A/N::

This is the last chapter! There will be an epilogue! Thanks everyone for reading and commenting!

Mason's POV

I knew that as soon as Lexi went to her room, she was going to be there for a few days. I didn’t need to look after her because I knew that’s what Casey and Amanda would be doing. The mothers always felt the need to look over everyone all the time.

I went out into the woods and shifted. The bullet wound made my shoulder a bit stiff, but as soon as I started changing, I knew it’d be fine. It was a lead bullet and it went through enough that Brian just needed to cut a slit in the back of my shoulder to squeeze the bullet out. The skin had been healed over by the time we had finished burning Millender’s body. The bones and joints that were damaged would take a bit longer, which is where the soreness came from. You’d be surprised just how much gets damaged when lead goes through your shoulder.

I could feel the bond to my brother strengthen once the change was complete. He was out here as a wolf too. A second after I felt the bond, it was gone. But there was no reason to panic. He was going to be stalking me now. At least it was something to get my mind away from the guilt and regret.

There was so much that I should have done, and now I had to pay the price for it.

My brother’s tracking abilities were outstanding. It made no difference if I ran now, he’d catch up. If I hid, he’d find me. I walked around and crossed my tracks over a few times. I hunkered down in some bushes and waited for him to show. He’d have to come into my striking zone to notice that I’d set him up.

That’s what I thought anyway, I should’ve known my brother wouldn’t fall for it. I had gotten lazy waiting for him. So lazy that I didn’t notice him until he leapt on top of me, only giving me a fraction of a second to turn away before his teeth sunk down into my flesh. The stiffness in my shoulder made me a fraction slower and Grayson took advantage of it.

There was only one person who could make me pay for my mistakes and shortcomings, it was my brother.

Once I finally surrendered, we both got to our paws. Wrestling was fun and lately we’ve been too busy to just enjoy ourselves.

I’d have some scrapes and bruises from the tussle, but they were worth it. He usually refrained from biting everyone but me, just like I didn’t hesitate to bite him. You can’t complain about something if you always return the favor.

I followed Grayson to the little lake we had on the property.

Casey said Lexi had passed out around here, I’ll go right, you go left. He started trotting away. Mind link me if you catch anything. Carlos reported hunters.

Great, there’s always something else to deal with. If I find a snare, I’m wrapping the poacher up in it.

Yeah, yeah.

Then we split up. I went all around my area and found nothing. Grayson linked me when I started looking on his half of the lake.

She healed here for quite a while. He said as I trotted up. There was blood, lots of it. It was old and had already started to dissolve into the earth. From the amount of dried blood that was left, it meant that what had been here originally would’ve been enough to attract the attention of whoever would have normally been on patrol.

It’s our fault she bled out here. I told my brother. If we hadn’t pulled back patrols, she would’ve been found. It was a joint decision between the two of us to take back the patrols until Millender was caught. It was just unfortunate timing that Lexi had decided to play hero at that time.

Grayson huffed and bobbed his head. Let’s follow it back to where he dropped her off.

Grayson followed the scent. It was faint, but still there. There wasn’t a blood trail anymore, but there had probably been. When you walk with open wounds, your heart rate goes up because of the stress you’re putting on your body. Head wounds are notorious for gushing, so she probably felt like she was going to die.

Lexi had probably been feeling so alone and so terrified. Going from a large pack like ours, then being thrown into a pack so small would cause depression in a well-adjusted wolf. The lack of bonds is a lot for a wolf to deal with. Add the manipulation, and it wasn’t surprising that Lexi had barricaded herself away from the rest of the world. I’d guess that she’d be there for weeks.

She’d probably be most mad at me because I was the one who killed Millender. That wouldn’t stop me from visiting her every day. She just needed time to cope and to let that fury simmer down a little bit.  Plus, I didn’t want to be the one she snapped at. With all that rage broiling inside her, it was definitely going to happen.

I bumped into my brother when he stopped. I hadn’t been paying attention.

