Chapter 123: Chapter 123
Mason POV
I look away when Kane feeds Elara a strawberry. It is too painful to watch. Elara and I are over. I know it. I get it, but it does not make things easier. I am not over her, and I would do anything to get her back again.
I look at Lanie in my arms, and emotions overwhelm me. My life could have been so different. First it was Alice, then Elara. I could’ve been the one by their side—but one by one, they left me... and ended up in Kane’s arms.
Now, I am sitting here – the third wheel – while my brothers have everything.
Axel laughs loudly at something, and I look up. He is holding a slice of mango and Isaac is eagerly sucking on it.
“You should take her,” I hand Lanie to Kane, and stand up. “I must leave.”
“Leave?” Elara frowns. “To where, and for what?”
“I ... I can’t do this,” I wave to the intimate, happy scene. “It’s too much.”
“Mason, wait,” Elara places Stella down, jumps up and places her hand on my arm. “You’re their uncle. You’re part of their lives. Don’t leave.”
“You don’t get it,” I snap, shoving her hand off my arm. “You and I ... we had something. Something real. And I understand why you left me, but that doesn’t make any of this easy for me. The twins could’ve been mine. I could’ve been a father to Stella. Now, I’m the lonely uncle wishing that he could trade places with his brothers. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines of the life I wanted.”
“Mason, you can’t go!” Elara shouts as I walk away. “You can’t cross the barrier, it’s too dangerous.”
“They’re not looking for me,” I shout in return. “I’ll be fine.”
Axel POV
“I’ll go after him,” I volunteer, standing up.
“No, don’t,” Elara says, petrified. “He’s right, the Council is tracking you, not him.”
“Elara, what do you think is going to happen when the Council finds a rogue around here?” Kane asks.
“They’re going to investigate and find us,” I finish for him.
“You heard Anton and Braden,” Kane continues. “Orion has the Council in his pocket. He knows Mason is with us.”
“Be careful!” Elara shouts as I run after Mason.
I sprint in the direction Mason disappeared, shifting just before I cross the threshold of the enchantment. The fur on my neck prickles as soon as I am on the other side. Even though the forest is mostly quiet, I feel exposed, like I am a moving target.
I can still detect Mason’s scent, and as I follow the trail, a vague sense of uneasiness creeps over me.
I know I am doing the right thing, but Elara has a point. If I can scent Mason, then so can our enemies. And we are cutting a path straight back to the cabin. If Braden is telling the truth, everyone is safe inside. But if Orion and the Council know our location, then surely, they can eventually break down the enchantment.
Goddess, why did Mason have to be so fucking hot-headed and emotional?
Okay, the man has a point. I would also be pissed to sit and watch how the woman I love cuddle with others, but endangering all of us is just stupid and selfish.
Finally, his wolf comes into view ahead of me. I push my body forward, willing Blade to comply. My paws thunder against the earth as I run faster than ever and finally catch up to Mason. I run alongside him for a moment before diving sideways, knocking him off course.
We both roll along the forest floor, finally coming to a stop at the base of a huge, old tree. Mason gets up and jumps on top of me, pinning me down. I look into his eyes, expecting them to be fiery with anger, but instead, they are full of hurt. I relax, and he pushes himself off me. I roll over, shift and face him.
“I know this shit sucks,” I say calmly. “But it’s not worth getting killed over.”
Mason paces the small clearing, huffing and snorting.
“Mason, I’m not going to pretend to understand,” I say firmly. “But things haven’t been an easy ride for us, either. We had to stand back and watch you date our mate, even though our wolves were tearing us apart. You were there when our daughter was born. That’s a memory we’ll never have. Our father is trying to kill us. Life sucks, man, all we can do is deal with it.”
Mason shifts back and looks at me.
“I loved her,” he says, broken and defeated. “I can’t go back, it’s too hard.”
“Oh, boo-hoo,” I roll my eyes, and he growls at me. “You have survived much worse than a broken heart. But I’m not going to beg you. If you want to curl up and die, go for it. But for the love of the Goddess, go do it where you don’t leave a trace towards the cabin.”
I shift, turn around and run back. A second later, Mason is running beside me, and I sigh in relief. My life would be less complicated without him, but the last thing I want is for him to put my mate and children in danger because he is in pain.
I relax a little when the cabin is in sight, but then I hear something. The sound of running, or something big brushing against the limbs of trees. We are being followed.
Mason looks at me and nods. He heard it too; I am not paranoid.
We veered dramatically east for a few moments, then took another sharp turn, sprinting at insane speed. I struggle to keep up with his crazy bobbing and weaving.
Eventually, the sounds of other movements stop, and Mason corrects our course back to the cabin.
It comes into view only moments later, and we run the last few yards toward the line of enchantment. But just before I cross it, something darts out of the woods and tackles me to the ground.
