The windows were down in the car. The wind blew through Kane's hair, pushing it away from his face. He glanced over at Mason, who was staring out the window. Kane wondered what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about their conversations in the garden? Kane was. He was thinking about how right he had been about Mason, who didn't judge him for even a second, even when he explained the almost kiss with Wyatt at the party. He had just laid next to him, listening and nodding along, and when Kane couldn't speak anymore, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and told him how strong he was. Kane didn't know what to say to that. No one had told him that he had been strong about the whole situation. He, in fact, was convinced that he had been dealing with it all quite poorly. Yet, Mason sat before him and told him that he was brave and strong and that he couldn't imagine how hard the last month had been for him. Kane didn't know what he did to deserve a friend like Mason.

Kane glanced down at the rose that sat haphazardly in the cup holder next to his seat. The bright yellow stood out against the darkness of the car. How was he going to explain the rose to Nora? He wondered. The truth wasn't something to hide, but there was something unspeakable that made him want to hide the rose from Nora's eyes. Perhaps she wouldn't be home when they arrived. That would make things easier. Then he wouldn't be walking in with a rose in his hand. He second guessed his thoughts. The rose was innocent. A sign of friendship. Why should it be hidden?

Kane pulled into his street. To his surprise, two cars were parked in the street. He drove around them and parked in the driveway. "We are here," he told Mason. "Apparently so are my friends."

Mason glanced at the cars. "Whose cars are those?"

"Adam and Violet's."

"Are you expecting them?"

"Violet picked up Nora this morning so she's probably dropping her home, but I don't know why Adam's here," he explained. Kane turned the car off. He had just opened his car door as Mason spoke.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked.

Kane froze in his actions. He shook his head quickly. "Of course not."

Mason's eyes were on the house. "I don't know how kindly Adam would take to having me here."

"What makes you say that?"

Adams words floated around Kane's head in neon lights. Stay away from Mason. For a moment, he wondered if Mason had found out about Adam had said. I saw the way he looked at you.

"The last time we were together I challenged him and he accused me of going on a suicide mission."

Kane remembered what happened at Tyler's house. "Oh. That."

"Yeah."

"You're my friend, Mason. I want you here. Even if Adam isn't over what happened, which he probably is, it doesn't really matter. Adam might be my Alpha, but he does respect my decisions."

Mason nodded. His demeanour calmed. "Okay."

Kane got out of the car. He took a deep breath in. He couldn't help but notice that he felt so much calmer with Mason by his side. He knew that once they walked through that door he would be back to playing house with Nora, but it didn't seem so hopeless now. He knew that Mason had his back, and if he had nothing, he had that.

Kane passed the rose between his hands as he walked towards the porch steps. He stopped in his tracks when he felt Mason's hand wrap around his wrist. "Wait," Mason said.

Kane turned. "What's wrong?" Mason stepped to the side of the house, taking Kane's wrist with him. Kane followed. "Are you okay?"

Mason let go of his hand. "I just wanted to say something before we go in."

"What?"

Mason's face grew serious. "I was thinking on the drive about what we talked about this afternoon and I know how scared you are, but I need you to know that I'm not."

Kane tilted his head. He didn't understand.

"I know that the future seems so scary right now but I have faith that you will figure it out. You aren't someone who gives up, Kane, I learnt that pretty fast about you. You will figure out what went wrong with your mate bond, and I'll be here for you the entire time. I promise."

"How do you have so much faith?" Kane asked.

Mason shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have faith in a lot of things, but I have faith in you."

Kane lent back on the side of the house. There it was again, someone with an inexplicable amount of faith in him and his future. He couldn't understand it, because it wasn't something that he, himself, felt. The future was so blurry, even with everything that happened, he couldn't connect with that possibility of a happy ending. And then there was Mason, standing in front of him, with so much hope and conviction in those bright eyes of his, and for the first time, Kane felt like he could believe it. No, he didn't connect with it on the level that everyone around him seemed to, but looking in Mason's eyes he felt like the possibility was there.

"Thank you, Mason."

"For what?"

"For being you."

The blood rushed to Mason's cheeks.

Kane pretended not to notice. He nodded towards the porch. "Let's go inside." Mason nodded and followed him.

Kane unlocked the front door and was met with bags of shopping that had been dumped in the hallway. He dodged the bags and pushed a few to the side so that Mason could get through.

"Someone went on a shopping spree," Mason muttered as he passed through the hallway.

Kane didn't have to wonder where she had gotten the money from. Nora had a credit card attached to her pack's account. He couldn't help but feel bad that he couldn't afford this stuff himself.

"You're home!" Violet's voice rang out.

Kane and Mason walked into the living room, where everyone was sitting on the couches, watching a movie that Kane didn't recognise. Violet and Adam sat on the single chair, Violet on his lap. Nora and Amelia were on the bigger couch, their feet resting on the coffee table.

"Mason, I didn't know you were coming here!" Amelia said. She patted the empty spot next to her. "Come sit down."

