“Yeah. A guy is supposed to be able to kick back and enjoy an old movie on a Saturday night,” Jackson countered, throwing the cushion at Aidan.
Elle giggled and caught the cushion. “Okay, okay, we'll stop. I'll make it up to you, Jackson.” She snapped her fingers and a tin of freshly baked cookies flew out of the kitchen. “All yours,” she told Jackson with a grin.
Mason promptly jogged over and grabbed a big cookie before heading out the door. Elle was a half witch, but she never used her magic in her baking. She was a talented baker, and her small bakery, Baker's Hut, was flourishing.
The Gray brothers lived together in the spacious two-story house that belonged to their parents. Their eldest brother, Tristan, moved out after his marriage to Alisa, a wonderful human woman. Tristan and Alisa's love nest was just a few houses down the road from them.
Elle preferred to live in the house with Aidan and his younger brothers. Mason and Jackson welcomed her with open arms and hearts, and gleeful joy. It was great to have a woman in the house, especially one who was a whiz at baking. Plus, Elle could cast a clean-up spell over the house. Mason and his brothers sucked at housekeeping.
Mason dusted the crumbs from his mouth and waved goodbye to his brothers. But Aidan and Jackson were too busy wrestling over the cookie tin to pay any attention to him. Only Elle came to the door to give him a quick hug.
“Be safe,” she told him. “Take care when you're fighting fires tonight.”
“I'm just a volunteer firefighter,” Mason said. “And I've only put out one teeny-weeny fire that was accidentally started in a backyard. I'm not a real firefighter.”
Elle smiled. “You volunteer your time and energy to keep the townsfolk safe. It's a Saturday night, and you've spent all week helping Tristan in his construction business, working long hours under the sun building houses. And now, you're going off to the Fire Station. What you do is important. And appreciated.”
“Thanks, Elle.” Mason shrugged on his coat and winked. “But Aidan is the one keeping the townsfolk safe. He's the deputy sheriff.”
Aidan threw a cookie to Mason and drawled, “You be careful out there, little brother.”
Mason snatched the cookie neatly out of the air and saluted. Mason and Aidan were the same age, but Aidan was fond of emphasizing that he was actually eleven months older than Mason.
Mason left the house and drove to the fire station. He looked forward to catching up with his fellow firefighters. Maybe they could all go for a beer at The Thirsty Toadstool after their shift. That was one of his favorite pubs.
Mason had just slotted his car into the staff car park at the fire station when the alarm sounded.
The bell clanged loudly, jolting everyone into action.
Mason lurched out of his car and raced into the station. He joined the other firefighters on duty and grabbed his helmet and protective gear.
“Where's the fire?” Mason yelled to the firefighter beside him.
“All the way up One Creek!” William shouted back.
“One Creek? That's at the very edge of town! Near the woods,” Mason said. “Hardly anyone lives there!”
“There are a few houses there. Just a handful.” William winced. “They're really on their own out there. Dark, lonely and isolated.”
“It's the last house that's on fire,” someone else said as he ran past. “The nearest neighbor made the call.”
“Let's go, let's go! Or those people would be up One Creek without a paddle!”
Mason jumped onto the fire truck as the siren sounded and the truck began to pull out of the station.
CHAPTER FIVE
Mason saw the blazing flames as soon as the fire truck turned into One Creek. The truck spat gravel from its wheels as it hurtled down the dark, crooked lane. There were no street lamps and many of the old houses they passed along the way looked empty and unlived in. The front gates were broken and weeds grew wildly all over the yard.
Only one or two houses had lights shining in their windows. An elderly couple was huddled in front of their house and pointing as the fire truck sped past. “Hurry! She's in there!” Mason heard the old man shouting into the wind.
The truck stopped in front of the burning cottage and the firefighters poured out of the truck. They aimed their powerful jets of water at the blaze and struggled to get the fire under control.
Mason couldn't get the old man's words out of his mind.
She's in there!
There was someone in the burning house.
This small cottage was previously owned by an eccentric witch who was somewhat of a hermit. But the witch had died and left the house to a distant relative. The relative had no interest in this rundown little cottage and the place had just languished. But it seemed that the house had recently been sold.
But who would buy such a house and live out here, all alone and cut off from the rest of the town?
Mason held on to the large hose and staggered back as the flames roared towards them. The winds were whipping the flames up, and the dried leaves and twigs blown in from the forest were feeding the growing fire.
Mason squinted through the smoke and tried to listen out for feeble cries of help coming from the house.
But he heard nothing. Was there no one in the house, or were they all dead?
“Does anyone live in this house?” he shouted over his shoulder.
“A woman I think,” William yelled back.
Mason stared at the raging fire and made his decision. “I'm going in!” he hollered.
“What! Are you mad? Mason! Stop...”
But Mason was already running towards the house. He ignored the shouts behind him and put his shoulder to the front door. The door gave easily, and he charged through the smoke and licking flames into the house.
He looked around frantically. The living room was empty. He knocked into the charred couch and stumbled forward, coughing and blinking hard in the haze.
