Chapter Eleven

Levi

He kicked his way out of the room before carrying his mate toward the front door. They were at some sort of old rundown cabin, but Levi didn't recognize the place. He had no idea where it could be. Levi just hoped they weren't too far from civilization.

It appeared the windows had all been boarded up from the outside with only small amounts of light filtering through the cracks. He couldn't hear anything concerning so he hoped wherever Mason's father and the other man had gone, they planned to stay away for a while. Levi needed to get Mason safe before he came back to take care of business.

The wood floor under his feet groaned loud enough that Levi was worried it wouldn't hold his weight.

Rushing forward, Levi was glad for his enhanced strength. He had a feeling that he would be carrying his mate far. Mason wasn't looking good. He'd grown pale and every movement seemed to make him wince.

"I'm sorry, Mason. I'll get you help," Levi vowed.

"Just get us out of here," Mason said between clenched teeth. "Before they come back."

The door wasn't locked. Levi pulled it opened before stepping onto the porch and out into the fresh air. He breathed in deeply while looking around, trying to get some idea of where he was.

"I don't know where we are," Levi confessed.

Mason lifted his head. "I do. We're on the very south side of the state park. About as far from your land as possible."

"How—"

"It's gonna be impossible to get me out of here," Mason said quietly. "We're at the bottom of a canyon."

Levi smiled. "I probably should have explained more about the man that is going to be your mate."

Mason snorted then groaned with pain. "Don't make me laugh."

"Make sure that you hold on tight," Levi said.

"Okay?"

Levi strolled from the house, heading in the direction of the thick patch of trees. He used his supernatural powers to move fast. The wind whipped at them until Levi felt they were far enough away from the house and the danger.

Coming to a small clearing, Levi stopped.

Mason's swollen eyes still showed his unease with how they darted wildly around.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked.

"You…you're fast," Mason stated.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Levi laid Mason against the fallen trunk of a tree. Whipping off his shirt, Levi watched his mate. He tucked his T-shirt into the back of his pants.

Mason shook his head. "Ah, not that I'm complaining about you not wearing a shirt. Trust me, I've wanted to see that again. But uh…"

"I'm not stripping for you," Levi told him.

Mason waved his hand.

"Watch," Levi ordered. He pulled from his other form and allowed the wings on his back to snap open.

"Holy. Hot. Daddy!"

Levi laughed at Mason's reaction. Being in his most primal form, it wasn't just his wings that appeared. His skin changed from his human flesh to the granite of his solid gargoyle form. His nails grew into claws as his fangs dropped.

"Gargoyle?" Mason said. "You"re a fucking gargoyle? That is awesome!"

"I'm glad you approve," Levi said sincerely.

"Wait? You have fangs? Gargoyles have fangs?"

Levi closed his lips, becoming self-conscious.

"No! Don't hide them!" Mason shouted.

Oh! Was Mason not afraid?

"Mister Bitey McBite me!" Mason exclaimed.

Levi really should have known better than thinking that Mason would have been concerned about his fangs. He strolled over and picked Mason back up. "Remember when I said to hold on tight? I wasn't talking about when I was running."

"Fly?" Mason asked in a squeaky voice.

"I'm going to get us out of here," Levi promised.

"Ok…okay." Mason tightened the arms he had around Levi's neck. "Just don't drop me, please."

"I would never." Levi bent his knees then launched himself up and into the air. He wouldn't be able to remain flying for long. Unlike some of the flyers in his family, Levi's wings weren't meant for traveling long distances.

He flew straight up until he cleared the top of the trees. He started in the direction of his home when a small figure darted in front of them and blue glittery dust fell over Mason.

"What?" Mason looked around. "What is that?"

"Pixie," Levi said. "Anton's best friend from the fae realm. If he's here—"

A loud roar sounded before a slim light blue dragon hovered over them.

"Dragon!" Mason screeched. "Dragons are real?"

Levi chuckled. "We have two of them." Fabian landed on Levi's shoulder chittering away, and Levi used the cover of Anton's larger body to find the way home.

"Dragons. Gargoyles. Holy fuck," Mason said quietly. "My father is so fucking screwed."

Yeah, he was. Levi could barely hear Mason so he knew his mate wouldn't be able to hear him over the rushing wind. He nodded though.

It didn't take long before Levi could see the clearing inside the land. Several of the furry four-legged shifters were circling around as the humans sat holding hands. The shifters were guarding the vulnerable humans, but why were they out in the open?

Anton landed and shifted back into his human form as Levi dropped down beside him. River ran up and handed Anton some clothes before peering down at Mason.

"Is he okay?" River asked. "What can we do?"

"Why are you all out here?" Levi demanded. "You should be inside, where it's safe."

Fabian left his shoulder to sprinkle River with his pixie dust before flying over to Anton. The little pixie chittered and chattered the entire time.

"I know they're fine," Anton told his little friend. "Levi doesn't know anything yet. He just escaped."