He growled and huffed at me before motioning me ahead. That’s where he dumped her.

It was one of the clearings I had taken Lexi into for some training. Obviously he had been watching us for a long time.

Have you figured out who the spy is yet? I asked as I made my way into the clearing. My wolf wasn’t the least bit happy. Millender had desecrated one of the areas that would have probably been special to her, to the both of us, if we had ever gotten together.

Grayson shook his huge head. I’ve got people looking into it. The spy’s going to be panicking now that Millender’s dead.

That’ll make him obvious. Anyone who could get a grip on their panic was part of our group. The rest of them would obviously stick out to us.

Casey’s scanning their minds. She’s probably going to be a bit moody when we get back.

Grayson yelped in surprise when a branch suddenly fell on him. It wasn’t big enough to pin him, but he’d probably get a bruise on his back for his trouble. It was probably Casey’s doing. She had gotten a bit more powerful after being trained by Finn’s psychic following her change.

Let’s get back to the house. We have a lot to deal with.

It started out peaceful, but a minute into the walk, it turned into a race back to the house...it was a 10 mile sprint…

Lexi’s POV

What was I supposed to do now? Just act like nothing had happened? It all felt like a dream. I knew it had happened, I remembered everything about it. It was more like I had had a really realistic dream; I just had no emotional attachment to it all.

I had been convinced that these people were my enemies.  I had mourned the death of a horrible man who had wanted to steal Willow away from this family.

How were they supposed to forget that? Maybe one day I’d snap and try to get revenge.

They had said that everything had been forcefully implanted in my head, that none of what I was feeling for Millender was real. He had used the bond to control me. But none of them knew how I felt. For that small amount of time I had actually liked him. I would have done anything for him to keep that bond open between us.

There was a light knocking on my door. I turned onto my side and stared at the door. I didn’t want to tell anyone to leave me alone because I didn’t want to be alone. Loneliness was horrible now that I was a werewolf. I wanted to be surrounded by people. When I was alone in LA, I was perfectly fine and content, but now, I hated being alone.

It was probably because I wasn’t a member of the pack anymore. I didn’t feel attached to anyone. I didn’t feel like I could lean on anyone.

The door slowly opened and Mason poked his big head in.

"What do you want?"

He smirked and walked into the room. "Dinner's ready."

I hid my face in a pillow. "I'm not ready."

"Well you should come anyway."

I turned my face so at least he'd be able to understand me. "Shouldn't you guys be mad at me?"

He walked closer to me. "Why would anyone be mad at you?"

I gasped exasperatedly, "I was supposed to kidnap Willow."

He shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. "But you didn't."

"But I would have!"

He shook his head. He didn't look convinced at all, "No you wouldn't have."

"You don't know that."

"What I do know is that you're not the kind of person to steal away children." He cautiously put his hand on my leg. "Everyone here knows that you're the victim here."

I shook my head. "I'm not the victim. Willow's the victim. This all happened because of her."

Mason's eyes kept me quiet. There was something telling me to shut up.

"Willow's not even aware that she was ever in danger." His thumb moved gently on my thigh, making me feel comforted. "You're the one who's been forever affected here."

"I'm not some weakling. I don't need your pity." I snapped. I didn't want anyone looking down on me like they had to be sorry for me.

He leaned forward and rested his head on my thigh. "I know you're not weak, quite the opposite really." My brow scrunched. I didn't know where he was going with this. He smiled, "Usually when a wolf loses its bond, they're inconsolable for months, sometimes years. Members of the opposite sex can't get near them for even longer after that."

"Maybe I'm just not there yet."

He shook his head, "That's the first step."

"So something's even more wrong with me then? Is my wolf broken or something? Apparently I can't do anything right." I really was worried. I was hardly good at being human, how was I supposed to act like a werewolf?

"There's nothing wrong with you." He chuckled. "I think the distance you still have between you and your wolf created a barrier so Millender couldn't fully bond with you."

"So I am broken."

