A/N: I don't own anyone but my OC's….though I wished I owned the rest…*sighs*
It had been a week since Brooklyn confessed to finding Mason's journal and video. The guilt continued to linger in her mind, tightening her chest every so often at the thought of her hidden betrayal. The images of Mason's transformation haunted her thoughts, torturing her with the knowledge that this would happen to her on her first full moon.
God….Do I still want it…..
The hunter had been torn about her decision. She wanted to be with Mason but if she didn't let him turn her then the bond wouldn't be complete, it would morph into a fractured connection, one that would hurt Brooklyn more than it would Mason. He told her it would grow harder and harder for her if she didn't become like him.
But watching him…..the way he pleaded for help in the garage…..the fathomless suffering and affliction that exploded in his beautiful icy pools….
But then she remembered how her heart screamed and cried to comfort him despite the fact it was a video. It made her wonder if it was the fact they were mates and seeing him in such an agonizing state awakened something that had been long dormant within her.
Brooklyn had not asked about the moonstone and ignored Michael's texts and calls. As long as it remained safely hidden there was nothing for the vampire hunter to get freaked out about. But then again Maddox wasn't too far away as Michael had sent him down to keep her in line. The bullet through her shoulder had been a message that was received loud and clear but ignored. The hunter wasn't about to let the injury get her down as she remained vigilant.
"Brook," Mason's voice shook her from her thoughts. Brooklyn looked up to see the werewolf dropping onto the sand beside her.
"I've been looking for you," he leaned in to steal a kiss. Brooklyn was more than eager to let her lover take her lips in his. They were soft and warm like the morning sun as it rose over the Eastern sky and bathed her body in its welcoming rays.
"Sorry," she cast a lopsided smile. "I couldn't sleep so I got up and wanted to watch the sun rise."
"This time of year is the best time to watch," Mason agreed.
"Yeah," she nodded. "When I was up north I would sit in the sand before dawn and wait for the sun to rise."
"Must've been beautiful," Mason said wistfully.
"It was," Brooklyn exhaled. "But down here it's so different. I mean the Gulf of Mexico is a rich shade of turquoise and when the sun was rising over the East it was like….."
"Being witness to something so intimate and beautiful that you feel like the only person on the planet at that moment? That the world around you has come to a screeching halt?"
"Yeah," Brooklyn smiled wider, "Something like that."
"When I can't sleep I come out here sometimes too. It helps me to forget the things that I left behind."
"Left behind?"
Brooklyn raised an eyebrow as she was perplexed by what he meant.
"Yeah," Mason's voice dropped into a dull heavy tone. "I didn't leave home on the best terms."
"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want me to," Brooklyn wasn't going to push him.
"Maybe someday," he shrugged and watched a hermit crab scuttle across the sand. "How's your shoulder?"
Brooklyn ran a hand over her bare shoulder; the stitches had been removed the previous day but she couldn't use it to the full extent just yet. It still throbbed though not as deeply or as persistently.
"It's better," she took a drink of her coffee. "Won't be able to use it for a while but it's okay."
He detected traces of remorse which compelled him to reach out and wrap his arm around her waist.
"I know you're still angry at yourself," he whispered. "You have to let it go."
Brooklyn sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. The burden continued to eat away at her psyche despite reassurances from Mason he wasn't upset. The werewolf was being truthful; she could feel it.
"I just feel….."
"Feel like what?"
"Like I invaded your privacy. Like I was intruding."
"And you weren't," Mason insisted. "That journal and flash drive documented what happened from the day I triggered the curse up until the first full moon. I know it scared you. I could see it in your eyes."
"It looked so painful," she whispered. "I wanted to reach out to you but I couldn't."
"That's the tough part about being mates," Mason lightly carded his fingers through her hair. "Seeing one's pain, even through a computer, still affects the other."
"It felt so real."
Mason couldn't imagine how she must've felt. Seeing him in agony as he had ingested the wolfsbane which amplified the cracking of his bones and shifting of flesh into new bounds of pain he had never felt in his life. Even diluting the herb proved to be fruitless as he had learned the hard way that night.
"I'm going to be there with you," he promised. "The first time you shift it will be the worst. I'll make sure you don't break out and hurt anyone."
"I don't know if I want it….."
She lowered her head and hid her face between her arms.
"Brook what is it? Why would you say that?"
"I'm scared okay? I'm scared about what will happen to me."
He heard the trembling in her voice and slipped his other arm around her waist then buried his face in her shoulder.
"I know you're scared," Mason nuzzled into her neck. "But with each shift the pain decreases."
"I just…..I just don't know."
"Brooklyn," Mason turned her head towards him. "I will not let you go through it alone. I promise. When Jules and Brady went through their first shifts, they were together and it helped them. It was their strength that pulled them through it. But it still hurts though. If you want, I'll even dilute wolfsbane for you. Maybe you'll take it better than me."
Brooklyn knew he was pulling out all of the stops to ensure she chose to be turned. Mason didn't want to force it upon her and have her hate him until her dying breath. He would continue to talk to her about the change, get the hunter to see that once a month was manageable. Mason didn't want to fathom the thought of the bond being splintered and tattered. It would kill him.
"Think about it please?"
"I will," she acquiesced.
"Thank you," he sealed their mouths together. "But I have to know before the full moon."
"You will have your answer before then," she smiled.
Mason said nothing and focused on the peeking sphere breaking the surface of the Gulf. The sunrise took on a deeper meaning for him. To Mason it signified the start of something new; for the both of them. He prayed she would say yes and let him in.
The tourists started to emerge from their cabins and hotel rooms as the sun was free from the restraints of the Eastern horizon.
Maddox waited.
Michael had not contacted him yet but the man was patient. He learned the hunter was a calculating individual who was precise and sharp in his methods. It was how he was able to stay two steps ahead of his enemies. It was how the man had survived for centuries.
The werewolf and hunter were now inseparable as they spent every waking and sleeping hour together. Maddox rubbed the side of his jaw as he bitterly remembered Lockwood belting him with a right hook only to give him a matching bruise on the left side. He wanted to inject the wolfsbane that rested inside his jacket pocket while the other vials were safely nestled in his room. If Brooklyn didn't deliver soon he would get the privilege to test them out on Mason Lockwood.
"I really hope you don't come through," he whispered. "I want to see you writhe and squirm as your precious dog howls in pain."
John Gilbert waited for his own call. She promised she would call him within the hour and she never failed to keep a promise.
His phone vibrated across the table and he quickly answered; perhaps a little too eagerly.
"Hello."
"Have you found it yet?"
"No but I know who has it."
"We don't have much time John."
"Yes I'm well aware of it Isobel."
"We aren't the only ones who want the moonstone."
"Oh yes Michael," he sighed. "He sent Maddox down here to keep Brooklyn in line if you know what I mean."
"Ah yes, his favorite mercenary. I wouldn't expect anything less from him."
"Where are you?"
"You need not concern yourself with where I am John."
John winced at her stinging words but bit his tongue.
"I'll call back soon. I hope to hear some good news."
"You will Isobel," John hung up and ran his hand down his face. He would have to steal the moonstone from Lockwood but he didn't know where to start in looking for it. John paced around the tiny kitchenette before the idea hit him.
Everyone's after the moonstone! But at least we know what Sebastian Roche's character's name is - FINALLY! I know this is probably not a great chapter but I wanted to post this and have them have a serious discussion about her impending shift.