The KinKaid Wolf Pack Trilogy (11 page)

On second thought, he'd do the next best thing—avoid the confrontation for as long as he could. Mason went to the bedroom and started packing his clothes. According to Evin, the KinKaid territory was somewhere near Mount Rainier National Park, so they would have close to a two-hundred-mile trip ahead of them.

The cabin's front door rattled and then clicked shut. Mason sucked in a calming breath. A moment later, Evin's six-foot-plus frame filled the bedroom's doorway.

"The repair went without a hitch. I’ve got your car outside."

Mason nodded but couldn't bring himself to meet Evin's eyes. The heat of his gaze felt like a flame licking at his flesh. Nearly impossible to ignore. But if he acknowledged the pull, what then? What was there to say? Was he really okay with what had happened? His life had been forever changed. Fuck, he wasn't even going to be human anymore. That is, if he even survived. And from what he'd gathered from Evin and his sister, the probability of Evin's father allowing their healers to help him was going to be about as successful as hell freezing over.

"Can I help?" Evin stood at his back.

"Nope." Mason folded a pair of his shorts and stacked them on top of another. "Got it."

A long sigh sounded from behind him, and then a pair of rough hands gripped his arms. "Stop." Evin's hard chest and hips pressed into him. "Please," he whispered at his ear. Mason's stomach quivered in response. "I know you're scared and pissed off. Hell, I can't even imagine why you haven't hammered into me for what I've done. But know this: I will not let you die. You hear me, Brown Eyes?" Mason couldn't help the small tremor that racked his body. Evin's palms slid down his arms, then back to his shoulders before he spun Mason around in his arms. Large fingers dug into his hair, his blue gaze boring into Mason's. "Whatever the fuck it takes, I will
not
let you die."

Mason gave a slight nod. He couldn't form any words past the lump in his throat. The brush of Evin's lips over his set his pulse racing.

"I only hope that one day you'll be able to forgive me for my lack of control," he breathed against Mason's mouth. Evin didn't give him a chance to respond. He dropped his hands, then grabbed one of Mason's packed bags and headed to the car. A part of him was glad, because he didn't want to have to answer that question. Not right now.

Logic said that after what Evin had put him through, if Mason survived this, he should get as far away from the man as possible. Find another shifter to help him transition into his new world. So why did his heart hurt like a mother every time he thought about leaving Evin? Mason smoothed his palm over the center of his chest. Shit, he was messed up, because if he didn't know any better, that sick feeling in his gut and the pain behind his sternum...felt a whole lot like love. Too much too fast. He was losing his mind. One minute he was madder than hell at Evin; then the next, Mason wanted to hang on to him and never let go.

"Oh God," he mumbled, closed his eyes, and slumped onto the bed beside his suitcase. Leave it to him to throw his brains away and fall for a damn werewolf.

"Are you about ready?"

Evin's deep voice dragged him back to the task at hand. "Yeah," he said and glanced over his shoulder. "This is the last one. Besides my guitar."

Thirty minutes later, they were in Mason's car and headed northwest toward KinKaid territory.

"Hungry?"

Mason looked over at Evin, who was behind the wheel, and shook his head. He couldn't think about food. The whole idea made him want to retch.

"I know eating is the last thing on your mind. But it's important to keep up your energy supply." Evin tilted his head, catching Mason's gaze, concern written on his features. "You're going to need it."

"I don't know if I can keep anything down."

"I bought some protein bars on the way home and stashed them in the glove box." Evin motioned with his hand in the general direction of Mason's side of the dashboard. "Grab one, take small bites, and chew real slow. I remember my mother giving my sister and me something like that when our time was close."

Mason unlatched the small compartment and pulled out one of the bars. With a shaky hand, he unwrapped it and nibbled on a section of the granola-and-peanut-laden snack.

"How's it going?" Out of the corner of his eye, Mason could tell Evin watched every grind of his jaw.

"Fine," he muttered around a mouthful of crunchy unknowns that seemed to grow larger with every passing second. Mason pushed the mouthful to the back of his throat, then chased it down with swig off his Dasani.

