by Jade White
“Shut up,” Mason growled, looking up the stairs.
“He’s right. She needs some alone time, and you need to focus on more important things.” Torrent put his arm around Mason’s shoulders, pulling him away from the staircase. “Her training went as well as it could have gone.”
As well as it could’ve gone? She killed her trainer. Mason didn’t know how killing someone who was trying to help her was significantly great. Torrent had a twisted sense of humor, and too many times it had gotten the best of him, and made Kane jealous. “I’m going to her.” He started towards the stairs.
“No, you aren’t.” Lucca stepped in front of him, widening his stance. “She needs time to cope with what happened, and you need to let that happen.” His mismatched eyes glowed and swirled with a haze of vibrant blues.
“You’re going to stop me?” He felt his beast ramming against his skull, just begging to get free and have a taste of Lucca’s blood. It enjoyed a good fight, and it would get it from him.
“I will gladly stop you.” His hands fisted at his sides. He looked ready to pounce on top of him.
Mason had spent too much time away from her. He had too little contact with Katherine, and he could feel his binding to her dying. He needed to touch her, needed to know that their connection was still intact. “I’d like to see you try.” Mason pushed his friend aside, stomping up the stairs. He tried to be as quick as possible to get to her, but he was trampled to the ground.
Black fur and claws ran over his skin. An ice blue eye and a gold eye stared him down. Four legs, four paws. One long, black tail that swayed back and forth. Mason kicked the panther off, trying to keep his composure.
He was bleeding, and if he didn’t shift, he wouldn’t heal. So he did, letting his beast free for once in a long, long time.
Brown fur coated his flesh, and a pair of black, dead eyes stared his enemy down. If Lucca wanted a fight, Mason would gladly give it to him. With over a two-ton advantage, Mason stood firmly.
Lucca pounced, scraping the surface of Mason’s flesh. He bit Lucca’s leg, and he roared out in pain. While he was distracted, Mason ran at Lucca full speed, headbutting him down to the first floor. He shifted back into his human form. Nothing would keep him from his woman.
Kane, Erik and Torrent looked up at him, shaking their heads. They disapproved of his actions? He disapproved of their lack of action. They did nothing to keep him and Lucca from fighting, and did nothing to keep them from hurting one another.
Mason turned away from them, his targets set on getting to his woman.
“If she hasn’t come out now, who’s to say she will?” Erik said with his cold, unearthly voice.
Mason hated the way that man thought and processed things. He had a habit of making a perfectly salvageable situation into a hopeless one.
“Who’s to say she’ll want anything to do with you, or any of us right now?” Kane quickly added on.
Mason turned back, scowling at the man. “She will.” At least he thought she would. Mason turned back around.
A small hand flattened against his chest, and a rush of heat filled him. “I don’t want to be here anymore.” Katherine looked up at him with tears running from her grey orbs. “I want to go home.”
His heart sank into his stomach.
*
He asked for a few days to get a few things ready. She didn’t know how much longer she could take it here. She witnessed a fight between Mason and his friend Lucca, and it only reminded her of her people. Katherine wanted to get as far away as possible.
She kept her distance for as long as she could manage. There was something that kept pulling her back to him. She thought for sure it was just a silly crush, but it took her a while to discover it was more than that.
The marriage had bound the two of them together. It was like an invisible chain that tied her to him, and him to her. It tugged really tight when they were away for too long, and was limp when they were near each other. She wished it was the opposite.
As much as Katherine yearned for her freedom, she needed to figure out a way to sever the bond between her and Mason before she could get it. She didn’t know how long it would take.
His mood was rather gloomy and hostile. He barely spoke to anyone. He barely looked at her. Mason was a shadow of the outspoken man she’d come to know.
He wasn’t tender towards her anymore. He stopped treating her like a princess. He threw orders at her like she was some sort of slave, and then it dawned on her... She was bought as a slave.
