Page 47 of Gray

“What did they say? Are they gonna help?”

“Scarlett was game. Grim and Storm Breaker were all for it too.” We walked closer to the shore behind the mansion. “They said they’d spread the word to the other hunters.”

“Those are funny names.”

“Storm Breaker’s real name is Thor.”

I grinned. “Does he have long blond hair and muscles too?”

Mason shook his head with a smile of his own. “Not quite.”

The tops of his cheeks were pink, probably from the cool air. He didn’t seem to mind it though. He closed his eyes, face turned upward, as if basking in the sun.

And I basked in the sight of him.

“What did Phoenix want?” The question came out before I could stop it. When Mason looked at me, I got nervous and started speed-talking. “I remember you saying he wanted you to be a spy. And I heard you and Galen last night outside my door. He said Phoenix made you an offer and you almost accepted it. Why would you want to though? You fight against bad guys, not with them.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Phoenix must’ve offered you something you really wanted. But you don’t seem like the kind of guy to be swayed by money or anything like that. So what was it?”

Mason blew out a breath and faced the cliffs.

“Okay. We don’t have to talk about it right now.” I faced the cliffs too, standing close beside him. The sea stretched before us, the water calm beneath the morning sky. “Pretty, huh? I love it here. I’d love it more if we were somewhere tropical ’cause it gets so cold in the winter, but you really can’t beat this view.”

“I take it you’ve lived in many different places?”

“Yep. We’ve been in Echo Bay for sixty years. We’ve also lived in Paris, Scotland, and Japan. A bunch of places in a bunch of countries. You name it, I bet we’ve been there.”

The sun brought out the faint traces of gold in Mason’s eyes, like pools of honey swirling in a barrel of rich brandy. “What made you choose Echo Bay?”

“Hmm. Oh, yeah! We came here for a job. Rogue vamps were draining humans left and right, so we were brought in to take care of it. That’s when we met Konnar.”

“Konnar?”

“He’s an ancient vampire and a really good guy,” I explained. “He helped us deal with the problem and asked us to stick around afterward to help him enact some rules for this town. He had the vision for a while of a town where everyone, humans and supernaturals alike, could coexist. It’s why things are so good here now.”

Mason stilled beside me. “You’re friends with vampires?”

“Yep.” My smile slipped at the hard look in his eyes. “That bothers you. Why?”

“Because vampires are evil, Gray.”

“Not all of them. Same for werewolves, shapeshifters, and faeries too. Especially here in Echo Bay. Konnar doesn’t tolerate humans being hurt. We don’t either. A lot of other non-humans feel the same. They just wanna live in peace, ya know? To have families and live their lives. If one steps out of line, we take care of it.”

“So you wait around for one of them to kill? Why not wipe them out before that happens? Problem solved.”

I gaped at him. “Wipe them all out? But they’re innocent.”

“Innocent?” Mason turned his large body toward me. “Tell that to all the humans who’ve had their throats ripped out or who’ve been eaten alive. Monsters are monsters, Gray. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself, their brutal natures will always win. Eventually. Better to put a bullet in them and be done with it.”

Tears surged in my eyes. “You think because you’re born a certain way, you can’t fight to be better?”

The anger lifted from him as he studied my face. “What’s wrong?”

My heart felt like it’d been pulverized. “You just told me all monsters should be killed. Well, guess what? That includes me too.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not a—”