Chapter 7 Mason #2
Did that mean someone had been watching me and Levi even back at the cabin? The thought made my stomach twist.
I raked a hand through my hair. Every instinct screamed at me to give him what he wants. To end all of this right now.
All I had to do was tell him about Levi. How easy it would be to get close to him. How Levi already trusted me, probably more than he should. How he liked me.
I could use that.
The thought sat heavy in my chest, like something sour.
If I told Daniel everything, maybe they’d let Kai go. Maybe we could disappear somewhere and never hear Daniel’s voice again.
But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.
My throat constricted like someone had wrapped it in rope. The words I should say, the ones that could save my brother, refused to form.
The silence stretched. Daniel was waiting.
Finally, desperation clawed at me. I hissed the words through clenched teeth, “I don’t know anything, alright? They don’t let me out of the house. They don’t trust me.”
“Y-you need to give me something,” I pushed. “Anything to help me gain their trust.”
The line went quiet. For a heartbeat, I thought maybe he’d leave Levi out of it.
Then Daniel’s voice came again. “Alright. We might have something.” My stomach sank.
“There’s an old service road off Highway 12,” he continued. “You’ll find the turnoff marked by a rusted logging gate. Two days from now. Around dusk. There will be a shifter there, in a cage. Consider it an opportunity.”
The line went dead.
I stood frozen for a moment, staring at the blank screen.
Then, slowly, I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
My legs felt leaden as I walked back toward the porch. Every step dragged. I dreaded facing Nico or Tony, worried they’d ask about the call, or worse, that they’d overheard something.
But when I climbed the steps, the porch was empty. Muffled voices drifted from inside the house. Nico and Tony must have gone in.
I sank into a chair and buried my face in my hands.
I didn’t like the way Daniel had sounded.
There had been something underneath his words, something he wasn’t saying. There was always something he wasn’t saying.
I hated that I’d had to give him information about Nico and Tony. Hated that he already knew about Levi. And, worst of all, hated that my mouth had stayed shut when I should’ve spoken.
Kai was the reason I was here. Every lie, every fake smile, every conversation where I pretended I belonged… it was all supposed to be for him. So we could get away and finally be free of Daniel and the others.
If I wasn’t willing to do whatever it took, what was the point?
“Hey.”
I lifted my head at the sound.
Why was it that every time I felt like this, Levi always seemed to appear?
Usually, the sight of him was enough to calm something inside me almost instantly. Today, it just made the twisting in my stomach worse.
He stood at the edge of the porch, concern etched across his face.
“You were on a call earlier,” he said. “You seemed… is everything alright?”
For a moment, I couldn’t answer.
I forced myself to sit up a little straighter and swallow down the wave of nausea rising in my throat.
“It was from the packless shifter network I told you about,” I said finally, voice rough. “There was a tip. I told them I’d help look into it.”
Levi’s expression shifted immediately. “I can come with you,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve actually been meaning to ask you more about the network. There might be other shifters out there who need help. If we knew how they operate, we could coordinate better.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, then added, “And if you’re willing to stay a little longer, maybe we could work together on it. You’ve already got their trust. It could really make a difference.”
The openness in his face made my chest ache. Like he was glad I’d told him and genuinely wanted to help. Like he believed me.
My stomach twisted harder.
“I can’t really tell you much about them,” I said quietly, shaking my head. “They don’t trust outsiders easily.”
I hesitated. “And I’d like to help more if I could, but I have to be careful. They’re strict about who gets involved.”
That part wasn’t entirely a lie.
“No, I get that.” Levi nodded once. “But I can still help. I’ll get a group together. Just need to clear it with Cooper first.”
His voice had taken on that steady, practical tone again, the one he used when he was already halfway into solving a problem.
“Did they say anything else?”
I nodded, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth.
“We need to go to an old service road off Highway 12,” I said. “There’s supposed to be a shifter there.”
“Alright,” he said quietly, already thinking ahead.
My coyote stirred uneasily inside me, restless and agitated in a way I couldn’t quite explain.
Levi trusted me. And I’d just handed him the coordinates just like Daniel had wanted.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to nod like everything was normal. But the sick feeling in my stomach didn’t go away. If anything, it was only getting worse.