[Mason’s POV]"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." A low voice that shook the earth beneath my feet called, stopping me mid-step. "Would hate to have to kill your entire pack.""What the hell?" I growled, looking around to try to locate the person who had spoken.When my eyes came to rest on what looked like a large mountain that seemed to be…breathing… I felt all the air rush out of my lungs."H-how?" I gasped, feeling my eyes grow wide."Are you impressed?" Danica’s brother asked, giving a broad smile. "He is magnificent, isn’t he?"As he spoke, the troll he was referring to began to move, standing up to his full size and towering well over the canopy above. How the fuck did something so massive get so close without being detected? Someone must have seen him, right?"Don’t worry," Danica’s brother chuckled as the troll lumbered up behind him protectively. "He didn’t come here on foot.""Not on foot?" I repeated, unable to take my gaze away from him. "Then how?""That’s my secret." He
[Danica’s POV] "Danica, you really shouldn’t be involved in this!" Bella huffed. After making sure that Heather was okay and being treated with the utmost respect, I took my leave to join the Mason’s in their questioning of Amy and her brothers. Despite being told to stay out of it, I just couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that was slowly clawing at me. "Yes, I do." I responded, slowing my pace as voices began to drift towards me. "Something feels..off." Amy had been one of my closest friends for as long as I could remember. We had been through so much heartache and pain together, there was no way that all those emotions and good times were faked. "Then why work for him?" I heard Mason suddenly ask, "If you knew he'd abandon you in the blink of an eye when trouble arose, why have you been assisting him in stalking Danica?" "Because he promised to tell us where our parents are." Amy responded. "Otherwise, we would have killed him long ago." Feeling my heart sink, I turned to m
[Mason’s POV]I held my breath as Amy and her brothers considered Danica’s offer. Either they would accept and we would have a way of finding Seth without the help of the sorcerers, or we would be back at square one."You don’t have to answer me right away." Danica said. "We can give you a few days to decide. How does that sound?""Will we have to stay in this damn cell during that time?" Chase asked, narrowing his gaze."Yes.""No."Shooting Danica a look, I took in her narrowed gaze as she held her hand out once again to my younger self."Mason," she huffed, opening and closing her palm. "Give me that key.""What are you planning?" He asked, seeming unsure. "What are you going to do if you let them go free and they disappear?""Can’t they at least stay in one of the guest rooms under supervision?" Danica sighed, rolling her eyes. "Why would they want to help us when we are treating them like animals?""You mean how they have been treating us?" He countered.I had to admit, this was
[Danica’s POV]My heart hammered in my chest as the man Mason’s older self had referred to as my grandfather continued to examine me. How was this even possible? All those years I was raised by Martha, having no idea about my parents or my past, and now here I was staring into the eyes of someone who was my own flesh and blood."That’s enough." Mason hissed, pulling me out of my grandfather’s embrace. "I’m sorry, but could you please explain how you discovered that the Black Forest pack was Danica’s relatives?" He continued, shooting his guarded gaze towards his older self."Long story short," he responded, snapping his attention away from his forearm. "In the future, something will... happen," he said hesitantly. "After it does, Danica will lose her memories and run off. I’m not sure about the details in between that and when she finds the pack, but what matters is that they were reunited. ""What do you mean she lost her memories?" My Mason snapped. "What the hell did you end up doi
[Danica’s POV]"What did you just say?" I demanded, narrowing my gaze on older Mason. "Repeat that."When he brought me to the Black Forest pack, I had thought it was simply to introduce me to my family, but from the question he just asked my grandfather, it seemed that he did all this for his own gain. Despite knowing that we did need their help and that his question was valid, I couldn’t stop the sudden pain my realization caused."You heard him correctly." My mason murmured, wrapping a protective arm around me and pulling me close. "He did this for himself, not for us.""Think what you will." Older Mason said, not bothering to look our way. "But deep down, you know that in order to end the war between ourselves and the harpies, we are going to need allies, and Danica comes from a group of amazing warriors. Not to mention, the best way for her to properly take her place as leader is to show them her strength in battle while being an excellent leader. "Remaining quiet, I tried to pr
[Mason’s POV]After setting up an agreement to meet up in five days' time with the Black Forest pack, me, Danica, and my younger self made our way back to the pack grounds. No one spoke along the way, but my younger self’s extreme anger and distrust surrounded us. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and I knew that after Danica was no longer with us, I would hear every single emotion he was holding back."Danica," my younger self said once we reached our destination. "Why don’t you go on up? I’ll come join you in a minute. ""What are you planning?" She asked, eyeing him and then me. "You don’t plan to try to start trouble again, do you?""Of course not." He chuckled, leaning forward and giving her a quick kiss. "Just want to discuss mundane matters. Go on now."For a moment, it seemed that Danica wasn’t going to listen to him, but after letting out a breath, she made her way towards the pack house. I kept my gaze fixed on her retreating form until it could no longer be see
[Mason’s POV]The sound of footsteps roaming much too close to the tree I was currently sleeping on woke me the next morning. Immediately, I was on alert due to how suspicious they sounded. Letting my eyes fly open, I went on alert, taking in the ground below me until I spotted someone dressed in a brown cloak that was pulled up over their heads."What are you doing?" I growled, jumping down and landing on the intruder. "Explain yourself now!""Woah there," a familiar voice chuckled. "I come in peace.""Killian?" I growled, pulling down his hood and taking in his amused expression. "What the hell are you doing?""I’d like to ask the same." He countered. "Why exactly are you hanging out in a tree? Did you do something to piss Danica off so she banished you out here?""Something like that." I grumbled.Satisfied that Killian wasn’t an intruder I got to my feet and held out a hand that he happily took. Once he was upright, his eyes began to really take me in while his expression changed
[Mason’s POV]"Do you think that old fool will be willing to help us?" My younger self demanded "He barely wants to help with simple matters, and now you want his help with something as big as a trial?""Are you actually shooting down my way of helping Danica prove her innocence?" I asked. "Nigel wouldn’t dare not agree."Even when I was younger, Nigel knew not to cross me. Even if he begrudgingly helped, he wouldn’t dare say no. That was the one good thing about that old bat."Only one way to find out." Killian announced, clapping his hands together. "You gonna drive my sweet nephew?"I bit back the laugh that wanted to escape as my younger self grimaced in disgust due to Killian’s way of addressing him. Served him right for always being such an ass.‘Pot meet kettle.’ Grendal huffed in amusement.Frowning, I didn’t bother responding to him. Instead, I stepped forward and threw an arm around Killian’s shoulders. Motioning for my younger self to follow, I headed towards the large blac