Chapter 63
“What’s going on?” I hissed. “They’re questioning your leadership.”
He didn’t answer, just stared out the window at the courtyard below.
“Mason.”
“I heard them,” he muttered. “Loud and clear.”
“Then talk to me. Where have you been? Why have you missed meetings? You’re the future
Alpha-”
a
“I didn’t ask for that title,” he snapped, then caught himself. “Sorry. I just… I’ve had a lot
on my mind.”
I was surprised. Mason had been groomed to take over the pack and had never once voiced
any kind of resentment about his future.
I put my hand on Mason’s shoulder. “Let’s go up to our suite,” I said gently.
He exhaled and followed me.
In the elevator, I kept sneaking glances at him, trying to get a read on his expression. Mason could be infuriatingly good at hiding his thoughts when he wanted to be. Still, something about his silence struck me as… guilty.
Not devastated. Not even brooding in that dramatic Alpha–in–waiting way. Just- distracted. Elsewhere.
When the doors opened, I let us into the suite and shut the door behind us with a quiet click.
I turned to face him. “Mason.”
He looked up at me warily.
I stepped closer. “Are you… seeing someone?”
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He blinked. That wasn’t the question he was expecting. He hesitated. Then gave me a short
nod.
It explained so much. The absences. The weird energy. The way he seemed to vanish right
when I needed him most.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “I’m so relieved,” I whispered, letting out
a nervous laugh.
He tilted his head, confused.
“I thought you were–I don’t know–working with the rogues or something,” I said, still laughing, though it felt slightly unhinged now that I said it out loud.
He didn’t laugh back.
“Mason?” I said, my voice shifting.
Before he could answer, the suite door at the end of the hall slammed open with a force that made us both jump.
“Where the hell is Mason?” my father’s voice rang out, followed by the heavy tread of his boots and the quieter step of his Beta, eyes sharp and quiet behind him.
They swept into the suite a moment later, the tension following like a thundercloud.
My father’s eyes immediately found Mason. “Is it true?”
Mason straightened. “Is what true?”
“That you’ve been missing summit meetings,” our father snapped, “dodging updates, skipping strategy briefings–leaving your sister to pick up the slack–and for what?” He advanced on Mason, jaw clenched. “What exactly is so important that you can’t be where you’re supposed to be?”
Mason didn’t say a word. His arms were folded across his chest, expression unreadable.
My father’s nostrils flared. “Don’t play games with me.” His expression turned shrewd.
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“You’re sneaking off to see someone, aren’t you?”
Silence.
He looked between us, seething. “You are.”
Mason didn’t deny it. Just nodded once, eyes steady.
“Who is she?”
“I’m not saying.”
That landed like a slap. Our father’s whole body stiffened.
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“You’re telling me you’ve been disappearing in the middle of a crisis—during an historic summit of the Alpha Council–slipping away from your responsibilities to see someone, and now you won’t even tell me who she is?”
Mason didn’t flinch. “I’m not saying,” he repeated.
Something like betrayal flashed through our father’s expression–sharp and fleeting, gone almost as soon as it appeared. He looked from Mason to me, then back again.
“You’re behaving like a reckless pup, not an Alpha,” he growled. “And if your secret mate, or whatever she is, becomes a problem for this pack, you’ll answer for it.”
Then he turned and stormed out, the Beta close behind, the door slamming shut hard enough to rattle the chandelier.
The silence that followed was thick, like fog curling around us.
I stood there, shoulder to shoulder with my brother, feeling that weight settle deeper into
my chest.
“I thought you were seeing someone,” I said, quieter now. “I didn’t think it would be someone you had to hide.”
Mason didn’t look at me.
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Which, of course, only made me more suspicious.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why the secrecy?”
Mason’s shoulders slumped. “Because I found her, Elena. My fated mate.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
He peered at me, his eyes vulnerable. He looked so desperate for my understanding.
“Is she… pack?”
He didn’t look at me. “Not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” I asked.
Another pause.
Then: “She’s a rogue.”
The words hit me like a slap. I staggered back half a step, blinking hard.
“Mason-
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“She wasn’t born rogue,” he rushed out. “She was forced out when her pack fell. She’s not
-she’s not like that.”
A powerful Alpha, fated to a rogue.
All I could think of… was Derek.
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