Chapter Six
Mason roared. He tried to contain his rage, but the shift overtook him. If the man beneath him hadn’t been his father, he’d be dead already. He’d never felt as enraged and scared as he had when he his father grabbed Sebastian by the neck.
“Don’t move,” he growled and stood, leaving his father on the floor. He let his shift recede, and so did his father.
“Don’t give me orders, boy.” His father got to his feet despite Mason’s warning.
Mason let some of his shift take over and put his hand around his father’s neck same as he’d done to Sebastian. “You don’t get it. You have no authority here. I could snap your neck for any one of the transgressions you’ve committed tonight, and, as beta, I would be seen as doing my job.”
“Stop!” his mother screamed from behind him.
He looked over his shoulder but didn’t let go. “And why, exactly, should I do that?”
“Because he’s your father. He loves you.”
He let go of his father and gave all his attention to his mom. “You goddamn could have fooled me. If he loved me, if you both loved me, you wouldn’t care who I dated. You’d be happy I found someone to love.”
His mom opened her mouth to say something, but a knock at the door stopped her. Mason ran to open it, hoping Sebastian had come back.
“What are you doing here?” He didn’t mean to sound so annoyed, but Garth hadn’t been who he’d wanted to see standing in the hallway.
“Glad to see you, too, bro.”
He stepped aside and motioned for Garth to enter. “Sorry, man, it’s been a stressful night.”
“No worries. That’s why I’m here.”
“Really.” Mason shut the door behind Garth. “How did you find out?”
“Madame Eve gave Nick a heads up, and he told me you’d be needing my help.”
Mason wanted to kiss Madame Eve.
“So what’s the problem?”
He pointed at his parents. “Them.”
Garth looked between them, with a wide-eyed look. “Mr. and Mrs. Taylor.”
“Alpha,” his parents chorused.
Mason choked back a laugh barely in time to stop it from escaping. He’d never seen either of his parents look so submissive.
“So, Mason, what did they do?”
“A few things…but the transgression requiring your attention is my father revealed himself to a human without seeking permission.” Even though Garth was now mated to a human and the pack rules governing relationships were a lot more relaxed, a shifter still couldn’t reveal himself without showing just cause and getting the alpha’s approval.
“Well, there is obviously a bit more to this story, so please explain.”
He didn’t really want to tell his best friend the whole story, but it would come out eventually. So he spilled the details as he knew them.
“Well, that’s disappointing,” Garth said when he’d finished, turning his attention to his parents. “You two should know better and think yourselves lucky I care about Mason and know hurting you would hurt him as much. So, instead of doing what I’d like and banning you from pack lands and forcing you to live among those you so obviously despise, I’m going to ban you from all pack activities for twelve months. Get out of my sight.”
His parents didn’t so much as blink but nodded and headed for the door. He wanted to feel something…anything, but he simply wanted them gone.
“You okay?” Garth asked the moment the door clicked closed.
He collapsed onto the end of the bed, his head in his hands. “Yeah, I guess so.”
