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“What makes you think it’s your decision, Mason? You aren’t the only pack involved here. You know why we step in better than anyone.”
Mason opened his mouth. He was likely to say a few things that he would regret later when he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. His body surged with a powerful current as his head automatically swung toward the pull.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Ash said, walking up to the two of them on the sidewalk.
“What are you doing here?” he snapped.
Ash looked stern and ignored his inquiry, directing her attention to Evie and applying a soothing tone.
“There isn't anything to find out just yet, so why don’t we just let the pack discuss things, and they can all get back to you? As soon as we know anything, we will be right on it.”
Evie still had her arms folded. Her eyes moved between Ash and Mason.
“That’s fine. You should heed the advice of your wolf here, dear Mason. Aggression doesn't get you anywhere.”
Evie walked off, leaving Mason with clenched fists and an expression of utter indignation.
Ash imitated the motion of wiping her hands clean, then met Mason’s glare. “What?”
“You didn't answer my question,” he said quietly.
“Why am I here? To help you, of course. You obviously needed it.”
Mason wasn’t in the mood for flirty semantics. He had to stay focused. He kept his eyes on her, and her bright expression began to waver. She touched his wrist, which jolted the alpha for a moment.
She gazed around, seeming to see if anyone was listening. Then she whispered cautiously.
“I need to learn to deal with these kinds of things too. Especially since I’m your mate. So give it a rest, okay?”
Mason didn’t have time to respond. His jaw fell open, and his heart began to punch against his rib cage. She let him go and spun around, moving in the direction where Evie had gone.
Did this mean she was accepting the pull?
SEVEN
ASH
Mason’s eyes tracked Ash as she stepped away from him. She’d long gotten used to the feeling of being watched. Working undercover as she did with the type of people and shifters she encountered, you either developed that sense or your days were numbered. His attention sent off a different sort of sensation, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.
Evie kept glancing past her as she approached. The face of Ash’s best friend and frequent collaborator gave nothing away, as always. She was too professional to let that slip in front of suspects like Mason and his people, but Ash knew she’d seen something noteworthy, something new and unique.
This wasn’t the first time Evie interacted with Ash while she was undercover on assignment. Had Mason been any other suspect, Ash wouldn’t have worried about her friend playing her part with perfection. That damned mate bond threatened to turn this encounter into a disaster. The direct route usually worked in these situations.
“I’m Ash,” she began, voice powerful and tone professionally detached. “Female Alpha of Mason’s pack.”
“Female Alpha?” Neither Evie’s voice nor expression changed at the revelation, but this close to her, Ash scented her best friend’s surprise. “Our records indicated that the pack alpha was unattached.”
“Seems your records need updating, but that’s not my concern, is it? I want to know what happened here.”
The slightest hint of a smile threatened to take hold of Evie’s lips but manifested into an upward tick of the corner of her mouth before they settled flat as ever. Her eyes darted past Ash and then back. For a long moment, the friends held an impromptu staring contest.
Ash understood Evie’s unsaid concerns. She’d spent way too much time considering them herself after her unexpected bond with Mason. It put a monumental wrinkle into the investigation and a question mark on her own objectivity. Mates stick by their partners, period. Would Evie consider her undependable now?
“Why don’t you ask your mate what happened?”
Evie’s voice remained professional, but Ash heard the crowbar hidden in her best friend’s words. She wanted to test Ash’s bond with their main suspect and see if she could pry them apart. Ash’s wolf hovered near the surface at the thought of showing disloyalty. She reined the beast in but showed her teeth.
This wasn’t just a gossip session between best friends. It wasn’t even their all too common “pretend we are meeting for the first time” undercover conversation because Mason was far from their usual suspect, and Ash knew for a fact he was listening to them intently.