Katherine tried to put some space between them, he clearly needed it. He had gotten a wife, and she wanted nothing to do with him. She would act the same way if she was in his shoes.
Katherine spent most of her days in his front garden, trying to figure out the different species of plants. It was something to keep her occupied. When the days began to get long, she became more and more anxious. She stopped being inside the giant house altogether. Mason never came out to get her once.
She slept in the trees, and let her warmth keep her company at night. She tried not to move much, she tried not to dream. Both were inevitable. In her sleep, she had burned a few trees down, so she kept herself to the ground. It was better off that way. She didn’t like hurting any living thing, human, supernatural, or nature itself.
He had made her do that though. Mason wanted to turn her into something she wasn’t. He wanted her to be more like him, more like her people. She had told him that she couldn’t do it, and still he forced her.
He didn’t want to worry about you. Her phoenix squawked. It rested up against the endings of her mind, sliding down an imaginary wall. You couldn’t let him try and do something good for you?
There were a few times Katherine had ever had a conversation with her phoenix. Every time it ended with her doing something she didn’t want to do. Every time Katherine ended up doing something completely regrettable, but very much needed.
She looked back at the house. Oh, how the architecture of the home was lovely. Vines trickled up and down the home, pale ghost white paint barely peeking through some of the vines. Flowers laid at the stone base of the home, dressing the brick linings of windows that looked too big. Stone pillars held up the balcony over the porch and rested at the top of brown brick stairs.
The first time she came here, she marveled at the home. Now it just reminded her of something impossible. It was impossible for her to endure another moment in a place that reminded her of a painful and misery-filled village.
It’s only painful because you’re too weak to look past it. Her phoenix groaned. If you learned to grow up and love what you have, you wouldn’t be out here. You’d be in there. A monster, a killer, and now a counselor to the morbidly scarred. It was rather amusing.
Katherine tried to shake off the voice of reasoning from her phoenix. She didn’t want anything to do with it.
Why don’t you let him in? What harm could come of it?
A lot of harm. Katherine scoffed. Realization was setting in. She was practically talking to herself. She had reached a whole new level of crazy, all too quickly. Now I’m talking to myself.
I am not you. You are me. Her phoenix rushed out in a quirky tone. It was pouting. If you’d let me say the things I’d want, you wouldn’t be such a disgrace, and your beloved husband would want to lay you at every chance he got.
Katherine didn’t want to be tied to him. No phoenix wanted to be tied down by a mate. It was heavily frowned upon by all the Phoenix. That was why they preferred to share in the pleasures of one another, interbreed, and become a breeding ground of ignorance and STD’s. Katherine preferred to stay out of that.
She peered through one of the windows, watching the men merrily playing a game of pool. Kane was trying to cheer Mason up with a glass of liquor, and Mason was ignoring him. Torrent and Lucca were conversing against the bookcase, and Erik was nowhere to be found. They were a family, and she envied them.
You can be a part of their family. The
phoenix whispered to her. They need a sister.
Katherine tried to shake it off again. She didn’t want a family. She didn’t want to be a part of what they had. She’d only poison it.
“Going insane are we?” a cold voice said to her.
She jumped, turning around in mid-flight. Erik was behind her, his rainbow-hued eyes looking her up and down. His expression was unchanged by her jumpiness. He held a blanket, and what looked like a sealed bowl of food.
“No,” Katherine replied. She fidgeted with her clothes.
“He’s a bit fractured mentally, but he’ll heal.” He handed her the supplies he brought. “I’m sure you’re cold, and tired of eating fruits.” It seemed that was all he wanted to do. Erik marched away from her, quickly glancing back over his shoulder. “You’re still welcomed inside.”
Katherine faintly smiled at him. “Thanks,” she replied. “Thank you for the supplies.”
“It’s not for you. It’s for him. He needs a bit of peace of mind.” That was the last bit of words he said to her before heading into the home, slamming the door shut behind him.
