Mason bit his lip. “I wouldn’t be too happy if I were you.There’s a healthy dose of bad news in there too, and yeah, it involves you.”
I frowned. “Me?”
“The part about us making promises to each other? They bought it. That’s why they’ve changed their mind about me marrying Jerome, but….” His gaze dropped to the floor.
My skin prickled.Uh-oh.“You’ve gotten this far. Don’t stop now. Gimme the bad news.”
“They’ve agreed we can be a couple, but…I have to be tied to you.”
“Wait. What?”
“You’ll become my dominant partner.”
I gaped at him. “No. No fuckingway. We did this so you wouldn’t be submissive toanyone.”
He raised his chin and I could see tears in his eyes. “It’s our way. Youhaveto understand, my position dictates I have a dominant partner. It’s not just a rule, it’s a necessity.”
My head was spinning. “Position? What the hell are you saying?”
He sighed and pointed to the armchair in the corner. “Have a seat, and I’ll do my best to explain.”
I plopped my ass on the chair, my mind muddled. None of this made sense to me. What made even less sense was when Mason knelt beside me.
I glared at him. “Dude, what thefuckare you doing?”
He smiled. “What’s expected of me. You are now my Dominant, so I have to bow to you in all things.”
Okay,nowI was pissed. “Get your ass up,” I hissed. “I amnotyour Dominant, I’m your best freakin’friend.”
He blinked slowly, ears glittering down his cheek. “Does it have to be one or the other?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Acid churned in my guts. “And why are you crying?” I’d never seen him cry. Ever.
He wiped his cheeks. “Because with you, I’ve always been able to rein in my emotions.” He pushed out a sigh. “It’ll beeasier if I explain things to you. Maybe then you’ll understand.”
“Well,someonebetter tell me what’s going on. Otherwise I’m gonna get real pissed off.”
Not like I wasn’t already. Seeing Mason, tears on his face, made me want to kill whoever had hurt him or made him feel like he was less than he was.
Mason swallowed. “Before I can tell you, I need you to make me a promise.”
I folded my arms and stuck out my chin. “Nope. No way. I’m not promisinganythinguntil I know what’s going on. I mean, look at you. You’re here, kneeling in front of me, tears in your eyes… This shit is not okay! So I won’t be saying yes without knowing what you’re expecting of me.”
“I understand.” He closed his eyes and drew in a breath, then opened them, his gaze locked on me. “You know I told you my people are religious?”
I nodded.
“Well, we have a hierarchy. We always know who is in charge, who serves, who… submits. John, the mayor? He’s our leader. Our… Alpha. Me? I’m the Omega… the servant.”
I leaped out of the chair. “What thefuckare you talking about? You areno one’s servant!”
He didn’t move, but stared up at me. “Do you remember that day in the cafeteria? When the guys were telling me to clear their table? If you hadn’t stepped in, I would have done it because it’s my place. Seeing you there, standing up to them, telling them no? That gave me the courage to stand up for myself. You helped make me what I am.”
“Nope, you can’t blame that mess on me.”
He gave me a sad smile. “Please, don’t play with me right now. My emotions are all over the place. I just lied to our leaders. John for us and Jerome’s dad for the others. I told them I was in love with you.” My breath caught, and he held his hand up. “Don’t worry, I’m not. They asked if I trustedyou, and I said yes without reservation.Thatis what’s allowing me to tell you the truth.” He took another deep breath. My people are Homo sapiens lycanthropus, or what humans refer to as… werewolves.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t be shocked anymore, Mase proved me wrong.
