Mason’s Mission (Shifter Ranch Mates #6)

Chapter 1

ONE

Mason

A loud bang from outside my workshop reverberated through me, pulling me back to another time and place, but I shook off the memories that threatened to swarm me.

I couldn’t afford to be stuck in the past with the threat that hung over my family’s ranch.

Still, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead as a second bang sounded.

My brother Ethan was chopping wood and tossing it into the woodshed at the back of my shop.

But knowing what it was didn’t stop the reaction that was now instinctive.

A need to duck and cover and escape harm.

As a bear shifter, my reflexes were fast, and it took everything in me to keep from throwing myself under the table.

It hadn’t always been this bad. When I first returned from the military, I’d struggled, but I survived. For years, I thought I’d buried the past. But with Vince stirring up trouble, everything had come rushing back.

The door swung open, and I tensed before forcing myself to relax.

It was only Declan, my older brother. I was one of six boys; all but Declan were adopted.

Together we ran our family ranch, which we’d turned into a dude ranch following the deaths of our parents.

Losing our private sanctuary had been hard, but it was the only way to save it from financial ruin.

“A new batch of guests arrive this afternoon.” Declan strode over to my desk, where I was studying the video feeds from our property. He studied the screens over my shoulder. “You can’t watch all the time. Are you getting any sleep?”

“Enough.” I could get by on only a little rest, though I was pushing it. The Vince situation had dragged on so long, it was impossible to remember my last full night of real sleep.

“I don’t believe you.” Declan’s voice didn’t waver as he leaned back against the worktable and crossed his arms.

I gritted my teeth. I’d been expecting him to confront me, but I had hoped everything would resolve before he got around to it. Apparently my luck—what little I had—was gone.

Our ranch had been the target of sabotage since before we transformed it into a dude ranch.

Perhaps even further back than we were aware.

Plenty of minor problems had happened over the years that alone raised no suspicion but in hindsight painted a grim picture.

It wasn’t until our brother Austin’s mate, Emily, overheard her brother Vince talking that we realized he was responsible.

Ultimately, though, it was my fault. What ruined our friendship was a tragedy that could have been avoided. If only I’d been faster. Or stronger. Or… something more. Instead, I’d failed Aaron. And now, my family was paying the price.

My hand automatically rubbed my thigh, feeling the scar tissue through my pants. A reminder that not even my shifter healing had erased.

“I’m not here to ask about Vince.” Declan gave a wry smile at my look of surprise. “You’re my brother. I trust you to tell us when needed. But you can’t continue this way.”

“He’ll be back.” It was the one thing I kept telling them. Vince would never give up. He had decided I needed to pay, and he would see it through. “If I get the security right—”

“You’ll never get it perfect. We have too much land.

Too many people coming and going between the dude ranch and the art gallery.

” Declan dropped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m more worried about you.

You look rough. Go take a shower. Shave that scruff off and trim your hair.

If your mate were to show up today, you might just scare her off. ”

“No mate is showing up for me.” My response was automatic, and my stomach hollowed.

He narrowed his eyes. “You can’t know that. Fate will put your mate in your path eventually.”

I stayed silent. There was no point arguing with him. From where he stood, his words made sense. All my brothers had found theirs, leaving only me for fate to work on.

But fate had already worked its magic. Our paths had, if not crossed, veered close enough for me to catch her scent.

Wild roses and rain. Her long reddish-brown hair had been pulled back in a bun, and her face, though streaked with tears, was beautiful, with rosy lips and high cheekbones.

She was tall and willowy, but strong. Despite the pain of the day, she’d stood firm, with shoulders squared.

I couldn’t see her eyes from my position, but it wasn’t necessary. I’d seen them before—in a folded photograph. She was laughing then, her bright-green eyes somehow seeing inside of me even from the creased print. Familiar eyes. Eyes I saw on every deployment.

Until they were gone.

And those green eyes were eyes I never deserved to see again.

“Mason?” Declan shook my shoulder, his own eyes displaying his concern. “Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere.” The words rasped out of my tight throat. “Just thinking about moving the cameras in the east pasture.”

He didn’t believe me. His jaw tightened, as if he wanted to call me out on my lie but fought it. He shook his head. “Enough about the security for now. You need to rest and clean up before the guests arrive.”

“But I—”

“I wasn’t asking.” His voice was firm; he sounded a lot like Dad when he was done talking. Looked like him too. Since meeting his mate Chloe, he’d turned from a rigid grump into the wise mentor of the family, taking on Dad’s role.

I rubbed at my chest, as if it were possible to soothe the ache I still felt at the loss of the parents who’d adopted me at five. An ache only magnified at knowing that finding his mate had precipitated the change and made him into the best version of himself.

Something I would never be, never have.

A dream that had died without a word spoken.

Brooke

“Those shifters aren’t half bad.” The older waitress was haggard, face lined from what I suspected was a lifetime of smoking if the scent on her clothes was anything to go by.

“They come into town every now and again. More than they used to before they turned the place into a dude ranch and art gallery. Easy on the eyes, that’s for sure. ”

I lifted my mug to take a sip of coffee as I considered her words, adding the confirmation that Mason was a shifter to the little information I’d gathered on him.

The army hadn’t been forthcoming with details about my twin brother’s squad, only telling me that both men I was searching for had been discharged from military service with honors.

“And Vince?” I dropped the question casually, as if it didn’t matter to me. I knew what I’d read in the newspapers at the local library. He was wanted for questioning about an attempted murder and regarding the sabotage of Shifter Ranch.

