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Not for the first time, I wonder how Tess is handling my absence. Especially in light of this news. I know there are some shifters that daydream about being the Luna Sovereign when they’re younger, but Tess and I were never like them. We never craved notoriety, only stability.
After our parents left, things were chaotic at first as Tevin and I tried to settle into a routine of raising Tess and keeping the household afloat. Even now, there’s a pang in my chest when I remember how much we struggled those first few years trying to get it right.
At least my sister finally found her stability with her mate. I would have chosen someone quieter for her… an Alpha more like Callum, if I had a choice. But I won’t turn up my nose at the way Dominic loves my sister. He watches her so closely it’s like he can’t take his eyes off of her. He goes out of his way to touch her and not leave her side unless it’s necessary. He looks at Tess like she single-handedly hung the moon, love shining through his intense eyes.
It reminds me of the way Jimmy loves me.
Loved.
Past tense.
I jerk my chin down and force a smile when I realize Lydia and our guest are both waiting for me to say something while I’ve been lost in thought.
“Sorry, she let me know you would be taking over the lessons today, but I got caught up in the garden.” I offer a more genuine smile as I think about the way the back garden has flourished since I got here.
It was a little forgotten since it’s so close to the edge of the pack property line. The weeds were a pain the first few weeks, but I painstakingly pulled them all by hand, and now my little section of garden has started to bring the pack members out to admire it.
It’s been my only real source of pride since I showed up here. I second-guess a lot of things, but my green thumb isn’t one of them. I’m good at baking, too, but there hasn’t been much opportunity for that here.
Gardening is the only thing my mother really gave me that means anything to me—besides my siblings. I inherited that love from watching her maintain the yard of our childhood home. She treated the plants with so much love. Some days, I think I wanted to be those plants so she would give me half as much attention. I’m sure that explains why I took to gardening, desperate for my mother’s attention.
“Tasha really enjoys the gardens here,” Lydia explains unnecessarily. She seems uncomfortable with the male from Cupid’s Pack. “Tasha, meet Mason. He’s a… He’s from Cupid’s Pack.”
Mason stands up and offers me his hand, a wide smile spreading across his face. “I’m one of Luna Quinn’s mates. It confuses people that none of us have taken an Alpha title. It’s nice to finally meet you, Tasha.”
“You as well.” I take his offered hand, not at all put off by his words. I’ve heard the stories about Cupid’s Pack. Those that are supportive teasingly refer to Luna Quinn’s mates as Cupid’s Harem. I think it’s cute. It stirs a longing in my chest knowing that no matter what happens, she’ll never have to be alone. I envy that greatly.
He winks and turns to pull a chair out for me. If all of Quinn’s mates have manners like this, I especially don’t blame her for keeping all of them.
I slip into the chair and clasp my hands on top of the antique wood table. I can imagine this table’s been here for as long as the Sovereign Pack has claimed this land. All of the furniture here is like that. Dated, but well-loved so nothing is falling apart.
I kind of like the idea that the furniture has always been here. Witnessing the natural changes of time. Eavesdropping on the lives of the most enigmatic pack that exists in this country.
I’m sure there are people who would kill to hear this table talk. I turn my hands over and rest my palms on the dark, textured wood.
“Lydia, I hate to be a bother, but do you think I could get a cup of tea?” Mason’s nose wrinkles slightly as he says it, but Lydia doesn’t seem to notice as she jumps up with a sharp nod. I’m not sure why he would ask for tea when it’s obvious he doesn’t actually want it. It spikes my curiosity enough to not say anything.
“Of course! I’ll be right back.” She barely glances at me before fleeing the room in the direction of the kitchen.
My lips twitch with the oddity of her reaction. Then, Mason turns his body to more fully face mine, and I realize I somehow missed something very obvious.
Mason is devastatingly handsome.
With warm brown eyes and hair that falls almost boyishly over his forehead, he looks like he would be more at home on stage with a boy band than representing a shifter pack here for my Luna Sovereign lessons. Which probably explains Lydia’s reaction—as a member of the Sovereign Pack, she hasn’t been exposed to a lot of men, and surely to none as conventionally attractive as Mason.
He glances over as if making sure Lydia is out of hearing range and then lowers his voice. “I hate lying. I’m not here about prophecies. Those are Quinn’s thing, not mine. She would have been here today if she could, but it’s hard for her to travel without garnering too much attention.”
“Oh. That’s okay. The prophecies actually seem to be pretty popular around here, so I’m sure other people can help me study them. You didn’t have to come all this way. The fact that Quinn let Mason come in her place when he’s not familiar with the prophecies makes me think she sent him here purely out of curiosity. “ I’m not surprised Quinn would be curious to know more about me. She isn’t the first one to come fishing for details about me since the Luna Sovereign announcement, and I’m sure she won’t be the last.
Mason stands up and leans around the doorway to look the way Lydia disappeared. “Can you come with me?” he asks casually, as if he’s not a complete stranger and can be trusted implicitly.
“Where? I’m not supposed to leave the property without an escort.” An overbearing rule, but I would hate to deal with Waverly if she knew I broke it. Still, for some reason, his enthusiastic nature has me standing up like I’m really considering joining him.
“We won’t leave the property. Promise. But we have to go before your babysitter comes back or we’ll spook him.” He crooks his fingers at me, encouraging me to come along with him, even though he offers no other information about his intentions.
“Spook who?” I take a couple hesitant steps closer. I really shouldn’t go anywhere with him. The common sense part of me knows better, but my curiosity seems to be overruling the more sensible part of me.
“Trust me.” He does that winking thing again, which seems even cheesier the second time. Still, there’s something intrinsically likeable about the man.