The kitchen was empty as well. The dining table had collapsed and the curtains were all on fire.
“Anyone in here?” Mason bellowed.
Where could she be?
He lunged into the tiny bathroom and felt around. It was too smoky to see anything. Nothing, no limp, lifeless body on the floor.
Blindly, he stumbled past a closed door and started. That must be the bedroom door.
Kicking the door open, he ran into the bedroom and his blood chilled in his veins.
A woman was lying at the foot of the bed, her face turned away from him. Her neck was exposed and he saw the savage fang marks on her neck.
She had been brutally bitten and from her wounds, it was clear that she had fought back.
Her skin glowed almost bone white. The woman had been drained. There was hardly any blood left in her body.
There was no way she could be alive.
Mason picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. She felt too light, like an empty shell.
He raised his arm to shield the woman from a falling beam and roared in pain. He could feel the crack of bone as his arm fractured under the tremendous weight.
Mason staggered as the flames burned higher and hotter. He braced himself and charged straight towards the door. Dead or alive, he would get the woman out. He didn't want to believe that she was dead. All their effort couldn't have been for naught.
They were here, fighting the fire, weren't they? They were here to save her. They couldn't be too late. It just couldn't be…
With an anguished roar, Mason careened out of the smoke and flames and burst out into the cold, star-filled night.
CHAPTER SIX
Mason stared straight ahead as the doctor bandaged his arm and put it in a sling. The nurse gave him an injection and cleaned up some of his cuts and bruises, but he didn't feel a thing.
“Don't use your right arm for the time being,” the doctor told him. “With your shifter healing abilities, your arm should heal fully in a c
ouple of days.”
Mason nodded and muttered his thanks. He slid off the examining table and followed the nurse out. At the door, he turned abruptly and asked, “What about her?”
The doctor frowned at him, startled and confused. “Her?”
“The woman I saved from the fire.”
“Oh.” The doctor gave a nod of understanding and turned to read something off her computer screen. “Suzanne Vela. She's...alive.”
Mason released a shaky breath. “She's okay. She's gonna make it,” he mumbled.
The doctor stared at him for a beat. She saw the question in his eyes and heard the desperate hope in his words. Sighing quietly, she said, “At this point, Miss Vela is in a very critical condition. It's a miracle she's alive at all. There's only a very small amount of blood left in her body. She is...just hanging on by a thread. It's touch-and-go. She could...”
Die.
Mason saw the sympathy in the doctor's kind eyes. His eyes flashed feral and an angry growl erupted from his throat. He didn't want her sympathy. He wanted her to save Suzanne.
He strode towards the doctor, and towered over the petite woman. “Save her,” he snarled. Closing his eyes briefly, he said, “Please.”
The doctor glanced at her screen again. “Miss Vela is being monitored very closely. I can read all her medical information here. But...there is nothing I can do. There is nothing any of the doctors can do,” she added when Mason growled again.
“Why not?” he demanded. “Who is the doctor attending to her?”
“There is a team of doctors attending to her.” She squinted at the names on the screen. “And they are very experienced doctors. But...Miss Vela has a very rare blood type. No transfusion can be done.”
“What type of blood?” Mason said, his throat constricting.
The doctor hesitated as if debating whether or not to divulge the patient information. Finally, she blew out a breath and said, “Maybe you can find her kin, her direct bloodline.”
“I'll search for them immediately.”
The doctor gave a curt nod. “You have to find them soon, within the next few hours. Otherwise...” Shaking her head, the doctor continued, “Miss Vela has fae blood in her. The fae can only accept blood from their direct bloodline, meaning their parents or their offspring.”
“I'll find them,” Mason swore. Where the hell would he find her parents? He didn't even know anything about her. Were her parents in Shadow Point or in some other town? He didn't think Suzanne had children. If she had, they would most probably be living with her, but he didn't see any toys or kiddy items in her house.
“...her true mate.”
Mason started. Did the doctor just say something?
“What?”
“I said, the fae can accept the blood of their true mate as well,” the doctor repeated. “So if Miss Vela has a mate...”
Mason jerked.
His bear reared up and almost erupted from his skin at the mere suggestion that Suzanne was mated to another.
Suzanne didn't belong to someone else. She couldn't.
She was...his!
“Find him, and we can do the blood transfusion straight away. That's her only hope,” the doctor said before the nurse knocked on the door and poked her head in.
“Doctor Wu, your next patient...” the nurse prompted.
“Send him in,” Dr. Wu answered. She looked up at Mason and said gravely, “You've saved her from the fire. But...I'm not sure if you can save her life.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
As soon as Mason walked out of the examining room, his fellow firefighters crowded round him. They asked him how he was, if he was okay, if he felt any pain, and a whole bunch of questions he didn't really know the answers to.
“Take a few days off. Kick back and rest at home,” William said. “Watch TV the whole damn day and eat all the junk food you want!”
“Yeah, we'll drop by with pizzas and beer after work.”
“I think the town tabloids will be doing a write-up on you. You're the hero of the hour, Mason!”
