I managed to avoid his intense gaze all through dinner. Instead, I focused on blabber of the children arguing over something. It seemed as though Matthew and Willow were always fighting about something. Michael just watched the two argue with a satisfied smile on his face. I’d bet he was just happy to watch the brother and sister fight without being in the middle of it all.

Once I finished dinner, I stuck to Casey and Amanda. I helped them clean up the dinner mess. Anything would’ve been better than to let Mason catch me away from them. He’d try to order me around again and I didn’t appreciate that.

At 11 Casey and Amanda decided it was time for bed, so I quickly went to my room and locked the door. Hopefully he wouldn’t come barging in and start yelling at me.

I plugged my phone into my laptop and downloaded all the pictures I took of the files. It would have been smart if I had done that while Mason confined me to my room, but I was too hot headed to think that through.

After I was done converting the photos to files, I sat there and studied them. I didn’t realize how much time had passed until my eyes started burning. It was almost five in the morning.

I password protected the files so no one nosey could see what I had been doing, then drifted off to sleep.

I was getting nowhere fast. It had been a week since I had stolen the files and I couldn’t figure anything out.  There was no motive (that I knew of). It all just seemed to be random attacks on whoever this killer could get their hands on. They were all opportunistic killings. That meant that there had to be someone feeding the killer information. The killer couldn’t watch everyone every day to find openings when they just happened to be alone. If I could find the mole, I could find the killer. Hopefully the mole wasn’t very loyal to the killer.

The only way that made sense to me was that he was luring people away from their groups to make the opportunity to kill them. Usually that meant money. But was it the same for werewolves? They were still people.

I knew Grayson and Mason knew something, but they were keeping it close to the chest. Mason hadn’t even confirmed if the rumor James started was true.

I needed to take a step back and rethink this.

Maybe a date would do just that. I could come back from my date with a clear head and fresh eyes on what had happened.

I got my phone out and hesitated. I’d never called a guy to schedule a date. I’d never been that confident. I exhaled an uneasy breath and called the number.

On the fifth ring I felt a little relieved; he wasn’t going to answer the phone.

My heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second. He actually answered. “Hello?”

I felt stupid. “Um, hi? This is Lexi, from the café last week.”

When I didn’t get an immediate response, I cringed. This was incredibly embarrassing. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Oh, right. I spilled coffee all over you.”

I let out a nervous laugh, “Yeah.”

“So are you taking me up on that dinner offer?” He sounded amused. At least he wasn’t mad that I hadn’t called him back sooner.

“Yeah, actually. I was just nervous.”

He chuckled, “I felt a little pushy. I didn’t think you were going to call me.”

“Neither did I.” I admitted.

“So when do you want to go?” I heard him take a drink of something and I heard some scratching in the background.

It felt like I could hear everything that was making noise in the room he was in. It definitely felt like a drawback to having sharp hearing.

“I was thinking Friday?” It was Wednesday so I didn’t feel like I was springing it on him.

“That’s great.” He sounded excited now. “Should I pick you up?”

I was shaking my head before I even answered. “No, I’ll meet you there. I live in the middle of nowhere.” There was no way he was coming here, to the pack house, to pick me up. Humans weren’t exactly welcome here.

“Alright then. I’ll call you with the info when I get it.”

“Okay.” I didn’t feel so dumb for calling him anymore.

“Talk to you later.”

“Okay bye.” I hung up and threw my phone on the bed before smashing my face in a pillow. At least that was done now. I had something other than the case to focus on.

---

Once over the humiliation, I got off of the bed.

Maybe if I just asked, they’d let me help. I was going crazy thinking about it. If they would just let me help them, it would be win-win for us all.

It would satisfy my curiosity and help them catch this mad person.

I felt anxious and uneasy. I felt like I was a teenager asking my parents for permission to go to a party where there would be boys. My palms felt sweaty. I rubbed them on my pants before knocking on the door of the office. I knew Grayson was in there and that alone was enough to make me nervous.

I knew what Mason’s reaction would be. Maybe Grayson would see the good in all this. Mason was a hot head, maybe his brother wasn’t.

