“Hey, Cassie,” he said, and I bit back my correction. I just hated the casualness he thought he could speak to her. Annoyance sparked through me as Mason crouched down to Cassie’s height. Seeing them like that sent me reeling, and I wanted to snatch her away from him. It was too much, seeing them so like one another, none of them knowing who the other was. “It was scary, right? Seeing all those bad guys out there?”
Cassie nodded silently.
“They were big, weren’t they?”
Again, Cassie nodded. “I don’t want to see them again.”
“And you won’t have to unless you want to be introduced,” he said, surprising me. “That’s my promise to you. And you see that cool guy behind you? Uncle Jackson is going to keep you safe. I will, too. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “But what about Mommy? Will you protect her from them, too?”
My heart cracked, both at Cassie worrying about me and because Mason had never once protected me from the pack.
“Trust me, those guys know not to get on the bad side of your mom.”
I almost rolled my eyes at that. I didn’t need to be portrayed as the hero; I just wanted to keep my daughter safe. But I was glad Mason didn’t say he’d protect me. I wouldn’t trust him to.
“Your uncle and I will never let anything happen to you,” Mason swore, holding Cassie’s eyes. He held out a fist for her to bump hers against. Panic surged through me. I knew his instincts would tell him something, but I could only hope his confusion held out long enough for me to figure out a sure way out of here.
Mason will find out the truth soon enough, and I was nowhere near ready.
I didn’t want Cassie to be part of this world. I didn’t want her involved with Mason, whether she was entitled to know him or not. He was cruel, and I had no reason to think he’d changed.
“Kiddo, let’s head up,” Jackson prompted. “Hey, that reminds me. Mrs. Kingsley at the general store has a daughter your age. You two could be buddies, huh?”
“Sure,” she muttered. “This birthday sucks.”
I pulled her to me for a moment, crouching before her. I was too aware of how my thighs pressed against my jean seams, how my stomach relaxed against the button, too aware of it all beneath Mason’s scrutiny. “Baby, listen to me. We’re going to have a do-over for your special day, and we’ll get thebiggestcake ever. I’ll buy you more dancing shoes, and I’m sure you’dlove to celebrate with Uncle Jackson, right? It’ll be a little late, but it only meansdoublethe cake.”
At that, her eyes brightened as she nodded. “I didn’t have any friends in White Bay. I’d like one.”
“Then how about we get you settled so we can go out?”
Cassie nodded enthusiastically before reaching for Jackson’s hand. “Ready!”
The two of them headed upstairs, and too late, I realized I should have followed them. I hovered in the hallway with Mason as I stood up. He was on his feet again, and seemed not to know what to do around me as much as I didn’t around him.
The tension momentarily dispelled from focusing on Cassie returned, and I couldn’t stop feeling so attuned with how close we stood, how much space I took up, how I looked, how—
Stop it,I told myself mentally. I did not need to reduce my confidence around Mason. Not now. Not when it had been seven—
“It’s going to be okay.” Mason’s voice cut through my thoughts. I could barely meet his eyes and only swallowed, shifting my weight. “And… Bryce, don’t listen to what anyone in the pack says about you. I wish I hadn’t listened all those years ago. I should have made my own decision about you without their judgment. Without anyone’s judgment.”
I spun to him, a question of what he meant on my lips, but Mason was already slipping out of the front door, leaving me with my confusion.
Chapter 6 - Mason
The evening air was balmy, pressing down on me as I jogged alongside Jackson. Sweat slicked down my back, and I breathed heavily, having pushed myself harder than I usually did, but I didn’t care. I needed the fresh air; I needed a clear head, and I’d run through the forest for as long as it took to find that.
Next to me, Jackson ran, a stern look on his face. It was his focused look, one I had come to know well since growing up together.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked, as we began along an inclined path. Honeycreek was an utter woodland surrounding a small town, and patrol rounds weren’t unusual, but I’d doubled up on them ever since the demons—Djinn—had begun to attack.
So far, they’d hit the bookstore, the museum, and the local diner, and I wanted no more places attacked. Given the frequency of their attacks, it was a far-fetched thought, but I had the teams to fight the devastation they wrought.
Because I was realizing now, with Bryce’s insistence, that these creatureswerebehind the attacks, and part of me was ashamed that it had taken Bryce being targeted to realize that.
“My sister,” Jackson answered. “I don’t get why the demons have targeted her. I mean, I get Honeycreek. There’s a large pack presence, and they might think they can win against us. I just don’t like not knowingwhy.”
