Wolf's Claim (The Royal Heir #3) - Jen L. Grey Page 0,20

involved.

"Right now, we're talking about Nashville and Atlanta."

Of course, the bigger cities south of us. "Thank you for letting me know." At least, this time we might be ahead of the curve.

"It's an honor." His voice lowered. "If you need any additional support, please don't hesitate to reach out."

"Thank you." I pressed END and grabbed the coffee, taking a sip. Mason had fixed it perfectly with just the right amount of cream and sugar. "Can this get any worse?"

"Well, maybe we can try to pretend we don't know." Ella entered the kitchen and pursed her lips. "They probably don't know that he's called you."

"That's a good point." Louis frowned. "But you need to act on it quickly. The longer he puts those thoughts in their heads, the harder it's going to be to prove otherwise."

"Hopefully, they'll think they have more time to brainwash the packs." Mason nodded his head but leaned over, kissing the top of my head. "But we can wait until you're better."

No, we couldn't. "I love you for that, but, Kassie, please call the pilot, and get us scheduled to leave here in the next two hours."

"Elena." Mason's voice was low, laced with warning.

Fuck that. The longer we waited, the more they could manipulate and mess with me. "There's a bed on the new plane. I'll rest there. It won't make much of a difference anyway." The guards had wanted a new plane with more state of the art security features.

"She's right." Louis forced a sad smile. "The longer you wait, the worse it'll be."

"But she's not well." Mason glanced at Kassie. "Tell them."

"There isn't a right answer." She stood from her spot and took a deep breath. "I'll go make the arrangements."

The last thing I needed was another fight between Mason and me. I stood and turned around to face him. "I promise to sleep on the plane." I was barely able to stand for long; I needed the rest. "And when we get there, you'll be by my side."

His shoulders loosened, and he chewed on his bottom lip. "I don't like this."

"But she's right, and you know it." Ella pointed at her brother. "So let's get ready to go."

"Who said you two are going?" Mona arched an eyebrow and sat back in her seat.

Tommy grinned from ear to ear. "It's rare I get to see this side of her."

"Of course, we're going. We're the fabulous four." Ella shook her head like it was common knowledge.

"No, not this time." The last time we went somewhere, Alec, Mason's best friend, was captured by the vampire prince and held hostage. We almost didn't get him back alive. "I can't deal with anyone else I love getting injured. Just stay here and behave."

"But ..." Ella pouted.

"She's right." Louis turned to her.

"If you say that one more time, I may slap you." Ella leaned forward with a sneer.

"I'll line up some other guards, and we'll get on our way." Tommy stood, and as he headed out the door, Kassie popped her head in.

"They'll be ready in two hours, let's get packing and move." Kassie waved us on. "We're stopping at the Atlanta hub first since it's the busiest and most influential."

That made the most sense. "Okay, let me go at least attempt to look presentable."

"I'm not being left behind." Ella crossed her arms and stood firm. "Every time we split up, something happens to one of us. We're going."

I didn't have the energy to fight. "Fine."

"Woot." She lifted both arms up in the air.

"Come on." Mason took my hand and tugged me to the door.

Within a few seconds, we were back in the bedroom. "You need to shower and lie down. I'll get everything packed and will stay close in case you need me."

That wasn't something I wanted to argue with. I quickly took a shower and got myself at least somewhat presentable. Then, I climbed into bed while listening to the comforting sounds of him near and drifted to sleep.

Arms slipped underneath my neck and my knees, picking me up from the bed. My eyelids began to flutter, but the comforting, earthy scent of Mason surrounded me. I snuggled into his chest some more and could hear his heartbeat pounding in my ear.

"Is it time yet?" I took a deep breath and opened my eyes as we were breezing through the den.

"Yes, everyone is in the car, waiting for us." He smiled at me. "Some of your color is coming back."

Now that he mentioned it, I didn't feel quite