending not to know that I’d put Seth in that mood. “I don’t know. Are we patrolling anymore tonight or are we going home?”

Jacob sighed heavily. “There is nothing more to trail. We’ll see if we can find the sent from Covington this weekend. I need you all rested.”

I nodded and jogged toward the woods. “Hey, Mason,” Jacob said, catching up with me. “I have to work tomorrow to make up for my shift. If you want to take Jessica into town to show her the grocery store and make sure she has everything, I would appreciate it. But if you don’t want to, I get it…”

“I don’t mind,” I said.

Jacob nodded and patted me on the shoulder. “Thank you for being reliable. You always have been.”

I slugged his shoulder. “Don’t go getting soft on me now, Alpha.”

He laughed. “I just mean…it’s nice to know that I can trust you. We do need to keep Jessica in the dark. I love her but I’m not sure how she’ll act if she finds out.”

“I agree.”

But did I?

My wolf seemed to think that she would be okay with all of this. I wanted to believe that, but I had to do as our alpha asked us to.

I shifted and ran into the depths of the woods. The moon lit the way to the pack house, which was a few miles through the woods. With Jacob on my heels, I kept my mind on the run and not Jessica. If something slipped into my thoughts and Jacob caught wind of it, he’d find out quicker than I wanted him to.

When we got back to the pack house the lights were mostly off. Which meant Seth hadn’t made it home yet or had gone straight to his room. I didn’t care either way. I was tired and my body ached from the need to sleep.

Waving at Jacob, I walked into the suite and shut the door. I smelled like a locker room and I couldn’t wait to rinse off.

I showered quickly and pulled on a pair of basketball shorts. My cell phone sat on the nightstand where I’d left it earlier in the night.

I’d carried it around in my mouth while I shifted. When she texted me that Seth had come over, I was halfway to the pack house. I dropped it off and raced back over as quickly as I could.

I was glad Jacob hid clothing for us near her house for a quick change.

The small red dot flashed and when I opened it, I had a text from Jessica. It was sent over thirty minutes ago. I opened it and stared at the text for several long minutes.

I hope this doesn’t sound crazy. Please don’t think I’m some insane wolf girl, but…you were also in my dreams before I came here. Weird, right? Maybe I have a sixth sense. See you soon. Good night.

I stared at the text message not knowing what to think about it. Would she put the pieces together herself because of the dreams?

What if they were premonitions?

I texted back though I figured she was asleep by now.

Not crazy at all. Maybe I’m just your soulmate.

I sent the text and put my cell phone on the charger. My body felt warm from the thought of Jessica dreaming of me.

Maybe I could pry what happened in her dreams out of her tomorrow. Maybe she could keep a secret.

The things I wanted to do with Jessica weren’t friendly. They were far more than that. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could be around her without kissing her.

I screwed my eyes shut and prayed I kept my hands to myself. However, that prayer was followed by another one that I wouldn’t have to for long.