by Jo Penn
“I do not have to be wise, simply justified.” Mason paced his office, finding no comfort in it as he normally did. “He cannot come and go, take what he wants, and expect me to give and be silent. I won’t. Now I do not care if the entire world knows! He can live with that and without me.”
“The old saying ‘do not pull a tiger by its tail…’ well, that can be said for a wolf also, a very dangerous, powerful one. His uncle is a senator for the Council, one of the highest. Drax also works for the Council, and we know their view on mates.”
“Ah, yes, but he hasn’t claimed me. Now his chance is gone. I am not without Council connections. I am second to our grandmother. I lead and am powerful within my own right.”
“All true, cousin. I worry. I realize what Drax has done caused this, though as we both know, wizards and witches tend to be…difficult at times. It is all that magic your kind holds.”
“You will be made to choose sides if this comes out. Where do you stand, Xavier?” Mason asked quietly. The bond between mates was meant to be stronger than even that of family. And Xavier was mated to the first prince of the Sanchez pride, Drake, a good friend of Drax’s.
The Sanchez pride, a bunch of tigers and other felines, lived about five miles outside of Milson City limits. Over the years, their numbers had grown, as had the Starters pack, and they intermingled and worked together a lot, forming a very strong Alliance. They watched out for each other, worked together, played together, and considered themselves one big, happy family. While the Sanchezes trained soldiers who patrolled the entire valley and were sent on missions, the pack trained trackers and specialized. A hundred years ago, Delia Armstrong brought her coven to Milson Valley and was included in the arrangements between the different groups.
Now, it might very well be torn apart. Time for Mason to do some damage control, beginning first with his grandmother and working from there.
“A delicate situation, cousin. I will always support you, be here for you. I understand why you have done this but do not necessarily agree. But you have me and the coven. Drake will find it difficult as he is closer to the wolves, but his parents have a very good, fond relationship with Grandmother. The Sanchez pride will be a little divided and tread carefully, I am sure.”
Mason shrugged. “I will endeavor not to make this an issue. Drax and I have kept what is between us quiet for five years, the fallout may be great for a brief time, but I will do what needs to be done to smooth it over.”
Xavier, gorgeous, tall, and extremely intelligent, inclined his head. “Be prepared, Mason. The wolf pack will close ranks, and I am sure the mate issue will be bought up and used. If Drax is truly wanting to be mated to you, that is.”
“He no longer has a choice.”
“He doesn’t? Hmm, we shall see. Unfortunately, my cousin, you have withheld and made him wait. Then kept the secret for two years. Drax was protecting you. As his mate, you were a prime target, and I commend him for placing you first, not claiming you, not broadcasting this. His family was already in danger, you would not be. I admire he was strong enough to do this.” Xavier smiled. “You got yourself into a tizz the last few years and refused him again and again. I am surprised he held out this long, but then I realized you were using magic.” Xavier tutted. “And did Drax’s brother and our cousin not just get into trouble for doing the exact same thing? A mate bond should not be interfered with. It is punishable.”
“Drax messed with it first.” Okay, that probably sounded childish. Mason puffed out a sigh.
Xavier smirked, elegantly. “That he did, though not with magic, with restraint and to protect his mate. Again, I understand your anger and now your distance, just think carefully, cousin, I do not want you or Drax to be further harmed.”
“He should not have denied me,” Mason snapped. “He took away my choices. That, I do not forgive or forget.”
“And wizards hold grudges and tend to be sensitive. I am with you, Mason. I just provide you with fair warning. Hello, mate. Where is Keeley?”
The big first prince of the Sanchez pride ambled into the room. “With Delia. I think they are planning something for your birthday.”
Xavier frowned. “But I do not celebrate my birthday. They know this.”
“Too bad. Keeley wants; Keeley gets.”
Xavier sighed. “Of course, if that is what my mate wishes.”
“Our mate,” Drake growled, then grinned at Mason. “And what have you been up to, wizard? Did you and Drax get into a tussle again?”
“For the last time,” Mason said smoothly.
