Page 94 of Poet & Protector

Mason turned to me for help.

“Ansel.” I spoke as gently as I could. “Don’t you think Ren would have kept Efron away from Sabine if he could? Logan is a Keeper. We’re Guardians. Alphas have to follow the Keepers’ orders, too.”

“But…” Ansel fisted his hands. “We have to do something.”

“We will,” I told him, ignoring the warning gaze Mason leveled on me. “We can’t directly disobey any orders Logan gives, but that doesn’t mean we won’t find a way around them. We need to be careful and smart about this, but we’re going to keep Mason safe without getting the alphas involved. I swear, Ansel.”

“Good.” Ansel nodded. “Yes. I swear, too.”

“Nev,” Mason growled. “This isn’t helping.”

I smiled gently at Ansel. “You should go to class. We’re not going to solve the problem right now. And Mason will be okay.”

“Will you?” Ansel asked Mason.

Mason unhappily took in Ansel’s freshly optimistic expression but nodded. “Thanks for helping me and for getting Nev here.”

“See you at lunch?” Ansel asked. He was smiling at us, but an anxious glint remained in his irises.

“Yes.” Mason was suddenly smiling, too, a genuine smile that startled me. “You’re in for a treat.”

“Did your mom make chocolate cupcakes?” Ansel exclaimed. “I love those cupcakes.”

“It’s better than cupcakes,” Mason answered in a sly voice.

A sneaking suspicion crept up the back of my neck.

“Really? Wow.” Ansel grinned at him, then glanced at his phone. “Oh man, Mr. Nguyen is going to be really annoyed I’ve missed this much of first period. I think we had a quiz today. It’s probably good that I missed it. I didn’t get any studying done yesterday.” He looked at Mason. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” Mason told him. “I promise. Go apologize to Mr. Nguyen and schedule your make-up quiz.”

Ansel nodded, gave me a little wave, and left the bathroom.

Mason turned to me, frowning. “You shouldn’t have done that. Logan won’t⁠—”

“You can’t take away his hope, Mason,” I said, cutting him off. “Or mine.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but then he sighed. “Fine…but don’t…Please don’t do anything reckless. Either of you.”

“I won’t let Ansel get hurt,” I promised. “Whatever happens, I’ll make sure of that.”

Mason frowned again, not missing the fact that I’d made the promise about Ansel, but not myself.

I moved closer, waiting for him to give a signal he wanted to be touched. He stepped into me and I wrapped my arms around him. Mason tucked his head beneath my chin, resting his cheek against the hollow of my throat. I brushed my lips over the soft hair at his crown. We stood like that for a long time, breathing quietly.

“What can I do?” I asked him.

It wasn’t for me to decide what happened now. If Logan made another move, I’d reassess and go from there. But Mason needed to be in control of what we did as mates; too many choices had been taken from him.

Mason lifted his head and stepped back. I released him with not a little reluctance.

“The best way to help me is to take my mind off all of this,” Mason said. “Fortunately, I can tell you exactly how you’re going to do that.”

I raised an eyebrow at him because his eyes were alight with mischief.

“You lost a bet.”

“Ansel and Bryn,” I muttered. “Seriously? We made that bet three days ago.”