Chapter 40: Chapter Forty - Mason

My wolf felt undone as I forced myself from Jessica’s mouth and out of the door. The connection since her change was evidently affecting both of us. The feeling of her skin against mine had always felt like pure sin, but now, it was a dangerous line of obsession. My wolf never wanted to leave her. It felt as important as my next breath.

Never in a million years did I think being mated would feel this intense.

When I finally pried myself from the pack house, I found the pack waiting for me. Stan’s eyes were hard; though I noticed a worry line creased his forehead.

“It’s going to be okay, Stan,” Jacob said. "She's going to be just fine."

Stan nodded. He didn’t seem reassured but neither did I. This was madness. Leaving her here when she could shift at any moment felt…wrong. What if…

“Mason,” Jacob said, his voice slicing through my intrusive thoughts. “Calm down. We can all feel you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s easy for you to say. It's not your mate in there."

Jacob glared at me until I was slightly uncomfortable. “We all care about Jessica. I know you’re upset but you have to calm down.”

I knew what he was saying was true but calming my wolf felt like squaring off with a bull. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and breathed in.

Jacob scrubbed his palms over his face and glanced back at the forest. “We’re going to stay together tonight. I don’t trust us apart. We need to be together in case we run across them. We’ll start at the place in the forest where we found the clothes and follow any scent we catch. This is going to be an all-night job, so be prepared for it.”

Despite the fear of Jessica shifting, my wolf grew excited at the thought of an entire night of running. The moonlight brightened the yard as Jacob shifted and we followed.

My wolf broke free into a run after our pack. The trees shadowed us, covering us from the night sky that called to our inner beast.

Wind flowed over my fur, pushing me harder through the depths of the unknown. The scents of the night tugged me each way, the lycan the only scent not calling to me.

We raced toward the spot, sliding to a halt against the leaf-covered floor behind Jacob. He snorted, dropping his head to sniff the spot.

The lycan hasn’t been back, he said through our mind link.

My gaze swept the inky darkness, small animals scurried to safety but none of them were the lycan.

We should check uptown, I suggested. Its scent was everywhere.

Jacob nodded, signaling us toward town.

Shifting and running in town wasn’t something we did often. We didn’t need some person from Maurice’s or a couple on a late-night stroll to see a group of giant wolves roaming the streets.

Though, rather us than a lycan.

We ran past the pack house and toward the outskirts of town. The lycan’s scent began to grow as we passed the city limits. The energy in the pack shifted and our wolves became alert.

Jacob stopped at the edge of Main Street, close to the courthouse and the sighting before. The silence felt deafening. An overwhelming feeling of being watched settled over me.

Stan nudged me with his nose, moving his head toward the courthouse. The scent was stronger there for sure. The shadows of the night danced as my wolf looked over every inch. It wasn’t until the hair on Jacob’s back stood on end that I noticed the lycan. He was perched on top of the courthouse, red eyes glaring out at the group of us.

I pawed at the hot pavement beneath my paws, adrenaline coursing through me. The lycan stood and with one giant jump, he landed in the middle of the courtyard grounds.

Steady, Jacob said through our link.

The lycan tilted its head, as if judging the situation when movement caught my eye from the square. Two more lycans descended from the top of the bank.

Jacob growled, lowering his head toward the sidewalk.

Steady, he said again. There could be more.

Seth grunted, picking his nose up in the air to scent out any more lycans. I couldn’t look away from the one standing in the courtyard. There was something so familiar about it.

He or she looked wiser than the others. Something about his demeanor poked at me. It was in charge. More than just a beast in the night, for sure.

When he lifted his head and howled into the night, Jacob launched forward. Seth and I ran behind him, while the others split up to take on the other two.

The lycan’s claws curled and his teeth barred the closer we got. Jacob ducked toward the ground, going for his legs while I jumped for the neck.

His grace surprised me. The jump was clean, high and over our heads.

I felt his claws slash my back. Pain rocketed down my body and sent electricity down to my toes.

Jacob spun, tearing a path toward the lycan and sunk his teeth into the lycan’s leg. He howled in pain as Seth jumped and tore at his neck. Anger hit me in the chest and twisted me into something unrecognizable. My wolf felt rabid.

I leaped on top of Seth’s back and tore at the lycan’s face. The taste of his blood in my mouth felt like a prize in my mouth.

I landed against the pavement with blood dripping down my fur and soaking into me. The lycan stumbled back with teeth marks littering his skin.

Jacob snapped at him as he backtracked out of the parking lot toward The Eagle. It was a look of escape. He knew he was outnumbered and waited for a way out. My wolf vibrated in anticipation when I felt as if scolding hot liquid rushed through my veins.

My wolf whimpered, curling into a fetal position against the ground. Jacob glanced at me, walking over to push me with his snout. When I looked over the lycan had disappeared.

Jacob shifted, his hands hovering over my fur. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

My wolf shifted suddenly, leaving me with the pain alone.

Bastard.

“I’m burning,” I whispered, turning to press my cheek against the pavement. Gravel and loose rocks pressed into my skin, reminding me that this was real. this wasn't a nightmare. Jacob’s hand hovered over the marks in my back.

“It’s his mark. I think your bloodstream is rejecting it.” He glanced over his shoulder as Aaron and Stan ran over toward us. “Pick him up. We have to get him home. Now.”

I felt hands lifting me, and suddenly I was tossed over Jacob’s back. If this was a different situation, I would have felt emasculated, but the pain was too much to care.

Angry tears coated my eyes.

“We killed one of them,” Stan said to Jacob.

“Good,” Jacob said.

Stan’s silence told me something wasn’t right. When I dared a look at him, his brows were furrowed and he looked worried. “It was a teenager,” he said.

Jacob halted. “Go get him.”

“Her,” Stand said. “Go get her,” he said.

Jacob’s feelings hit me hard. He wasn’t emotional. He was strong because he had to be. But in that moment, he was vulnerable. He hurt for that child. For that girl.

“Get her and bring her with us. We can’t leave her there. It’ll scare the town.”

“They should be scared,” Aaron hissed. “The lycan is turning them into monsters!”

“Stop it,” Jacob hissed. “We need to keep our minds steady. We’re fine. We know they can be killed. We just need to end them before they take over.”

That sounded much simpler than I imagined.

The ache in my back grew and I groaned in pain. Jacob shifted me on his shoulder. “Hold on. We’re going home.”