MASON

I slammed my hands against the railing to the stairway. It splintered in two then fell crumpled to the ground in a heap of dust.

A slurping noise sounded behind me. With a growl, I turned. Alex sipped on his hot drink, shirtless, black leather pants tied low on his hips, barefoot, and his crazy yellow-orange hair fell past his shoulders in a heap of sunlight.

“What?” I said it slowly, purposefully showing my fangs.

He slurped more of whatever the hell was in the purple I Heart Unicorns mug and shrugged. “Just watching.”

“Don’t you have a woman to please?”

He laughed at that, “Don’t want to kill her with all the pleasure, wolf. She’s sleeping.”

“Then go be anywhere else.”

“Ethan’s gonna be pissed about his stairway, all that wood.” He licked his lips. “Wood, wood, wood—”

“If you won’t leave, I will.” I turned on my heel and stomped through the dust all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Damn it, I’d promised I’d make her something to eat.

My eyes darted to the freezer as indecision washed over me. My mouth pooled with saliva.

All that meat.

All that blood.

I shook my head.

Just cook the meat, Mason. Don’t eat it raw. That’s not normal. None of that is normal for a wolf.

The kitchen was blessedly silent except for the sound of pots and pans hitting the stove as I rummaged through trying to find a cast iron skillet that would sear the filet mignon I’d spied earlier when I was playing mind games with myself and chomping down on the dry pinecone I still tasted on my tongue.

I jerked open the fridge, grabbed a bowl of berries, and started popping them in my mouth. Their sweet juices exploded over my tongue, coating it with sweet intensity that reminded me of tasting her. Serenity.

Hell, just my luck. She tasted like my favorite fruit.

I rolled my eyes and dropped some oil in the stove then grabbed the filet and slammed the door to the freezer only to see Cassius looming at me with a dark expression.

At least his wings were tucked back.

His arms, however, were crossed like he was pissed.

“Can I help you?” I busied myself with the steak while he paced in front of the granite breakfast bar and then pressed his hands onto the solid black rock.

“What the ever-loving hell were you thinking?”

I shrugged and flipped another berry in my mouth. Raspberries, they tasted more like her than blueberries did. I made a note then burned it up in my head and ignored the pang in my chest. It matched the pain in my gut that told me I needed to eat something other than a freaking berry. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The vamp’s hungry. I’m making her meat.”

“Steak.” Cassius sighed and then groaned. “It’s a steak. You’re cooking her a steak not making her meat.”

I shrugged.

“You cooked for Genesis too,” Cassius said, the air crackling with tension. “It’s typical to cook for one’s mate…”

I grabbed a spatula and dusted some cracked pepper onto the steak, “Genesis was a starved human who was getting fed from a psychotic vampire with a man bun.”

“At least I know what you really think of me.” The smell of honey and vanilla filled the room briefly as Ethan swept past Cassius and stood next to me with his arms crossed as well. “You do that to the stairway?”

I ignored him.

“The fact remains…” Cassius’ voice deepened. “…you are making her a meal. After…” He cleared his throat.

“After?” Ethan perked up. “What after? What happened up there?”

“He started the mating process,” Alex chimed in.

I dropped the spatula and sighed. “Does no one believe in privacy?”

“Course not.” Ethan shrugged. “Just like apparently no one believes in t-shirts around here.”

Cassius looked down. “I’m fully clothed.”

“Except him…” Ethan sighed. “…and myself. It’s like we’re the only ones who understand that clothing is necessary to fit in.”

“I fit in just fine,” I pointed out.

Ethan’s green eyes raked over me from my worn flip-flops all the way up to my naked chest. “Sure, whatever you say, Mason. Hey, going shopping for pinecones later?”

“Bite me,” I snapped.

“You taste foul,” he countered. “Not at all like Genesis’ sweet blood with—”

“Stop.” Alex held up his hand. “Some of us want to sleep without nightmares.”

“I am the nightmare,” Ethan joked.

Alex gave him a slow clap while Cassius rolled his eyes. I returned my focus to the sizzle of the meat on the stove. If I focused on solitary things, then I didn’t think about Serenity — the way she tasted, the way her body had responded to mine so perfectly, so effortlessly.

Damn it. I was such a fool.

I’d loved once.

I’d mated once.

And now I was alone.

I scratched the back of my head and turned off the stove, not realizing that the room had fallen silent behind me.

I quickly turned.

All three men were staring at me as if I’d just announced I was going to sprout wings.

“What?”

Alex’s eyes went black as he stood near Ethan, as if he was protecting him, which was insane. Ethan could hold his own against any of us. Cassius’ wings sprouted from his back, the tiny feathers completely erect, ready to shoot like arrows into my naked chest. His eyes were white, his skin marble.

“Guys?” I sensed no danger. But I did sense fear. From everyone but Cassius.

His head tilted, and he sniffed the air, his eyes rolling to the back of his head before his eyes returned normal.

The air froze as Stephanie, Cassius’ mate and the last remaining Dark One, made her way into the kitchen. She arched her brows and whistled. “Freaky, Mason. Seriously freaky.”

Alex gave his head a shake then slowly returned to normal while Ethan’s eyes searched mine.

“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“Lie to me, and I impale you,” Cassius said in a threatening voice.

Good to know I was still on his good side.

“How many years?”

“How many years?” I repeated dumbly.

“How many years…” He approached slowly. “…have you craved the blood?”

I sucked in a breath as shame washed over me. Shame that I had hidden it from the only family I had ever known.

Shame that it was a secret I’d kept my entire existence.

“Since my first hunt,” I admitted in a grief-filled voice before I slapped the steak onto a plate, grabbed utensils, and fled the room.