Chapter 14

Mason

 

Caleb had given us the heads up last night that he was taking Anna, so we wouldn’t go looking for her. I was still surprised when I looked in her room to check on her, just to find her bed empty. Jason had sent a flicker of surprise in my direction too.

A part of me was glad that Caleb had watched over her last night while the house was full of wolves, especially after alcohol really started to flow. I have no doubt that Jase and I would have had to put at least a couple of wolves in their place if they hit on Anna.

Austin had needed us to police the party and make sure all of our wolves stayed under control. James had collected keys from everyone and told them to come see him when they wanted to leave. I knew James, if they weren’t stone cold sober then they weren’t going anywhere. The house was full of wolves who had stayed the night.

I headed to Caleb’s room now with Jason close on my heels. I doubted that he would have done anything with Anna, he was a nice guy. But if he hurt her…

Jason ran ahead of me to pounce on Caleb’s bed. I heard a masculine grunt and I suspected that Jason had landed uncomfortably on Caleb. I flicked on the lights. Anna was cuddled up to Caleb on his side of the bed and they were both rubbing their eyes from the sudden burst of light.

I narrowed my eyes. Anna never cuddled up to Jason and I, she always kept a little bit of distance between us. Jason flicked his eyes at me, he noticed it as well. The pups were stretching and yawning on the other side of the bed. I went to sit next to them and they wagged their little tails in greeting.

“What the fuck, guys?” Caleb grumbled. “It’s not even five o’clock in the morning.”

“Yeah, Austin wants the house cleaned up before everyone goes to their work details this morning.” I told him.

Anna groaned and pulled the covers over her head. I tugged gently on the blanket. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. James has special plans for you.”

She let me pull the blanket down, so I could see her face. “What plans?” she asked suspiciously.

“Training starts today!” Jason announced cheerfully.

Anna frowned. “When James said he wanted to start today, I assumed he meant at a reasonable hour. Like after work.”

“Nope.” I laughed. “James doesn’t believe in training at reasonable hours.”

“Uggg.” Anna threw back the covers and rolled out of the bed. I was happy to see that she was fully dressed in sweats and a hoodie. I leaned closer to pick up on any scents that would give away activity from last night. I could smell Caleb all over her, but that was expected since she had slept in his bed.

“Uh, Mason.” She looked at me with accusation in her eyes. “Are you smelling me right now?”

Caleb met my eyes and shook his head. He knew exactly what I was doing right now.

Jason laughed. “Yeah, Mason. You’re being weird right now.” He gave me a shit eating grin. I narrowed my eyes at him, that shithead was supposed to be on my side.

Anna just shrugged it off. “Jase, can you bring the pups out, so I can get dressed for whatever James has planned for me?”

“Yeah, Anna.” He answered. He shot a couple thoughts my way, he was leaving it up to me to talk to Caleb. Caleb would probably be less intimidated if it were just me and not both of us.

Jason left with the pups and Anna followed behind him, still yawning. The door swung shut behind Anna. Caleb and I just looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Caleb sat up in the bed and looked at me. “I’m guessing it’s time for a man to man talk?”

I nodded. “Now is as good a time as any.”

Caleb cleared his throat. “I like Anna and she likes me. But she also likes you guys.”

I didn’t say anything and let him continue his thought.

“In my pack the females had more than one mate.” He told me, watching for my reaction.

“Our mom was a piece of shit who would sleep with anyone who would have her. At least until she finally managed to sink her claws into the pack master.” I told him bluntly.

He exhaled and looked at me sharply. “Anna isn’t like that.”

I sighed. “I know, just let me finish. We had two other females in the pack, both of them had more than one mate.”

Caleb nodded in understanding.

“Our mom was proud of the way that she used sex to manipulate and destroy men. When Jase and I got older we both agreed that one and done was the best policy when it came to human females. We have always been cautious about getting attached.”

“Obviously, we know that every woman in the world isn’t like our mother. But both of us have a fear deep down that we will get taken in and used by a female like that.”

Caleb’s face softened. “Anna is someone who will love each of her mates with her whole heart. I know that you guys give her something that I can’t. I don’t feel jealous about that, I just feel comforted that she is happy.”

“I know what you mean.” I told him quietly. “If we stay focused on making Anna happy, then we won’t have problems.”

Caleb gave me a rueful smile. “There’s going to be problems. There’s going to be times when we all need her and there’s only one of her. What matters is that we can work out those problems in a way that makes us all happy.”

I huffed. He was right. “Jason and I had assumed we would probably have to work this out with Austin.”

Caleb leaned back with a sigh. “And James.”

My eyebrows rose. “James?” I thought back to times when James had been around Anna. I had noticed that he was softer with her than the rest of us, but I had just assumed it was because she was a female. Softer wasn’t really a word I’d use to describe James, maybe a little less rough around the edges would be a better description of how he was with her.

“Yes, James.” Caleb confirmed.

“I think we should just talk to Austin first.” I told him slowly. Austin was the final authority on things that happened within his pack. If he agreed to this, then James would have to fall in line.

I could picture Anna being happy with Caleb. He would be sweet and gentle with her but James? He was an asshole on his good days.

I left Caleb to go back to sleep while I went to go wake up the rest of the pack, this house wasn’t going to clean itself. I was not looking forward to having this conversation with Austin, so it would be best to put him in a good mood beforehand.