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I open my mouth, fully prepared to point out that I’m not exactly in a position to trust strangers. Instead, the words disappear into thin air as Mason grabs my elbow and spurs me forward alongside him.
Nervous energy flutters in my stomach as he leads me out of the Pack House. The sun is setting, and it won’t be long before the land is shrouded in darkness. The Sovereign Pack is old school. No street lights come on at night. No lights on the outside of houses. When the sun goes down, shifters either go hunting or go to bed.
“I’m really confused. What’s going on?” I ask as he leads me away from the center of the small pack town. I can’t imagine the Luna of Cupid’s Pack would send her own mate to do me any harm.
Mason doesn’t respond, which does nothing to quell my growing nerves.
My stomach lurches uneasily as we head closer and closer to the edge of Sovereign Pack territory. The pack lands here aren’t huge. The Sovereign Pack shifters are a small but fiercely protective group.
Mason finally answers me as we slow near the territory line. “My mate has a soft spot for the underdog stories. Try to keep an open mind, but if you need an out, the safe word is squash.”
“Safe word?” What the hell?
“Yeah, squash. As in, if all of this goes terribly wrong, Alpha Waverly will squash me like a fucking bug. No worries! I’ve got a safe word too. Quinn likes my pretty face too much to let Waverly destroy it.”
Mason draws us to a full stop mere inches from the boundary line. I pull my arm out of his grip and put some precious space between us. My heart pounds like mad in my chest.
Regardless of what Waverly thinks about me, I’m not a troublemaker. The rules have been clear since the day I arrived. The Luna Sovereign doesn’t leave the pack territory on her own.
“Hey, it’s okay. The boundary is right here. I’m not trying to make trouble for you, I promise.” Mason points down at the exact spot where the Sovereign Pack’s territory ends. That invisible line was drilled into me the day I arrived. I could find it with my eyes closed.
“Then what’s going on?” I’m already starting to turn, ready to bail on whatever this is. I have a bad feeling. The kinder members of the pack have been encouraging me to really trust my gut, and now seems like the perfect time to put that lesson into practice.
I’m already moving when Mason releases a sigh of relief and says, “Here he is.”
This is exasperating. “Who?” I’ve always been so patient, but as I whirl around to face him again, my patience is wearing thin.
A figure steps out from the shadow of the woods.
My heart leaps into my throat as a man walks into view, his mouth set in a grim line. I reel back several steps, keeping the distance between us as this new man steps forward.
I glance at Mason, expecting him to feel the same alarm that I’m feeling, but that’s ridiculous. He brought me here. He saidhim. He knew this guy was waiting out in the shadows like a creep.
I can smell the shifter on him, so I know he’s one of us, but otherwise there’s something about him that repels me.
He stops, his mouth turning down into a full-on snarl. I’m not sure why he’s the one that looks upset when I’m the one being ambushed. I shoot Mason an accusatory glare, and he turns toward me just in time to catch it.
“Hey, no. I think you’re getting the wrong idea here.” Mason holds his hands up, the universal sign for looking non-threatening. There’s something else, though. His eyes dart between the other shifter and I as if he’s expecting me to do anything besides flee. Maybe if he actually explained what’s going on…
“Where the fuck are you going?” The unfamiliar shifter—who still hasn’t been introduced properly—takes a few long strides until he’s standing just outside Sovereign Pack territory.
Mason grimaces. “Paxton—“
“Tasha?” The shifter, Paxton, tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me like he’s sizing me up.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” I say slowly, taking more steps backward. I’m not willing to risk putting my back to either of these shifters. If this Paxton character knows my name, it must be because the announcement is out there.
Best case scenario, these guys just wanted to lay eyes on the new Luna Sovereign for themselves. Worst case scenario…
I don’t want to think about the worst case scenario.
“Uh.” Mason gives Paxton a dirty look and then starts to follow my retreat. “Quinn thought you were the real deal.” His voice has lowered, and he suddenly doesn’t seem so boyish and charming. He also sounds awfully accusatory. Like maybe whatever Paxton is planning isn’t what Mason was planning.
This is giving me a headache. I should have stayed at the Pack House. I know better than this.
My wolf lets out a low whine, startling me so badly that I somehow lose my balance and start to fall. Paxton jerks as if he wants to leap toward me, but it’s Mason who closes the distance and catches my arm just before I fall.
I’ve had a hard time talking to my wolf since losing my mate. She’s there, but quiet. The fact that she’s whining for me now only makes me more certain that I’m flirting with danger out here. If I weren’t so scared, I would try to communicate with my wolf and see what exactly has prompted her to come back to me.