The woman frowned, eyes darkening. “That was a surprise. His family was a pillar of the community. Took over the family ranch when his daddy had a stroke. Never saw that mess coming. Heard he even poisoned his father to keep him sick longer.”

That was a piece that didn’t fit the puzzle I was building. But beyond what the military had told me, all I had was my brother’s final email that only mentioned Mason and Vince in passing. I got the sense they were friends, not just squad mates, but maybe I was wrong.

Still, it was all I had.

“How do you know those two, anyway?” The waitress eyed me curiously. That was the problem with gossips. They inevitably tried to turn it around to get more fodder for the rumor mill.

It wasn’t my first time doing this, though. I’d been a private detective for five years now and had experience weaving my way through conversations.

“I read a newspaper article and was curious.” I shrugged, keeping it vague. “Not every day you hear about shifters in human territory. But you’ve got an eye for detail. I’m sure you’ve seen a little bit of everything.”

She preened a little at my compliment, not picking up on my redirect.

I laid down a five-dollar bill to cover my coffee and tip and nodded to her. “Thanks for the coffee. I have some errands to run this afternoon.”

I grabbed my bag and left the diner. Though I hadn’t gotten much information, it was better than going into Shifter Ranch blind.

I’d reserved a cabin for a week, but I hoped it wouldn’t take that long to discover what had happened to my brother.

Mason might hesitate to share if it was classified, but I could be persuasive.

I wasn’t planning on publishing the information.

I just wanted the truth. The army had called it a training accident, but my brother and I had used codes to communicate.

He was special ops, meaning everything he did was classified, but he always notified me about missions.

He didn’t want me to worry if I didn’t hear from him for a while.

The last email I received had used our code words.

I wanted—no, I needed to know how my brother died. I had paused my life the moment the military delivered that folded flag.

There were other ways to get the information using my skills, but they weren’t legal, and I wasn’t quite desperate enough to risk prison time. Yet.

So I’d settled on paying a visit to Shifter Ranch.

I slid behind the wheel of my rental car and entered the ranch into my phone’s map. It was about a half-hour drive from here. The scenery was pretty, but I wasn’t here for the hills and trees. I resisted the temptation to speed. Now that I was close to an answer, it was difficult to be patient.

I hadn’t decided how to approach Mason. Would he be there to greet guests, or was he the cowboy-riding-a-horse kind of guy? Should I rush in firing questions, asking for him, or hang back and scope out the situation?

The turn to the ranch came before I made my decision.

The gravel drive crunched beneath my tires as I approached the large sage-green farmhouse.

A tall, bearded man stepped onto the front porch, a woman with a riot of red curls right behind him.

She practically skipped down the steps as she crossed over to where I parked. The man followed her closely.

“Hi. You must be Brooke. I’m Chloe, this is my mate Declan.

” The redhead grinned, holding her hand out to shake.

Her grip was surprisingly strong, though I probably should have expected it, since we were on a working dude ranch.

“You’re the last to arrive, but you’ve got the best cabin, if you ask me. ”

“Welcome to Shifter Ranch.” Declan slid his arm around Chloe’s waist. “Hope you had a good drive.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant by mate, but it was pretty obvious they were a couple. “Thanks. It took me a couple days, but I saw lots of the country on my way.”

Chloe elbowed Declan. “Get her bag. I’ll show her to the cabin.” She turned to me. “Dinner is in an hour. We serve it buffet style in the pavilion behind the main house.”

Did I want to meet Mason in front of everyone, guests included?

I didn’t trust myself to hold back once I saw him.

With only their first names, it had taken me years to find them.

And the majority of my time had been spent learning the necessary skills.

That was why I trained as a private detective instead of finishing my computer science degree.

I blew out a breath, deciding to jump right in. “I actually came here to see Mason.”

Declan and Chloe’s gazes both whipped to me before they exchanged a complicated look. It was Declan who finally responded. “How do you know Mason?”

“He was… a friend of my brother.” I hesitated to describe him as a friend, because it was a guess but went with my gut. “They served in the army together.”

Surprise lit his face. He studied me as if gauging my character. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him, because he said, “He’s in his workshop. Would you like to settle in first or go straight to Mason?”

“Mason, please.”

With only minutes separating me from meeting him, the pit in my stomach turned into a chasm.

He might not be receptive to revisiting his time in the military.

If my brother died on a mission, that probably meant things had gone sideways at some point.

It might be a difficult topic. But I wouldn’t back down now.

I needed answers like I needed my next breath.

Declan hefted my bag over his shoulder and motioned for me to follow him.

The path led around the main house and past a building with an art gallery sign.

There was a small cabin nestled among a patch of trees near a large garage-style building.

He opened a door on the side of the larger building and stepped inside.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of oil and machinery. Then, all I saw was him.

A broad-shouldered man with short, dark hair and a tight expression stood up from where he was crouched next to a small tractor with the hood open, his piercing blue eyes trained on me.

He grabbed a rag and wiped his hands, gaze never wavering.

I couldn’t read anything in his eyes. They were shuttered, blank of all emotion.

But I felt a pull to him I could only describe as magnetic.

I wanted to walk up to him and smell him. Touch him. It was insane. I’d experienced attraction to men before—at twenty-seven, I hadn’t lived a nun-like existence—but this was another level.

And I needed to shut it down. He had the answers I wanted. He knew the truth of what had happened to Aaron.