"It's going to get better. I promise." Evin's large hand covered Mason's thigh. He squeezed the muscle there, then smoothed his palm over the surface. Mason nodded, the knot in esophagus loosening, allowing his food to pass. Just like that. One touch from the man had a way of soothing his nerves and making everything a little bit better. Mason lifted his hand and placed it over Evin's. He could have sworn he heard Evin's breath hitch right before his fingers laced with Mason's. Damn. Nothing ever felt more right.

They sat like that for what felt like an hour, neither saying a word. The sound of the engine grew to a near deafening intensity inside the cabin until Mason couldn't take it anymore.

"So tell me about Jocelyn," he said, his words cracking the tension between them.

"What?" Evin did something like a double take in Mason's direction.

"I need to talk." Mason twisted in his seat. God, he needed a distraction—something else to preoccupy his mind other than the what-ifs that plagued his brain.

"Okay." Evin pulled his hand from Mason's and fisted the steering wheel. "What do you want to know?"

"You mentioned you were supposed to 'mate' her, and by refusing, you ended up banished from your pack." Evin nodded. "But you said she had no feelings for you and that Jocelyn only wanted the title, so why risk everything when the mating would have been a front?"

Evin's chest rose on a deep breath, and then he glanced Mason's way. "In our world, a pair being joined isn't like a human marriage. When a male shifter mates, he is truly bonded in such a way that he physically can’t ever be intimate with anyone other than his mate." Mason straightened in his seat. Had he heard him right?

"You mean...can't ever get...?"

Evin nodded.

"You would have never been able to get an erection for anyone else other than her?"

Again, Evin nodded. "Right."

"Shit. No wonder you had to back out."

"That, and it would have been such a lie. She deserved more than a marriage based on money and position. And dammit, I wanted more too."

Mason's heart hammered in his chest at Evin's declaration. Evin had been through hell. He could so relate to feeling the pressure of family expectations. Mason cringed internally, remembering the phone call he'd had to place a few hours ago, informing his father that he wouldn't be home as planned. Mason Sr. had been livid, threatening to disinherit him if he didn't return soon. Like he fucking cared about the money.

"So, out of curiosity, and since this will be my future as well, how does one go about...mating someone on that level?" Mason dried his suddenly damp palms on his jeans. His mind was conjuring all kinds of images from late-night television that involved full moons, big fangs, and wild wolf sex.

Evin worked the steering wheel under his palms. "There's a ceremony the couples go through with one of our spiritual leaders. They drink from a cup filled with a brew that opens the mind. It's done under the full moon, when the pull of the wolf is at its greatest. Partially shifted, the two will bite each other's wrist, marking each other and combining their blood. An ancient chant, passed down through our generations, is recited by the priest and repeated by the pair."

"That's it? No sex?"

Evin's gaze darted to Mason, then back to the road. "What makes you think sex would be involved?" He released a chuckle that seemed to relieve some of the ominous atmosphere inside the cabin.

"Hey, you're asking the man who's spent the last four days in your bed...on your table, in your woods..."

"All right. All right." Evin laughed again. "Point taken, and well, you're partially right."

"I knew it." Mason flipped his hand up in the air in a gesture that said
I told you so
. Evin looked over and rolled his eyes.

"Just like in most human marriages, there is a wedding night, but it's not a necessary part of the mating. The couple is bonded by the ceremony's end."

"Other than the sexual side effects to the male, do you feel any different?" Mason studied Evin's profile.

"I've heard some say that it's possible to have a stronger mentalconnection to their mate. For instance, if one of them is hurt or distressed, sometimes the other can sense it. Sometimes even hear them inside their head."

"Like telepathy?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Evin nodded.

"But this type of mating can only happen between two shifters, right?" Mason glanced at his fingernails. "Meaning, if you wanted to mate a human, it wouldn't work like that?" The heat of Evin's gaze washed over him like a rush of warm cognac seeping into his bloodstream.

"Right. That type of mental and physical connection is only possible between shifters."

"Makes sense." Mason directed his attention to the road. "It's hard to absorb all this." He shook his head. "If I survive after tomorrow, I can't believe this will be my world."

"
When
you survive, you mean." Evin's deep voice, lined with a hard edge, filled the space between them.

