MASON'S POV
Sleep refused to come to me that night. Mars was restless, pacing inside my head like a caged beast.
She's awake, he murmured suddenly.
She's moving. Find her.
I didn't need him to tell me twice. Whenever she slipped out of her room, her scent brushed through the corridors like a whisper only I could hear. Sweet… nervous… determined.
I stepped out of my room and followed it without a sound.
Then I saw her.
Standing in the dim hallway, clutching something to her chest like a guilty little thief.
My beautiful little mate.
Wandering the halls of the Alpha King's house at two in the morning.
I leaned against the wall, folding my arms, watching her tiptoe like a mouse trying to escape a wolf. She really thought she could outrun me. It was… adorable. Infuriating, but adorable.
"Looking for something, little human?" I said quietly.
She jumped like she'd been shot. Her heart hammered so loud even a deaf wolf could hear it. She spun around slowly, eyes wide, lips parted, trying to come up with a lie.
"I… I was just… getting some air," she whispered, pressing whatever she was holding closer to her chest.
Mars growled. She's hiding something.
I stepped out of the shadows, letting the moonlight hit my face. Her breath hitched. I didn't miss the way her gaze drifted quickly over my chest, my arms, then back to my eyes.
"Air?" I repeated, raising a brow. "At two in the morning?"
She nodded frantically. "Yes… air. And… snacks. I was hungry."
A short, dark laugh escaped me. She was a terrible liar. Cute… but terrible.
"Snacks," I echoed. "So you wandered around the pack house. Alone. Holding something. Sneaking like a thief."
She swallowed, eyes darting everywhere except my face.
"I didn't mean to… bother anyone."
I moved closer, slow, deliberate. She pressed herself back against the wall like she could melt into it.
The map and the book whatever she was hiding were shaking in her hands now.
She was terrified. She was lying.
She was trying to escape.
But the funniest part?
She actually thought she could.
"Follow me," I said, my voice dropping into that tone nobody disobeyed. "I'll take you back to your room…"
I leaned down, bringing my lips close to her ear.
"…and you'll tell me exactly what you were sneaking off to do at this hour."
Her breath caught. Her pulse stumbled.
Mars purred. She's ours. Don't let her run.
She stepped reluctantly beside me, her tiny footsteps almost silent next to mine. The hallway swallowed us in shadows, her stubborn heart beating fast enough to wake the whole house.
And as I led her back to her room, only one thought settled in my mind:
She could try to escape.
She could plan all she wanted.
She could wander every hallway, memorize every door.
But she wasn't leaving my side.
Not tonight.
Not ever.