CHAPTER 3

MASON

Mason cherished the drive that carried him directly through the heart of the community. the peace of store owners closing up for the evening. The young couples that strode the walkways against the conclusion of the night. As his drove followed the coast, he could smell the sea. Mason cherished this place. But this time, he wasn't seeing any of that. Mason's thoughts were racing as he tried to make sense of what had happened. Or, more specifically, how he remembered the fiery, little, gorgeous, dead, vampire coven leader. She had a certain something. a feeling he had. He questioned if she experienced it as well. 

When Mason returned to the location he had erroneously designated as his home, he drove past the vehicles owned by various Den members and parked his Jeep on the side of the building, next to his bedroom window. On the other side of town, The Den was a two-story, six-bedroom, three-bathroom garbage heap. which Klaus jammed his tight circle of six people into. Mason and Dylan are a part of. Mason sadly peered up at his closed second-floor window. He occasionally chose to enter his chamber without first dealing with the bustle of life at the Den. Mason sighed and made his way to the front door through the yard. He proceeded past one of the two shutters that were still present on the front of the home and stroked his finger over the faded white paint. The front screen door slammed shut behind him as he entered. 

Klaus yelled, "Mason," as he hurried by the family room. 

Mason took a couple steps backward without looking around. 

"Where's Dylan?" 

Mason lied readily, saying "He went for a run." 

Are you certain? Klaus enquired while raising one brow. 

“Yes.” Before Klaus could ask him any more questions, Mason nodded and walked down the corridor. 

KLAUS 

Klaus rumbled before starting to pace again. Although it was a real pain in the ass to have Mason as his Beta, it was Mason's birthright. He was not only a member of Stephen Cain's family line, but he had been set to take over his father's pack before they were killed. These facts by themselves forced Klaus to choose his Beta. He had to conceal his frustration at not being able to completely trust Mason. 

Klaus paced, his rage only intensifying. Naturally, Klaus was aware that Elmwood was home to a few vampires. But up to this point, they appeared to recognize that this was his town. Without a doubt, they had never confronted him before. Defiance was intolerable, and humiliation even less so. With her pack, the little vampire snot had hurt his reputation. If they detected his weakness, how could the pack believe in him? The harm that had been caused by that little dead girl had to be repaired. It is necessary to cope with the vampires. 

Ben joined Klaus in the common area, but he moaned, "I don't like vampires. 

Ben was one of the only members of the pack who didn't specifically shun him when he was upset. That made sense to Klaus. Klaus responded with rage in his voice and conviction in his heart, "Yes Ben, something needs to be done."