"No." He got up and laid down in front of me and bounced his head on the pillow a few times, getting comfortable. "Your pillows suck."

His face was a little over a foot away from me and I didn't feel attracted to him. Before Millender I would've been uncomfortably drawn to him. "I don't feel the way I used to when you're around." I admitted.

He looked over my face. It felt like he took in every flaw I had. "I know." He said so gently. "We'll get back there again."

I felt tears starting to form. "I don't know if I want to."

He sighed, "I figured."

When I blinked I felt the wet tears fall down the side of my face. "You're not mad."

"Nope." He smirked and wiped the tear line. "You know how stubborn I can be."

"You're not going to just give up?"

He chuckled, "I'm not a quitter. I know how you felt about me before this all happened, I'll get you there again."

“You didn’t feel the same way. You regretted what happened between us.”

“I didn’t regret what happened between us.” He sighed. “I regretted how it happened. I didn’t want you to think that I was just trying to use you for a quick lay.” He popped up off the bed and spanked me. "Now get up. You don't want them to think you're up here feeling sorry for yourself, do you?"

I glared at him. Of course I didn't.

"Then come on."

I didn't want anyone thinking that, so I got up and went into the bathroom. I needed a quick shower.

Mason waited for me at the top of the stairs. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to walk in there all alone. It would've been really uncomfortable for me.

I followed Mason into the dining room. I wanted to hide behind him, but I didn’t want to look like a chicken. I felt anxious when we got to the entrance. I could hear them around the corner, talking and laughing.

Mason stopped and motioned for me to walk in ahead of him. I shook my head.

“They won’t bite.” He teased.

I shook my head again. I was feeling extremely hesitant because of my wolf. The instincts I was getting were from her. I shouldn’t get in the middle of a room with a pack as strong as this one. If I did something wrong I wouldn’t be able to escape. I knew how fast they were.

Mason held out his hand. “Come on.” I shook my head again. “You’re starving and you need to eat.” He argued. “Now give me your hand.”

I slowly reached out to grab it. Mason didn’t rush it. He waited until I reached him completely before slowly tugging me towards him. “You’re safe.”

I knew I should be able to trust him…I should be able to trust all of them. I had before and they’ve given me no reason not to. It was just hard to shake the feelings my wolf was sending towards me.

Mason tugged me towards him until I was able to wrap my arms around his midsection and rest my head on his chest. I needed a hug. “What I know and what I feel are conflicting.” I confided into his chest. It seemed like a pretty safe place for a confession.

He chuckled, but it didn’t sound like he was amused. It was like he was just trying to make me feel better about what was happening. “I know.” He rested his head on mine. “Everything will work out. You have time.”

I stepped back after a minute. “Let’s go eat.”

He smiled weakly and took my hand again. “Good, I’m starving.”

At least he could still make me smile, even if it was weak.

It was the first time I was seeing the core members of the pack again. Before Millender, I wanted these people to like me, but now, I wasn’t so sure. I was afraid of all of them. I was still bitter towards Casey and when I looked at their kids, especially Willow, I felt guilty.

Willow’s beaming smile made it easier to believe what Mason had told me. She wasn’t a victim. From her childish behavior, I could believe that she didn’t even know that someone had been after her. She didn’t know that there had been five men who died because they refused to kidnap her.

This was just a horrible chapter in the pack’s book and hopefully nothing like this would happen again. But I still didn’t feel like I belonged here.

I watched Mikko converse with Grayson. Mikko even threw a few pieces of food at the kids without them being able to pin point him as the culprit. Maybe I could go back with him. He’s the head alpha’s son, so maybe the head alpha had some kind of trick to help me out. I didn’t want to feel conflicted. I wanted to feel centered and peaceful.

There was no conversation about what had happened, obviously because the children were there. My mood change had the kids ask innocent questions, asking what was making me sad. I received guarded looks from their parents at the same time. I shrugged it off and pretended like I was just tired. What was wrong with me wasn’t exactly child friendly.

