The Shifter's Gift

by Haley Weir

  When Mason returns, he is carrying multiple plates of hot food.

  “Mmm,” Charlotte responds, taking a whiff. “What is all this?”

  “Ma’am, may I interest you in the chef’s special tonight?” Masons asks, putting on a terrible French accent as he imitates a waiter at an upscale restaurant. “We’ll start you off with the house salad made with a homemade dressing and vegetables from the Bolt Castle gardens,” he mocks. Charlotte giggles at his commitment to the character, despite how ridiculous he sounds. “Next, we’ll have shrimp with a zesty cocktail sauce, followed by the main courses: salmon with a lemon garlic marinade and finally, filet mignon cooked to perfection,” Mason finishes.

  Charlotte gives him a quick round of applause. “You did all of this?”

  “I told you I am not bad in the kitchen,” replies Mason, returning to his regular voice, which is deep and sexy. It sounds like music to Charlotte’s ears. She could listen to him narrate anything, any menu or the most boring Wikipedia page.

  “You put so much planning into this,” comments Charlotte. “It looks delicious.” He removes the dishes from their tin foil trays and makes them each a plate. He quickly disappears and returns with a bottle of merlot.

  “When I care about something, I put my whole heart into it,” Mason says.

  “I like that,” she replies. She tastes a bite of the steak and it melts in her mouth. “Oh my gosh,” she groans, barely giving herself time to swallow. “You really do know your way around a kitchen. This is incredible.”

  “Thank you,” says Mason. “Listen, I hope I haven’t come off too strong. I know it all feels like it’s happening so fast, but…” he trails off.

  “But what?”

  “But, I really really like you. I like being around you. It feels...right. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  The butterflies act up yet again. She wants to tell him he doesn’t have to explain, because she feels it too. There’s a cosmic connection between them. But, she can’t let him know how she feels. Not yet. She made a deal with herself to take it slow and keep her guard up. Immediately reciprocating those feeling seems like self-sabotage. Sure, at night when Charlotte tries to get back to sleep after a crying Penelope wakes her, she imagines her life with Mason and a baby of their own. But, she knows these are just pipe dreams. Eventually this fantasy life will come to an end, whether she chooses to leave or Avery no longer needs her. To throw herself at Mason would provide instant gratification for sure, but she is looking out for herself in the long term.

  “Thanks, Mason,” is all she says. “I like being around you, too. You’ve been a really great friend to me since I got here.”

  Charlotte can’t believe she let the word “friend” slip into her reply like that. Then again, maybe it’s for the best if she keeps her boundaries very clearly defined.

  “Friend. Right,” says Mason, clearly disappointed. It’s like she punched him in the gut.

  “I mean, you are more than a friend to me,” continues Charlotte. “You’re the best,” she tries to backpedal, anything to return the glow to his face, but she’s only making it worse. “You’ve been like a best friend to me.” Great, she thinks to herself, much better.

  “Best friends,” repeats Mason, and Charlotte can’t read his face. He raises his wine glass. “To being best friends,” he says, and clinks his glass into hers.

  Charlotte smiles. Mason smiles back. It seems like he’s just fine calling them whatever she wants.

  Chapter 10

  After a night of fine dining out on Alexander Bay, Charlotte and Mason walk hand in hand back to the main entrance of the castle.

  “That was incredible,” Charlotte remarks. “If you ever want to cook for me again, I think I’ll allow it.”

  “So, would you say you’re...impressed?” inquires Mason. He squeezes her hand and she feels a jolt of electricity light up her entire body.

  “Yes, I’m impressed, Mason,” she answers, rolling her eyes playfully. If this is what being best friends with Mason would be like, she could get used to it.

  They reach the castle gates. To their surprise, they are greeted by Xander, Chris, Blake, Douglas, and Ethan. None of their partners are there. Charlotte takes a minute to really look at this group of men. She can’t wrap her mind around how, excluding Chris, they are all so incredibly tall and strong. They look like a football team. Ethan, Douglas, and Blake have similar facial structures, and seeing them next to each other really makes Charlotte notice the family resemblance.

