After the days we’d had, I planned on an early night, curled up next to Cassie. There was something comforting in knowing I didn’t have to deal with the mess of my cottage in White Bay, but I would have done anything for Cassie. Still, the fact that she was safe and tucked up in bed, in a house prepared for her by her father, was strangely comforting.
“What are you thinking about?”
Mason’s voice tugged me from my thoughts. I sat next to him, dressed in his hoodie, but I had on some old running shorts underneath, forgoing his interrupted request while we were in the woods.
“Cassie,” I told him, my eyes lowered to the floor as I thought. “From the moment she was born, I knew I would havedone anything for her. Been anything, gone anywhere, burned down the world if it meant she was kept safe. At the time, I thought that meant from you, but I mean from everything. When that djinn attacked us… There was nothing more paralyzing than realizing I wouldn’t have been enough to save her. Not against the one in my cottage, and definitely not against the group of them in the woods.”
My eyes welled up as I looked at him.
“I’ve spent so long telling myself that I didn’t need you,” I whispered. “That Cassie didn’t. That even though there was a hole in my life, and in hers, and even though she asked more and more questions about your absence, I still remained stubborn because of how hurt I was. I figured it was best to adjust to that absence, telling myself I had made the choice so I wanted to stick with it, rather than ever wonder if you would ever turn her away, let your pack turn her away.”
“They wouldn’t,” he began to say, his voice roughening up.
“They would have,” I said gently. “Because she was mine, and they made their feelings about clear, over and over. They would have judged me at every step.”
“And Jackson and I would have beaten their asses to hell and back.”
“Not back then.”
Guilt flashed across his face. He could try to convince me all he wanted but we both knew the truth.
“Do you ever think you’ll hear the pack out?” he asked. “See how they’ve changed?”
“Are they all willing to apologize?” He went to open his mouth, but I cut him off. “Without you forcing them to.”
“Yes,” he said, his brows furrowed. “And if you’re willing to give them a chance, I’ve called a pack meeting above the museum tomorrow. You do not have to be there, but I would like you to be. It's your choice; I won’t force you.”
I fell silent, contemplative. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide now,” Mason assured me quickly. “I do want to ease your mind by swearing protection for you. I know the last time you saw me with the pack, it wasn’t a good memory—”
“It ruined my life,” I said harshly, immediately defensive.
“But this will be different,” he continued. “I swear it to you. On Cassie’s life, Bryce, I will protect you from them. I didn’t know you were at Harvey's that day when I told Freddie to show some respect. That wasn’t a one-off. Here.”
He dug out his phone, his thumb tapping into the screen, and turned it towards me, showing me a short thread of messages between himself and Theo. Theo, asking if Mason was sweet on me, Mason challenged it, demanding that he learn to have more respect. I swallowed. I truly thought it had been some form of performative thing, but if he was speaking like this, and it had been a few days ago, for nobody to see, that meant he was genuine.
“What if you run from me again?” I pressed.
“I won’t,” he swore.
“I can’t trust that yet.” I shrugged, grimacing. “What if it all floods back—that judgment from them, the worry you have of being overthrown as the alpha, the pressure you still put yourself under, and the expectation. What then? How do I guarantee you won’t do the same?”
“If you can’t trust my words, then I can’t decide for you,” he said gently. “You can stay here. I need to hold the meeting regardless, but it's your call.”
I had hidden in Jackson’s house as much as possible to avoid seeing the pack. That wasn’t exactly something I could do forever. The pack was a trigger for his old behavior, and I didn’t know if I could risk it.
I thought back to eating around Mason—how it had taken a lot of hesitation, but I’d done it, something I never thought I could.
He’d encouraged me, enjoyed watching me like the food.
“Do you trust them to be different?” I asked.
“Mostly.” I appreciated the honesty. “And the ones I don’t trust will listen to me.”
“Theo?” I guessed. He frowned, nodding.
“He challenges me most, but I think talk of what happened at the bakery got him. The two were close, and he knows I’d have him out just like I did with Freddie, if he keeps being disrespectful to my leadership, or to you.”