When we finished eating, I went straight to my room. I’d been out enough. I didn’t want to be out around the pack longer than I had to.

Mason’s POV

Grayson, Mikko, Brian and I sat outside around a bonfire. The past few weeks had been intense so it was nice to just sit out here. The sliding door opened and shut. The footsteps were obviously Chris’s. Being around these people so long meant I knew almost everything about them.

I heard clinking glass and looked over. He was holding five glasses in one hand and made holding 3 huge bottles of whiskey look easy.

We’d need a few more whiskey deliveries to have any chance at feeling inebriated. The five of us polished off the first bottle in ten minutes. We all needed it. Brian was given a couple of doubles since he was obviously the most stressed of us all. It was his biological daughter who was the one who had been in danger.

“So what are we going to do with Lexi?” Chris asked before he reached for the second bottle.

Grayson shrugged, “That’s up to her.”

“She doesn’t want to be here.” Mikko muttered as he kept his gaze on the fire.

I felt Brian’s eyes come to rest on me. “What are you going to do about it?”

Chris smirked and nodded as he poured more alcohol in his glass. “Yeah, we all know how you feel about her.”

I just stared at them.

“It would probably be a good idea to take her home with me.” Mikko watched for a reaction from me. He was expecting me to fight him on it, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being right.

I couldn’t argue with him, he was right. The best place for Lexi was probably Finn’s house.

Grayson jerked his head towards the house, “She’s sneaking out.”

The two with a view of the house subtly looked over, probably to see if she could climb down the house without falling on her ass. My back was to the house, so I couldn’t look over to confirm, but I trusted my brother.

I groaned, “Of course she is.” I held my glass out to Chris. “Fill ‘er up.”

Chris smiled and filled it up to the rim. I took a deep breath, then chugged the alcohol. Maybe it would take the edge off my anger a bit. It would figure that the first woman I’d consider trying to have a relationship with would be the most complicated woman I’ve ever met. Casey and Amanda I understood. I’d been around them long enough. Every assumption I made of Lexi turned out to be wrong.

It was frustrating before Millender came along, now I’d be dealing with what that bastard did for years to come.

“I’ll be back.” I left the glass to mark my spot before getting up to follow her. She’s not going to go out without me shadowing her. She wouldn’t know that I’m there, so she’d get the seclusion she’d been looking for.

Lexi’s POV

I needed to take a walk. It would ease the anxiety I felt coming from my wolf.

Casey and Amanda were trying to wrangle the kids up to take baths before bedtime.  And the men were either sleeping on the couch, or in the backyard with the bonfire. So everyone was busy, making this the perfect opportunity to escape.

I didn’t have to join the bonfire if I didn’t want to, but everyone had insisted that I was invited. I needed to take a walk before I even considered joining them at the bonfire.

I climbed down the side of the house, making me feel like I was a teenager again. I wanted to be quiet so no one would catch me escaping. The sky was clear tonight and the moon was almost full, so it wasn’t really dark out. It felt like the perfect night to go out for a stroll.

Being out in the woods, away from everyone and surrounded by trees made my wolf feel a lot better.  The farther away I got from the house, the better I felt. Most of the anxiety was gone by the time I was about a mile away from the house. I didn’t feel like I had to look over my shoulder anymore. I hadn’t noticed before just how wound up I had been until I was away from everyone else.

I didn’t worry about getting lost, because even if I did, people would come looking for me. I knew they could follow my scent because I walked slowly and kept tracing my fingers on the trees. I wasn’t trying to sneak away from everyone anymore, so it was easier to make noise out here.

My head cleared a bit so I could walk awhile without doing any real thinking. I had a lot to consider. I had to make a decision that would affect the rest of my life. I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. I didn’t want to aggravate anyone in this pack because before everything, I had really liked them and I wanted them to like me back. I wanted to make this place my new home. But now, I didn’t know what I wanted.

