Fallen Crest Home(14)

I leaned back against Mason. His hand held my waist, anchoring me to him. All my friends were settling in, finding the ones they loved. Logan had Taylor. Heather was finally done with the back and forth with Channing, and I’d found my soulmate long ago. We’d all dealt with hurdles and obstacles, and now it was time to get ready for the future.

We left the tent and waited as Heather congratulated Channing on his win. I slipped my hand inside Mason’s front pocket. He looked down at me, a soft smile on his face. He knew what I was feeling.

I was ready to go home. I was ready to feel him inside of me.

We waited, though. Channing’s friends wanted to celebrate some more, and Channing greeted others who were still coming up to offer their own congratulations. Matteo had a girl in his arms. I had no clue where she’d come from, but her hands were wrapped around his waist, and he’d thrown his arm around her shoulders, holding her tight to his side. Heather was next to Channing. She wasn’t sticking to him like glue, but after seeing a few wolfish looks shared between the two, I knew we could go. Heather wasn’t going to be ready to leave any time soon.

I squeezed Mason’s hand.

He glanced down. “You ready?”

I nodded and jerked my head toward Matteo. “What about him?”

“Uh...” Mason shrugged. “I’ll have a word, but I’m pretty sure he wants to stay.”

That was fine with me. I went over to Heather and let her know we were going.

“You guys okay to walk back alone?” Channing asked. “We can walk with you.”

Mason came up behind me. I could feel his heat, and one of his hands found my hip again, burrowing in under my shirt. “We can call if we run into trouble.”

“Just watch out for Caldron. Now that you’re here, he can taste the blood in the water.”

“I’ve been watching. He and his buddies took off for one of the band stages a few minutes ago.”

Channing nodded, resting against Heather with his arms crossed over his chest. “They’ve been drinking all night. I had some of the guys keep an eye on them, too, but they’re only starting. Just keep an eye out. If one of them notices you leaving, they’re going to take a shot. You’re here without Logan and Nate. It’s the best chance they’ll get, and they know it.”

“We’ll be watching.” Mason nodded at him again, starting to pull me away. “Thanks for watching Sam before, and congrats on the win.”

Channing grinned. “I’d like to see you in the ring. Something tells me you’d hold your own.”

Mason mirrored his smile, but didn’t say anything.

I waved at Heather, and she waved back, but she was already melting into Channing’s side. He lifted his arm to encircle her shoulders as we stepped away from the group.

The area outside the tent was still filled with people walking around, but since the last fight was done, the main crowd had migrated toward the other tents that had bands playing in them.

We could hear the music while we’d stood with the group, but as we walked down the line of cars, it began to fade. It was quiet compared to the crowd we’d just left, and an almost eerie feeling came over me.

“You okay?”

I sighed, holding tight to Mason’s hand. “Why aren’t you madder at me?”

He stopped, turning around to look at me. “What do you mean?”

“This.” I indicated where we’d just been. “This place is dangerous for you.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It is what it is. We could’ve left before. I wanted to stay, too, and you wanted to spend time with your friend. There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, the enemies I have here are partly my fault,” he added. “We didn’t have to fight back so much with Broudou back then. We did some stupid stuff. Lighting cars on fire? Shit. Logan wanted to torch their barn even.” He paused, frowning. “I think he did light it on fire.”

I didn’t say anything. A barn was nothing compared to the fraternity house.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It’s a pile of shit, and you might’ve helped bring that pile of shit to my doorstep, but it’s not your pile of shit. It’s mine. You can’t look at it any other way.”

“A pile of shit?” I teased, bumping my hip into his. “You’re sounding like Logan.”

A faint grin lifted his top lip. “Don’t tell him that. I’ll never hear the end of it. He’ll start proclaiming that I secretly want to be him.” He grimaced, but I caught the look that passed in his eyes.

He missed his brother.

I murmured, “I miss him, too.”