  “Good evening, boys,” greets Mason, still very relaxed.

  “Sorry to ambush you like this, but we need to talk,” says Xander. “It’s important.”

  “Hi Charlotte,” Blake adds. The rest of the gang mumble their hello’s and wave. Charlotte’s heart begins to race. The sight of them all together with something important to talk about reminds her of the omnipresent danger that no one will talk directly about. She still does not buy Avery’s story about being targeted for a break in. She’s noticed the state of the art safety features. There’s no shortage of security cameras and motion detector alarms. Plus, the pure brute strength of the men of the house gives Charlotte a certain sense of security. Now, she is starting to think it is a false one.

  “Charlotte,” says Mason. “Why don’t you go inside? I’ll meet you upstairs.” He pulls her aside, and lowers his voice slightly. “I’m not...I just mean I don’t want the night to end so abruptly. Like this.”

  Charlotte’s face begins to feel hot. Maybe it’s the merlot, the feeling that her presence is unwanted, or the fact that they conversation is somehow about her, but she knows she needs to go.

  “Yeah, sure, Mason,” she says breezily. “Thanks for a great night.” Charlotte walks past the men and up the stairs towards Penelope’s room. Mason runs after her.

  “Wait,” he whispers softly. “I don’t want our night to end like this. I want to spend more time with you.”

  “Well, there are clearly more pressing matters at hand. Go handle whatever all that is about. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” Mason relents, his disappointment apparent.

  Charlotte climbs the stairs and walks past the room with the chains. She was so dazzled by Mason’s romantic evening that she didn’t get a chance to bring up her concerns about the room with the chains. When Charlotte reaches the top of the stairs, she realizes she can easily hear their conversation while remaining completely out of sight. She knows better than to eavesdrop, especially at the risk of hearing something she was not meant to hear. If she was supposed to know, they wouldn’t have asked her to leave. Plus, none of the other wives and girlfriends were present.

  She knows it’s none of her business, but she can’t bring herself to walk away. Charlotte is reminded of a sleepover in middle school with her best friend at the time, Lucy. When she stumbled upon Lucy’s diary, she knew better than to open it. But her curiosity got the best of her, and Charlotte found deeply upsetting entries about how Lucy only pretends to be her friend out of pity. What was Charlotte supposed to do? Leave the sleepover and never speak to Lucy again? She didn’t want to admit to reading the diary, so she rode out the rest of the slumber party with a lump in the back of her throat, counting down the minutes until her mom would pick her up.

  “We need to go get the rest from Ottawa sooner rather than later,” Xander says.

  “We got information that there are men coming, and soon. Revenge for the Pulaski brothers,” Chris explains.

  “Dammit,” exclaims Ethan. “How many are there?”

  “It’s hard to tell,” remarks Chris. “But we’re likely outnumbered. That’s why Mason needs to leave soon to gather the others.”

  “And we can’t just call and invite them over because..?” asks Douglas.

  “Because,” says Chris. “As much of a fortress as this place is, there’s a lot I can’t be sure of. Like if our wires are tapped.”

  “Plus, all of that personal information a
bout us you had on the internet,” adds Xander in a hushed tone. “I know you took it down, but it’s the internet. Nothing ever actually goes away permanently.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I messed up. How could we have known?” Chris says defensively.

  “What’s done is done,” Blake puts the spat to rest. “We need to be prepared moving forward.”

  “What do we tell the girls?” asks Ethan.

  “Nothing yet,” says Blake. “There’s no reason to get them involved. They’ll only panic.”

  Douglas asks, “what do you think our chances of surviving this is going to be, Chris?” He sounds so small and scared. Charlotte’s never heard him, or any of them, sound like this. Their nervous energy is palpable even from a few floors up. That question jerked her back to reality. She cannot keep listening to this. Charlotte tries to hold her breath, making sure not they don’t catch her spying. She prays the old floors don’t creak as she makes her way to Penelope’s room.