Maybe I could be happy somewhere else, around new people who didn’t know what happened to me. There would be no judgment and no walking on egg shells when I was around.

I could hear the thumping of paws running, so I stopped to listen. They were getting closer, but then they were quiet, until the sound completely dropped off. I knew that meant that whoever I had heard was now planning on tracking and stalking something.

I wasn’t worried, even if it was me that they were stalking.  I hadn’t seen anyone from my group in a while, but they’d recognize me when they caught up to me. Though, it probably wasn’t any of them who were out there. They would’ve started patrols again.

I wanted to get back to where I had been before. I trusted Mason before everything bad happened, so I felt like I had to trust him again. I would be okay. Mason said I was safe and I was going on what he said. So I started walking again.

I kept an eye and ear out for anything that might cause problems for me. I was alone and I felt alone. Maybe coming out here alone hadn’t been the best idea I had ever had. I wasn’t a part of any pack anymore. We hadn’t even talked about what was going to happen to me now. Was I going to stay here? Would I be able to cope with what had happened here? Those bad memories were here. Was I going to go seek the help of the head alpha? Would that mean that I was showing disrespect to the pack here? Would that cause problems between the two different packs?

I wasn’t too sure on what I was going to do anymore. I was truly confused and I couldn’t work past that. At least not yet.

Then there was a cry that sounded like someone had kicked a dog. I instantly turned around and saw nothing. The cry hadn’t been too far off. I couldn’t resist investigating what had made the noise. When I got to the area I heard the cry at, I looked around and saw nothing.

Then something hit me in the shoulder.

I looked back to see Mason standing behind me. “With all that training, you still give up your back.” That teasing smile was back. That smile that I used to love seeing.

I wanted to love seeing that again, but I didn’t. My wolf wouldn’t allow it. She was depressed and was going to stay that way for a while. Which meant I was going to be depressed for a while.

“What do you think about going back with Mikko for a while? You need a break from this place.” He was being careful. Maybe they all really did want me to get away from here. Maybe they thought I was going to snap.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He shook his head, “No. I want you to stay. But I know that being here is going to make it hard for you to cope with everything that has happened. There are places that hold bad memories here.”

“There are places here that hold good memories too.”

His eyes softened a bit, “You just need to cope. There are too many distractions here.”

“I won’t know anyone there. I won’t have anyone to talk to.” The idea of going somewhere I’d be all alone again didn’t sound appealing. I didn’t want to have to start all over…again. “I was just getting comfortable here.”

“You can come back here.” I shot him a look so he’d know that I didn’t believe him. “No one’s making you leave. We’re just giving you options.”

The idea terrified me. I’d never been as emotional in my life since I’ve been a werewolf. Everything was scary. My anxiety level had reached an all-time high. I actually had friends here. Not people who were obligated to be my friend because they worked with me.

“How long would I have to go?” I asked low. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go.

He walked towards me. “As long as you need to.” When he offered his arms, I wasted no time to get another hug. The idea of hugs with Mason still wasn’t what my wolf wanted. She still hated him, but I hoped that wouldn’t last forever.  Underneath it all, he was a nice guy and I needed the contact with him to not feel so alone.

“Would you come with me?” I wanted to take the question back once it left my mouth. Of course he couldn’t. He was the alpha’s right hand man. He couldn’t just pick up and leave for months, maybe even years. He had responsibilities.

Mason sighed. “I’d have to ask around a bit. I don’t know the procedure for something like that.”

“But you think I can go?”

He nodded, “You can because you’re not in the ascension line in this pack. If something happens to Grayson, the responsibility of the pack falls on to me. If I’m not here, that would lead to a power struggle in the pack. If that happens it’s weak and vulnerable to attack.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. He was starting to smell like I remembered, with a little bit of alcohol…whiskey maybe? His scent was more appealing now than when Millender had made all other men smell disgusting. I couldn’t be sad that Mason couldn’t come with me. That would be selfish and I didn’t want to hurt this pack more than I already had.