Levi huffed but didn't say anything as Fabian returned to him and landed on his arm. Close to Mason. It appeared the little pixie was feeling a bit defensive. Of what, Levi didn't know.

"It's fine," Lawson told him.

"It's not," Mason said. He struggled against Levi's hold. "My father—"

"Axel and Gavin have him and four other men. Jason helped us track them down."

"Jason? My brother?" Mason asked, still wiggling. "Can you put me down?"

"No," Levi responded. "What is happening?"

"Come on." Bryce waved them forward. "We've been waiting on you. Daddy will explain. The others should be back soon."

"Who's still out there?" Levi asked.

"Trevor and Shawn. They shifted and headed to where you two were being held. Anton and Fabian took to the air. Everyone else is waiting for you two to get here."

Levi followed behind the others.

"I really can walk," Mason whispered to him.

"You are hurt," Levi pointed out.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," Mason replied. "I'll be fine."

It broke Levi's heart that his mate was used to being hurt by his father. It would never happen again. Levi would make sure of that.

"I'll still carry you," Levi said.

"You tell him."

"No," Bryce mumbled. "You saw it, so you tell him."

"I don't want to," Nate whined. He walked between Bryce and Lawson while carrying his sniper rifle.

"It really should be you," Lawson agreed.

"Is there something I should know?" Levi asked the boys.

They stopped and turned.

"Uh." Bryce shifted uncomfortably.

"Not you," Lawson said.

Levi smiled. "Boys."

"Shit," Nate said. "Sorry, Mason. This might be a little oversharing."

"Okay?" Mason sounded as confused as Levi felt.

"So, after we figured out something happened, we went to your cabin, hoping that we would find the two of you there," Nate explained.

"What…what did you find at my cabin?"

Nate looked away. Bryce covered his face. Lawson was smirking.

River huffed. "Tristan was fucking Mason's brother against the porch rail."

Levi nearly dropped his mate. "What?"

Mason's nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders and Levi retightened his hold.

"It gets better." Lawson jumped up and down while clapping. "They're mates!"

"Mates?" Levi and Mason said at the same time.

"Yep," River replied. "And they've already completed the bonding."

Mason started to laugh.

Levi glanced down at his mate.

"Of course he did. Leave it to my brother to meet his mate and do the deed within minutes." He rolled his eyes at Levi.

"Uh, baby, there might be a problem." Shit, he didn't want to be the one that explained this.

"What?"

"Tristan…"

"I can totally see Tristan and my brother being perfect together. They're just alike really. Hey! What's Tristan? I'm not even going to try to guess. Gargoyles and dragons. This is more than I ever thought possible."

"Yeah," Bryce agreed. "Not really a fair contest."

Lawson nudged Bryce's shoulder. "You were the one that wanted to guess."

"That is so cool!" Mason said. "Have you guessed everyone?"

Bryce smiled. "All but Gavin. I haven't figured out his species yet."

"You guessed gargoyle?" Mason asked.

"Well no," Bryce admitted. "I sort of stumbled on him in one of his other forms. Up of the roof."

"Roof?" Mason glanced at you.

"I'll show you soon," Levi promised.

"So, Tristan?"

Levi sighed. He didn't know how to explain this. "Just remember that not everything you have heard about a species or place is actually true."

"This doesn't sound good."

"I"ve been friends with Tristan for months now. He's…a decent guy."

"Is he?" Mason didn't sound like he believed him.

"He's a dick," River said. "But he's not a bad guy."

"Maybe just tell me?" Mason requested.

"Tristan is a demon," Levi blurted out. He swallowed. Shit! "I mean—"

"Demon?" Mason repeated.

Levi nodded.

"A demon?" Mason said.

"A demon," River said.

"A demon?" Mason asked again.

"A demon," Bryce, Lawson, and River all said together.

"A fucking demon!" Mason yelled.

"A nice demon," Levi offered. "That was fucking your brother."

"If it helps," Nate said, "I'm mated to the Alpha of the hellhounds and my other brother is mated to a Reaper. Plus, one of our best friends is mated to the master of punishment in the hell realm. And from what I've seen, Tristan is following your brother around like a puppy. He's already enamored with Jason."

"I have so much to learn." Mason appeared overwhelmed.

"I'll help you!" Bryce raised his hand.

"And Seb, my twin, has spreadsheets," River offered.

"We'll all help," Levi said. "You"re not the first or only human in the family."

"Family." Mason swallowed.

"Yes, family. That's what you're now part of. It's all going to be okay," Levi told his mate. "You have us now."

"And your brother is mated to a demon!" Lawson teased.

"I'm telling your Daddy," Mason responded. "You have a sassy mouth, and it needs to be filled."

Lawson laughed. "Please do."

"We need to go," River said. He pointed ahead where a wolf and a black panther were heading in their direction.

"Yeah," Mason said sadly. "I guess it's time to deal with my father."

Mason would not be dealing with his father. Not for one moment.