  When she finally reaches Penelope’s room, she exhales a sigh of relief like a spy returning from a high-risk mission. She feels exactly like she had after reading Lucy’s diary at the sleepover. She’s learned something that scares her, but it is information she isn’t supposed to have. If she brings it up to any of them, they may lash out against her. After all, she doesn’t know them all that well. It would come as no surprise if these men had tempers, like most men. She doesn’t want to betray the trust she built with Mason, but she can’t help but feel like maybe he’s the one betraying her. If he cares so much about her, shouldn’t he let her know of the dangerous threat to the castle? Charlotte peeps into the baby’s crib and confirms Penny is sleeping soundly. She rocks herself back and forth in the chair while waiting for the coast to be clear. If she could just get to her room without being noticed, she would lie down, take a breath, collect her thoughts, and decide on her plan of action.

  As she slowly opens the door to make moves down the hallway towards her bedroom, she sees Mason waiting right outside for her. Their secret meeting must have disassembled.

  “Hi,” whispers Charlotte. She tries her best to forget the conversation she heard. If he picks up on her weird mood shift, he might get suspicious.

  “Hi,” says Mason. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay,” Charlotte replies.

  “Can I walk you to your room?” asks Mason.

  “Oh, a whole four doors down?” Charlotte says. Mason smiles at her and she melts, forgetting all of her fears for a moment. “I’d be honored.” After a moment, her confidence has built up enough to ask, “is everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” answers Mason. “Everything is great.” Charlotte wants to nod and play along, but now she’s angry. If he’s going to lie to her, that’s a major problem. She knows she has secrets too, like the fact that she eavesdropped on their conversation, but it does not feel quite like the same thing. There’s a baby in this house, and she needs to be protected. That’s not just Avery and Blake’s job, but Charlotte’s, too. She can’t stand idly by knowing that dangerous people are coming for them.

  “Are you sure everything’s great, Mason?” she can feel her words have a sting to them, but she doesn’t hold back. “Are you sure? Because I’m not an idiot. Maybe you don’t know me well enough to know this, but I’m fairly perceptive. And I’m having a hard time believing that everything is okay. There’s something you’re not telling me. Maybe there are a lot of things you are not telling me,” Charlotte continues. Tears slowly roll down her cheeks as she lets the angry, scared thoughts out of her mind and into the world.

  “Charlotte,” begins Mason. “I want to explain everything. I will explain everything. But, not now. I have things to do to. I actually have to go.”

  “Go then,” Charlotte replies coldly. This night took a turn that Charlotte did not see coming.

  “No, I mean I have to leave Bolt Castle for a little while. I need to go home. Well, to what used to be home. Before this place,” he explains.

  “Where do you have to go?”

  “Ottawa,” Mason says. He won’t look her in the eyes when he says it.

  “You’re going to Ottawa? For how long?” asks Charlotte. She feels like her world is spinning out of control. She tells herself over and over that she shouldn’t give too much of herself or headspace to Mason, but the thought of him leaving feels like a punch to the gut.

  “However long it takes,” says Mason. “I’m sorry. When I get back, we can sit down and talk about everything. I’ll answer all of your questions. Whatever you need to know.”

  “Okay, well you are here right now. Let’s start with the room I walked into that was empty except for...chains?”

  “Oh, yeah. You found that,” says Mason. Charlotte can’t read his face.

  “Well?” she asks.

  “It’s not what it looks like. Nobody uses that room anymore,” he explains.

  “Anymore?”

  “I promise I’ll explain everything when I’m back from Ottawa.” Charlotte feels more tears forming in her eyes, but resolves not to shed even one more tear for Mason. How fast this is all moving and the emotions Charlotte has invested reminds her of a high school relationship. It’s too much, too fast, too soon.