“If I can’t come to stay with you, I know I can come visit you.” Mason suggested. “It might not be what you want, but it’s better than nothing.”

“How often?”

He shrugged, “As often as I can.”

I nodded, “That’s a start.”

He lifted me up into his arms. I automatically wrapped my legs around his stomach and my arms around his neck. I didn’t want to fall. “You’ve walked a long way. We need to get back to the bonfire before they drink all the whiskey.”

“That’s what it was.” I said to myself.

“It seems like you’re getting better with your nose.”

I shrugged and rested my head in the crook of his neck. I was comfortable there. I didn’t feel alone. It wasn’t something a human would do with a guy who they weren’t in a relationship with. But I was a werewolf. I got comfort and peace from touches and hugs. I’d rather be in contact with someone than give them personal space. Mason didn’t object, so it wasn’t odd behavior for a werewolf, right?

“Do you want me to carry you to the fire? Or should I let you walk there?”

I could smell the fire, but I couldn’t see it yet. “I’ll walk.”

When he set me down, he didn’t reach for my hand. The sadness started creeping back again. When he started walking away, I grabbed for his hand. He just smiled back at me and led me to the group.

The next day everything was worked out. I was going to go to Finn’s house, so I spent most of the day packing (Even though there wasn’t a whole lot I needed to pack). Everyone had decided that it was a good idea, and I agreed. Mason couldn’t stay the whole time with me, but he could visit for a few days at a time. It would give me something to look forward to. He said that’s how we’d track my progress. Once I started liking him when I saw him again, that’s how we’d know that this plan was working.

Mikko loaded up his SUV with the bags I planned on bringing with me. He reassured me that if I forgot something, they’d take me to the store to get whatever I needed.

The day after that, I said goodbye to everyone. I stared at the compound and felt sad that I was leaving my friends. These guys had been great. But in eight months they’d be heading over to Finn’s where a party would be held with alphas to decide if the packs wanted any of these guys to help enforce any of the rules or rowdiness the alphas didn’t have time for. That gave me something else to look forward to as well!

When it came time to say goodbye to the people I had been living with, it was a bit weird for me. I’d never really had much contact with them, but I gave them all hugs and exchanged goodbyes. I didn’t even really feel mad at Casey. My wolf knew we were getting away for a while.

This was going to be a good thing. When I was ready to leave Finn’s, I would see if I was welcome back here. Only time would tell.

When it was Mason’s turn to say goodbye, he was smirking like he knew something I didn’t.

“What?” I asked hesitantly. I didn’t really like Mason’s surprises because so far, they only came with bruises.

“I’m coming with you for a few days.”

I was relieved. I didn’t want to be alone with Mikko in the car. I didn’t even know how long it would take to get to Finn’s house. I assumed it was going to take hours because I was being shipped off to live with him.

Mason’s smile widened, so I’m sure he saw the relief. Then we got in the car and left. The guys took the front seats, or course.

Turns out that the SUV was a rental. When we turned into airport traffic I started getting hot and sweating. No one told me we had to fly. I’d always been afraid of flying. I banned family vacations because I was so afraid of it.

Mason looked back at me with a curious expression on his face. He’d probably be able to sense my overwhelming anxiety. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re going to an airport.”

He nodded, “So?”

“I don’t fly.”

He smiled widely, “You’re afraid of flying?”

Mikko chuckled a little. I nodded, “I’ve only flown once in my life and I hated it!”

Mason laughed, “You’ll be fine. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“I don’t care! I’m not getting on that plane.”

Mason gave Mikko a frustrated look. “Fine.” He turned back in his seat and went through his backpack, looking for something. When he turned back around he had a syringe in his hand. “Either you cooperate and get on the plane, or I’m going to shoot you up and you’ll wake up tucked in bed at Finn’s house.”

I reached forward, exposing the inside of my arm to him, “Give me the drugs. I’m not getting on that plane while I’m conscious.”

His smile was the last thing I saw before passing out. When I woke up I was at Finn’s.