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“Ten. It’s 9:58 now,” Sally replied.
“Good. Let’s park nearby.”
They stopped near the woods connected with the meadow. They crept out into the dim sunlight, with Ash and Mason at the center, while Sally, Jeff, and Arthur protected them from both sides. They were his most trusted confidantes outside of Derek. But he was still nowhere to be found.
Florence had been too afraid to actually show up to the meeting, which Mason understood. She had a lot to lose, her mother’s health included. The five shifters moved along the edges of the canopy where the meadow broke away, waiting for the Puppeteer and a few henchmen likely accompanying him.
Mason was crouched behind bushes when he spotted a shadow arching up the hill in the distance. It was difficult to see who it was as the fog was growing thick, but once the Puppeteer emerged, there was no doubt as to who had placed the dagger directly through his heart.
Mason’s mouth went dry, and his blood ran cold. Ash was crouched next to him, and they both stiffened at the same time.
He would have recognized that beard from any distance. He loomed, imposing, standing taller than he had ever seen him before.
It was Derek. Derek was the Puppeteer.
“Son of a bitch,” Mason snarled.
Ash did not try to hold him back. It was one of the many reasons why he loved her. She was a shifter, which meant sheunderstood shifter emotions. His were turned up, like throwing gasoline onto a fire.
She simply encouraged him, snarling back her own response.
“Let’s get that fucker.”
All five of them emerged from the woods and made the steady climb toward the meadow. Derek had his own people on hand, all of whom Mason recognized and once trusted. Two women and two men, progressing toward his mate and enforcers, ready for battle.
“You sly bastard,” Mason said, gritting his teeth once they were within earshot.
Derek did not look bewildered to see them. He simply smiled that charming grin. It irked Mason to no end that he wasn’t caught off guard.
“God, I was hoping that you would figure it out eventually,” Derek said, bringing prayer hands up to his lips. “It was really starting to rag on me to betray you so smoothly. I’m sorry your heart is so sore.”
Derek motioned a dagger to the chest, then began to cackle. His henchmen did the same, and Ash began to growl.
“I see you’ve got your woman here,” Derek said, pacing closer. “You really threw a wrench into the mix of all this, do you know that?”
“I should use a wrench on your skull,” Ash hissed.
Derek cackled again. Mason remained motionless, knowing that both Ash and his enforcers would not attack until they were given the word. Derek gazed at Mason, his gray eyes looking far more dead than ever.
“Why?” Mason implored. “Why do all this to make me look like an incompetent, ruthless leader? What’s your end goal?”
Derek rolled his tongue across his teeth, then lifted his head toward the sky. Mason couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into that neck.
“Youarean incompetent leader. Don’t you get it? You are a fucking wolf, man. You act like you are running a sorority house. You are supposed to be ruthless and cruel. How else are you going to get to the top of the food chain? Your talk of peace would only destroy us.”
Mason shook his head vigorously. “You know that those kinds of leaders get nowhere in the long run. You have become everything we both set out to never be. You are beyond disappointing.”
Derek laughed, bending over to clench his gut. The mockery was only fueling Mason’s fire.
“That really hurts. Well, it won’t hurt long … for me. Unfortunately for you, it just might.”
Suddenly, something emerged from the fog. It was a shifter, a wolf with gray and black spots on its fur. It moved past Mason’s vision, his gaping jaws drooling as it viciously bit down on Ash’s leg. Her screech of agony was high-pitched and surreal, sure to haunt every single one of Mason’s nightmares.
“Ash!”
Derek and his men shifted quickly, as did Mason and his men. The shifter who had cowardly gone for Ash’s leg was thrashing about as she transformed, too, then shook him away easily. Mason wanted to go to her, the sight of the glossy blood filling him with alarm.
Go! Don’t worry about me!she roared through their shared telepathic shifter link.