"Yeah." Mason dragged his gaze from the road and risked a glance at Evin. "Yeah. Sure. That's what I mean." Piercing blue eyes bore into Mason's soul.

"Then say it like you mean it." Evin's dominant tone reached inside, commanding that he respond, to give him what he wanted. But this wasn't the bedroom. And a part of Mason itched to piss him off.

Mason narrowed his gaze. "Kiss my ass." The words fell from his lips like a line drawn in the sand.

The car swerved hard to the right.

"What the hell?" Mason gripped the dashboard as the BMW's tires bit into the soft shoulder, then came to a halt in a section of tall grass. The seat belt grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back against his seat. Before he could form another question, Evin was out the car and making his way around the front fender toward the passenger side.
What is he doing?

Evin jerked the car door open, then reached in, unfastened Mason's seat belt, and pulled him from the vehicle before slamming the door.

"What the hell is your problem?"

His only response was a deep rumble emanating from Evin's chest, followed by hard hands spinning him around, putting him face-first into the car door. Evin's hand went straight for Mason's button fly.

"If that's what you really want, I'd be happy to kiss your ass right here." Evin growled into his ear. The words were punctuated by a firm grind of his erection into Mason's backside.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" Mason squirmed against his tight hold. "Let me the hell go."

"No." The single word vibrated inside his head and set off a tremble that raced through his system.

Mason exploded.

His vision hazed.

He twisted, breaking free, spun, shoved, then swung.

His fist connected with Evin's jaw with a loud
crack
of bone against bone. The bolt of pain ricocheted up his arm and into his shoulder. But he didn't give a shit. In some messed-up way, it felt damn good.

"Come on!" Evin cocked his head, then swiped at the blood trickling from his busted lip. "Is that all you got?"

Mason lunged, fists clenched tight, and slammed into Evin. At some point, not sure when exactly, their fight had mutated into more than just his being pissed at Evin. Maybe it happened after the rapid one-two slam into Evin's jaw that had the other man staggering but coming back with a grin. Or perhaps it was after the right hook that came out of nowhere and crashed into Mason's face, making his ears ring but had him begging for more. Who knew? But this was fucking great. Each punch, every impact, felt like an exorcism of the demons eating away at his insides.

Evin's hands snatched Mason's wrist; then his body impacted Mason's chest, knocking him back against the car with a grunt. Mason's arms went over his head, and Evin pinned them to the roof. The air sawed in and out of Evin, his bloodied face inches above Mason's.

"You feel better?" Evin glared down at him, his left eye already swelling.

Mason blinked, the question catching him off guard. He searched inside, grasping for the lingering feelings of anger, resentment, and confusion he'd been carrying around. Most of them had nothing to do with Evin—hell, he'd been the one bright spot in his life—but more to do with his father's expectations. It dawned on him then that while all the nagging feelings hadn't completely vanished, shit, he did feel better.

"In some sick way," Mason began, pulling air into his lungs in greedy mouthfuls. "Yeah, I do." Mason shook his head. "Fuck. I'm sorry, man."

Evin dropped his hold on Mason's wrists and backed up. "Nothing to apologize for."

"Yeah, there is. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that." Mason ran his fingers over the section of lip that felt three feet thick and stung like a mother. Damn, that hurt.

"You needed to." Evin came forward once more—slowly this time. With his thumb, Evin rubbed away what had to be a smear of blood from the corner of Mason's mouth. "I think you've needed someone to go off on for a long time now. Long before you ever met me."

He turned into the brief caress, unable not to. Evin's touch was like a magnetic pull on his soul. "Still," Mason uttered past his busted lip. Evin's palm slid around and captured Mason's nape, forcing him to lock his gaze with the other man's.

"Don't be sorry." A slow shake of Evin's head sent his dark hair skating over the tops of his shoulders. "I would do anything for you," he breathed, then pulled his hand away, pivoted, and headed toward the driver's side of the car.

Mason was at a loss for words. He stood there, frozen in place. No one had ever said anything like that to him in his whole life. Well, said it and actually meant it. Mason swallowed, his throat suddenly verging on the Sahara, because he knew without a doubt, Evin KinKaid didn't say anything he didn't mean.