  Chapter 11

  Charlotte lays awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She thought after her date with Mason, she would have answers, not more questions. She can’t stop beating herself up for acting so childish, throwing herself at a man she just met. If she just stuck with professionalism as planned, she would be better off emotionally. Now, she is staring at the ceiling, wondering what her days without Mason would be like. Just running into him during their daily tasks and exchanging a touch or a glance gives her enough energy to finish the day with a huge dorky smile on her face. But maybe this was never meant to be romantic. She can’t help but think that perhaps they really are meant to be best friends and nothing more.

  Then, there’s a knock at her door. She stands up, only in her underwear and a big t-shirt. She slowly opens the door to see Mason standing in the doorway. “You weren’t asleep, were you?” he asks.

  “No, not yet,” Charlotte whispers. She doesn’t want their voices to echo through the castle corridors.

  “Can I come in?” Charlotte can’t believe that after all of her contemplation, she still agrees to let him in. The room is cloaked in darkness, with only a sliver of moonlight shining through the window. Her eyes are adjusted to the dark, so Charlotte can make out Mason’s features. There’s something so sexy about the darkness and the dead quiet of the night. Outside, crickets sing and other animals make their mating calls in the distant mountains.

  “You know, I don’t really want to go,” whispers Mason. They’re sitting at opposite ends of the bed but Charlotte can feel a strong energy in the gap between them.

  “You gotta do what you gotta do,” says Charlotte simply.

  “What if I just do what I want to do?” Mason asks. He inches closer to Charlotte. They’re sitting next to each other, thighs touching. The hair on the back of Charlotte’s neck stands up as chills runs down her spine.

  “You know,” she whispers. “Doing what you want sometimes leads to trouble.”

  “What if I like trouble?” he asks, putting his hand on her knee. He slowly walks his fingers from her knee up her thigh.

  “Well,” she says, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice to an almost inaudible volume. “Good thing I’m not your nanny, because I wouldn’t be able to let you be a troublemaker.”

  Mason is breathing heavy and she feels his warm breath close to hers. His scent is intoxicating, it is a natural smell that’s comforting and appealing. She wonders if she should stop now, before this goes any further. But his fingers move to the elastic of her panties and she can feel herself becoming weak to his touch. He slowly slides his fingers into her underwear, then puts his mouth on her neck. He begins to kiss her heavily, with a little bit of sucking and a little bit of biting. Charlotte remains still,
except for the quivering that’s beginning between her legs. She throws her head back, giving him full access to her neck and whatever other parts of her he wants to explore.

  He slips his fingers inside of her and Charlotte is sopping wet. This is all too much for Mason to handle, and he moves his mouth to hers and straddles her. He kisses her passionately, massaging his tongue against hers while working his fingers. She kisses him back, nearly dizzy from the thrill of it. She opens her eyes to see him looking back at her. He flashes her the crooked smile that she can’t resist, and she smiles, too. She leans in, letting her lips slowly graze his, but pulling away before he can move any further. She does this again, this time biting his lower lip before pulling away. She knows he likes being teased, because he is as hard as a rock on top of her. She can feel it against her thigh, and it’s definitely not lacking in the size department.

  She leans in for another playful kiss, but this time he calls the shots. He puts his big hands around the back of her neck and pulls her in, not letting her get away this time. He presses his mouth into hers while continuing to use his fingers in a magical way. He slowly grinds on top of her, rubbing himself on her

  “You’re so wet,” he whispers. “I can’t take it.”

  He begins to pull down her panties, but Charlotte uses her arms to pin his down next to her. “Not yet,” she whispers as she leans in close. “I’m going to make you work for it.”

  “My god,” he says breathily.

  He returns his fingers where they were and she, too, is throbbing. He knows exactly what where to touch her to arch her back and make her legs shake like she’s about to erupt.

  Charlotte feels like she’s breaking all the rules, even if they’re rules she set for herself. She likes it. Mason brings out her naughty side. She feels sexy and rebellious, but most importantly, comfortable in her skin and with him.

  “Stop,” she commands him in a harsh whisper. She switches positions so that she’s now on top, dominating him again. She shoves him back so he’s completely sprawled out. She wiggles his t-shirt over his head and reveals his tight body.