Mason nodded at them, and asked a single question. “Do you know who did this to that woman?”
“You mean Suzanne Vela, the woman you carried out of the fire?”
“Yes.”
Everyone began speaking at once, but gradually Mason managed to piece all the disjointed, somewhat exaggerated nuggets of information together.
It was a vampire, they said. The vampire who attacked her hadn't intended to leave her alive. He had even set fire to her house, to mask his scent so he couldn't be traced.
The Sheriff's department had been called in. Aidan was there with his officers, combing through the ashes for clues and evidence. If Suzanne would wake up, she could definitely identify her attacker. And that's why that murderous vampire had razed her cottage after draining her. He probably hoped that her body would be burnt beyond recognition.
She worked in a small accounting firm, and she was well liked by her colleagues. Her colleagues had expressed shock and distress when they heard the news. The police would be questioning every one of her colleagues. There were many motives for murders. Maybe someone was jealous of her at work. Or perhaps she had spurned the advances of a smitten co-worker. No one and nothing could be ruled out at this stage.
But at this moment, Mason only wanted Suzanne to pull through.
He had carried her out of the fire. He had held her body close to him, gazed into her waxen face and literally held her life in his hands.
He had saved her.
There was an inexplicable, irrefutable bond between them. This woman was important to him. She was fighting for her life at this very instant, and he couldn't help her. Couldn't fight for her, with her. It was killing him.
Mason's thoughts were solely on Suzanne as his buddies began talking and gossiping among themselves.
He would gladly give all his blood to save Suzanne, but was he her true mate? Would his blood save her or kill her?
“Where is he? Oh there!”
Mason turned at the sound of his Gramma and Ne-ma's frantic, anxious voices. The two of them were rushing towards him, their faces lined with fear and worry. Ne-ma was still wearing her bright pink apron. She had apparently jumped straight out of the kitchen and into the car when she heard the news. And Gramma didn't seem to notice that she was still clutching a broom in her hand.
“Mason! Are you okay?”
“Oh, let me look at you!”
He let them hug him and pat him all over.
“You broke your arm, honey...”
“Where else are you hurt?”
“Come, sit down! Sit!” Ne-ma ordered, steering Mason to the row of plastic chairs along the wall and stuffing him into one. “I'll get you a nice, hot cup of chocolate from the cafeteria then we'll get you home. Jackson is parking the car now.”
Before Mason could stop her, Ne-ma had rushed off to get that promised cup of hot chocolate. Mason's phone buzzed again, and he glanced at the incoming messages. He had already spoken to his brothers and work mates. The work crew from Tristan's construction company, Gray's Domain, had called and messaged him non-stop as well. He appreciated their concern, but he had other things on his mind right now. His life wasn't on the line.
“Gramma...” Mason began. “Can I talk to you about...um...”
His buddies began to take their leave discreetly. “We'll see you tomorrow, Mason. Pizza and beer,” they promised, giving him countless thumbs-up as they left.
“Thanks, see ya!” Mason called out, returning their thumbs-up with his good hand.
Gramma smiled at all those good firefighters and turned back to her grandson. “What is it, Mason? What's troubling you?”
Mason stared into those sharp, knowing green eyes and took a deep breath. He had a feeling she already knew what was on his mind and in his heart.
“Gramma, I think...I have found my true mate. But—” He swallowed hard. “I
have to be sure. It's a matter of life and death. For her.”
Gramma's lips curved slightly. “Is she the woman you saved from the burning house?”
“How…?” he started, his eyes rounding. The question was redundant. Of course she knew. Gramma and Ne-ma made it their business to know everything.
“Yes,” Mason answered. “It's her.”
“You think she's your mate?” Gramma said, cocking her head at him.
“I...I think so.” Mason swore and blurted out, “I know that she's the one!”
Gramma placed her hand over his chest. “In here, in your heart, in every fiber of your being. Do you feel for her? Does her life matter more to you than your own?”
“Yes! I would give my life to save her,” Mason said without hesitation. “My life, all my blood...”
“She's dying?”
“No! I won't let her!” Mason took a painful breath and turned to Gramma. “She has fae blood in her, Gramma.”
Gramma held his gaze and saw right into his heart. “She has no family here. No parents...”
“I don't think so. From what I heard, she just moved to Shadow Point alone.”
“Then you are her only hope.”
Mason's throat tightened. “My blood can only save her if I am her true mate. If I'm not...”
“Don't doubt, Mason. Don't let your fear stop you from seeing and knowing the truth.”
Gramma took his hand. “You already know that she's yours. You've found her. Now you have to do everything to keep her.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Mason looked up at the rushing overhead lights as he was wheeled to the operating room. The doctors had agreed to go ahead with the transfusion, after explaining all the risks to him. Mason had signed his consent and they had prepped him for the transfusion straight away.
There was no time to lose. Suzanne Vela had nothing to lose with this transfusion. She was going to die within the hour if nothing was done. With this transfusion, there was at least a glimmer of hope that she would survive, that they both would survive.
Mating The Bear: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 3) Page 2
