Page 69 of Gray

“I’m sorry.” The backs of my eyes stung. “But what about the bodies? Surely their state after the ghouls fed on them helped back up Carson’s story.”

“They were blown apart by the grenades, so their deaths weren’t looked further into. And the men who were dragged off into the night and found days later? Their deaths were labeled as animal attacks. I finished my last tour and came home, never telling anyone what really happened. But the nightmares got so bad I ended up swallowing my pride and seeing a therapist. I didn’t tell them about the ghouls at first. I just needed someone to talk to.”

“Did that help?”

Mason nodded. “After six months of weekly sessions, I word vomited all over him, telling him everything. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. That’s how I learned about hunting.”

“Your therapist was a hunter?”

“No. But he’d met a group of hunters before when his cousin was killed by a wendigo and they came to town to track it down. Once I finally opened up to him, he gave me some info. I contacted Scarlett, and everything fell into place after that. Been hunting ever since.”

“Scarlett is the one you were talking to on the phone.” Acid churned in my belly. “Is she your ex-girlfriend? Lover?”

I didn’t have room to be jealous, especially after Mason met Nick. But still. I hated the thought of his hands, lips, or any part of him on anyone else.

He was mine.

“Neither. Scar’s the closest thing I have to a best friend.” A pause. “I told her not to tell the other hunters about Konnar and his club. I didn’t mean to betray your trust or make you think I was plotting against you.” Mason put more distance between us. I let him. “The ghoul attack turned my world upside down. And when I learned there were more out there… vamps, wolves, demons… I dedicated my life to killing them. Yeah, Konnar claims to be different. But every vampire I’ve ever met was a goddamn menace.”

“Do you think you’ll ever be able to trust him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should leave, then.” The words came out before I could stop them. What was I saying?

That same question shone in his expression as he looked at me, lips parted and brow furrowed. “What?”

My soul was practically screaming at me.

“If you can’t trust us, there’s no point in you being here.” My irritation from earlier spread through me again. But so did the ache in my chest. I didn’t want him to leave, but I couldn’t jeopardize our mission. “We have a freaking war to fight, Mason. We don’t have time to worry about you stabbing us in the back.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah? Then what do you call what you just did? Sneaking off to tell your hunter friend about Krave and all the supernatural beings there. Threatening to kill them. I get that you hate anyone who’s not human, but if you can’t see that we’re all on the same side, then you need to leave before—”

“I don’t want to leave.” In two strides, Mason was in front of me and pulling me to his chest. He lowered his face to my neck, a slight tremble in his big body. “I don’t want to leaveyou.”

“Then have some faith in me,” I whispered. “For thousands of years, we’ve protected humans. We wouldn’t befriend someone who hurts them.”

Mason shakily inhaled. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“This is just a lot.”

“I know,” I repeated, rubbing his back.

That’s when I sensed them—my brothers. The back of my neck tingled, and I looked behind me. The four of them stood on the patio, arms crossed. Me being upset must’ve woken them.

“Want me to kick his fucking ass?”Galen projected into my head.“I’ll do it. Gladly.”

“I’ll help,”Bellamy said.

Raiden cracked his knuckles.“Anyone who upsets my Smalls gets a fisting.”

“For fuck’s sake, Raiden.”Alastair pinched the bridge of his nose.“That’s… that’s not what that means.”

I giggled despite the fresh tears in my eyes. I was used to physical exhaustion, but being emotionally drained took more out of me. I wanted to curl up in bed and sleep for days.