Chapter 8

Mason

I took a sip of my water, wishing it was something stronger. My cursor blinked on the word document that I was staring at, while I sat here thinking about everything except the paper that I should be writing. Something had been off between Anna and us since Gemma had stepped into the picture.

When we first picked Gemma up at the airport her shyness and skittishness had reminded me a little of Anna when we had first met. Maybe because of that, Jase and I had made an effort to try and acclimate Gemma to our world, to give her the confidence to go out and be successful at whatever she wanted to do. But our efforts had the opposite effect; Gemma was becoming more withdrawn and would only interact with the two of us. While Anna had blossomed like a flower that had seen the sun for the very first time, Gemma had been turning into something ugly. I snorted when I realized how ridiculous that sounded. Fucking flowers? Jason shot me a questioning look and I was glad he hadn’t been tuned into my thoughts, I would have never lived that one down.

I had been surprised when Gemma’s shyness started turning to hostility when she met new people. She wasn’t willing to open up and give anyone else a chance, regardless of how hard Jase and I had worked to show her that not everyone was like the pack that had kept her down her whole life. I was also starting to realize that not everything Gemma said added up. She was quick to backtrack when we pointed out inconsistencies and became emotional when we questioned her. It was difficult to accuse someone of lying when they were helplessly sobbing.

Earlier tonight, Anna had very uncharacteristically snapped at Gemma. Jase and I had stepped in before Anna said or did anything that she would regret later, but Gemma’s theatrical hysteria had reached new heights. Regardless of what Gemma said, I didn’t believe that Anna would attack her unprovoked or would have truly harmed Gemma. Anna was the sweetest person that I knew, and it would have taken a lot to push her to the point where she had shouted.

What bothered me was what happened after that. Things were blurry, but I couldn’t remember why I thought it was a good idea for both Jase and me to stay with Gemma while Anna left. One of us should have stayed with Anna to make sure she was okay. The next thing I knew, James was telling us with the pack bond that he was taking Anna on a run because she looked upset. That should have been us, we should have been there when she needed us most.

Now, we were trying to get some work done while we waited for Anna to come back so we could apologize. We had taken over the table with our books and laptops so she would have to walk past us to get into the house.

Jason threw a pen at me, undoubtedly picking up on my thoughts. “She’s with James, she’ll be okay.”

I scowled at him. “Right, because he’s the warm and fuzzy type.” I knew Anna would be physically safe with James, it was her heart that I was worried about.

“He’s certainly making her feel good.” Gemma’s footsteps approached from the hall.

I suppressed a groan. I felt like an asshole thinking it, but I was hoping the rest of the night would be Gemma free.

“They’re in the hot tub, getting it on now,” Gemma said slyly. She was obviously just trying to get a rise out of us. It was times like this that I regretted Jase and I being assigned as her caretakers. Austin had worried about assigning her to some of the low-ranking wolves, thinking they might take advantage of her shyness and upbringing as the lowest of the pack. But after knowing Gemma for this long, it was apparent that she would have terrorized them.

Jason shrugged. “And?”

Gemma put her hand on Jason’s arm and I saw him tense. She trailed her hand across his shoulders as she walked in my direction and Jason let out a loud breath. His body relaxed, and I saw his eyes glaze over as Gemma came closer to me. I watched her suspiciously and reached out to my brother with our bond. His mind felt foggy and sluggish compared to just a few minutes ago. I stood up in alarm, something wasn’t right here.

Gemma grabbed onto my arm. “Anna doesn’t need the two of you now that she has the high-ranking wolves wrapped around her little finger. You were just a stepping stone for her to get to them.”

Anger flashed through me before a fog slid through my brain. I shook my head to try and clear it, I was just on the cusp of figuring out something important. What had I just been thinking about? I slowly sat back in my chair and stared at my laptop blankly. Gemma was still talking, but her words faded into an indistinct murmur.

I had been working on my paper but my eyes were growing heavier with exhaustion. I had all weekend to finish this, there was no reason why I couldn’t call it quits early today. Deep down, I felt a nagging sensation telling me that there was something else I was supposed to be doing. My exhaustion got worse, and I laid my head down on the table.

Jason hit my shoulder clumsily and I cracked an eye open to look at him. He looked just as tired as I felt and jerked his head up in the direction of our rooms. I gave a slight nod to let him know that I was ready to head up as well. Fuck this paper, I would work on it tomorrow.

I was vaguely aware of Gemma circling us as I braced myself on the table. It took all my strength to stagger to my feet and shuffle toward the stairs. I hadn’t been this fatigued since the Crucible at Parris Island.