Page 30 of Stalked

A strange realization dawned on Toby as he nestled closer, inhaling Mason's wild, earthy scent. In all the explicit fantasies he'd crafted for his anonymous followers, in all the lurid scenarios he'd imagined and shared, he'd never once written about beingheld. He'd detailed every possible dirty act, every position, every filthy word—but never this. Never the simple act of being cradled against someone's chest, feeling simultaneously protected and cherished.

It warmed him from the inside out, this unexpected intimacy. Toby found himself melting into the embrace, tension he hadn't even realized he was carrying seeping from his muscles.

Around them, the forest had gone quiet. Toby became dimly aware of subtle movements in the surrounding trees—shadows detaching themselves, moving away into the deeper woods. The voyeur werewolves who had watched their coupling were retreating, slinking back into the darkness without challenge or comment.

They wouldn't challenge an alpha for his mate.

Toby smiled against Mason's chest, and burrowed closer.

Chapter fourteen

Toby

Tobystrolledacrosscampus,his shoulders back and head high. The morning sun warmed his skin, and a light breeze ruffled his hair. The weight of his textbooks felt lighter, matched by the lightness in his chest.

A familiar shadow fell across his path. Caleb stood there with his two cronies, their faces twisted in practiced smirks.

They looked so… young. Stupid, prancing little kids. The sight that once would have sent Toby's heart racing now barely registered as an annoyance.

"Well, if it isn't our school's little pet human," Caleb spat, crossing his arms. His friends snickered on cue, like trained dogs performing a trick.

Toby paused, studying Caleb's face. The bully's features were pinched, desperate—a boy playing at being a man. The realization hit Toby like a splash of cold water. This was what he'd been afraid of? This insecure child who could only feel big by trying to make others feel small?

A laugh bubbled up from Toby's chest, genuine and free. The sound caught Caleb off guard, his practiced coolness slipping for a fraction of a second. "What's so funny?" Caleb demanded, but his voice cracked slightly.

"You. You're pathetic," Toby said, grinning. "And I'm done being afraid of you."

The words landed like physical blows. Caleb's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. "What the—what the fuck are you talking about? I'm going to make you regret th—"

A low purr of a luxury engine cut him off. A sleek black car rolled to a stop at the curb, its chrome details gleaming in the sunlight. Toby's pulse quickened as the back door opened and Mason emerged, his tall frame unfolding with practiced grace. He wore a charcoal suit that highlighted his broad shoulders, his presence commanding attention without effort.

Caleb's face lit up. "Hey, Dad!" His voice carried a desperate innocence that made Toby's eyes roll.

Mason didn't buy it. His eyes narrowed as they swept over the scene before him. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as his gaze settled on his son. "Again, Caleb?" Mason's voice was quiet but carried an edge sharp enough to cut glass. "Is this how you represent our pack? After all our discussions, after all your promises to do better?" His disappointment was palpable, hanging in the air between them.

Caleb's face flushed crimson. "I wasn't—"

"Don't." Mason raised one hand, silencing him instantly. "I taught you to be a leader, not a tormentor. You're performing like a trained pup for attention." His gaze flicked dismissively to Caleb's friends, who suddenly seemed very interested in their shoes. "And from who? These two? Are they worth dirtying our family name for?"

Caleb's shoulders slumped, his bravado evaporating under his father's disappointment. He mumbled something under his breath.

Mason's expression softened slightly. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder, his grip firm but not unkind. "You're better than this, kid. I expect to see that better version of you at dinner tonight." He lowered his voice, but Toby could still hear him. "We'll talk more at home."

The mixture of discipline and underlying love in Mason's voice made something in Toby's chest tighten—a complex feeling he couldn't have anticipated. Here was Caleb, who had made Toby's life miserable for so long, receiving a stern but caring correction from his father. And oddly enough, Toby found himself almost enjoying the display.

In the weeks since that night in the forest, Toby had spent enough time at the Blackwood house to see this side of Mason regularly—the attentive father who expected excellence but offered guidance to achieve it. It was so different from the dominant Alpha werewolf who marked Toby's skin with bruising kisses in private, or the powerful businessman who commanded respect in public.

This was Mason at his most human, perhaps—caring enough to correct, loving enough to expect better. It probably said something about Toby's psychology that he found this aspect of Mason equally attractive. Some long-buried daddy issues, he told himself wryly.

And then Mason turned to Toby, his stern expression melting into something warmer as he placed a hand at the small of Toby's back. "Ready for lunch?"

Toby bit the inside of his cheek, fighting to keep his expression neutral as Mason guided him toward the waiting car. The look on Caleb's face—a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and dawning comprehension as he watched his father's gentle treatment of Toby—was almost comical. The classmate that once held such power over him now seemed small, almost pitiful. Mason settled beside him, his thigh pressing against Toby's in a way that sent sparks through his body.

As the car pulled away, Toby caught one last glimpse of Caleb in the side mirror. He stood frozen on the sidewalk, his cronies forgotten, looking lost and diminished in the growing distance. A weight lifted from Toby's chest.

The privacy screen slid up with a soft mechanical purr, cutting them off from the driver's watchful eyes. For a moment, they simply looked at each other, the air between them charged with three days of separation.

"Hi," Toby said, his voice softer than he intended, betraying how much he'd missed this man.

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