Page 18 of Deep Love

Another vehicle pulled into the lot and took the space beside Mason’s truck.

“That’s Sylvie,” he said. “I told her to meet us here so I could introduce her to my—”

“Sextastic partner?” I finished.

“Yes, and she must be super curious to meet at this crazy hour.” He waved a hand at the dashboard clock now proclaiming it almost four in the morning. “C’mon.”

Mason opened his car door and climbed out. I caught the tail end of what Sylvie was saying to her brother as I slid out of the passenger side. I hung back in the shadows to listen.

“ . . . from the Sinclaire pack? The Romero? Which one, Mason?”

“None of those, Sylvie,” Mason said. “She’s not a werewolf.”

“Not a werewolf? What do you mean? You said you found your mate.” A frustrated growl sounded. “Don’t tell me you fell for another human, Mason. Losing Delphi clearly illustrated how fragile humans are and why wolves don’t take them as mates. They just don’t last as long as we do.”

Interesting to pick up the little tidbit that werewolves have an extended lifespan. How much longer than a human’s was it? I was also curious how long I had as a human who was an angel and then became human again. Did the normal human laws apply to me or did I retain any of my angel benefits? I wanted a long life with Mason, especially because we’d been cheated out of several years together while I was in Seraphia.

“Look, Sylvie,” Mason began, “you know I haven’t been able to find anyone I loved as much as Delphi.”

“And I keep praying to Lunai to send you someone,” Sylvie said. “You deserve a good mate, Mason.”

“Have you ever heard of Solari?” Mason asked.

“No. Who’s that?” Sylvie asked.

“She’s the Sun Goddess,” I answered as I rounded the hood of the truck to join them. “She welcomes souls into this place called Seraphia after their human bodies have died.” I kept my head low so the bill covered my face still. “She also kicks souls out of Seraphia and sends them back into their human bodies for another go at an Earthly life.”

Slowly, I pulled the Ferguson Construction baseball hat off my head, letting my hair spill out around me. I raised my gaze and met Sylvie’s to find her bug-eyed as she stared at me.

“Delphi?” My name was a shocked gasp from her mouth. “How?”

“I pissed Solari off with something I didn’t do and she sent me back here.” I arced my arms out to encompass the area around us.

“I didn’t know that was possible.” Sylvie had barely blinked as she looked at me.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know werewolves were possible, but here you are.” I motioned to Sylvie and Mason.

Sylvie’s gaze flicked to Mason, her green eyes widening even more. “You told her?”

“I did, and before you come at me about breaking the rules, I have to say I don’t believe the rules apply here.” Mason hooked his arm around my back, his hand resting at my waist. “The rules say no telling humans about werewolves, but Delphi lived as an angel, Sylvie.” He pointed upwards. “Like with wings and everything. She died and came back. That puts her clearly in the not-entirely-human category if you ask me.”

“I won’t tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about,” I told Sylvie. “I just want to be with Mason and get to live the life I was ripped out of when I croaked.” I slid my arm around Mason and drew him closer. “I loved your brother back then, and I love him now. I want to love him for all the days I have here.”

Mason squeezed me and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “I love you and I want that too.”

“Our pack is a genuine disaster, Mason,” Sylvie said. “You being with a non-werewolf isn’t going to help matters.” She massaged her temples and walked away then swiveled on her heel and paced back to us. “I was actually hatching a plan to set you up with a female from the Sinclaire pack so we could maybe merge or something. At least then we’d have access to a competent Alpha and maybe some hope of surviving.”

Mason released me to rest his hands on his sister’s shoulders. No doubt a move to get her to stop pacing. “If you promise to accept Delphi as my mate and help me convince the rest of the pack to accept her,” he said, “I will be Alpha.”

Sylvie’s eyes narrowed at Mason. “You will? You’re serious?”

“Completely serious.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

All three of us turned to find a woman with fiery red hair wearing a long, flowing white robe approaching us. She didn’t so much as walk as float.

Instantly, Mason and Sylvie sunk to their knees. Mason clamped a hand onto my forearm and tugged me down next to him.