Carter Brothers: Mason

Chapter 18 (part 1)

Mason awoke with someone banging on his door downstairs. He slips on a t-shirt and rushes downstairs to find Holly on the verge of a meltdown.
“Mason! Cas’s gone! She-I..There’s a man here...Wolf,” pants out Holly in soft sobs.
“Okay, okay. Calm down, Holly,” he gently tells her hugging the panicking woman. Holly does as he says and forces herself to relax herself.
“Now, what did the man say his name is?” asks Mason pulling back from Holly.
“Cale,” answers Holly. Mason’s eyes flash with confusion and weariness. Whatever the reason for Cale being here it’s probably to do with Cas’s disappearance, and that just cannot be good.
“Where is he?” he rushes out.
“Downst-”
Before she’s even finished Mason is downstairs at the open door where Cale is stood, anxiously tittering on his feet.
“Mason!” he cries almost in relief.
“Listen, I don’t have time, Richard’s going to expect me back in a few minutes. He’s got Cas. I think he plans to exchange her for Katy,” explains Cale.
“I’m going to kill that bastard,” mutters Mason darkly hearing all of that.
“Wait, you can’t, please. He still has my mate. He checks in with the guy every fortnight and if they don’t get a call from him next week, they’ll kill her. You can’t murder him. Not before he tells me where she is! Please, Mason, don’t...” begs Cale. After everything he can’t lose his mate now. He just can’t.
“Go. I need to think,” sighs Mason, his head pounding in anger and compassion. One part of him, a very strong part, wants to just rush in there and rip them all to shreds but...he can’t let an innocent woman get hurt. After all that’s what he’s trying to prevent in the first place. But more so than that, she’s someone’s mate. And her mate, has just been here begging for him to help them.

“Mason?” calls Katy stood at the top of the stairs with just last night’s slinky nightgown covering her. Any other time and he’d be fully aroused by the sight but right now...his mind’s trying to concentrate. No doubt, Richard will have some kind of protection around the place. More wolves? No...Cale’s the only one he has at his disposal and even Cale’s not really on his side.
“Mason? What’s wrong?” whispers Katy stepping in front of him. His feet immediately stops pacing, action’s he didn’t even realise he was doing until then. In fact, he’s only faintly aware of making his way into the office.
“Nothing...Nothing’s wrong,” he shakes her off, continuing his pacing.
“Then why are you pacing?” rhetorically states Katy. Something’s up and female prerogative tells her it’s to do with Richard.
“Katy it’s just-”
That’s when his phone rings, cutting him off.
“Hello?” stiffly answers Mason well aware of who’s calling.
“Mr Carter. I believe I have a proposal you’ll be very interested in. Cassandra assures me you will,” grimly answers the man. Mason hears a crackling of the phone until soft pants come from the other end.
“Ma-Mason?” whispers Cas’s voice.
“Cas. What happened? Are you okay?”
“They shot me. It’s a silver bullet...Mason, I’m losing blood,” fearfully explains Cas, her voice wavering as she feels the blood loss getting to her.
“Well, you heard the woman. I’d give her about an hour or two before you lose a precious member of your club...You know what I want Mr Carter. Bring her and come alone. I’m sure she knows the way to the cabin. One hour, before poor Cassandra bleeds out, Mr Carter. Don’t forget that. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”
Before Mason can retort to Richard, the man hangs up and blocks any more incoming calls. Groaning in frustration, Mason flings the phone onto the desk and pinches the bridge of his nose, before slumping into the office chair.
Katy stares at him, stunned. She’s never seen him so stressed. And is uncomfortable as to what to do about that. If she comforts him, would he push her away? But she can’t just do nothing.
“Mason, what are we going to do?” she finally asks.
“..I have a plan but...” he reports after a long pause.
“But?”
“It involves you...”

