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Chapter 23

Mason's eyes roamed my body and his eyes immediately turned dark. After a couple of seconds of just standing there, he snapped out of it and kneeled to the floor and grabbed the towel, and wrapped it around my body in a possessive manner leaving me stiff. He looked back and thankfully no one was staring at us.

Lina's smirk didn't disappear and neither did my glare. Lina stepped closer to us as Mason looked at me with dark eyes. I didn't know if that was a bad thing. He soon looked down at the floor and stepped back.

"Don't take the towel off," he ordered then looked at Lina. I frowned in confusion and stared at him.

"Why? Don't be a party pooper, Mason!" Lina whined.

"Because I said so," he claimed then looked at me with an emotionless face.

"Do as I say, Tiana." He told me. I gulped and nodded my head. I wasn't going to take it off even if he didn't order me. He took another step back and immediately turned around and walked off. I couldn't miss the way he tightened his fist like he was holding himself back from doing something. I shook my head and brought my stare at Lina.

Lina gave me a sheepish smile as I walked up to her.

"B*tch, you are so dead," I yelled and ran towards her. Her eyes immediately widened with amusement and started running. I ran after her as she laughed her butt off.

"Come on, Tiana! Don't be mad, did you see how my brother looked at you?" She asked but didn't stop running as I ran behind her.

"I don't give a shit at how he looked at me, you did it on purpose when you knew I didn't want anyone seeing me like that," I said. I grabbed her arm as she laughed again.

"And why is that? You have one sexy body and you should be proud! Besides, I know that Mason's wolf was begging him to take you right then and there," she laughed. I punched her shoulder lightly and shook my head.

"No, don't say that! I don't need to imagine that!" I told her. I really don't. Just thinking about it is making my wolf crazy. Besides, our situation is not the appropriate time for doing something like that. He barely stands my presence when I'm around so that will never happen.

"Well he was, I saw it in his eyes," Lina spoke. I shook my head again and let go of her arm.

"I hate you," I grumbled. "You embarrassed me, it's a good thing that nobody was looking or I don't know what would I have done."

"Aww I love you too," Lina gushed. "And I'm sorry but I'm glad I did it, now Mason won't stop thinking about you, and maybe he'll decide to confess his undeniable love towards you," she said the last part in a joking manner. I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head.

Yeah, in her wildest dreams.

"But I was quite surprised when he covered you in the towel but at the same time, I know why," Lina spoke. I huffed and shook my head.

"I know what you're going to say," I said.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Because he didn't want anyone else seeing what's his," she squealed. I rolled my eyes and shook my head once again.

"Sure, I'll go along with that if you just shut up," I told her while crossing my arms against my chest. She rolled her eyes at me and smirked.

"You know I'm right, you just don't want to admit it," she said. I ignored her and started walking away. Sure, like I'll believe that. He barely even looks at me with any type of emotion on his face, but it's not like I care. I guess it's for the best.

I pushed those thoughts aside and sat down on the sand. I watched the rest play in the water while I enjoyed the view. Fortunately, Mason wasn't anywhere in sight. I don't know where he wandered off to but I'm thankful he wasn't here to make things awkward.

I stayed like that for a while until Tyler and Ryder came walking towards me with a smile on their faces. I raised a brow at them in confusion as they stood in front of me.

"Tiana, come play in the water with us," Tyler spoke. I smiled at them and shook my head.

"No, I'm fine staying here," I told them.

"We won't take no for an answer. We came here to have some fun and sitting on your ass all day isn't fun," Ryder said and nodded his head at Tyler. They gave me a smirk, and before I could say anything, I was carried by them as they ran towards the water. My eyes widened and I repeatedly shook my head and demanded them to let me go.

However, they did not listen and threw me into the water like I was some dying fish onshore. I pushed my head above the water and gasped for air. By now Ryder and Tyler were laughing their heads off and I'm guessing it's because of my sight.

I glared at them but my glare soon disappeared when I saw a towel floating above the water along with the distance and realized that, that was my towel. I immediately sunk my body in the water to try to cover myself as much as possible. But judging from the smirk on their faces they already saw everything and they don't really mind.

I rolled my eyes at them and glared at them, and let me tell you if looks could kill they wouldn't be six feet underground. No, they would be ten feet underground.

"This is not funny," I growled at them. The laughter calmed down a bit and they looked at me with amusement in their eyes.

"It actually is, you got to see the look on your face when we dropped you. It was hilarious." Ryder said.

Tyler nodded his head in agreement as I growled at them and launched my body towards them in an aggressive manner and started to act like a kid that's throwing a tantrum. This only made them laugh even more as they threw me in the water again.

I gasped for air and started splashing water on them.

"You bastards! You got me all wet." I growled and grabbed Ryder's head and pushed it into the water. I let go and he raised his head up to gasp for air.

"You're crazy!" Ryder said with amusement laced in his voice. "You could've killed me."

I rolled my eyes at him and punched his arm.

"I wish I did," I muttered with a smirk on my face. Tyler started laughing and Ryder pouted.

