Chapter 12 Found
I can't speak. Can't confirm or deny. I just stand there, frozen, as Damon stares at me with a mixture of shock and horror and something that might be pity.
"Does Mason know?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.
I shake my head.
"Does anyone know?"
Another head shake.
"Oh, Sage." He takes a step toward me, but I back away. I can't handle kindness right now. Can't handle sympathy. If he's nice to me, I'll completely fall apart.
"You can't tell him," I say, my voice steady despite my racing heart. "You can't tell anyone. Damon, please. I'm begging you."
"A baby." He's still processing, still trying to wrap his mind around this new information. "You're carrying Mason's baby and you're planning to run away alone. Do you understand how insane that is?"
"It's the only option I have."
"No." He says it firmly. "No, it's not. We'll figure this out. There has to be another way."
"There isn't." I'm crying again, tears streaming down my face. "Don't you see? If Mason finds out, he'll either force me to stay or accuse me of trying to trap him. And if Stella finds out... Damon, she'll kill me. She'll kill my baby. I know she will."
The kitchen door suddenly rattles. Someone is trying to open it from the outside.
Damon and I freeze, staring at each other in horror. The door is locked. We're trapped in here together in the middle of the night, having a conversation that could destroy everything.
"Damon?" Mason's voice comes through the door. "Are you in there? Why is the door locked?"
My blood turns to ice. Mason. Of course it's Mason.
Damon looks at me, a silent question in his eyes. What do we do?
I shake my head frantically, backing toward the far corner of the kitchen. Hide. I need to hide. But there's nowhere to go, nowhere that Mason won't see me the moment Damon opens that door.
"Just a second," Damon calls out, his voice admirably calm. He turns to me, whispers so quietly only my wolf hearing can pick it up. "Pantry. Now."
I don't argue. I slip into the walk-in pantry and pull the door almost closed, leaving just a crack to see through. My heart is pounding so hard I'm certain Mason will hear it when he enters.
Damon unlocks and opens the kitchen door.
"Sorry," he says to his brother. "I came down for a late-night snack and locked the door out of habit. What are you doing up?"
"Looking for you." Mason steps into the kitchen, and even through the small crack in the pantry door, I can see the suspicion on his face. "Stella said she heard voices down here."
Of course she did. Of course Stella was awake, was listening, was looking for a reason to cause trouble.
"Just me talking to myself," Damon lies smoothly. "Bad habit, I know."
Mason looks around the kitchen, his eyes scanning every corner. I hold my breath, pressing myself against the back wall of the pantry, praying he doesn't decide to check in here.
"Have you seen Sage?" Mason asks suddenly. "Stella thought she saw her heading downstairs earlier."
My blood runs cold. She knows. Somehow, Stella knows I was down here.
"Sage?" Damon's voice is carefully neutral. "No, why would Sage be down here in the middle of the night?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Mason moves further into the kitchen, and I can see him inhaling deeply, trying to catch a scent. "Stella's been concerned about her lately. Says she's been acting strange."
"Concerned?" Damon's tone suggests he doesn't believe that for a second. "Since when does Stella concern herself with Sage?"
"Since she's Luna and responsible for the wellbeing of all pack members." Mason's defense of his mate is automatic, unthinking. "If something's wrong with Sage, we need to know about it."
Through the crack in the door, I see Damon's jaw clench. He's thinking about everything I just told him. About the abuse. About Mason's dismissal when I tried to get help. About the baby growing inside me that Mason doesn't know exists.
"There's nothing wrong with Sage," Damon says carefully. "She's just adjusting to the changes in the pack."
"Hmm." Mason doesn't look convinced, but he also doesn't push. "Well, if you see her, let me know. Stella wants to talk to her about something."
I bet she does.
The brothers stand there for another moment, tension thick between them. Then Mason turns to leave.
"Mason?" Damon's voice stops him at the door. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Are you happy? With Stella?"
The question clearly catches Mason off guard. "What kind of question is that?"
"A genuine one." Damon's voice is soft. "You found your fated mate. That's supposed to be the greatest blessing a wolf can receive. So are you happy?"
For a long moment, Mason doesn't answer. I watch his face through the crack in the pantry door, watch emotions flicker across his features too quickly to identify.
"Yes," he finally says, but the word sounds hollow. "Yes, I'm happy."
It's a lie. Even I can hear it's a lie.
"Good," Damon says, and there's something sharp in his tone. "That's good, brother. I'm glad one of us got what they wanted."
Mason frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Go back to your mate, Mason. I'm sure she's waiting for you."
Mason looks like he wants to push further, wants to question what's really going on with his brother. But then he just shakes his head and leaves, closing the kitchen door behind him.
I wait in the pantry for a full minute after Mason's footsteps fade away, my whole body shaking. That was too close. Way too close.
When I finally emerge, Damon is sitting at the prep table with his head in his hands.
"He's lying," he says without looking up. "About being happy. I can always tell when Mason's lying."
"It doesn't matter if he's happy or not," I say quietly. "She's his mate. He chose her."
"Did he though?" Damon finally looks at me. "Or did the mate bond choose for him? Because from where I'm standing, it doesn't look like a choice. It looks like a prison."
The observation startles me. I've been so focused on my own pain, my own sense of betrayal, that I haven't stopped to consider whether Mason is truly happy with Stella. Whether the mate bond he claims is so perfect is actually everything he thought it would be.
But it doesn't change anything. Even if Mason is miserable, even if he regrets his choice, it's too late now. He's bound to Stella. And I'm carrying his child with no intention of ever telling him.
"I should go," I say, moving toward the door.
"Sage, wait." Damon stands, blocking my path. "We need to finish this conversation. About the baby. About your plans."
"There's nothing to discuss." I try to step around him, but he gently catches my arm.
"I can't let you leave the pack pregnant and alone. It's too dangerous."
"You can't stop me either."
"I could tell Mason." The words hang between us like a threat, even though I can see in Damon's eyes that he hates saying them. "I could tell him about the baby. About your plan to run. And then he'd make sure you couldn't leave."
My vision blurs with fresh tears. "You wouldn't."
"I don't want to," he admits. "But Sage, you're talking about taking my niece or nephew away. About raising my brother's child alone in the world. How can you expect me to just let that happen?"
"Because it's my choice!" The words come out louder than I intended. "This is my body. My baby. My life. And I'm choosing to leave before Stella destroys all three."
We stare at each other across the kitchen, locked in a battle of wills. Damon wants to do the right thing, but he's torn between different versions of what "right" means. Protecting me? Protecting the baby? Being loyal to his brother? Following pack law?
"I need to think," he finally says, releasing my arm. "This is too big for me to decide right now. Give me until tomorrow night. Meet me here again, same time. And we'll figure out a plan that keeps everyone safe."
It's not what I want. I want to run right now, tonight, before everything gets even more complicated. But Damon's right about one thing—running while pregnant with winter approaching is dangerous. Potentially fatal.
"Tomorrow night," I agree reluctantly. "But Damon? If you tell Mason before then, I'll disappear. I'll leave immediately and you'll never see me or this baby again. I mean it."