“Told me if I didn’t follow orders…” His voice broke slightly. “Kai would be killed.”
I was on my feet before I even realized I’d moved. The chair scraped loudly against the floor.
“So the day my team and I met you—” I couldn’t finish my sentence, because I already knew the truth.
Mason looked up at me. Tears gathered in his eyes, unshed but close enough to wreck something in my chest. “I was a plant.”
The words were quiet, but they hit like a punch.
“Daniel wanted me to make contact with your pack,” Mason said.
Everything in me snapped tight. Anger surged up, hot and immediate. I turned away from the table, dragging a hand through my hair, trying to burn it off before it got out of control.
All this time, every moment and word. Were they all lies? Could Mason be that good of an actor?
“Levi…” Mason said softly behind me.
I couldn’t look at him.
“I need some air.” The words came out sharper than I intended.
I didn’t wait for a response, I just moved. The back door slammed open under my hand, cold air rushing in as I stepped outside. The chill hit me hard. It grounded me, but it was not enough.
I paced once across the small stretch of yard, my breath coming faster than it should’ve been. A plant. He was sent here, to us, to me. Dane was right. The thought made my jaw clench.
Dane was always the one who saw things clearly when I got too close. My wolf snarled, because it didn’t want to hear that, and refused to accept it.
The memories Mason and I created together, the way he looked at me when we were in bed together…that wasn’t fake. It couldn’t be. Could it?
I heard light and hesitant footsteps behind me.
“Mason,” I said without turning.
I could feel him there, standing so close my wolf wanted to turn, to close the distance, fold him into an embrace and kiss him. To tell him we could move past this somehow, someday.
Trust could be rebuilt, but no, not yet.
“Levi?” His voice was softer now, careful. “I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to…”
He trailed off. Something in my chest twisted. I turned then.
“What?” I demanded, the edge still there, still sharp. “What didn’t you mean to do?”
His eyes met mine, and for a second everything else faded.
Because there was nothing fake in that look, nothing calculated. Mason was genuinely scared, but there was another emotion there. My heart raced.
“I never meant to fall in love with you,” he said quietly. “Or with your pack.”
The anger in me stuttered. That I believed. Damn it, I believed him. I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling hard.
“You expect me to just what? Accept that?” I said, my voice rough. “You were sent here to infiltrate us, Mason. To earn our trust.”
“I know,” he muttered.
“You lied to me,” I reminded him.
“Yes.”