“Really? Who says?”
“I do. Didn’t you see him hurrying to scrub my scent off him?” Mason chuckled without humor. “Anyway, I have an appointment. I will ring Keeley later and see how the party plans are going.”
Xavier sighed as though very put out. “If you must.”
“I must, I really must!” Mason grinned, knowing how Xavier did not enjoy his birthday being celebrated. Other parties, other people’s celebrations, certainly, just not his own.
There was a soft knock at the door followed by Jack, one of Mason’s assistants, opening it.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have Enforcer Drax on the phone for you, Mason.”
“I am on my way to an appointment.” Mason grabbed a few folders and his laptop and put them all in a bag, quirking a brow at Jack, who nervously nodded and practically wrung his hands. “Thanks, Jack, and don’t forget my four o’clock meeting. I need everything set up.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Enforcer Drax said it was very important. He was, ah, very insistent.”
Too bad, too sad, Mason thought briefly and waved a hand to dismiss his assistant.
“Unless it is Renegade or Valley Alliance business, I am no longer available to Enforcer Drax. Do not put calls through.”
Jack paled, nodded, and left the room quickly.
“Oh, Mason, I am not sure that is a good idea.” Xavier sighed elegantly. “When you are over your wizard tizz, take a moment to think—”
“Done thinking. But thanks, cousin. I have to go, apologies for leaving like this, but I cannot be late for this appointment.”
Mason headed to the door, ignoring the shifter sniffing him deeply as he passed. With all the potions and spells he had covered himself in, he doubted Drake would smell much except for Mason’s scent and his impatience. Covering himself in potions had become a necessity since meeting Drax five years ago.
When a creature met their fated mate, each species had their own mate reaction. Wolves began needing to mate within a few days but it could be controlled by specially designed drugs that were used until both parties involved agreed to mate and bond. With witches and wizards, their mate reaction was a little different and was called a “tizz,” which was exactly how it sounds. While it may have taken time to build to that stage, once the tizz sets in, it was difficult to control and to stop. A witch or wizard would overreact to nearly anything relating to their mate—they would feel rejected, and their emotions, out of control. Often, they made rash decisions, unable to concentrate and think through problems and resolve issues. Mason may have been experiencing this but was endeavoring to control it with spells and potions.
“I’m not getting good vibes here. As Luka would say, not good for inter-creature relations to start a feud with Drax over a lover’s tiff. He is very high up with the big Council and a very important member of our Alliance,” Drake said seriously.
Mason quirked a smile, perhaps a bitter one. “So he is, good for him. I’m not too low on that totem pole either. Because you are my cousin’s mate and I don’t have a quarrel with the Sanchez pride, nor the Starters pack, I will merely suggest we let this go. It will smooth over with time.”
“I do hope so, Mason. An enraged wolf, especially the three wolf, is not one to be taken lightly.”
Mason stopped and glared at his cousin. “Nor is a wizard of my caliber. Draw the lines, so be it. I’m done. If anyone from the Alliance dares to
cause problems with my coven, I will retaliate. Let it be known.”
“What the hell is going on?” Drake demanded.
“I will explain later, mate.”
Mason strode out, pissed off to his absolute limit. He signaled for one of his assistants—he had four—and Mark, as well as others he needed to accompany him, Simone and Victor. They quickly caught up to him and got in the SUV. Mason was meeting with the realtor to purchase a small patch of vacant land actually fairly close to where the fae recently decided upon relocating to. There was currently nothing on this small patch of land, just some trees. The coven intended to construct a building and use that and the land for some of their more boisterous and explosive experiments, plus a little land conservation learning.
During the drive, he seethed. He disregarded any other point of view, argued with himself, and worked out how he was going to deal with any fallout. For all he knew, Drax would remain silent and the matter would be dropped, as though it had never happened in the first place.
Then again, Mason wasn’t a fool and didn’t believe in fairy tales. For now, he would remain quiet and get on with being second-in-command of the coven, and advisor and administrator to the Witches and Wizard High Council.
