Chapter Twelve

Mason

"Levi. Please." Mason peered up from his prone position on the bed. Levi's bed. Mason had dreamt of being in that exact place but not with Levi leaving him behind.

"Stay and rest," Levi responded. "Please."

"We got this, Mas," Jason said.

"I should be there," Mason argued. It was his fault that his father was there in the first place. He was the one that put everyone in danger and now they wanted to keep him out of it?

"I'm going to stay with you," Bryce promised. "We'll watch movies and eat pizza. Drake even said we can have soda! That the sugar will be good for you!"

Mason grinned at Bryce. He really was a big sweetheart.

"Shawn and Trevor will be watching out for you all. Just let them know if you boys need anything," Levi said. He turned toward the door.

Mason caught his wrist. Levi had already healed while Mason had terrible red marks that showed where he'd been chained up.

"Give us a minute, guys," Levi requested.

"I'll go get the drinks!" Bryce said while bouncing up. "Soda!"

Mason waited until he was alone with Levi.

"What's wrong, baby?" Levi sat on the mattress beside his hip.

"I can't let you and your family do what I was too weak to do," Mason said. "It's not fair to all of you."

"You are my family. Our family. We would do this just for that reason. However, your father is a threat to all of us."

"Are you sure?" Did it make Mason weak that he was grateful Levi insisted he stay out of this? Mason really didn't want to see what happened to his father.

"I want to do this for you. Make your nightmare go away. I'll work with the others and we will make sure that we'll all stay safe. I trust Axel and he won't lead us astray."

It did help that Levi had Axel and the others. "If you're sure. I don't want to see him again."

"I am positive," Levi said. He grasped Mason's hand. "I won't lie. I would like to stay here, give you a nice soothing bath, make sure all your wounds are treated. Maybe spend the next few days in this bed."

"I would like that," Mason said. "I would really like that."

"Except I won't be able to rest and look after you properly until I know you're safe."

"I get that." Mason hated that he understood.

"But I will be much more at ease when he is taken care of." Levi brought Mason's hand to his mouth. "And I'll be able to check every inch of you." He waggled his brows. "Every inch."

Did that mean what Mason hoped it meant? "You mean—"

"I want to share everything with you," Levi said. "I want to make you my mate. I want to experience everything that I've been waiting on with you."

"I don't want you to rush things," Mason said. "We can still wait."

"Thank you for saying that." Levi kissed Mason's palm several times.

"I mean it," Mason assured Levi.

"I've waited a lifetime, several lifetimes for you, Mason. For you."

"I'm so not worth all that." Mason had to be honest.

"You are," Levi insisted.

"I'm really not." Mason could feel the tears start to pool from the corner of his eyes. "Levi—"

"Please don't misunderstand me," Levi said. "The choices that I made were because I knew—okay I didn't know, but I felt—that I had a mate out there somewhere. I chose to wait for you. That's on me."

"I didn't wait." Mason had never been ashamed of his past before. He liked sex. Mason had found solace in others while he was living in a hell of his father's making.

"And that's more than okay." Levi winked. "At least one of us has practical experience."

Levi was too sweet. "You swear? You're not…disappointed?"

"I'm not. I swear."

Mason smiled. His lips hurt but he couldn't help it with how happy Levi made him. "You need to go."

"I do." Leaning forward, Levi cupped his face gently. "I will be back."

"I'll be waiting on you." Mason accepted Levi's sweet kiss even as his lips ached from the contact.

"Sorry." Levi ran his thumb over Mason's lower lip. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I never want to hurt you."

"I will never be sorry for you kissing me."

"Stay here and stay safe. The guys have everyone we think is here in town, but Jason has told them that there might be others. Please don't leave the house."

Mason scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'll be back." Levi kissed him one more time before he rose.

Mason waited until he was alone before he pushed down the blanket that Levi had covered him with. Other than his wrists and face, most of Mason's injuries were hidden under his clothes. The ache in his ribs was manageable so at least those weren't broken. Although Mason knew from experience that he was going to be sore for a long time. Which pissed him the hell off. He did not want to be too sore for everything he wanted to do with and to Levi.

