The Wolf Of Penshaw Lake

*Themes of SA and DA

Mason POV*

It was taking everything Mason had in him to remain in control as he let Heidi into his bedroom. Sure, she had been there before, but that wasn’t what had Mason completely on the edge. He was finally going to find out about her past and boy, it was making him nervous. He watched as she glanced around the room, her heartbeat flying in her chest, indicating to him that she was just as nervous.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder and headed towards his solid oak desk where on top, a photograph sat in a plain, white frame of himself, his mother, father and sister; Ella. Mason’s father, Andrew sported a proud grin as he wrapped one arm around his wife and the other around his son. Ella, a baby, nestled in Jane’s arms.

“We don’t have any family photos,” Heidi spoke wistfully, as she placed the photograph carefully back down on the desk.

“Did you ever know your real father?” Mason asked, as she turned to face him.

Heidi shook her head, “Mum was only young when she had me and dad too, I don’t think he ever wanted to be a parent and he took off not long after I was born. There were a few boyfriends here and there, but none ever really stuck, not until Dan...” She paused as she said his name, Mason watched as her fingers curled into her palms making two fists. “I...” She began to speak again and cut herself off, “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Mason jumped up from where he had sat himself down on the bed and pulled Heidi towards him. Laying a soft kiss upon her forehead, he cupped his hand beneath her chin and raised her head to meet her gaze.

“Just start at the beginning, come and sit with me,” He persuaded.

Heidi nodded and Mason took her hand in his, feeling the clamminess coating her palm from nerves. Heidi sat on the bed, folding her legs beneath her and grabbing a pillow for comfort. Mason lay against his headboard, facing Heidi so that she knew he had her full attention.

Heidi took a deep breath and Mason gave her a warm, encouraging smile. Inside, his beast was ready to find Dan and tear him apart from navel to nose, but he kept the rage hidden deep within.‘There will be a time,’he thought to himself,’he will get what is coming to him.′

“Mum met Dan when I was eleven. At first he was the perfect boyfriend and always included me in everything. We went on trips to the zoo, the theme park, to new restaurants, we even went on a family holiday, only to Wales, but I had never been out of England before and it was so exciting. It was only around the age of thirteen or fourteen where I started to notice a difference. It was subtle at first, the trips stopped and Mum would always be wearing long sleeves and jeans, even in the summer, when normally she was proud of her body and loved to wear dresses and shorts.

I thought nothing of it really, maybe money was tight and maybe Mum is going through a bit of an insecure phase. I was insecure at fourteen myself, so I thought it was normal, but then she started going out less, no longer talking to her friends and it was just all a bit weird. Dan started staying out longer and even forgot my birthday, which he never did, and stayed in the pub all day on Christmas. That’s when it sort of hit that maybe something wasn’t quite right. Soon after that, Dan stopped hiding it around me and would hit mum in plain sight. I would try to stop him, but that just earned me a back hand across the face and a warning to get to my bedroom.”

Heidi stopped to take a moment and Mason sat up, grabbing her hand in his. “He won’t get away with this,” He reassured her, “I promise you.”

“The violence only increased after that, Dan spent all our money in the pub and forced mum to stop working so that he could know where she was all the time. If she wasn’t at home when he was, he would throw a fit and both of us would be in for it. We both knew then that appeasing Dan might be the only way we’d see another Christmas. When I hit sixteen, Dan turned his attention more towards me...” She stopped as a tear rolled down her face and her breathing hitched as she tried not to cry. “He said that mum was boring him and that he wanted to have me before anyone else could...”

Mason could feel his canines and claws elongate and released a growl that had been growing deep within his chest.

“He raped you?” He thundered, his eyes the colour of midnight and his once pristine bedding ripped beneath his claws.

Heidi looked up, her red eyes brimming with tears and nodded once. Mason leapt from the bed and swiped a lamp from his desk, sending it clattering to the floor and smashing the bulb inside.

“Where is he?” He snarled, feeling the beginnings of the change occurring. Tufts of fur covered his back and face, his feet bursting out of the socks and his shirt beginning to rip above the thick, hard muscle rippling beneath. Heidi stood up quickly off the bed, her heart not thundering in fear like it once was, but instead beating at a soft, calm rhythm.

“I’m here, I’m okay,” She whispered, placing a delicate hand upon Mason’s arm.

Mason closed his eyes, focusing on her gentle touch, tropical scent and calm heartbeat. He grabbed her tightly in his arms, probably much too tight for a human to be comfortable, but he was glad when she did not complain. He held her, his nose buried deep in her hair and took a few deep breaths.

