Her Cursed Mate

Chapter 20 (unedited)

I look away from his piercing gaze. "I can't tell you what happened."

He nods understandingly. "Do you need me to beat him into shape?"

I chuckle at his remark and sadly add, "Life as a rogue has affected your brain I see."

"It's not as bad as you'd think," he replies. "I mean when we first left, it was, and it took us an entire month to settle down and find some place. We couldn't join the rogues near the pack territory in case your Mate found us so we just came here."

"That's far," I say resulting in him agreeing.

He sighs looking forward. "How is everyone?"

"Your parents are doing good," I say wincing a bit. I haven't seen them much but from what I've heard the situation regarding Rose being the traitor spread like wildfire and Beta Jay spoke with his parents about Mason. He made up a story about how Rose was put to death and Mason didn't want to live without her so he was killed too. They mourned his 'death' and accepted his decision.

"Really?" He says. "How are the guys?"

His football crew. "I haven't really spoke to them in a while, but I think they're doing good as well. I mean after we all heard about your 'death' we mourned but we got back on our feet and now we're here."

"Who do you hang with?"

"Cassandra," I instantly reply. "She's amazing."

He smiles but I can see through it. He seems like he's okay but I know he's not. "But she's not my Mason."

He grins genuinely and throws an arm around me. Jokingly I pull away and tell him to be careful before Rose tries to kill me. Again. He doesn't find that funny at all.

"She's really sorry," he says seriously. "She really wanted her parents back. I know what she did was crazy, believe me, after we got kicked out I stopped talking to her for nearly two weeks. I'm not telling you to completely forgive her but baby steps are great."

I scowl and place my face on my hands. "She nearly killed my Mate."

"And your Mate nearly killed me while you were past out in those cells," he says. "Forgive but never forget."

"It's not the same thing," I complain looking up at him.

He scoffs. "It is too. He beat me up till I couldn't feel most of my body. I was so numb Anna."

"Rose tries to shoot me but my Mate took the bullet. She nearly killed an Alpha and me!"

By now the rogues and Eunice are walking over to hear more about our argument.

"Anna are you really defending Thaddeus right now?"

"Rose could have came to us for help but she didn't. She made the choice to try and murder Thaddeus and myself."

"Have you forgotten that your Mate was the one that slaughtered our pack?" He asks. "Are you so brainwashed that you choose to believe he's innocent."

"I didn't say he was innocent Mason!" I'm seething. "And besides he did it to protect some of us."

"You've lost your damn mind Annabel if you think slaughtering the pack is a good thing."

"It's not but Brayton was going to get the fighters and himself killed if he tried to ambush the Dark Moons pack," I explain. "If and when this happened, we would all be alone with no authority figure whatsoever. He helped us by attacking the pack and taking some of us in."

"That's bullshit!"

"Guys, calm down," says Nick placing a hand on Masons shoulder. He pushes him back abit. "No need to get so heated."