Page 3 of Sweetheart

Those eyes. That mouth. The chest!

The door slammed in his face.

Fuck!

“Axel!” The previously disgruntled voice now sounded panicked.

Mason heard feet running quickly away from him. There was no way that man could know who Mason was. Or more correctly who he had been.

He knocked again.

The door swung open but this time a tall dark-haired man stepped out of the house, forcing Mason to retreat.

“Help you?” the man asked firmly.

Shit! This man was not human. Mason could feel his instincts wanting him to either fight or take flight. To get the fuck away from him.

He cleared his throat. He was normal now. A normal human who didn’t know that monsters existed. “I’m Mason Benard. From the ranger station about five miles that way.” He tilted his head in the direction of his cabin. “I was out on a hike and came across something worrisome.”

The man looked over his shoulder then back at Mason. “Park ranger?”

“Yes, sir.”Stay calm, Mason, he chided.He doesn’t know anything.

“Okay.” The man reached out and closed the front door tightly. “What is this about?”

Mason lifted his pack. “Like I said, I was out hiking and had taken a break. I found this.” He set his pack on the ground and pulled out the bear trap.

The guy growled. He fucking growled. “Can you show me where you found that?”

Mason was surprised into answering. “Sure.” He hadn’t expected the forceful demand.

The guy raised his fingers to his mouth before letting out a sharp whistle. Two men seemed to step out of the shadows. Both just as dark and deadly as the man in front of him.

Holy shit! What had Mason gotten himself into now? And more importantly, where was the bare-chested hottie that had run away from him? Because there was no doubt in Mason’s mind that the stranger with the gray eyes had run from him.

Something about the man tickled at the back of his mind but when the stranger in front of him held out a hand, Mason was forced to focus on him instead.

“My name’s Axel. This is Gavin and Trevor,” he introduced.

Mason really wanted the name of the guy who'd answered the door! “Nice to meet you all.” He shook each of their hands.

“If you wouldn’t mind showing us where you found that trap, we’d appreciate it. We’ve been fighting hunters and poachers for a while now.”

“Happy to!” Glancing over his shoulder one last time, Mason hoped to catch a glimpse of the attractive stranger, but the door remained closed.

* * * * *

Levi

‘If you don’t want to meet, stop messaging me. I’m done with you.’

Stop messaging me. Stop messaging me.

The words Levi would never forget echoed in his head. He raced from the backdoor of the house and past the tree line where the portal to Hell had been set up for him to use.

It was easy enough to activate the portal and before long, Levi was stepping into the room that he’d been given in Adam and Mal’s house. Tears that he’d been holding back fell and Levi was powerless to stop them. It hurt so much to know that the handsome park ranger was his mate. Levi had never come face-to-face with his mate before. Been close enough to smell him.

Mason Benard. That was his mate’s name. He shouldn’t know that, but Levi had done some sneaking around the old cabin that his mate lived in and had found bills made out in the man’s name. He hadn’t told his friends about that. Or how he’d lain in Mason’s bed that one time.

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