I gathered what little courage I had and knocked on the door. I wasn’t waiting long before the door opened. To my good luck, Chris answered the door.

He looked at me confused, “What are you doing up here?”

I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “I wanted to speak with the alpha.” I felt like a big baby. What’s the worst that can happen? He says no?

“What do you want with him?” He eyed me, probably looking for any signs that I was lying.

“I’d like to discuss that with him.”

There was someone else in the office. I could hear papers rustling.

Chris shrugged and ignored whoever was in there with him. “He’s not here. He’s out on a run with Casey.”

I huffed. I hadn’t planned on that. “When will they be back?”

He shrugged, “We don’t usually put time limits on our runs.”

I sighed, “Fine.”

I started walking away when I heard Mason’s voice in the office. “Let her in.” He didn’t sound too happy.

I didn’t really want to go in, but Chris opened the door and took a couple of steps back. When I didn’t start walking into the room, Chris bobbed his head to urge me into the room.

I didn’t want to look like a huge chicken, so I slowly walked in. I didn’t miss the small smirk that appeared on Chris’ face.

“So what do you want to speak to Grayson about?” Mason asked.

He didn’t even bother looking over at me. He was putting the files away in locked cabinets. They wouldn’t keep werewolves out, but if you broke the lock, they’d scent the nosey one.

“The murders.” My confidence was low. I’m sure it came through in my voice.

Mason sighed and grabbed the last stack of files before he shut the drawer and locked it. He put the key in his pocket, obviously he wouldn’t hide the key while I was around to witness. Mason glanced at Chris for a second before he left and shut the door behind himself.

This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I didn’t want to have this argument with Mason again. It would just end like it always did, with me walking away before I really pissed him off.

“Why do you want to do this again?” He asked as he moved to the front of the desk.

“I didn’t plan on talking to you about it.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you know how this argument will end.”

“Only because you’re stubborn.” I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t. That would do more harm than good in this situation.

He shrugged, “So what if I am?”

“I just want to help.” I was determined to stay calm. I didn’t want to let him get under my skin.

He just stared at me with a blank stare.

“I have a hunch.” I tried.

He rolled his eyes, “And what is that?”

“That this guy has a spy helping him out.”

Mason nodded, an arrogant expression taking over. “It took you that long to figure out that he might have a spy?”

“You’ve had much longer than me to figure it out.” I spat back. He hurt my feelings. It wasn’t like I was dumb or something.

He shook his head, “Well, don’t hurt yourself with all that thinking you’ll have to do to catch up.”

“You don’t have to be a dick all the time Mason.”

A growl rumbled in him. “Watch yourself.”

Furious at him, I stomped up to him and stood up to him. “You watch yourself!” I poked him right in the chest, “You can’t treat people like they're so below you.”

In a blink I was on my back. It took a second to realize where I was and what happened. I was lying back on something hard. Whatever I was laying on was tall enough that my legs were dangling off. I glanced around to see I was on Grayson’s desk. When I put my head back, Masons…pants were the closest thing to my head.

I groaned when I felt crushed décor under my back. Leave it to Mason to give me bruises.

I glanced up at the smirking person. I wasn’t comfortable with my head’s proximity to his lower body. I didn't like that he had flipped me over him and slammed me on the desk so easily.

 “You need to take a few anger management classes!” I hissed at him.

He shook his head, “You just need to learn how to behave around werewolves.”

“I’m not going to just bow down.”

His smirk didn’t let up. “Of course you wouldn’t. You’re too stupid to do that.”

I glared at him, “I’ve never had someone call me stupid so much in such a short time.”

He shrugged, “Well get used to it.” He placed his hands on both sides of my head and leaned over me, the blocked light made him look all that more menacing. Thankfully, his pants were farther away from my head. I felt infinitely more comfortable. “Obviously you aren’t getting the social cues that come naturally to the rest of us werewolves.”

Maybe this technique worked on werewolves who were afraid of him. I just think he looked silly as he was hovering over me and looked upside down. Even from this angle he looked appealing. How was I supposed to take him as seriously as he appeared to be?