Erik joined the party, going to Mason to give him a quick hug. He said something to him, and Mason’s face grew dimly pale. He went to his room.
He looks so bad. Katherine frowned, getting close to the window.
You were supposed to be the perfect mate for him. One he chose instead of nature choosing for him. Her phoenix scorned her. You ruined that.
Katherine’s heart started to vibrate. An icy breath got stuck in her throat, and her blood began to boil in her veins. I don’t want him to be like this.
Then suck it up, and return to him. The phoenix forced her to move, making Katherine’s feet start towards the front door.
He had been through all manners of hell, but this was a new level. His wife denied him. His mate turned him down, and left him. Normally Mason would have buried himself in another woman. He would have returned to the auction yard and bought another female. One that was obedient, and much more lovely than Katherine. No such thing.
Mason downed another glass of whiskey, slamming the glass down on his nightstand. He laid back down on his bed, rolling around in his sheets. Mason tried to take in what little bit of her scent was left on his blankets. There wasn’t much remaining, and the scent of lava was the only thing that was keeping him from losing his mind.
He looked over at the bathroom, faintly smiling. Mason could still see Katherine stepping out of a warm bath and wrapping a towel around her body. She’d wrap a towel on her head, though she didn’t have much hair. Mason could only assume it was out of habit.
After her baths, she would stroll to his closet and steal a t-shirt, and struggle to put it on as fast as she could. Katherine had nothing to be ashamed of from her body, he found her beautiful in every way. He wanted to kiss every inch of her lovely sun-kissed skin, even the scars that riddled her back.
Mason remembered trying to get the reasoning behind her scars. She never gave him an in-depth answer. She mostly answered with one word. Whips. After she would answer him, she’d roll over and go to sleep, her soft moans echoing through the entire night.
He wondered if Katherine knew she suffered from chronic nightmares. Of course she did, she was the one who experienced them every night since her arrival. Now, she was gone.
It was his fault. He didn’t listen to her. Mason ignored her pleas for him to stop forcing her training. He didn’t want to worry about her. He wanted to know she could protect herself if he wasn’t around. Instead, she left him.
Mason tried to force her to be something she wasn’t. He tried to force her to do something she didn’t want to do. Now, he was paying the price. Despite his friends’ efforts to make him cheerful again, he wasn’t. Despite their efforts to try and distract him from her, they couldn’t. A binding was a binding, and it held firm. The moment it broke, it would always leave the one most attached, scarred the most. He was clearly the one most attached.
From day one, Mason did everything in his power to make sure she was comfortable. Sure, he needed to bed her to ensure their marriage was solid, but he wouldn’t do it without her consent. Mason wanted to know she was happy, and healthy. He wanted to know that she had everything that her people denied her. He wanted to know she had a family that would protect her at any cost.
Sure, his friends were standoffish about her―except for Kane. They were all curious about the newest addition into the house. Some of them had their ideas about what she truly was, and none of them would ever know except for Erik. He seemed to study her like a book.
He never said a word to her. He barely looked at her, but when he did it was the briefest moment. That was all he needed though. The man had always been a quick read. Torrent had always been the one to act on behalf of Erik.
Mason sat up, filling his glass with more whiskey. He took a slow sip of the liquor, trying to savor it as best he could. Should have savored her.
You should have bedded her. His beast whined. You should’ve made her stay. It was pouting. It wanted Katherine as much as Mason did.
Never mind finding another woman, he wanted her. He wanted her more than he wanted anything else. Mason couldn’t have her though. She wasn’t his to have, and she had made that clear.
Get over her. His beast growled. Get over her. This time it pouted. It didn’t want to give her up, and neither did Mason.
He finished his drink, lightly setting it back down on his nightstand. He looked at the remaining contents of his liquor bottle. There was an unhealthy relationship between him and whiskey that was becoming more of a relationship than what he had with Katherine.
