+Chapter 44+

“She’s twenty-one?” Mari said with blatant interest, “So am I! What a coincidence that we’d be the same age.”

Mason glanced at her to see that her expression matched the excitement in her voice. He had read through her file and although it felt invasive, it was his job so he knew more about her than even she did. “Really?” He lied through his teeth, although he had mentioned his sister’s age on purpose knowing that they were the same age.

“Yeah,” Mari trailed off, her excitement dissipating.

“I’m pretty sure she’d like to meet you… If you want that, that is.” He focused on the hallways again, “Maybe you could get better fashion advice from her.”

Mari laughed freely, feeling like the weight on her shoulders had gotten a bit lighter, “What do you mean? I like your fashion advice just fine.”

She wouldn’t have predicted that Mason would offer to let her meet his sister, it was nice to be treated like a normal person but she wasn’t sure she wanted to see Haley. Her heart was still tender, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take that risk.

Mason picked up on this and didn’t offer the invite again, he could guess that she was wary of someone else finding out that she was a half witch. He had picked up on that the very first time they met.

What Mari didn’t know yet was that his sister was obsessed with witches. As a hobby, she had studied as much as she could on them and was planning to write a book. She had a lot of strong opinions about witches that most would disagree with but she was headstrong.

She was the reason he had such an open curiosity about witches instead of the deep-seated terror that most werewolves had. And from what he had learned from an actual witch so far, they were just average people.

He hadn’t told Haley about Mari as that wasn’t allowed but he knew that Mari would tell Haley herself the moment they met, mostly because Haley would be talking nonstop about witches.

He held open the door for her out of habit, nothing more and Mari was just glad to see that things were kind of going back to normal between them. Although maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to judge merely at face value. Mason might have just been in a terrible mood and it probably had nothing to do with her…

It was just that after years of wondering why no one wanted her around, it was kind of cathartic to be given an answer. Even if the answer was that she was the problem; though she shouldn’t let it affect new relationships with people who wanted to be around her even after knowing what she was.

She got in, Mason closing the door behind her, before going around to get in the driver’s side. On his way there, his phone rang, making him slow down as he reached into the pocket of his jacket to get it.

Mari could make out the conversation but from the solemn look on his face, she wondered if it had something to do with the Shadow. She didn’t have to ponder too long because Mason filled her in as soon as she got in the car.

“King Kade and King Lucien are already waiting for us, they’ll get rid of everyone to keep your identity a secret.” He reassured her, driving out of the tall gates.

Mari let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in, not sure of what to expect.

“Mason?” She called out after they drove in companionable silence for a few minutes.

Mason’s response was a hum, one he gave without taking his eyes off the road.

“What do Shadows look like?”

Now Mason looked at her, his dark green eyes filled with understanding. “Nothing pretty,” He started bluntly, making Mari snort.

“That’s not surprising,” She countered, less strung out by that joke.

Mason hummed thoughtfully like he was trying to figure out the best way to describe the creature to her, “It’s like a monster standing on its hind legs, only that said monster is covered in black leathery skin, is over seven feet tall and has fangs and claws the length of a person’s wrist.”

Mari turned a little green at this graphic description, “I should have been satisfied with the first description.”

Mason chuckled, “You asked,” He reminded dryly, making a turn.

Mari hadn’t been to the capital ever since she arrived at Wolfden, as a matter of fact, this was the furthest she had been from the palace. She absently wondered if she could get to explore the capital even a little if she met up with Haley, maybe they could go to a cafe and talk about nothing like friends did.

“We’re here,” Mason’s voice pulled her out of her wishful thoughts, making her glance up at the building they were parked in front of.

It was a really large warehouse and if she had been paying attention to the road, she would have noticed all the signs warding people off from this area. She wondered though what they would need to store in the large warehouse deep in the woods.

She got out of the car before Mason could get to her, her hazel eyes fixed on the brown brick building. She waited for Mason to take the lead, following after him.

Her heart sped up as she neared the entrance for two different reasons. One was the literal nightmare she was supposed to be killing and the second was the two werewolf Kings.

Lucien and Kade didn’t even factor in because the moment she stepped in, all she could see was a writhing mass of darkness held down by enormous chains.

Mari paused at the entrance, her eyes fixed on the Shadow. Even Mason’s graphic descriptions couldn’t have prepared her for the monster. It was surprisingly silent for a monstrous creature, beady black eyes focused as it kept trying to break free from its bonds.