Page 8 of Mason

Holding the pendulum over the map, I wait.And wait.And wait.

Nothing.Not even a blip.

Apollo, you suck.

Resisting the urge to throw the pendulum across the room, I set it down on the table.Time to try some astral projection.Opening my eyes, I grab a citrine, amethyst, and angelite stones from a bowl and hold them while I attempt to project myself to wherever Kory is.Unfortunately, I can't get liftoff.I'm solidly still in my body.As I'm about to set the stones back in the bowl, I see a building in my mind.Quickly, I study it, trying to commit it to memory before the vision fades.It might not be much, but it's a place to start.

Okay, Apollo.Maybe you don't suck.

Setting the stones back where they belong.I stand and head for the door.I need to go search for information on this house.With a snap, I douse the candles, then close the door and head for my living quarters.

Chapter Eleven

Mason

Istayedatthehotel in Bison Ridge for a couple of days, waiting for Hex to show back up at the clubhouse outside the main part of town, but he never did.The place remained locked up tight.The MC has bases all over, most secret locations I wouldn't know how to locate if I tried.He must have gone to one of those.Since my connection to Kory is so new and fragile, I don't have a way to attempt to find him without Hex's help.And I've lost any assistance I may have gotten from Cipher, at least until Hex and I fix things between us.Without a way to move forward, there wasn't anything to do but come home with my tail between my legs and face the music.

I've avoided my family by living in my wolf form out on our pack land, but Jericho has had enough of my bullshit, and frankly, my wolf has also become unbearable.He only wants to find our missing mate and patch things up with the club witch.

"Are you finally ready to fill us in on what the fuck is going on with you?"Jericho asks as I step into the mudroom and slip on a pair of sweats.

"Yes, Alpha," I say, because he's using his Alpha tone, which he only does when he's serious about something.Right now, he's not my brother.He's the leader of our pack.

I follow him to the library where everyone else is present with the exception of Wyatt.He's still taming his newly turned vampire mate at one of our more remote cabins.I'm sure it won't take Tavian long to share the latest gossip with Wyatt when he goes up to check in on them.

My brothers and cousins pour themselves drinks and settle in, then look at me expectantly.Taking a seat, I look down at the rug under the coffee table like it holds the secrets of the Universe.As long as I'm looking down, I can't see the betrayal in my family's eyes once they find out what I've done.

"You remember a while back, Isadora sent us on a mission to find that senator's kid who had been kidnapped?I ended up going in undercover as a guard.It took months to get me in the door, and I was inside for a couple months before I was able to make a move.Something happened while I was inside, something I never told you about."

Collectively, my family shifts forward in their seats.It's unnerving how in sync they are.

"I gave my bite to someone."I let the statement drop and wait for the fallout.

"A while back?Mason, that was years ago!"Jericho shouts."You've had a mate all this time?"

Jericho jets off the couch and paces several times, probably fighting to keep his wolf contained.When he turns back, I look up and meet his glowing eyes.His wolf is pissed!

"You broke the pack promise we had in place at the time.You lied by omission.And you put us in danger by not letting us in on all the facts.What if your mate had let our secret slip?Did you even think about that?About the rest of us?Or were you thinking with your dick?"

I wait to see if he's going to say more.Interrupting him right now would not go over well.He looks at me, silent, but raging.I guess I have the floor.

"I meant no disrespect, Alpha.It was an emergency to save my mate from harm."

"I could forgive an emergency situation, Mason.But you had years to tell us.Years!What were you thinking?You had to know this would come out eventually."

"Wait," Nicola says, looking at me, "if you've been mated all this time, where and when have you been seeing your mate?How could you have hidden them from us for so long?"

Bracing myself for more wrath, I say, "I haven't seen him.We've been apart all this time."

Jericho goes eerily still."You left your mate?"He doesn't give me a chance to answer."Get out of my sight until I send for you, but don't leave pack grounds."

I make a quick exit before he changes his mind and gets physical about it.

I spend the night in my wolf form, wandering the forest.Eventually, I get some sleep, but I'm awake early.Sitting with my muzzle resting on my paws, I watch the water in the stream float by.I'm not sure what to do with myself.My ears twitch as I pick up a heartbeat and my brother's scent.If Nicola's here to give me shit, I'll take it.I deserve it.

"Why didn't you tell us, Mason?"There's no anger in his voice, just hurt and disappointment.Somehow that's worse than Jericho's raging.

Nicola sits beside me, setting a basket down in front of my paws."I brought you food.I wasn't sure if you'd eaten, in either form, after last night."