Chapter Fifty-Eight - Mason
I attempted to swallow Jessica’s heartbeat in my throat. Feeling your mate was one thing, but feeling her turmoil for her lineage was another.
I reached over and interlaced her fingers with my own.
Sweat raced down her hairline. She hated that her wolf wanted dominance. It was a giant pink elephant sitting in the middle of the room.
Even though everyone tried to ignore it, I could not.
Neither could Jessica. She felt out of place and I wasn’t sure how to fix it. Jacob brought a bottom of elixir to the dining table and put it down. “We have to spray this onto their marks. It’s the only way to stop it.”
Seth laughed. “How do you expect to spray that on people? Not to mention, how will we know who has marks and who doesn’t? I hate to be the Negative Nancy here, but I don’t see an easy way for this to happen.”
Jacob leaned against the table with his mouth pressed into a hard line. “They’ll be a dunking booth. We can see through anyone’s shirts that participates in there.”
“It’s also one hundred degrees in Louisiana,” Liam said. “We’ll be able to see some because of the sweat.”
“That doesn’t cover half of the people that will come,” I mumbled.
“Won’t we be able to sniff them out?” Jessica asked.
“Some of them,” Jacob answered. “Then again, the scents have been disappearing when they shift to human.”
“We could use the elixir on the ones we’re sure about, and then douse anyone else,” Aaron said.
Jacob sighed heavily. “We’re going to get kicked out if we do that, but I don’t see much choice. Maybe we head into town and play it by ear.” He turned to look at the two of us. “You two go ahead and head up there. We’ll be in contact when we arrive.”
Jessica looked at me as I ushered her out of the pack house. Her tension immediately softened as we neared my truck. Once inside, she rested her head against the headrest.
I turned toward her and placed my palm on her thigh. “I’m drowning in my thoughts,” she whispered.
I chuckled and brought her hand to my mouth. “I’m aware. I can feel all of it. Just…enjoy the ride into town. Maybe enjoy some of the festival before all Hell breaks loose. Think of this as a date.”
She eyed me. “I’ll do the best I can. Since it’s a date, can we get a funnel cake?”
“My treat,” I said, backing out of the driveway.
They held the festival at the fairgrounds every year on the outskirts of town. Most of the surrounding towns came to celebrate which made our situation harder.
Jessica and I parked at the back of the open field and walked hand in hand to the ticket booth. My nose caught so many different scents, but lycan was oddly mixed among them.
The laughter of children and the smell of carnival food wafted through the air. The scent brought back memories from my childhood. When Jacob and I would spend the entire night, and all of our summer savings, at the fair.
I bought our tickets and helped Jessica with her wristband. “I feel like someone is watching me,” Jessica said softly.
My wolf grew anxious as we walked into the crowd. Jessica kept close to me as we scanned the crowd for anyone with lycan marks.
The dunking booth’s line was a mile long. I pulled Jessica to the side by a balloon-popping booth and watched. Several people were dunked before I noticed marks on Pastor James’ back.
I mind linked with Jacob. Pastor James needs to be sprayed.
He didn’t answer but I felt they were near.
Jessica pointed at a man standing by the Ferris wheel drenched in sweat. “Him,” she said.
Roger Young, I said to Jacob.
This went on for fifteen minutes. “Let’s go for a ride on the Ferris wheel,” I said.
Jessica smiled up at me. “I won’t say no to that.”
We stood in line people-watching until it was our turn. I helped Jessica onto the platform and into the covered seats.
She snuggled into my arm, resting her head against my shoulder. For a few seconds, things felt normal. Like they would have felt if Jessica wasn’t a wolf.
Or hadn’t found out about me.
The couple in front of us laughed. Billy Henry looked down at us as the wheel turned and grinned. His eyes flashed a red color.
Billy Henry, I said into the link.
We made it to the top and Jessica chuckled. “Woods as far as the eye can see.”
“Plenty of room to run,” I said.
“And hide lycans,” she said.
I turned to her, noticing movement from the top of the fairgrounds shed. Jacob stood on the top with a Nerf gun full of elixir. Jessica laughed at him. “He loves being alpha.”
“Don’t make yourself feel bad for your bloodline. It’s a privilege.”
“One that will take his title away. I’m not sure I can do that to him, Mason. Jacob is a good alpha. I just figured out I’m a wolf.”
“He won’t hate you for it, ya know. It may take time for his wolf to accept it, but Jacob won’t hate you.”
She didn’t look too certain about it. Her gaze moved toward the window as we approached the ground. The Ferris wheel stopped, letting a few of us off.
“Can we get a funnel cake now?”
“Sure we can. Come on.”
I listened to a few people shout as the pack sprayed them with the elixir. No one screamed in pain which was good. We didn’t want to get kicked out too soon.
Jessica took the funnel cake as I paid.
We sat on a covered patio. She slipped a piece into her mouth and moaned. “This is my favorite part of the fair. The food. The corndogs. The funnel cakes.
There is something so magical about spending tons of money on gas station food.”
I snagged a bite. The anticipation in the air began to swallow me.
Georgina Booker, Liam said through the mind link.
“Poor Mrs. Booker. She’s like eighty,” I said.
Jessica frowned. “What’s their game plan, anyway? Turn the entire town into lycans, for what? What’s the reason?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure, to be honest…”
“Jessica!” someone shouted.
A small Asian girl ran toward us with a camera hanging around her neck.
“Joey, hey,” Jessica said. “This is Mason, my boyfriend.”
I chuckled at the title. We were so much more than that. It felt funny to hear it come out of Jessica’s mouth.
“This is Joey. She works at The Eagle.”
“I know Joey, we went to school together."
She smiled at me, and then her gaze lingered on the mark on my neck. “Nice tattoo. Jessica and you like wolves, huh?”
Something about her tone slithered up my spine. “Yeah, something like that.”
I watched her demeanor move from carefree to irritated. I wasn’t sure why she’d be irritated. I moved to see if I could sense any marks, but I couldn’t.
“I’m taking pictures for The Eagle. Jamie is around here somewhere. Is the funnel cake good? They’re my favorites.”
“Want a bite?” Jessica asked.
She waved her off. “Nah, I need to get some pictures. You two move together.”
I moved closer to Jessica and put my arm around her neck. Joey snapped a few pictures. “Sit in his lap.”
Jessica made a face as someone’s scream sliced through the air. “Monster!”
I jumped up with Jessica beside me, but Joey didn’t move. She seemed uninterested in the screams and potential threats going on around us.
Jessica sensed it first. She dropped down and swiped Joey’s feet out from underneath her.
She hit the ground with a heavy oomph but bounded up seconds later. “You’re gonna regret that.”
A crowd of people swarmed toward the open field we used as a parking lot. I tried to reach out to Jacob but Joey leaping at Jessica knocked my thoughts out like marbles.
Joey’s face contorted into a lycan. Red eyes. Fangs. The entire she-bag. Jessica seemed irritated but didn’t flinch.
Joey, she said into the mind link.
Seth came out of nowhere and hosed Joey down, making her angry. She turned and snapped at Seth while slowly shifting. She began to flinch and jerk around until she went completely silent on the ground.
“Is she alive?’ Jessica dropped down beside her.
Her body began to rise and fall evenly.
“She’s fine, we need to find Jacob," I said.
I grabbed the back of her T-shirt and helped her up. The scene unfolding was torn from a horror movie.
Lycans maneuvered around the rides and booths while chasing civilians. Jacob’s howl called to my wolf from the top of the fairground sheds.
I glanced at Seth and Jessica.
Our plan had been made for us. We were shifting in front of everyone.