"Ouch, that hurt me right here," he said pointing at his chest. I rolled my eyes again but glared at Tyler when he splashed water on me.

We stayed like that for a while, soon Lina joined us and we started laughing as we continued to splash water on each other. I started to change my mind about the beach and actually like water. It was really refreshing and nice.

I was about to jump on Lina when I saw Mason walking towards us with a blank look. I stared at him and he caught my eye. His eyes were hard as he looked at us. Lina looked at me then smirked and called out to Mason.

"Mason! Come join the fun!" She yelled. He shook his head and stood there watching us. It felt weird and I couldn't bring my attention elsewhere when he was just standing there and looking at us like that. I brought my stare elsewhere and ignored his presence and continued to have fun with Lina.

I gasped when Adam came from behind me and carried me then threw me into the water. I ran up to him and jumped on his back and tried countless times to push his head in the water as he laughed and threw me off of his body which lead to me falling into the water again.

I growled playfully and pushed with all my might to get him to fall. But that only lead to Adam carrying me again and holding my body up in the air. Before Adam actually had the chance to throw my body in the water Mason's voice stopped him.

"That's enough, let's head back," Mason said. Adam placed me back and Lina looked at her brother with a frown.

"What? Why?" She asked as we walked out the water and towards Mason.

"Because I said so. Besides, I have some stuff I have to deal with back at the mansion." He said. I looked up at him and made eye contact with him.

"You go deal with your stuff, Mason. But we are staying here." Lina argued. Mason's eyes turned to Lina and he growled deeply.

"Lina, don't defy me. It's an order." He growled. Lina rolled her eyes and sighed out in frustration.

"Fine, whatever." She groaned. "Party pooper," Lina muttered under her breath. We all grabbed our stuff as I grabbed another towel from the bag and wrapped it around my body. After everyone was ready we walked back to the car and soon drove off.

Sitting in the car with a tense Mason was really awkward. No one said a word because it was really obvious that he wasn't in a happy mood and if someone spoke out, we would see his bad side. I don't know what happened for him to be like this but it's better to not ask. We soon made it back and exited the car then carried our stuff back to the mansion.

"I'll make lunch, so be here at three then I'll tell you guys what else I have in plan for today," Lina said with a smile on her face.

We smiled at her and headed back to our rooms. I hurried into my room before Mason could even look at me or say something and shut the door. I placed my stuff back to where they were supposed to be and sat on the bed. I recalled everything that happened today and smiled. It was a nice day and I'm happy we had fun, I'm just curious what Lina is thinking about this time.

I walked out of the room and towards the stairs. I looked down on my wrist to see the time but bumped into someone. I stumbled back and two arms wrapped around my waist tightly. My wolf started yelping and Mason's scent hit my nostrils. I slowly looked up to meet Mason's worried eyes looking down at me.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a deep voice. I nodded my head but immediately pulled out of his grip when I realized how close we were.

"Yeah, didn't see you there," I muttered. He nodded his head and placed his hand in his pockets.

"Lina told me to come to tell you that lunch is ready," he told me. I nodded my head and stepped a step back.

"I was actually going to the dining room," I said. He gave me a nod.

I started walking towards the dining room as Mason awkwardly walked next to me. The tension between us was too tense. I glanced at him to see him looking at me. I looked away and wondered what I could do to lessen this tension.

"So, when are you heading back to the pack?" I asked looking at him. His eyes hardened and turned a shade darker as he clenched his jaw.

"Why? Do you not want me here?" He asked. My eyes widened and I stopped walking.

"That's not what I meant, I'm sure you have lots of stuff you need to do back in the pack. But you're here when the pack may need their alpha." I told him.

"Nick is taking care of that, it's really none of your business and I'll head back when I want to." He said with a hard tone and walked off angrily. I stood there confused. What did I do to get him like that? My wolf started nagging at me and telling me that I made him feel like he was unwanted. I didn't know that would get him angry. If I knew I would have never asked.

My wolf didn't stop so I eventually blocked her out before she made me feel even more guilty than I already am.

I sighed out in frustration and walked to the dining room. I looked around but didn't see Mason. Of course, he always disappears at moments like these. I didn't know if I should talk with him or just let things go. I sighed again and walked towards Lina when I saw her.

"You hungry?" Lina asked. I gave her a weak smile and nodded my head.

"When am I not?" I questioned. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

"You got a point." She smiled.

"So what are you making?" I asked. Her smile grew as she took out plates and cups.

"Your favorite, macaroni, and cheese." She squealed. My smile grew as I took out a bottle of soda from the fridge.

"Yes! Thank you! I've been craving that for a while now," I told her.

"You're welcome, also come help me set the table. Tyler, Ryder, and Adam have been complaining that they want to eat for hours now, they're literally pigs on feet," Lina chuckled. I laughed and helped her set the table.

"Yeah, you're right," I said.

When we were done they came walking in and sat on their chairs. Lina looked around and a confused expression crossed her features.

"Where's Mason?" She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my plate.

