Prince Mason
After seeing Ashlyn, I stormed into my room, slamming the door. Not wanting to explain myself to anyone right now. I was itching for a fight and all I wanted to do was drive 7 hours and kick the shit out of that alpha! I trusted her and she broke it. She probably figured I wouldn’t feel it.
“You should have let mate explain.” Thor growled in my head.
“Why so she could lie to me?” I growled back.
I hated how much what she did affected me. We haven’t even confirmed our relationship other than acknowledging that we’re fated mates. Everything was confusing. We couldn’t claim her, but yet I could feel her cheating. But was it cheating? Whatever it was, it hurt.
When Brandon and Liam entered, I was pacing my room. I didn’t even acknowledge them. I was ready to head back to work so I could get my mind off of what had just happened.
“Mason, what the hell was that?” Brandon asked. Liam and he were both standing there with their arms crossed, glaring at me.
“I don’t want to talk about it!” I yelled at them.
“Didn’t you see she was bleeding, and you just sent her away? What the hell is wrong with you?” Liam yelled back. And honestly, I didn’t notice she was bleeding, but who was I to care? She can go back to her Alpha.
“She’s a big girl and can take care of herself,” I growled.
“You are fucken impossible, Mase. She’s your fucken mate!” Liam growled, storming out of my room, leaving me with Brandon. Brandon let out a sigh.
“I know you’re mad, but you could at least hear her out. You didn’t get to see the look in her eyes when you walked away from her. All the happiness was gone. She’s here to see you, Mason. She could have stayed with Alpha Ian, but she didn’t.” Brandon said his piece and left.
I flopped on my bed, staring at the ceiling. After a while, I went to my office to get some work done. I needed a distraction and a drink.
It was around midnight when I wandered back up to our floor. I was pretty buzzed. Did I feel better? No. But I am tired now, so I guess I could actually get some sleep. My mind was wandering to Ashlyn as I closed my eyes. I got up and went into her room to sleep. I’m pissed, but her scent still calmed me.
I woke up the next morning, kinda hung over. The liquor I was drinking was stronger than normal alcohol. I went back into my room to shower and get ready for all our morning meetings. There has been an increase in rogue attacks on different packs lately.
After getting ready, I went into the kitchen to meet Brandon and Liam. They were both sitting at the table with their coffees. I grabbed a bottle of water and some painkillers for my headache. I would grab a coffee at the office.
We were all quiet on the way to the office, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t need anymore lectures from them about my relationship with Ashlyn. She did something wrong, and I wasn’t ready to hear her out.
My father, his beta’s and us were all seated in a meeting room going over the recent attacks. We were organizing maps and connections to see if any of the attacks were connected. It was almost time to head to training when my father’s assistant walked in and handed him a folder. He opened it and was reading it when he let out a growl, making us all turn our attention to him.
“Another rogue attack?” I asked.
“No, vampires.” He growled, handing me the file.
“What! Where?” I asked, opening the file.
“Blue Moon Pack.” He answered and my stomach dropped.
“Call Alpha Ian now!” I commanded. I didn’t want to read a fucken report, as I found it hard to focus. Brandon called Alpha Ian and put him on speaker.
“Hello, Beta Brandon. What can I do for you?” Ian greeted my beta.
“Alpha Ian. I’m calling about the vampire attack report that we just received. You’re on speaker.” Brandon told him.
“What about the report?” Ian asked.
“Who was attacked?” I growled.
“Ashlyn was the one attacked, Prince Mason. Everything is in the report,” he answered.
“And you didn’t think to contact us sooner?” I demanded.
“I’m sorry, Prince Mason. I assumed Ashlyn would have told you. She told me she was back yesterday. She received some pretty deep gashes down her abdomen and would have needed help to change the bandages. Have you not seen her?” He asked, confused.
“Can you just tell us what happened?” my father asked Ian.
“Of course, King Arthur. Ashlyn was out on our territory. She was visiting a waterfall. She said that five vampires appeared in the clearing. They attacked, and she killed them all. It was a bloody mess. Many of the vampires were in pieces. Anyway, Ashlyn’s wounds were treated, and the doctor confirmed they had coated their nails in this toxin that causes pain and slows down our healing ability. The Doctor had to stitch her up. I told her she shouldn’t leave yet, but she was adamant about returning there.” He explained.
“Thank you Alpha Ian. We’ll be in touch.” Brandon told him and hung up.
“Mason, where is Ashlyn?” My father asked and I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know where she was.
“Mason?” He growled.
“I don’t know.” I told him in defeat. Vampires attacked and hurt her, and all I cared about was my anger.
“You don’t know? Did I not instruct the three of you to protect her? Since all three of you are here, I assumed she was still with her aunt. But now I have learned that not only is she not there, but she’s been injured in a vampire attack? Is that what you’re telling me?” He commanded.
“My king, we saw Ashlyn yesterday.” Liam chimed in.
“And where is she now?” He demanded.
“We don’t know, my king. Liam and I have been texting and calling her but she hasn’t answered either of us.” Brandon added.
“Mason, why was she not staying on your floor?” My father asked.
“It’s complicated,” I sighed.
“You three had better find her. Now! And Mason, you better fix whatever the fuck you did. I’ve lost enough people in my life and I refuse to lose my goddaughter again!” He ordered.
“Yes, sir.” we said in unison. We walked out of the meeting room. We had to come up with a plan to figure out where she was and hopefully she’s still in the city.
“I’ll check all the hotels.” Liam stated.
“I’ll check the road cameras to see if I can find her car.” Brandon said.
“I’ll go around the city to see if I can sense her wolf or get a hit on her smell.” I told them. We all went on our mission to find Ashlyn.
By the end of the night, and with no luck, my stomach was in knots over the guilt I was feeling. I shouldn’t have overreacted. Alphas are extremely possessive of our mates, and the thought of her with someone else infuriated me. And then not being able to go with her to see her ex, jealousy took over.
I wanted to be her only, like she’d be mine. I should have heard what she had to say. The pain was quick, but that meant nothing, since our wolves can’t claim each other. But why did I feel that pain in the first place? Fuck. I should just have listened to her.
All three of us searched well into the early morning and found nothing. There was too much footage to go through and she didn’t register at any hotels. She could have used a fake name. And I was all over this city and I couldn’t find her car or her scent.
It was time to give up the search for the night. In a few hours, we will be back at it again. We got warriors involved in the search party. We should have done that today, but we were all busy with our own plans to organize something.
The next morning, I was getting ready to head out again. I was in the shower when Ashlyn’s text came through, and I didn’t hear my phone. After my shower, I got dressed. I picked up my phone and noticed the text.
Ashlyn: Dear Mason, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that Ian kissed me, but I wanted you to know that I pulled away from him and I tried to come home to you. Tundra couldn’t claim you, but I wanted to claim you. I wanted you to be mine, and I wanted to be yours. I’ll miss you forever.
Ashlyn.
I ran out of my room and into the kitchen. Brandon and Liam also received a text from Ashlyn. She told them she was leaving the city but didn’t say where she was going. We all tried calling her, but she turned her phone off. I was in full panic mode now.
Brandon called the police chief to put an APB out on her car. We headed to our last search area but with warriors to help this time. She was leaving, and she was planning on never coming back. We needed to find her before she left the city.