Page 91 of Gray

Mason sat in the last vacant chair and tugged me down on his lap. I wiggled to get comfortable and rested my head on his shoulder.

“How many?” Alastair asked.

“A few.” Taeden’s smirk somewhat faded. “At least two hundred. Probably closer to three.”

“Why would they join him?” Bellamy leaned against the wall. “Reapers are always neutral in these conflicts.”

“Some people will do anything for power.” Taeden looked at Alastair. “As Lust said, we reapers are known for our neutrality. We ferry souls to the other side. That’s it. But after a few centuries, that shit gets old. Some of us start wanting more.”

“What’s Asa offering them? What kind of power?”

Taeden dropped his gaze to his glass, gliding his finger around the rim. “The best power there is.” His eyes lifted. “The power to choose your own life.”

“You make it sound like you’re prisoners,” Mason said.

“Aren’t we?” The reaper eyed my mate. “You still have much to learn about our world, human, but let me enlighten you. When you make a deal with Death, it’s for eternity. I was human once too. We all were. We signed our lives away.”

It was true. All reapers used to be humans that were given a choice upon their death—to serve Death for an immortal life. Collecting souls was the price they paid for it.

“I see,” Alastair said. “So Asa is what… offering them a way out of their contracts? To turn them back into humans?”

Taeden shrugged. “Just the rumor floating around.”

“Tempting offer,” Bellamy said with suspicion ringing in his tone.

“A temptation for some reapers, sure. But for me? Not a chance.” Taeden shook his head, a wicked smile curving his lips. “The screams of damned souls help me sleep at night. Why would I give that up for something as foolish as mortality?”

“Goddamn sadistic son of a bitch,”Mason muttered under his breath.

The trip to the club gave us the answers we’d needed. Yes, reapers had sided with Asa. We also knewwhy: for freedom.

“I’m going to stay for a while,” Bellamy announced as we left the lounge area. His hungry gaze raked over the half-naked males dancing on the raised platforms. He wasn’t Bell anymore. He was Lust. And he was starving.

“I’ll stay with him,” Raiden said.

“Very well,” Alastair said before heading for the exit. Konnar stopped him on the way there, and the two of them spoke quietly, heads close together, before my brother continued toward the door.

The vampire’s stare shifted to Mason, and he nodded in greeting. Though a bit on edge, Mason returned the gesture.

“Do you still hate Konnar?” I asked once we got outside, grabbing Mason’s hand and swinging it back and forth between us.

“No. I don’t trust him though.” Mason tightened his jaw. “I’m working on it.”

“I know you are.” I nuzzled his arm. His bicep was bigger than my whole head. “Thank you for that.”

Alastair unlocked his SUV and slid into the driver’s seat, the ignition rumbling as it came to life.

“I’m not ready to go home,”I told him telepathically.

“Gray…”

I stopped in the parking lot and pulled off my shirt. Mason’s eyes widened. As he started to ask what I was doing, I jogged over to the SUV and placed my shirt on the passenger’s seat.

“Keep this safe for me, ’kay? It’s one of my favorites.”

“Where are you going?” Alastair asked. “At least tell me that much.”

“I’ll know when I get there.”