Chapter 27: Chapter Twenty-Seven - Jessica

I spent my morning attempting to read my emails while avoiding the mirror.

Every time I walked near it, I couldn't help but stop and look at my mark.

It was beautiful. It was more beautiful than any tattoo I'd ever laid eyes on. When Mason texted me that he was coming to pick me up, I hurried to get ready to go to work.

Jamie had understood my lack of a vehicle but I needed to look into getting the VW Bug fixed.

Mason let himself inside, and seeing him walking into the house warmed me. The night before had been...amazing. I had only been with a couple of my ex-boyfriends, but they didn't hold a flame to Mason.

Maybe it was because of our bond, or maybe it was because of him. Either way, I hadn't stopped thinking about it all day long.

"Hey," he said, walking into the bathroom and lacing his fingers around the back of my neck. "It feels like forever since I've seen you."

I chuckled. "Yeah? It's been like four hours. Did y'all find anything new?"

Mason kissed my forehead. "No, just the same clothes. They are going to stake out the spot tonight and I'm going to see if I can pick up a scent in town today when I drop you off."

I turned to the mirror and spread a clear lip gloss onto my lips. "Don't go getting into trouble. I haven't had enough of you yet."

Mason smiled. "Jacob gave me the okay to stay over here instead of staking out tonight. We're worried that leaving you here may be a red flag to the lycan.

Jacob thinks he or she is taunting us."

"I don't like the sound of that," I said, grabbing my phone and sliding it into my pocket. "You don't think it'll get brave enough to snatch one of us, do you?"

"We don't know enough about it yet. But, I promise you I will not let anyone hurt you...ever."

I smiled. "Yeah? What else could a girl ask for?"

Mason gestured his head toward the door. "You ready to go? I have some things to take care of before I come over tonight."

"Yeah, I'm ready. Do you have anything you want to do tonight?" I asked, grabbing my keys on the way toward the door. I looked back at his smug face and chuckled. "I mean like a movie or something?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I have a surprise for you."

I placed my hand on my chest. "A surprise for me? What is it?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" he asked, shutting the door behind me.

I locked it and followed him toward his truck. Excitement coursed through me as I climbed into the passenger seat. "Was everything okay with Seth today?"

Mason nodded and backed out of the driveway. "Yeah, actually it was. There is nothing that he can do about it. Our bond is sealed. All he can do is get over it.”

“Good, I don’t like confrontation. It seems like you both have enough to worry about.”

Mason drove me to The Eagle’s office and dropped me off. In my mind, I had the vision of working at a busy newspaper office. Like the one in the Superman movies.

This wasn’t it. Jamie and Joey looked over from their computers and I waved awkwardly. “Good to see you, Jess,” she said, laughing suddenly. “All of our names start with J. I just realized it.”

I chuckled, my gaze shifting toward the empty desk to my right.

“You go right ahead,” Jamie said. “I have your passwords to our system tapped on your desk. I sent over some edits to the article you wrote about the monster.”

Joey watched me put down my things and smooth my palms along the desk. A tickle of excitement rushed through my veins. This was something. It wasn’t what I had in mind but it was a step in the right direction.

I worked on the edits for an hour before sending them to Jamie. “I ordered us some BBQ from the local food truck,” Jamie said. “While we’re waiting, I wanted to assign stories for the week. Joey, you continue on the monster sightings, and the animals attacked at the farm. Jessica, there is a festival coming to town. Local beauty pageants are coming up. You can get with Mrs. Cindy James at the bank for more information. We normally have a column with the attendants. I’ve sent you a copy of last year’s article.”

Writing about beauty pageants wasn’t my go-to, but I was new. I didn’t have the seniority to pick what I wanted. “Sure thing. When do you need it in by?”

“Friday,” she said, her gaze shifting toward mine. “Your cousin didn’t have much to say about his findings,” Jamie said.

I wasn’t sure what I needed to say. Knowing the truth put me in a difficult situation. I needed to make sure that I didn’t let anything slip. My conversations with Mason and Jacob needed to stay between the two of us.

“Oh,” Joey said suddenly, pointing toward her neck. “Did you have that tattoo last time? How pretty.”

She got up and walked over to look at it. I swallowed, nerves skating down my spine. “Yeah, I had it. You must have missed it.”

“It’s beautiful. Who did it?” Joey asked.

“A guy back in Denver. I’ll have to get you his information. He’s on my social media.”

Joey nodded and showed me the tattoos along her forearm and neck. They were symbols of her native culture, and she was so proud.

When Joey sat back down, I noticed Jamie looking over at me. “Sorry,” I said. “Yeah, I think they were half drunk when they went looking for the monster. It wasn’t serious, maybe they were just bored? He didn't want to talk about it."

Joey snorted. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be too surprising.”

Jamie laughed. “I was a kid once. I get it. But it’s dangerous. Especially after whatever it was killed all those animals. I worry about you living out in the woods,” she said.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Jacob comes over, and Mason.”

Joey looked over at me with her brows lifted so high that they disappeared beneath her bangs. “Mason?” she asked.

A feverish blush hit my cheeks and made me smile. “Yeah, well…”

Joey turned to me. “You’ve been here one week and you’ve already caught the interest of Mason? I’ve never seen any of those boys date. Ever. I’ve known them my entire life.”

“You went to school with them?” I asked.

Joey nodded when the delivery driver knocked on the office door and stepped inside. Jamie walked over to pay while Joey turned her attention back to me. “Mason was always so stoic. I can’t tell you how many girls wanted him growing up. It’s insane.”

I smiled, knowing he’d been waiting on me the entire time.

Jamie slipped me a plate of food and my stomach growled. “Thank you. I’m starving.”

Joey dragged her chair over to my desk and smiled. “I graduated a few years back. Jacob was always friendly and happy-go-lucky. Just to be honest, most of the girls gave up on them by their senior year.” She chuckled. “They thought they were gay.”

I chuckled. “I can understand that.”

“So, how did you get his attention?”

I laughed. “Well, my grandmother died, and she left me her estate. He started coming around with Jacob, and one thing led to another.”

Joey waggled her brows at me, and I tossed my head back to laugh.

“Stop hounding the girl, Joe,” Jamie laughed. “You’re going to run off our only interest in journalism in this town.”

Joey put her hands up in surrender. “Okay. I’ll take a hint.” She leaned in and whispered, “You can tell me later.”