"Don't ask me, how should I now?" I questioned. She shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to me.

"I don't know, I was guessing that you would have known." She replied. I shook my head and started eating. Lina stayed silent and ate as well. The rest were chatting as I only focused on my food. After a while, the door opened and Mason came walking in. Lina looked at him and frowned.

"Where were you, Mason? You're late," she asked. He didn't say anything and sat on a chair.

"I had some business to deal with," he said lowly and looked at me. I frowned and looked down at my plate.

"Well, ok. Just eat so we can get going," Lina said. The rest looked at Lina in confusion.

"Where are we going?" Adam asked. Lina smiled at him and stood up from her chair.

"We're going hiking! So get ready and wear something suitable. We are going to have so much fun," she answered and said the last part to herself. Everyone smiled and I raised a brow at her. Hiking? Don't humans do that? I mean, we are werewolves so we usually just shift and run around in the woods but not hike. It sounds weird for us werewolves but I guess doing something different may be nice.

Lina excused herself and walked off. I decided to go back to my room to change into something else. I got up but glanced at Mason one more time to see him eating his food silently. I turned around and walked off towards my room. Once I entered I picked out my clothes and shoes. I changed into them then tied my hair into a ponytail and walked back to the living room to find everyone else there.

"Is everyone ready?" Lina asked as she walked down the stairs. We all nodded our heads and walked towards the car. This whole time I ignored Mason's presence and focused on anything but him. I just feel like whenever we are close to each other things get awkward and tense. There are a couple of times that things were going just fine but today wasn't one of those times.

And this mate bond isn't helping at all. It just confuses me even more. And him always having an emotional face makes things harder. Oh, let's also not forget about him being bipolar. One day he'll be all comfortable around me and calm then the next thing you know it he's as stubborn as a rock.

I sighed out in frustration and pushed those thoughts aside. Now is not the time to be thinking about this. I don't really care if he's like that or not. It's not my business to ask about his mood.

We got in the car and Lina drove off towards the woods. This time it wasn't silent. Everyone else but Mason and I talked. Lina was singing some random song while Adam, Ryder, and Tyler chatted about something that wasn't important. After 20 minutes Lina parked the car on a road and we got out. I looked around the place and found it nice.

The trees were close to each other and the air was refreshing. It looked like a perfect place to hike. We walked into the woods with a bag of water, food, and some other supplies for emergencies, not like anything was going to happen. We are werewolves so we can take care of ourselves.

"So what is the purpose of this again?" Mason asked. Lina looked at him and placed her hand on her hip.

"The purpose of this is to have some fun and feel like humans for once. We will split up into teams and hike our way out of the woods without shifting and whoever makes it out first wins." She explained. Mason sighed and nodded his head.

"Does that sound good?" Lina asked us. We smiled and nodded our heads.

"Good, now I'll pick the teams. Mason and Tiana, you're together." She said with a smile on her face. My eyes widened and Mason and I looked at each other.

Ok, now I know her real purpose. I was about to protest when Mason nodded his head and grabbed my hand and started walking further into the woods leaving the rest behind us. I stared at our hands that were joined together and when we were out of sight I looked up at him.

"You can let go of my hand now," I told him. He stopped and looked at our hands. He looked at me then let go of my hand. We continued to walk in silence. We said a couple of stuff here and there but nothing serious. We continued to walk up this steep hill that was filled with rocks and sticks when I noticed that it was getting dark.

Once we were at the top of the very steep hill I glanced at Mason and decided to confront him about what happened today.

"Mason," I whispered. He stopped in his track and looked down at me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I'm sorry about today, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea. It's not like I don't enjoy your company. Well, it's not like I enjoy your company either but you get what I mean." I told him but placed my hand on my lips when I realized what I just said.

I slowly looked up to meet Mason's eyes but was caught off guard when I saw him smiling at me in amusement and not angry. I placed my hand back down to my side as he stepped closer to me. Mason is actually smiling?

"You're something else," he muttered.

"Ugh...I am?" I asked. He chuckled slightly and continued to walk closer to me. By now we were so close to each other.

"Yeah, and I like that." He whispered. I gulped and looked down but he gripped my chin and pulled my face up as he looked down at me.

"You do?" I asked stupidly.

"Yeah," he whispered again. His stare moved down at my lips and I knew where this was going. I thought about pulling away but I was too caught up in the moment. He looked up at my eyes and then softly placed his lips onto mine.

His grip on my face was soft and his lips on mine were the same. I closed my eyes and placed my hand on his chest. He continued to kiss my lips softly and passionately. We stayed like that for not too long when I immediately opened my eyes when I heard Lina's voice.

"Mason? Tiana? What are you guys doing up there?" Lina yelled.

I immediately pushed Mason away and stepped back but that only lead for me to stumble because of a couple of rocks and fall down on my butt aggressively. Unfortunately, gravity did its thing because when I fell, I fell down the steep, steep hill.

And the last thing I saw was Mason's worried face as I fell down the hill before I blacked out.