Free The Mystic Wolves by Belinda Boring

mouth and I threw my head back in mirth.
    “What the heck is going on? Liege? Beloved Benefactor? Royal Eminence? Since when do people address you like that, Mason? Or should I say Most Magnificent Master?”
    Mason dragged me away from resting on the wall quick enough to swat my behind with his hand. “Enough! Don’t encourage him, Darcy. Daniel has gotten it into his head I’m not being paid enough respect as the Alpha and is trying to instill in the younger pack members the importance of titles. I can’t turn around without someone bowing or spouting off some crazy name. Nothing I’ve done can convince them it’s not necessary. It’s driving me insane.” He puffed out a quick breath in frustration.
    “Which is why I will continue,” Daniel interrupted, ducking as another piece of my furniture went flying. Mason rolled his eyes and grinned before turning back to look at his friend.
    I lowered myself to the ground, Mason letting me this time, and I fully joined the conversation. “What’s going on?”
    Daniel gave a brief glance at his Alpha and I saw a slight nod returned.
    “Devlin called and asked after Darcy and Jasmine. I filled him in with what happened and the mention of vampire blood raised a lot of questions. He’s on his way over with condolences from Zane and to see what needs to be done. He sounded furious.”
    I saw Mason take in the information and knew he had to be thinking about what it all meant. Devlin was one of the Enforcers set up by the vampire leader, Zane, to investigate and eliminate any threats to the supernatural community. The thought of humans having access to such potent blood had to be disturbing.
    “How long before he gets here?”
    “Well, when we first tried to tell you, you had an hour.” Daniel checked his watch. “Now you have about twenty minutes.” He looked back expectedly at Mason, waiting for orders. All joking was pushed aside as business was approaching.
    “Okay, when he arrives, show him into my office and we’ll meet you there.” I knew Mason felt the flash of fear that spun out of control inside me. I didn’t want to repeat last night’s events, in any way. He grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it.
    “Give us a moment to prepare,” he ordered.
    Daniel pulled himself out of the chair and started to make his way to the door. Before he left, he stopped in front of me, bowing his head slightly in respect.
    “I’m glad you’re okay, Darcy. I’m sorry about Jasmine.”
    Tears began to well in my eyes again, and a knot formed in my throat. I had no other choice but to reply with a nod of my own.
    With the door closed and Mason and I finally alone again, he pulled me back into his arms as more tears started to fall. He moved his hand in slow, comforting strokes against my back.
    “Will you be able to come to the meeting? Heaven knows, I don’t want to cause you any more distress but it’s important Devlin hears it all from you.”
    “I’ll be fine. It needs to be done. I’m just so sorry.” Sobs broke out and the feelings of contentment Mason inspired in me earlier were replaced with ones of sorrow and guilt.
    I felt my chin being tilted up as he sought my gaze. “Hey, I thought we dealt with this? No guilt, remember. We’ll get through this together.” I couldn’t answer for crying.
    I could almost sense the moment when he came to some decision. “You know what? More important business has just come up. Devlin can wait. Come on.”
    Releasing me from his embrace, Mason began pulling me toward the door. He paused a second, stopping, and moved to the window. Opening it, he extended his hand out in invitation.
    “What about …?”
    “No questions, Darcy. Just come.”
    I placed my hand in his and together we escaped through the pane. Moving with stealth, Mason led me into the neighboring woods that encompassed the borders of his property. This was pack land, handed down from generation to generation and it was lush with all the different