Cas’s blurry eyes blink slowly, fear not even being able to instil in her from the major loss of blood. The outline of a man draws near and she feels his hands peals back the sticky, disgusting material from her thighs. Her legs shuffle slightly from the invasion and she feels sickened by the men. First they shoot her and when she’s about to die, they rape her?! What kind of sick people are they?
“No...no,” her lips mumble in protest.
“Shh...I’m going to help you. This might hurt a little, please don’t scream...In fact, here, bite down on this,” whispers the man, his voice actually gentle. He stuffs a rag in her mouth and prods around the bullet wound.
“Sorry, this is really going to hurt,” he winces before cold fingers dig into her open wound. Cas screams at the burning of her body, but not having enough energy to thrash or cease the pain.
Cale’s fingers grasp at the hard bullet in relief and prise it out, hoping it’s not damaging her too much internally. At least not so much that with her wolf healing abilities she can’t overcome.

“Hey...hey, are you okay? Alive? Oh man, please say something,” frantically murmurs the man, lightly shaking Cas’s shoulder and pulling the rag out from her slack jaw.
“Mmmhm,” she mumbles eyes reopening and brain focusing again. As Cas feels the hints of her wolf strength rejuvenating her. Eyes focus more at her saviour and confusion evokes in her.
“Why are you helping me?” she mutters in a small whispered voice, heavy with fatigue and strain.
“I...I just am. You have to be quiet though. Just pretend you’re still injured, please, for your own sake pretend,” he quickly murmurs before pocketing the tiny bullet and darting out the room. Cas gazes around the wooden room with minimal furnishings and then at the door. If she wants she could leave now. But she’s still weak. It’s going to take at least a day for the silver to rush fully out of her system, even if the wound will close in a matter of hours. No. Better not risk it, she decides. What if they shoot her again? That man definitely won’t be able to help her then, at least not without arousing suspicion and then where will that leave her? Dead. That’s where.

Katy’s leg jitters in anticipation and anxiety. Across from her, driving the car, sits Mason, cool as ice and so...focused. She wishes she could be like that. Just so focused and determined, rather than the nervous wreck she’s feeling internally. But it has to be like this. Cas needs to be saved. She can’t let such a good friend end up in the hands of Richard. Katy wouldn’t dare wish what she’s been through on anyone, especially not a person like Cas.
“Hey...relax. It’s going to fine,” gently soothes Mason, resting a hand on the twitching knee. Katy exhales deeply and nods.
“Katy, I promise you won’t be harmed, I promise baby. You won’t ever have to be with him again. Trust me,” he continues, mistaking her fear for fear of ending up with Richard. Truthfully, Katy feels dread from that but if it rescues Cas from that fate, then she’d do it. She’ll easily trade places with her. She brought on Richard on Mason and his friends, and she has to take responsibility for that.
“I do trust you Mason. It’s Richard I don’t...Promise me you won’t do anything endangering to yourself.”
“This whole thing is dangerous Katy but I do promise that you and Cas are going to be safe,” he bargains.
“You won’t promise me your safety, will you?” sighs Katy rhetorically causing a grin to momentarily flash across Mason’s face.  
“Fine...But there’s something else Mason?”
“What?”
Katy bites her lip before struggling to get the sentence out, “I don’t...I don’t want you to kill him.”
Mason’s fingers grasp harder at the steering wheel, his eyes staring straight forward with a hard gaze in them.
“ ‘You don’t want me to kill him’?” repeats Mason in a dead-panned tone.
“I don’t want you to kill him; not that he doesn’t deserve to be punished for his sins. You’re a good man Mason, you shouldn’t have to have his blood on your hands,” explains Katy.
“I wouldn’t mind,” mutters Mason in retort. Richard’s blood on his hands would possibly be one of the most satisfactory things that could happen.
“Mason! Murder acts on your consciousness. Don’t do it, please. For me?” begs Katy. This isn’t some fairytale story, if Mason does...murder Richard then that guilt no matter how just-deserved it would be, will always be on Mason’s mind. And Katy doesn’t want that for him. He shouldn’t deserve to be haunted by his actions and try as he may to deny it, Katy knows it’ll be there, right in the back of his mind.

“Okay, I won’t kill him then Little Doe, but I guarantee that he will die,” he darkly retorts.

A/n next update will probably be next week. This is just part 1.