It was dark outside the den when a warm breeze woke Mason up. He sniffed the air, and realized that the breeze he was feeling was actually Terrance breathing on him. Any other time, Mason would be disgusted that someone was breathing in his face, but he found that he didn't mind when it was Terrance.
Yawning and stretching, Mason stood up before nearly falling again, since his legs were asleep and we wasn't used to being in wolf form for that long. He collapsed onto Terrance's sleeping wolf form, making the other open his eyes and snort.
Mason apologetically licked Terrance's nose and muzzle before laying back down again. He could tell from the dark setting outside the den that it was really early in the morning and he'd have plenty time to get back to the cafe and get ready for the day.
Terrance seemed to enjoy the attention that Mason was giving him, as he grabbed Mason's scruff to pull him closer. The lack of verbal communication due to their wolf forms didn't have a negative impact; on the contrary, both felt that they were connecting better and basing their connection on the mate bond which brought them both comfort.
Mason curled into Terrance's side, but he was far from rested. On the contrary, he was restless and really wanted to run. Being in his wolf form showed him how much energy the other form possessed and since he'd gotten a full night's rest, he didn't want to lay around when he could be out running around.
Whining quietly, Mason grabbed Terrance's ear and tugged on it. He felt Terrance pull his head away and snort in irritation, but Mason didn't give in. He was bored and didn't want more sleep; he wanted to run with Terrance and play in his wolf form.
Terrance let out a growl, annoyed by his mate, but Mason didn't leave him alone. Eventually, Terrance flopped on top of him and snarled, warning him to stop, but Mason just growled back and nipped his underbelly until Terrance moved off of him.
Once he was freed, Mason crawled out of the den, yipping at Terrance. He wanted his mate to follow him and play in their wolf forms, but Terrance frowned and laid back down on his side.
Growling, Mason crawled halfway into the den and bit down hard on Terrance's shoulder blade, making Terrance snarl and flip around, standing up and rushing after Mason.
Mason just yipped in joy, wagging his tail and laying his front half on the ground to show he was playing. He could see Terrance rolling his eyes (as best as he could in wolf form, anyway) before he mimicked the action to show he was playing as well.
As soon as Terrance gave in, Mason took off, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was being followed by the bigger wolf. When he saw that Terrance was following him, he barked and turned so he could tackle his mate to the ground, but he overestimated his own size and was knocked to the ground by Terrance.
Terrance began to playfully nip his neck and ears, despite Mason's whimpers and attempts to fight back.
The sun began to rise as the pair played and tackled each other like pups would, but Mason didn't care. He loved that he could act like a pup with Terrance and that the Alpha would play along without caring that others could potentially see them.
The more time that Mason spent with him, the more he began to fall for the Alpha. He wasn't like the other stuck up Alphas that Mason had met, but he wasn't as passive and relaxed as Henry either. He was the perfect mix and Mason wasn't sure if he was happy about his walls falling down.
On one hand, Mason felt like he could trust Terrance to be a supportive mate, but on the other hand, his past got in his head and made him want to close himself off again.
Eventually, Terrance guided Mason back to where they hid their bag with their clothes and shifted back. He turned around while Mason changed, assuming that his mate was still uncomfortable with being seen exposed, and Mason was extremely appreciative of the kindness and respect that Terrance showed him.
"Ready to head back?" Terrance asked through a yawn, blinking trying to wipe the tiredness from his eyes.
Mason nodded, chirpy and wide awake as he chose to boldly grab Terrance's hand. "Yep! That was so fun! We should do it again!" he exclaimed, pulling his mate toward the city where they could board the train to the cafe.
Terrance chuckled at his mate's excitement. "Okay, as long as you promise to let me sleep," he said through another yawn. "I'm so tired."
"Why? We went to sleep really early," Mason said as they reached the station and waited for the train. "It was just after dusk!"
"I didn't sleep until later," Terrance said, sitting down on the bench and laying his head on Mason's shoulder. "I wanted to make sure we were safe and that we didn't oversleep, but I ended up falling asleep anyway."