“Mason,” She squeaked against his chest and he felt calm enough to release her from his grasp.

“I’m going to kill him I’m hope you’re aware,” He warned her.

“Shall I continue? I just want to finish the whole story so it’s out in the open,” She confessed.

“Come here then,” He told her, sitting back on the bed, spreading his legs out wide so that she could climb in between them. She lay her head on his chest, instantly sating his beast and he wrapped his arms around her. “Are you comfortable?” He asked.

“Mmm,” She replied, “Very.”

“I don’t think I can handle details,” He sighed, “Not until the bastard’s testicles are in my hand.”

Heidi snorted at the thought, “We can frame one each,” She joked.

He kissed the top of her head, “Go on then, finish your tale love.”

“Mum tried every time to get him to go to her instead, but he just wasn’t interested. Said that I was obviously a slut, so why shouldn’t he get a turn? The violence was just constant and when I was seventeen, I tried to rebel and start seeing another boy behind his back,” She scoffed suddenly, “Crazy right? Most girls hide relationships from their fathers because they’re too protective, not because their father wants them all for himself,” She sighed and continued, “I could barely sit for a week after he found out about Jacob and I didn’t leave the house for a month.

I think I was nineteen when we started planning our escape. We knew that Dan paid for everything in cash, and he had a hidden stash of it somewhere. We looked everywhere for it when he was gone, but we never found a penny. I think I was almost twenty when mum found it. Over a thousand pounds in notes, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Mum kept it hidden in the same place until, one night, he attacked mum with a bottle of alcohol. I knew it was now or never, so I smashed another bottle over his head and mum punched him in the nose. He went down like a sack of potatoes and we just ran for it.

We’ve been all over England, never staying in one place for fear that he would find us again. The cities were too vast, the little towns too claustrophobic. Nowhere ever felt right...not until Penshaw Lake.”

A sudden gasp came over Heidi, “-and now he has actually found us,” She cried. She scrambled up away from him, much to his dismay, and turned to face him, “We’ve got to move again,” She panicked, her eyes wild with fear as she jumped from the bed.

“Absolutely not,” Mason growled. “You are going nowhere. You’re safe with my pack,” He stepped forward to take her hand, “You’re safe with me, okay?”

Heidi nodded slowly, he could see her fighting the urge to run and it was taking all he had within him from tying her to the bed so that he was sure she was safe and locked up in his bedroom where nobody could ever hurt her again.

A knock sounded on the door and Mason sighed, “Come in,” He called.

Isaac stepped through the threshold hesitantly, “I know I wasn’t supposed to disturb you, but I think you need to read this, Alpha.”

Mason frowned, Isaac only used his title in serious situations. He cocked his head to the side as Isaac handed him a letter. It had been haphazardously opened in haste and Mason took it out of the envelope to read it.

“I can’t read this?” He frowned, “It’s not in any language I know.”

Isaac nodded, “Your father said the same. He’s seen it somewhere, but can’t remember where.”

Heidi peeked out from behind him and sent a small smile Isaac’s way, “Can’t you just put it into google translate?” She asked innocently.

“If my father doesn’t recognize the language, it’s likely a very obscure or archaic one. Who was it addressed to?” He asked, as he flipped the envelope over to read it.

“There’s only mine and my father’s name on here, where did you find it?”

“It must have been hand delivered, but we don’t know who by, there was no unusual scent detected. We think they must have been human.”

Mason lifted his head as he scented his father walking up the stairs, he frowned as he realized he was taking two at a time and he appeared rather suddenly at the door.

“I knew I had seen that bastard language somewhere,” He snapped, grabbing the letter back from Mason’s outstretched hand. He read it again, making sure his inclination was correct and not too hasty. “Remember your early lessons about lone wolves?”

“Popular in large countries with a lot of forest and area. Not so common in built up areas and small countries and states,” Mason recited, “Why? We don’t even have rogue wolves in England do we? The last one we heard of was up in Scotland near Patrick’s pack.”

Andrew sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “We weren’t aware of them because they’re sneaky. If they’re communicating using this dead language, it’s because they absolutely do not want to be discovered. No lycan today can read this, let alone understand it when spoken.”

“So why send us a letter in their language if they don’t want to be discovered?” Isaac asked, his brows raised in confusion. “We can’t even read it.”

“They want you to know,” Heidi spoke up, “They’re sending you a message.”

Mason growled, this was the last thing he needed. All he wanted to do was go out and hunt down the bastard that abused his soulmate and now he had lone wolves to deal with.

If only he knew how the two would be connected.