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She felt the concern in his voice and knew where he was coming from. If it had been anyone else at any other time, she would have taken a shot at them right there, but Mason had asoothing effect on her. Plus, she couldn’t deny that the mating bond had a strong sway on her mood about his request as well.
He took her silence as hesitation.
“I don’t want you doing this alone. I’m not one to beg, but please. Let’s face this and all other things together as they come.”
She took another sip of her wine to push back the strong urge to tear up starting to form in her throat. She had a hard time dealing with how vulnerable he made her feel … but in a good way. And how easily slipping into a pack with him would be. It went against everything she had fought to believe about herself. But if anyone would sway her, it was him.
“I promise, Mason. No rogue shit. Pun intended.” She smiled to break the seriousness of the moment.
He smiled in return and seemed to relax a little. His hand dropped to her thigh as he took the remote and turned his attention back to picking out a movie for them.
Ash was now the one letting her eyes linger over her mate.
It was the first time that she looked forward to the team aspect of the job, but not only that. She liked the idea of having someone, having Mason, on her side through every step. It was a foreign feeling for her to want the company of someone, let alone an alpha.
She still couldn’t help but have her doubts about fully committing to him and becoming part of the pack, but the more she was with him, the more likely it seemed. And the less scared she got as long as she was in his presence.
“Do you want me to order us some food while you start a fire?” Ash asked, trying to distract herself from her twitter-pated thoughts.
“Absolutely.” He slapped her thigh and stepped over the table to start a fire in the stone hearth under the TV.
She bit her lip as she watched him bend over in front of her, admiring the tight ass he had.
“Are you gonna call?” He looked over his shoulder and gave her a smoldering smile.
“Oh, yeah!” Her face grew hot at being caught, but she quickly recovered and dialed the food services number. As she waited, she poured herself more wine to try to sedate her panting wolf that wanted to nip her mate everywhere, including his cute little ass.
SIXTEEN
MASON
Mason wasn’t paying attention to the movie whatsoever. It was a good idea to relax for the night, but the alpha was far more interested in getting to know the fine specimen that sat next to him.
He was exhausted thinking about the mess with the Puppeteer. It all felt so absurd to him. But being with Ash softened him. There was nothing else in the world that could bring him into a more restful state than his mate. He wanted to embrace it.
Ash had changed into comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt. He started the fire in the hearth while she had ordered delivery. They could have gone to his place … his bed was much larger and far more comfy … but there was something fun about having their own little nook, like their own sensual, sexy little secret.
The food arrived, and they ate ravenously after Ash chose an action thriller. He already liked her choice in movies, but the second the food was consumed, he inched in closer, wrapping his arm around the back of the couch.
She was effortlessly beautiful. Mason felt that to his core. No matter what she was wearing or not wearing, he wanted her profoundly.
Ash slurped the rest of the Greek food into her mouth. She looked up, smiling as she chewed.
“Hi, there,” he said with a sly grin.
“You are something else,” she muttered, wiping her mouth and placing the takeout container on the coffee table. “Can I help you with something?”
Mason was feeling playful. But he also genuinely wanted to know more about her.
“Tell me how you started working in the council,” Mason said, tilting his head. “It’s a very specific kind of job, especially for a shifter.”
She took a hesitant swallow, looking away just for a moment. Mason hoped he hadn’t hit some kind of nerve there. She had been sent on a mission to uncover his supposed aberrant and cruel behavior and had found her mate instead.
But beyond that, he wanted to know how she came to detest her natural inclination to stay in a pack. It wasn’t like he had never heard of any lone wolves before. They were usually alienated from the pack for one reason or another.
He needed to know her reason.
“It seemed like the right logical choice,” Ash replied, her body sinking into the couch. “I didn’t like being in the pack, as you know. There was so much bullshit going on there. It didn’t feel right.”