Mason smiled softly, wrapping his arm around Terrance's shoulders and rubbing his hand through his hair.
"Thanks for thinking of me," Mason said, pressing a light kiss to the side of Terrance's head. "Even if you fell asleep, it's really sweet of you."
Terrance hummed as the train arrived. "I can't seem to get you out of my head, so it wasn't that difficult," he responded, making Mason blush and run onto the train so Terrance didn't coo and embarrass him.
Thankfully, Terrance seemed too exhausted to notice and sat down tiredly on a seat and held his arms out so Mason could lean into his embrace.
"You can take a nap when we get back," Mason said, still not looking up and allowing his face to cool down. "I'll even let you use my bed."
Terrance closed his eyes and smiled. "Can't say no to that, babe."
"No pet names," Mason said, baring his teeth. "Not yet."
Terrance didn't respond, instead nodding against Mason's shoulder to show he understood and respected his statement. They stayed quiet for the rest of the ride until they arrived at their stop and Mason urged Terrance to hurry up so he could get to work and Terrance could go take his nap.
They arrived at the cafe, but as soon as they entered, Mason's jaw and heart dropped. He saw Henry sitting at one of the booths, talking to an officer, his face perking up slightly when he saw Mason.
"That's the boss," Henry said, waving Mason over to him.
"What the hell happened?!" Mason asked, looking all over the cafe.
Everything was in disarray; the glasses for the people who stayed at the cafe to drink were shattered, the windows were graffitied and cracked, and when Mason ran to the back of the cafe, he found that all of his baking utensils had been destroyed and thrown on the ground, and the ingredients were dumped everywhere.
In Mason's eyes, that was money wasted. He ran to the register and was shocked to find that no money had been taken, but he was livid nonetheless.
"Mace, we need to talk to the police," Henry said softly, picking up on the anger and short-tempered attitude that Mason had taken on. "They need to know if you had any enemies."
"Yeah, that one asshole who never leaves me alone," Mason growled. "Have them go through the cameras."
"We did," Henry said, but his face was tight and he didn't look pleased.
"And?"
"One person, masked and wearing gloves. We don't know who it is."
Mason snarled. "Yes we do! That asshole, Paul? The one guy who never leaves me alone?! I bet it was him, so they better find him!" he yelled, stomping up the stairs and punching the wall as Terrance followed in hopes of soothing him.
Mason's anger only got worse when he got upstairs. His entire home area had been destroyed, too. Things were strewn everywhere, and when Mason entered his room, he nearly vomited.
His bed was a mess and the room smelled strongly of semen. Some pervert really invaded his space and destroyed it, which was among the worst things in Mason's mind. His room was his safe space, and someone using it as a random room to masturbate in disgusted him.
Terrance tried to soothe him, but Mason pushed past him and rushed to his guest room to find it in a similar state, but it didn't smell as bad as the other room. He entered his art room last, and that's when he lost it.
Every painting, every book, every single work of art that Mason put his energy and time into had been ripped up and painted over, his sketchbooks burned and torn.
He fell to the ground and began sobbing uncontrollably.
Why did people have to be so horrible? Why did they have to target him? Why couldn't they have just taken the money from the register and left without destroying his safe place.
Terrance knelt beside his mate and hugged him tightly, letting his cry into his shoulder. "It's okay, let it out," he said softly. "I'm so sorry."
Mason kept crying, unable to stop. "Please, get me out of here," he begged, unable to stay sane in his destroyed home.
"Okay," Terrance said, pulling out his phone and calling a taxi.
Henry told them he'd take care of things and call some of his friends to help clean up the cafe area so Mason could get away from the space.
"We'll find out who did this, Mace," Henry promised, clapping his friend's shoulder. His heart dropped when Mason didn't react; he just stared into the distance like he didn't feel anything.
"Thanks, man," Terrance said, shaking Henry's hand. "I'll stop by and help out tomorrow."
Henry shook his head. "No. Mason needs you. I can deal with things here, but he needs you to take care of him right now."
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