He mumbled unhappily when I couldn’t stop a smile from slowly appearing on my face. “What is it now?”

“Does this scare tactic work on your recruits?” He rolled his eyes at me before he turned and walked away from me. “Seriously, I want to know.” I barely contained my laughter as I sat up.

“I don’t get it.” He said just loud enough that I could hear him. He turned and looked at me. “Are you careless or just retarded?”

My brow scrunched, but I kept my smile. “I don’t understand the question.”

“You practice the reactions that I’d expect for someone as new as you are on other werewolves. But you don’t care if you press my buttons.”

“Your buttons must be the irresistible red ones.” I joked with a shrug.

“You shouldn’t piss me off. I’m not the one who goes easy on people.”

I stretched my back out and felt the bruises forming. “I have bruises that can account to that.”

“And still you push me.” When he raised his voice I rolled my eyes. “You shouldn’t.”

“Does it bother you that much that I’m not afraid of you? The other recruit’s knees quake when you come around and you’re bothered that mine don’t.”

“You should be afraid of every werewolf you come across. Each can kill you faster than you can react to. You’re still too human to live here.”

“I think I have made a good enough impression to allow a pardon.”

He shook his head and looked…frustrated. “You just don’t get it.”

He stood to his full height and walked up to me. I hadn’t noticed before that he was easily a foot and a half taller than me. He pushed me back into the desk and pressed his body against mine. If it wasn’t for the seriousness on his face, it would’ve gotten me hot and bothered.

“Your problem is that you’re going by the rules that were established when you were human.” He purred seductively. His hands traced lightly down my sides until he hoisted me up onto the desk. “Those rules will get you killed here.”

I couldn’t think of anything sarcastic to say. Not when he was this close and definitely not when he was standing between my legs.

“The new werewolves do and take what they want, when they want it, because they’re unable to use control.” He leaned down and rested his palms flat on the desk on both side of me, while I eased back and rested my weight on my elbows. I don’t know what I’d do if his face got too close to mine.

“I’m new and I’m not doing that.” I somehow found my lost voice.

He smirked. “That’s because you’re a woman.”

“The guys at the compound don’t misbehave.”

“They’re not new wolves.” He leaned just a little bit closer. “If they were new, they would’ve taken turns fucking you.” His eyes lightened a shade or two brighter just when I started getting angry at him. I felt my blood boil in anger. “I’m actually surprised that no one’s tried before. You’re much weaker than the other females of our species.”

My eyes narrowed on his, “You’re surprised that I haven’t been raped yet?”

He shook his head with a smile. “No, I’m surprised they haven’t attempted to rape you.”

“Well that clears it up then.” I growled angrily. “You don’t wish rape on people. It’s sadistic.”

He leaned in until I was flat on my back with no room to get away from him. If he weren’t so tall he’d be smothering me with his body weight. “I’m not wishing that upon you. It’s a testament to the control of the wolves in the group you’re training with. Besides, as far as those men are concerned, you’re mine.”

“I’m not property.” I wanted to hit him, but my arms were too restricted for swatting.

“Why do you think they’re all so nice to you? They don’t really hit you. They make you feel included. They make sure you’re not hurt or sore.” He said thoughtfully. “It’s all because they don’t want to attract any negative attention from me.”

“That’s borderline barbaric.”

 “That’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen new werewolves do before.” He nuzzled my cheek with his nose. “If you embraced your wolf, you’d be strong enough to fend off your would-be assailants.”

“I am strong enough.”

He looked over me. “Obviously.” He said sarcastically.

“I’m supposed to just go along with whatever you’re doing.” Usually if I didn’t, he’d make me pay for it.

He chuckled, “Getting up close and personal is just complying with what I’m doing?”

I shrugged, “You usually have a reason for what you’re doing.”

He brought his nose to mine and nuzzled it. It was much more of a wolf gesture than human.

“I need you to completely accept what you are.” He said in a whisper. “You will always be vulnerable if you don’t fully accept your wolf.”

“I’ve accepted what I’ve become.”

“No you haven’t.” He shook his head, “You should be much faster and stronger than you are. You’re barely stronger than a human.”