A soft knock on the door served as a warning and Mason yanked the comforter back up.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened before Bryce stuck his head around the frame. "Can we come in?"

"Please do."

"Yay!" Bryce pushed the door open and entered the room. Then more people followed him. A lot of people.

"Hey," Lawson said. "I don't think you met Anton in his human form. And this is Sam and Ansley."

"Hi, guys," Mason greeted while struggling to sit up.

"Let me help you," the cutie with floppy brown hair, adorable dimples, and wearing a bowtie said. He hurried over to slip an arm around Mason's waist. "I'm Sam."

"Thanks, Sam," Mason said. His sides hurt but he didn't want to lie flat on his back with everyone else in the room.

"I brought my notes!" Bryce held up a spiral notebook.

"I have pizza," Ansley said.

"And Cokes," Lawson added.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate you all spending time with me."

"It's our pleasure." Sam sat next to Mason, leaning against the headboard. "We're so happy to meet you. Levi has waited so long for you. I knew you would be cute."

"Plus, we can help explain things while the other guys are busy," Ansley said. "It can get pretty overwhelming."

"Yeah?" Should he tell them? "But—"

"But what?" Anton leaned forward. "It's okay to ask questions. I had to learn that myself, but we don't judge here."

"I don't know how much you all know about my family?"

"Not much." Bryce shrugged. "Axel and the others probably know more."

"We're…we're not a good family," Mason confessed.

River snorted. Mason liked the spunky guy. He didn't seem to hold much back. "Being from a family made up of assholes is not your fault."

"My family is full of very bad people."

"That's why everyone is so worried," Bryce said.

"Yeah. He came here to kill me. And maybe my brother," Mason said.

"That's not going to happen," River said.

"I believe that now," Mason said. "Thanks to all of you and your mates."

"That's what family does for each other," Bryce said fiercely.

"He's the Alpha mate. All protective and shit," River teased, nudging Bryce.

"Can you tell me who all is mated to who?" Mason asked. He'd take this time to learn more about the people that Levi loved.

"We'll go in order of how the mates were discovered," Lawson said. "First was Bryce and Axel."

"And Axel is what kind of paranormal?"

"He and Anton are dragons," Bryce said.

"Awesome. So Anton was the magnificent blue dragon from earlier?"

"That was me," Anton said, blushing prettily. River tugged Anton into his lap and kissed the back of his neck.

"And the blue pixie? Fairy?"

"Pixie. Fabian. He's…my friend."

"That's so cool," Mason told him.

Anton dipped his head. "Thanks." He didn't seem to like the attention on him. He picked up River's hand. "I understand about coming from a bad family. I did too. Axel left when he could, but I stayed. I let my father control me. I did bad things to good people." He took River's thumb and stuck it in his own mouth.

Another little. Mason grinned. He might have more in common with these guys than he'd expected.

They started to pass around the drinks with the pizzas in the middle of the bed. Lawson opened the top box and offered Mason a paper plate.

Mason chose a slice of pepperoni. It was still hot, greasy, with lots of melting cheese. It was just what Mason needed.

"Nate was second," Lawson said. "He's a bobcat shifter. He's mated to Bo, the Alpha of the hellhounds, and Craig, who is a bear shifter."

"Wow." Mason peered around. "Where is he?"

"Up in his tree," Bryce said.

Mason frowned.

"He was a sniper in the military. He suffers from PTSD and being little helps him. Nate still protects us though and has a sniper nest in one of the trees," Bryce explained.

"I'll have to thank him," Mason commented.

"I was next and my wonderful man is a vampire," Lawson said. "You've met Drake of course. He's a chef and own the restaurant Crimson in town."

"But you're human?" Mason asked.

"I am. Although after I mated with Drake, I did go through some changes. I have amazing eyesight."

"Cool!" Mason said. He chomped down on his pizza, polishing off his first slice before Bryce set a second on his plate. Mason smiled in thanks.

