Chapter 6

Anna

The twins and I had stayed outside late until the fire had started to die. We had kept the conversation light, but the shadow of the council was looming over us. I had told them that there was no way I could go to sleep just yet. I was too worried about Caleb and the others.

Jason had suggested a late-night movie in our personal theatre, so that’s where we were now. Jason was currently curled up on the left side of me, snoring softly. I glanced over to my right. Mason was still awake, and he must have felt the weight of my gaze because he turned to me.

“Hey, Mace?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, Anna?” he murmured to me, inching closer so our voices wouldn’t wake Jason.

“Are we going to talk about earlier?” I said nervously. I hated to be the one to bring it up, but I guess I was being a typical girl because I really wanted to talk about what was going on between us.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You know, in the pool.” I whispered to him with an embarrassed look.

He gave me a slow smile. “Are you asking if we can make out again?” He teased me.

“No!” I answered defensively. Then I thought about how that must have sounded and lowered my voice again. “I mean, not right now or anything.”

His smile got a little wider when I clarified with the second part of my statement but quickly faded back to sober.

“It kind of feels wrong right now.” He answered me quietly. “With what’s happening with Caleb…”

“I know.” Guilt flooded me as he pointed that out.

He reached out a hand for mine and I gave it to him. He moved even closer to me so that we were only inches away.

“You know, I didn’t think you would kiss me back.” He told me. “I thought you would laugh and push me away.”

My eyes widened with surprise. “So, you didn’t mean to really kiss me?” Now I was even more embarrassed about how I acted. He had meant it as a joke and then I took things too far.

“That came out wrong,” he murmured to me. He released my hand and instead put his arm around me to pull me close.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, but I didn’t have the courage to do it.” He told me quietly.

My mouth opened in surprise. “I didn’t think that you really liked me that way.” I told him honestly.

He chuckled. “I think it would be impossible for me not to like you that way.”

I smiled back at him. “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I think this is the first time that I heard you talk about things that you want, individually. You and Jase usually use the word ‘we’ when it comes to things you want.”

He got a dark look in his eyes that sent a thrill down my spine. “Don’t misunderstand, we both want you. You would be getting the package deal with us.”

My eyes widened. It was one thing to kiss them both, but what exactly was he suggesting? Did he and Jason really want to be my boyfriends? What would they say if they knew that I also had thoughts about other pack members as well?

“Would you be able to handle that?” Mason growled. I felt a pang of desire low in my belly at the thought of both of them together. My mind drifted back to the scene in the pool, both of their hands all over my body, my skin pressed against theirs, them taking my mouth one at a time.

“Yes,” I responded breathlessly.

I could see the desire building in his eyes and I cleared my throat. “I have to tell you, that I’m not really a casual girl.” I lowered my eyes awkwardly. “I mean, I’m not the type who does the whole friends with benefits thing.”

My face flushed red. I was making this conversation even more awkward than it had been. But I wanted to be clear because I was already emotionally attached to them. I don’t think I could handle it if they were with me one night and another girl the next. I had no idea what their previous dating habits were, but I could probably take a guess.

He raised my chin so that my eyes met his. “Believe me, I know. I never thought that girls like you existed. But here we are.”

I felt his breath on my lips a moment before his mouth brushed mine gently. He pulled back with a sigh. “You are making it difficult me for to do the right thing.” He told me as he brushed a piece of my hair out of my face.

I sighed as well. Thoughts of Caleb came rushing back to me. What was happening to him right now? Was he in a prison cell? Was he hurt or suffering while I laid here comfortably with the twins?

I pulled away from Mason. “I’m going to go up to bed.” I told him resolutely. I needed to put some space between us to cool down the heat that was rising inside me.

He leaned back and threaded his fingers behind his head. I forced my gaze away from his abs where his shirt had risen up to expose them and tried to keep my eyes on his face. His very handsome face, with lush lips that were waiting to be kissed.

I groaned and turned away. “Goodnight, Mason.” I quietly murmured as I headed for the stairs to bring me up to my room.

After getting ready for bed and climbing in beneath my blankets I just stared at the ceiling. This morning had started off with me feeling sad, but comfortable in my new life. The chaos surrounding Caleb’s arrest brought everything back into perspective for me. I was feeling helpless, not being able to help him.

That feeling reminded me of how I felt after Evelyn was murdered. I still did not know who was responsible for her murder. How could I say goodbye to her and make peace with her loss when whomever had done it was still out there?

I had a promise from Austin and the other guys that they were doing everything they could to find the murderer. But why wasn’t I? How could I be content to just sit by and wait for them to solve my problems for me?

I had become too complacent. I needed to find my place here with the pack, but it wasn’t going to be as a passive bystander. I needed to take control of my life again.