Chapter Thirty
Hex
The ride to the Obsidian Shadow Pack land is filled with uncomfortable silence, interspersed with Kory trying to engage us in conversation.
My nerves are shot from the constant walking on eggshells around Mason.
Now, I've got to do the whole meet-the-family thing.
Yeah, Jericho and I have met already, but that was under extenuating circumstances.
This is the official deal. I'm meeting the entire pack.
"It'll be fine. I promise no one will bite," Mason says, attempting to make a joke to lighten the mood.
"I know," I snap back, irritated that my control is slipping enough for him to be able to feel my nervousness through the bond.
"Hex, please," Kory says. "He's trying."
"Sorry," I mutter, and go back to staring out the window.
I need to get it together. If I keep this up, I'll end up driving Kory away, too.
None of this is his fault. Maybe part of me is still trying to punish Mason for his mistake.
We'll never get anywhere if I can't truly give him a chance.
I wish there was a spell for this emotional crap, but there are somethings even magic can't fix.
Manipulate, sure, but not fix. Besides, magically tinkering with emotions can get dicey, even for an experienced witch.
It's not a quick fix, it's a last resort.
Before I can entertain any more magical temptations, we're pulling up to the pack house.
The place is enormous, which isn't surprising.
It has to house at least a dozen people, not including mates.
I blow out a breath and open the door as soon as Mason parks the truck.
Technically, Mason is supposed to make the introductions, but I need to rip this band-aid off and be done with it.
The pack must have been waiting by the door because I don't even make it up the steps to knock before they're filing out onto the porch.
"Well, this isn't ominous at all," I mutter, forgetting about shifter hearing.
"Welcome, Mason's mate," one of the guys says with a smile, and I see a hint of fang. Vampire if I had to guess.
"Tavian, what are you up to?" Mason asks, his tone full of suspicion.
"What makes you think I'm up to something?"
"Nearly the entire pack is out here, and your smile is unsettling."
"You wound me, Mason. For once, I'm not up to anything but curiosity about the mates you've snagged."
"Uh-huh. We'll, as long as most of you are out here, this is Hex and Kory."
"Great to meet you. I'm Nicola," one of the other guys says. "How about a tour of the immediate property before dinner?"
"Yeah, a tour sounds excellent. You're such a brilliant mate," Tavian says, his smile showing more fang.
I'm starting to agree with Mason. Something's up. It must not be anything dangerous or my wolf mate would be more tense. Maybe it's some kind of test to make sure Kory and I are worthy of the pack. Although, in my case, I'm already a marked mate. They're stuck with me.
"Show us around," I say. I'll play along. Whatever gets this evening over with.
"This way. We'll start with the training building and work our way back to the pack house," Nicola says, stepping down from the porch, Tavian following close behind him.
Mason, Kory, and I troop after them, walking across the space between the buildings. Halfway there, I glance behind us, then lean toward Mason.
"Why is everyone else trailing us?"
"They're weird, that's why," Mason says, not bothering to keep his voice down. "Seriously, what is with everyone tonight?" He turns and walks backward for a few steps, glaring at his family.
"Is it a crime to want to welcome our new family members?" one of the women says.
"Not a crime, Jaz. But this is overdoing it, don't you think?"
When she shrugs in response, Mason turns back around and we approach the training building.
"Right this way," Tavian says, opening the door.
Suddenly, hands grab me and shove me inside. I'm quickly followed by Mason stumbling in where he's been shoved from behind. Before I can get my wits together, the door slams shut.
"What the hell, Mason!" I yell.
"Motherfucker! Tavian, Nicola, let us out!" he yells as he pounds on the door.
"You can keep trying to knock the door down, or you can iron things out with your mate. And we all know this building is made to hold up to shifter strength, so good luck with breaking it," Nicola shouts.
"Kory, baby, talk to Jericho. He'll make these asshats release us," I yell.
"Whose idea do you think this was? Although, I did think we were waiting until after dinner to do this, but whatever. You both are driving me out of my skull. Get your shit together!"
"Is this about the clothesline thing?" I ask Kory through the door.
"I'm telling you, the posts were a better idea. Those branches will snap under the weight of wet clothing," Mason says.
"Will you give it a rest? I tested the branches and they were fine," I snap back.
"Why are you so determined to argue with me about everything? First it was the most efficient way to load a dishrack. Then it was the best way to fix the porch railing. I could go on for days. If you hate me so much, why are we even doing this? Why are you still hanging around?"
"I don't hate you, Mason. That's the problem.
I wanted this to be real from the beginning, Fated or not, and you fucking left.
You threw me away like I was trash. The only reason you're even here now is because of Kory.
I'm just someone you're tolerating. But I swear to the Goddess, if you hurt him, I'll never forgive you. "
"Hex, you know I'm not only here because of Kory. Deep down, you know I'm here for you, too. I know you can feel that. At some point, you're going to have to decide to trust me, or this isn't going to work. I know I haven't given you a reason to in the past, but I'm here now. I'm here, love."
Mason takes my hand and puts it on his chest.
"Feel me, Hex. Feel my wolf. Feel Kory and our bond. Feel us."
I close my eyes. "I'm scared, Mason. If I let my guard down and you leave again…"
"I'm not leaving. Never again."
Opening my eyes, hand still on his heart, I meet his gaze.
"It's not that simple, though, is it? You have a pack.
I have the Nefarious. How long before we have to choose between them and each other?
You may have temporarily left the pack, but it's your family, your blood.
We both know you'll never leave permanently. And you'd resent me if I asked you to."
"You know that's part of the reason I left you back then. I couldn't ask you to leave your entire life for me. But I've been thinking about it. What if we split time between the Nefarious and the pack?"
"You'd be okay being away from the pack land for six months out of the year?"
"I'll adjust. They're still my pack, I'll see them less, that's all. Also, they have this cool thing now called video calls. Maybe you've heard of it?"
"Shut up," I say, with a soft smile, but then turn serious again. "So, we're really going to do this? It's actually happening?"
"You're mine, Hex. You always have been." Mason touches the mating bite he gave me years ago. "It just took me some time to realize it."
Goddess help me, there goes my heart.