Bryce nodded. He was watching Mason carefully. With concern. Mason expected Bryce was an amazing Alpha mate.

"Then me, Anton, and Rainier," River said.

"I don't think I've seen Rainier," Mason said. At least he hadn't met the man. There was a good chance Mason had seen him coming out of the woods.

"Probably not," River agreed. "He's kind of a big deal in the fae realm."

Anton snorted.

"Okay," Mason said. There was a story there.

"Shawn and I met and Ansley and Trevor met through us. We were next," Sam said. "Shawn was the wolf and Trevor is the black panther. We're both human too."

Mason nodded. So many humans in the family. That helped him feel more at ease.

"Then we get to the weird ones," Lawson said with a grin.

"Be nice." Bryce shoved Lawson.

"I am!" Lawson exclaimed. He winked at Mason.

Mason took a bite of his pizza. He was riveted by the stories.

"Seb is River's twin, and he was visiting Nate, Craig, and Bo in the hell realm where they live part-time, and that's where he met Ash, who's a Reaper."

"The hell realm," Mason said. "That was mentioned before."

"There are many realms," Bryce said. "Our family is unusual in that we're made up by many different species of paranormal."

"Okay so Seb lives in the hell realm now? That's why he's not here?"

"Yes. Ash is always very busy so he's probably working and Seb loves being in his home. He doesn't really like to…people."

"What's a Reaper?"

"Ash guides souls once they pass. Good and bad—it doesn't matter to him. He's there to make sure they don't get lost. Sometimes Seb goes with him but mostly Seb stays in the Hell realm where he's most comfortable.

"Understandable," Mason said. He nibbled on the rest of his pizza.

"Although you'll probably spend a lot of time in the Hell realm as well. Levi helps train the demons and Tristan is a demon so maybe your brother will live there," Lawson said. "Or they can choose to live here. We can put them up in a suite."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that." Not that Mason thought that his twin would have any issues being in the Hell realm. Jason did like adventure. "I hope that hell has good insurance. My brother can be a bit of a menace."

"He'll fit in just fine," Lawson assured him.

"And last but most certainly not least is Adam and Mal," Bryce said. "Adam is awesome. He's a dryad and so much fun to play with. He's mated to Mal, who is the master of punishment."

"I don't know what that is either," Mason confessed. He'd only thought about shifters and maybe a vampire or something. Dragons, fae, hell—wow, just wow.

"Basically he's the demon in charge of hell," Lawson explained. "He makes sure that the souls that did bad have a really bad afterlife. Adam collects demons and makes them all family so he's a bit busy right now as well."

"And now you!" Bryce cheered. "You are going to be mated to our gargoyle and your brother to a demon!"

"I am!" Mason grinned. "So how about the single members of the family?"

"We've almost all found our mates," Lawson said. "The only single ones are Logan and Gavin."

"I thought." Mason could feel himself frowning. "I thought mates are rare. Like really rare."

"They were," Bryce said. "More are being found but we don't know why. Seb's on a mission to find out though."

"You don't know why?" Mason questioned. That didn't sound right. "About the curse?"

"Curse?" Lawson sat up quickly. "What curse?"

Oh shit! Mason grabbed Lawson's wrist. "You have to make sure that they don't kill my father yet. He knows!"

"Knows what?" Bryce looked scared.

"About the curse to stop the paranormal from finding mates and reproducing!" Mason shouted.

"I'll go." River jumped off the bed.

"I'm coming with you!" Anton said.

"Sam! Help me up!" Mason ordered. "Hurry, River. I'll be right there."

"I don't know about this, you guys." Bryce stood in the corner, wringing his hands. "We were told to stay in the house."

"He has answers!" Mason reminded him. "Go, River!"

River and Anton ran out of the room.

"Please help me get up," Mason asked.

Sam looked over at Bryce.

"Bryce?" Mason said.

"Okay, but we stay together. And if I get put in the corner, I'm gonna be super-duper mad!"

"Thanks." Mason grunted as he was helped out of bed.