Entwined Secrets (12 page)

When Mason finishes telling me the story, he waits for my reaction. I have to be careful now. He’s seen me take his transformation in stride, like an everyday occurrence, but I have to watch that. This is bizarre doings for normal folk. He might begin to suspect there’s more to me than meets the eye.

“So what brought on the change today?” I ask, concerned.

“The painting you were looking at. The character Artemis. She’s meaningful to me. For all the reasons I told you. Artemis is the unrivaled hunter. The moon goddess of animals and the wildlands. She’s kind of the patron saint of werewolves.”

That makes sense. All the parallels between her and shifters. I believe in patron saints, after a fashion, but I don’t tell him that. The gods Candice, Saffron, and I pay homage to vary wildly depending on our objective. We aren’t bound to just one.

“That painting,
The Vision of Endymion
,” Mason continues, “it strikes a chord with me. Ever since I was turned. Whenever I looked at that painting, it made me feel hopeful, that there might be somebody out there who could accept me this way. I won’t lie to you, Jess. I’ve been wondering if that person might be you. I had no way of knowing for sure, not until you saw me change. So when you stopped on that picture today, I decided to take a chance and risk it all. I couldn’t hold back anymore.”

“Indeed you didn’t,” I say with a sly grin.

I’m still feeling guilty about the deception earlier, but now I feel even worse. I didn’t just
stop on
that picture by accident. I knew exactly what I was doing, thanks to Sylvia. She knew it would be a trigger for Mason.

Still, we’re past that now. Whether I was the sole reason Mason found me appealing, or my interest in his favorite painting sealed the deal, what we feel about each other at this point is no less real.

The painting is only an enticement, whereas I’m the real prize, or so I hope. It is a beautiful painting, after all. I’ll start recreating it in my free time at work. That will cause Mason to stop by more often. To be seen as a couple by people we know. There’s a novelty to that which I think I’ll like.

It’s amazing how a relationship can change your entire outlook.

* * *

Sure enough, my elderly neighbors knock on the door, but a few hours later. They ask if I heard the howling earlier. Their hearing isn’t the best, so I put them at ease by suggesting that maybe a coyote wandered into the back alley.

It didn’t sound like any coyote they had ever heard before. I share in their confusion and agree that it was unusually loud for a coyote. We decide to keep a lookout for the next little while.

“Is your gentleman caller still staying with you?” the wife asks just before I close the door.

She knows perfectly well Mason has been staying with me. More than that, she knows who he is. She probably watched him grow up in this town. Their hearing might not be the greatest, but we’ve been knocking boots more than a few times while they were home.

“He is. Sorry if we’ve been shaking the house lately. Mason and I will try to keep the earthquakes to a minimum,” I say with a wink.

The wife’s face goes slack. At the same time, Mason drops a utensil in the kitchen behind me. It clatters on the ground.

Country folk are so easily flustered. Bless them.

“That would be him in the kitchen. He’s trying to salvage the dinner he was making before we got distracted. Probably why we didn’t hear all that howling outside. You know how it is.”

The wife is in shock. Her husband picks up the conversation.

“Come on, mother,” he says to his wife, “leave the kids alone. Have a good evening, Jess. You and Mason take care now.”

I close the door and walk back to the kitchen. Mason is already staring at me with an incredulous look on his face. The remains of my table are neatly piled in a corner.

“I could hear that poor woman’s heart skip a beat from here.”

“I bet it did. Was I awful? Sorry. I just didn’t feel like holding back. Should I have told her that you’re a werewolf as well?”

“Definitely not. That couple, like most people in this town, have lived here for generations.”

Mason reaches out, grabs me around the waist, and pulls me in close. He’s fast, more so than normal, like he’s not holding back anymore. I glance over my shoulder. The pendant is still hanging on the wall beside my oven mitts.

“So, could you really hear her heart beating from over here?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He looks at me like I’m going to be his next meal. Not the venison he’s cooking.

“If you’re not careful, you’re going to ruin dinner again,” I tell him, not trying to get away.

“Would that be so awful?” he asks.

“It will be if my neighbors call the Wildlife Rescue Society and report that there’s a wolf in the area.”

“They wouldn’t believe them. Wolves aren’t native to these parts,” Mason says with a cheeky smile.

A deep growl erupts out of his throat. He leans in close, burying his face against my neck, and inhales. His mouth opens. Lips brush against my skin lightly. It excites me more than I care to admit, but then I don’t have to admit it. Mason can probably smell my arousal.

“The more fool them. I know better.”

Mason lifts me up off the ground. His hands on my ass.

Well, there goes dinner.

I want this too, but I have to wonder. Will I get Mason the wolf or Mason the man this time? Actually, forget that. I don’t want to know ahead of time. I prefer the surprise. It’s like playing with fire that way, seeing how high I can stoke the flames.

A thought leaps into my head, one that hadn’t occurred to me until just this second. Surprising, considering how obvious it is.

“Are you the only
werewolf
in these parts?”

Mason stops kissing me, but doesn’t answer right away.

“I mean, make me the object of your affection, by all means, but surely another werewolf would have accepted you as you are. Has there ever been anybody else like that in your life?”

Mason lowers me to the ground. There’s a resolved look in his eyes, like he anticipated this question, just not this second.

“Mason, what is it?” I ask.

“I promised myself that if you ever found out about me and embraced what I am, I would answer any questions you asked. So no, there isn’t another werewolf in these parts, but there is somebody else who accepts me as I am.”

Mason lets his answer stand without elaborating. If I want to know more, I have to ask. Whoever this person is… it’s a woman. I know that much already, which raises my hackles unexpectedly. Is this what it’s like to feel possessive? That’s a new sensation.

“Who is she?” I ask.

Mason takes a deep breath and steels himself before answering.

“Sylvia. My twin sister.”

“Sylvia’s your twin?”

Mason nods.

“Well that’s a surprise, but no big deal,” I say with relief. “I noticed some similarities before, but you’re clearly not
identical
twins. You had me concerned there for a second. I thought it was something else.”

“There
is
something else. I haven’t told you everything yet.”

“Oh? What else haven’t you told me, then?” I ask with a little dread.

“You asked if there was anybody who accepted me
as I am.
There has been somebody like that in my life.”

“Well, that only makes sense. I mean, you are a catch,” I say, trying to sound lighthearted.

Mason shakes his head. “No, it’s not like that. You have to understand, we grew up together. Traveled everywhere together. There was nobody else in our lives for the longest time.”

I suddenly realize what Mason is trying to tell me. There’s an implied meaning to his words, something I can’t hide from now if I tried.

“It only made sense that we were so close,” he continues. “We looked out for each other when nobody else did. I was her protector and she was mine. Our parents had no idea. They were always too busy to notice. They still don’t know, but you asked, Jess, so I’m telling you.”

My heart sinks. This answers a lot. The intimate knowledge she has about her brother. The way she wants me to secure his presence in town. I’m just a tool to Sylvia. A way to settle her brother down in one place, close to her reach.

“You haven’t told me anything yet, Mason. I need to hear the words.”

“Sylvia and I… we have a special bond.”

“Of course you do,” I say, and storm out of the kitchen.

ENTWINED SECRETS
Sorcery & Shifters
Book 1

You've just finished reading Sorcery & Shifters Book 1, Entwined Secrets. The story continues in Book 2, ENTWINED DESTINIES.

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