Mason might be considered young, but he was mature beyond his years. He worked hard, had grown up with his diplomat parents who worked for the High Council and investigated issues that arose. Every few years, Mason would visit and stay for a time at the Armstrong coven that his grandmother, Lady Delia, led, but when her second-in-command was attacked five years ago, Mason rushed to the coven’s aid and agreed to remain as her second. Hers had perished, and Mason was one of the most powerful of their kind.
Mason juggled a lot of projects and investigated injustices. Plus, he had the normal coven and Alliances matters. If he could, though, he’d get the hell out of Milson Valley for a brief time, just until things settled a bit. He knew how to be smooth and deal with issues. He could handle this, maybe any fallout. But he couldn’t leave, dammit. He was second in charge and was needed.
By the time they arrived, he was calm and had put the personal matter aside, greeting the human realtor, and spending time looking over permits and regulations with the Milson City Council. The property was excellent, exactly what the coven needed. Mason had been interested in another property, but unfortunately that was still going through mediation as a few groups in the area believed they should have the rights to it. The coven required a property now, and this was fairly perfect.
A loud, ear-shattering wolf howl pierced the air along with a tiger roar. Mason knew those sounds well, he’d been taught them from a young age. Danger. Under attack. Bring reinforcements.
He could tell he and his group weren’t far and immediately fetched weapons from the trunk. He ordered the human realtor back to town, and to alert the Starters pack, his coven, and the local soldiers along the way. Then he and his group put on the speed of paranormals and went to aid, leaving their car behind as he didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence. Who knew what they’d run into.
Wizards and witches weren’t the fastest of the paranormal world—vampires had amazing speed, and a lot of shifters were even faster—so he wasn’t surprised when he reached the edge of the forest and entered the land belonging to the fae and was passed by the Starters’ wolves. Good, the more the merrier. There were quite a few threats at present, but he suspected as they were on the fae land, this particular threat was directed at wizard Tudor Masters, who was mated to the fae prince and Luka Charmers, Drax’s younger brother.
Tudor had information that the Renegades wished to eliminate him over. Tudor was also wanted by an insane old master vampire who didn’t care about rules.
Rushing into the fray, he suspected this attack came from the old master vampire, for there were vampires everywhere. If it were a Renegade attack, there’d be a wide mix of creatures. And, hell, there were a lot of vampires. Thankfully, there were a lot of wolves here, also.
One wolf, a massive cream one, leaped in front of Mason, snapping those big teeth and growled low and menacingly. Mason just quirked a brow and went to step around and ended up on his ass with a head-butt to the stomach. The wolf stood right over his body and growled in his face.
Mason refused to acknowledge the wolf and didn’t give in. He did do a rude finger gesture and got snapped at by those lethal teeth before the wolf ran off into the fight, bringing a vampire down that was on the back of another wolf.
Yeah, as if Mason wasn’t going to fight. Drax could shove it up his fine ass.
“What was that about?” Simone asked.
“Wolves are always trying to assert their dominance. Let’s deal with these creatures. They are after one of our own.”
Mason would fight and protect Tudor Masters. Aside from Tudor being a fellow wizard and coven member, one of his, Tudor had integrity, was very smart, and had courage. Mason admired the young wizard and planned to bring Tudor into the liaising side of the coven. He saw a lot of potential with Tudor’s smart, calm, deep-thinking ways.
He fought hard with magic and got a few punches in, keeping an eye on his wizards and witches, the fae, and the shifters. The vampires fought just as hard, and Mason ended up with numerous slashes from razor-sharp talons, bruises from fists and kicks, and was glad he didn’t have to do this too often. Drax circled him a few times taking out vampires near Mason. Vampires were hard to kill and healed faster. They had a lot of strength and were incredibly fast and agile. He got annoyed with the wolf interfering, trying to protect him and stop Mason from fighting. He blasted Drax across the field from where the battle was taking place. That was one of his individual magics, to be able to push energy in a particular direction with strength. Wolves growled at him in outrage at the attack, Mason zapping them with stinging magic and getting some yelps and snaps of sharp teeth in response.