I rolled my eyes and turned my face away from his. “I’m doing my best.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” His lips trailed up my neck. The feel of his breath gave me goose-bumps and made me feel oddly satisfied…and that scared me.

I pushed away, but he quickly moved his arms to cut me off. “Where do you think you’re going?” His voice wasn’t so close anymore.

“You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“Maybe that’s what you need.” He started leaning down.

I struggled and moved to scoot away from him. “I don’t want to feel uncomfortable.”

“I didn’t know that I’m supposed to do only what you’re comfortable with.”

In a flash his teeth were on my neck. I froze. It didn’t matter that he’s human at the moment; he could still do permanent damage.

He chuckled, “You’re so cute when you panic.” Each gentle caress of his lips against my neck as he talked was like electricity shooting to my core.

I struggled more. “Get off of me.”

He chuckled, “I don’t think so sweetheart. I’m going to do as I please.” His tongue traced up my neck which made my skin tingle, as I struggled. “You need to get on the same page as your wolf.” I hated the amusement I heard in his voice. “Your wolf likes what I’m doing. You’re the one who’s fighting me.”

“I’m not going to let you have your little perverted way with me.”

He barked a laugh, “If I wanted you, I’d have you.”

I stopped struggling against him for a second. I hated how matter-of-fact he was being about that. What made him so confident that he could have whoever he wanted? Did he usually bat 1000 when it came to bedding women? How many are there? How much competition?

His eyes went back and forth between my eyes and watched my thoughts turn angry.

How dare he think he can get away with this.

“I’m not too sure I’m going to like what I see in your eyes.”

“You’re not.” My voice was more gravely than normal.

In seconds, I bucked him off and kicked him back. It would’ve been enough to send him onto his ass, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled me alone with him so I landed on him on the ground in front of the desk.

He wasn’t expecting that!

He smiled up at me. “Good job. That makes me a little more confident that you can hold off bad guys until I arrive to save your ass.”

I brought my forearm down on his windpipe. Unfortunately he caught my arm before I could do any damage. “You should be nicer to me.”

He grabbed my hips and grinded into me. I could definitely feel what waited in his pants. “Give me an hour or two and I can be very nice to you.”

“That’s all you’ve got in you?” I flirted back before I could stop myself.

He flipped us over and pinned me against the ground. “I can go as long as you want me to go.”

Before I could retort or even blush at the sharp turn our conversation had taken, he covered my mouth with his.

I’ve read too many romance novels where they say the world slipped away during these earth moving kisses. I’d never had that happen to me before…until Mason.

It was like wildfire. It exponentially grew more intense. I’d never experienced something like this before. Even when I had been in the mood for sex, it paled in comparison. I felt an irrational need to touch him.

Before I could wrap my head around what was happening, I was straddling him on the sofa. I was down to my underwear, working on getting him out of his clothes all the while we kept kissing. It felt like if we separated our lips, I wouldn’t be able to breathe anymore.

A loud knock shot through me like a bucket of cold water. I quickly pulled away from him. Then my head cleared. I was almost naked! He was shirtless and his pants were riding low on his hips.

“Oh my god!” I squealed and shot away from him in surprise. I dove for my clothes and put them on. It was like I was a teenager and my parents had come home early.

When I was dressed I looked back at Mason. He was still lying back against the sofa and wasn't being nearly as startled by the knock as I had been. The only change was that his hands covered his face. I recognized that. It was regret. I felt a pang of sorrow engulf my heart. I thought he liked me, but apparently not like I liked him at least. Maybe things had just gotten out of control? That would make him regret what happened.

I knew Mason wasn’t one to take a girlfriend. The guys filled me in on a few things about Mason.

He pulled up his pants and fastened them as the door slowly opened. He didn’t even bother putting his shirt back on. Whoever was knocking would know in an instant what had been going on.

Chris poked his head in. “Grayson and Casey are back.”

Mason stared at Chris like he was throwing daggers with his eyes. Chris quickly retreated.

“I’m sorry.” Mason grabbed his shirt off the ground and put it on. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I knew it. Anything was just an opportunistic conquest. I left him in the office.