Mason laid down, pulling his sheets up over his head. He was saying goodnight to misery, and soon good morning to a hangover. At least he’d have something to say good morning to.
He tried to close his eyes, but couldn’t. His mind was too active, keeping continuous memories of her running through his head. Her soft grey eyes. Her pale freckles. Her tenderness.
Mason pulled a pillow from under his head, slamming it on the side of his head. Just go to sleep. Her scent was everlasting, faint yet strong. Never before did he think lava could smell so sweet, but then he met Katherine. He forced his eyes to close again, struggling to keep them shut.
A flush of intense warmth filled him. It settled a storm that had been growing in him since she left. It kept him calm. The numbness from his liquor finally kicked in, and he was all too grateful for that.
Mason was finally drifting. He fell somewhere between sweet dreams and pleasant nightmares. She was there, as she had been for the past few days. Like a siren, her voice hypnotized him, her beauty held him captive. She reached for him, and came happily. As he embraced her in his arms, her scent of lava filled his nose and kept him firm in place.
He could feel the softness of her skin. He could see each and every one of her freckles, and how intricately they were placed around her lovely face. She was everything he needed, and everything he sought after in a beautiful mate.
As quickly as she came, she disappeared, her bountiful comfort slipping away from him. He roared in protest, demanding she’d come back to him. She did obey, but she was so far away. The more he demanded her to come to him, the further away she was from him. He tried to chase after her, but became more elusive.
He watched a pair of pale, fiery wings creep from her back. Her lovely short hair grew down her back in a long, endless braid. Her wings were magnificent as they stretched out to shake off their tenseness. Mason wanted to touch them.
He called out to her, and she did come, but ever so slowly. Her grey eyes were lit aflame. She looked him up and down, her lips pulling into a low, sultry smirk. “You want to hurt people?” Black tears of molten smoke trailed down her cheeks. “You want me to kill?”
Mason reached out to her, wanted to ease her pain. He couldn’t, her skin was too hot. Being near her was enough of a blistering misery.
“You want me to be a monster? Then I
’ll be a monster.” Katherine sank her hand into his chest, ripping out his heart. “But it’ll cost you this.” She crushed it before his eyes, smiling as he crumbled to his feet.
He jolted awake, panting. Too many times he had seen that nightmare. Too many times he wanted to change its outcome. He lost his heart only to gain a murderous nature in who should’ve been his wife.
She’s gone. His beast reminded him. You made her leave. It was right, and it was time for him to come to terms with what he did.
Mason looked out the window of his bedroom. The sun was just peeking through the trees. They did very little to shade the room.
He groaned, tossing aside his pillows and shoving at his blankets. He tossed his feet over the side of his bed, gripping his mattress. It wasn’t as comfortable to sleep on as his original, but Katherine burned it. Most of it had disintegrated.
Mason got up, and walked to the bathroom. He needed a shower, a very long shower. He didn’t get one though. Instead he splashed his face with cold water, and brushed his teeth. He fixed his light brown locks until they stuck to his head. When he donned himself decent enough, he left the bathroom.
“Did you get all dressed up for me?” A pair of smokey grey eyes locked with his, and his heart stopped. There she was, still wearing the last t-shirt she stole from him. Dirt brushed her cheeks, and covered her once tanned skin.
He growled at her, his eyes darting away. “I wouldn’t waste my worst clothes on you,” Mason snapped, walking back to his bed. He sat down, poured himself another glass of whiskey, and downed it in a few seconds.
“You know that’s not healthy for you.” She walked towards him, but stopped suddenly in one place.
“Neither are you. That didn’t stop me.” He poured himself another glass. Before he could chug it, Katherine snatched the glass out of his hands, and drank it before him.
“Alright,” she said shaking her head. “Now, I have got a seven o’clock buzz, and you have to get your ass downstairs. I made breakfast, and your friends have no mercy when it comes to food.”