Baron, a large tiger shifter, had been with his younger brother Marco, fighting together, protecting each other’s backs, and now raced over to Mason and roared at the wolves. In his tiger form, a gorgeous, big beast, he was lethal. As the biggest from his litter and a born Alpha, Baron used that to his advantage. The wolves, high on the fight and seeing one of theirs, their protector and Enforcer dealt with harshly, circled like a pack of mangy dogs. Baron pounced on one, locking his jaw down, the wolf struggling and then submitting to the big feline. Even doing that, Baron swiped another away a few meters with a bat of his paw.
Drax had shifted into his third form and was pounding the ground toward them, taking out a vampire on the fly. Drax was a very rare creature who had the gift of having more than a shifter’s standard two forms—human and whichever animal they shared their spirit with. Mostly, he was known as the three wolf because he had three forms. Human, wolf, and a combination of both. In the third form, he was humanoid in shape with a wolf head, but legs and arms like a human, and his hands and feet were clawed. Drax had once told Mason that he was faster, stronger, and had deeper instincts and was able to sense more than other shifters and paranormals. It was what gave Drax just that bit more in a fight, and he used it to his advantage time and again, battling more than one enemy at a time and able to shift between forms with ease.
Now Drax landed in the middle of the fight directly in front of Mason and growled loudly at his pack members. They dispersed quickly, backing away, tails down.
Baron moved restlessly in front of Mason, who was still sending magic out, zapping and electrifying vampires at a distance, keeping an eye on his team here. But he was aware of the standoff between shifters and was annoyed with himself for bringing his and Drax’s issues here, and to his friend. Leaning forward, he stroked a hand over Baron’s thick, soft fur.
“My fault, my friend. Drax won’t interfere in my fighting anymore, nor attack me.”
Drax’s head was down, pacing, eying them. He growled and lunged, knocking Baron aside, and snapped at Mason’s hand. Right, no touching others. He’d learned that from the early stages
of meeting Drax. The big, powerful wolf didn’t like Mason being close to others, touching, or being touched. He tolerated Baron—felines were touchy-feely—only because Mason had put up a stink when Drax cornered him about it one day.
Before they could fight, Baron up and stalking low to the ground, Mason clapped his hands together.
“Lightning.”
A crack of lighting struck between the pair, creatures that had been fighting halted a moment, staring in shock across the battlefield before quickly returning to their opponent. Another handy gift, all part of energy. Mason knelt on one knee and held out a hand between the pair.
“Enough. Stop. We have bigger issues. Drax, stay away from me or I’ll blast you. Baron, protect your brother, my friend.”
Mason rose and moved away with speed, but kept an eye on the pair. Shit, that had not been good, and the speculative looks he received as he fought didn’t bode well for creature relations between his coven and the pack. Xavier was correct. The fallout was going to be much bigger than Mason expected.
When they finally got the vampires down and under control, Mason had a chance to look around at the carnage and check how many on his side were injured. Quite a few by the looks, including himself. He checked Drax from a distance, not able to help himself, and as usual, the man didn’t have many scratches or bruises, too good a fighter. Baron the same. And wolves were being wary and cautious of him.
Keeping an arm down over his side that hurt like a motherfucker, he used his magic to block the pain. There was too much to do at present to deal with the injury. First, he checked that Tudor was okay. The young wizard had used his magic to hide himself, going around and causing the vampires trouble by fixing the creatures together. Tudor appeared fine. He had a few scratches, and was drained, so, he was now asleep in the back of one of the fae’s SUVs. When using a lot of magic, his kind could literally drain themselves of energy and would simply shut down and take a nap. Mason’s younger cousin Laurie noticed he was injured, but Mason managed to shoo Laurie away and moved over to speak to his group about the cleanup and how they could help the fae secure the property until more of their guild arrived. He was in the middle of speaking when he was grabbed from behind, put on the ground on his back, and his shirt torn off.