Kane sat on the edge of the couch, next to where Nora was sitting. He looked over at Adam, who had a scowl on his face. Kane hoped that it wasn't directed at Mason. He tried to get Adam's attention and motion for him to knock it off, but Adam wasn't looking at him. Kane wished that Adam would get over the beef he had with Mason.

"Where did you get a rose?" Nora asked.

Kane glanced down at the yellow rose in his fingers. "Oh, it's from Mason's garden."

"It's beautiful," Nora replied. She reached out and lightly touched the petals. "Do you like gardening?"

Mason shrugged. "Not really, it's my aunts hobby, I just like admiring the flowers."

Adam spoke suddenly. "Did she appreciative Kane ripping one out of the ground?"

Kane sighed. He was about to jump in but Mason got to it first.

"She wouldn't have minded."

Adam murmured an okay under his breath. Kane shot him a look, but once again he missed it. Kane wondered what was up with Adam today to make him like this.

Amelia quickly spoke, changing the topic. "Are you guys going to Peyton's bonfire Saturday night?"

Violet smiled. "We will be there."

"Do you want to go?" Kane asked Mason from across the room.

Mason shrugged. "Where will it be?"

"There's a clearing near the edge of the woods," Violet explained, "she and Heath always throw them there."

Mason shrugged. "I'm not really a party guy."

"It's just a bonfire," Amelia told him. "It will be chill."

"No, it won't," Adam spoke up. "Since when have Peyton and Heath ever thrown a "chill" party?"

Kane decided to redirect the conversation. He nudged Nora. "Did you girls have fun today?"

Nora turned her bright eyes on him. "Yes. I got so much stuff, did you see?"

Well, at least she isn't mad, Kane thought. He had been wondering if she was still upset over Wyatt visiting, but it appeared she was in a good mood. "I saw."

"Did you see the lamp, I honestly think it would look so nice under that wolf painting."

"Wolf painting?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, he got it last week, it's hanging in our bedroom. It's a wolf in the forest," Nora explained.

"You hung my painting?" Mason asked. He had a smile on his face.

Kane shrugged. "Of course, I did. It's a masterpiece."

Everyone was suddenly looking at Mason.

"You painted that?" Nora asked. She glanced between Mason and Kane. "You didn't tell me that."

"I did paint it, yes," Mason told them. "And, by the way, the wolf is Kane's wolf."

Nora's eyes widened. "You didn't tell me that either."

"You didn't ask," Kane responded.

"He is the most amazing painter," Amelia told them, "You should see his room."

"You didn't recognise his wolf?" Violet asked Nora.

Nora shook her head. "I've never seen it."

The room went silent. Kane didn't even think about it until now that he had never seen Nora's wolf. He would go running at night in wolf form, but always alone. He had never thought about inviting Nora. "We've been busy, we can go running tomorrow night, hey?"

There was a quiet anger that grew behind Nora's eyes. "This new friend of yours that you've known for like a week has seen your wolf and not me?" Nora asked. She stood from the couch. "Seriously, Kane?" Nora ran up the stairs, her feet pounding against the wood.

Kane sighed. He hadn't expected her to get so upset. It wasn't that big of a deal.

"Are you going to go after her?" Adam asked. His eyes told him that he should.

"I'll let her cool down first."

Adam shook his head. "That's your mate. Go." His voice was harsh. There was an order behind his words, not a suggestion.

"Why are you being like this?" Kane asked. He stood up. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Adam asked with wide eyes. "ME?"

Kane felt the wolf inside of him telling him to back down. Arguing with an Alpha made his brain hurt, but he couldn't see Adam as an Alpha right now, instead he saw him as his friend, his family. As someone who was being stupidly rude.

"Yeah, you!"

Violet hopped off of Adam's lap. "Stop it! Both of you!" She screamed at them. She took a deep breath and looked between them, disappointment on her face. "This isn't like you guys. I don't know what's happened between the two of you but you need to sort it out in a better way than this."

Kane took a moment to gather himself. He nodded towards the door. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Adam got up without saying a word and walked past the shopping bags and out to the front of the house. Kane looked at Mason, whose eyes were cast down towards the floor. He wanted to apologise.

"Go," Violet told him.

"I'm sorry," he said to everyone, but his eyes were on Mason. "That, uh, shouldn't have happened."

"Go," Violet repeated. Her voice was calm. "He needs you."

Kane tilted his head slightly at that. He needs you. Did that mean something?

Kane placed the rose down on the edge of the couch. He found Adam sitting on the porch steps. His head was in his hands.

"Adam?" he said quietly. He sat down next to him. "I'm sorry, back there, I shouldn't have-"

Adam lifted his head. "Don't apologise."

"What's going on?"

Adam looked out over the yard, his eyes not focusing on anything specific. "I'm sorry. I was rude to Mason, I was rude to you. I crossed a line. It's just, uh, it's been a really bad couple of days."

"Why didn't you call me?"

Adam was quiet for a few moments. "I don't know. You always seem so busy."

Kane felt guilty. He really hadn't been there for Adam since everything started between he and Nora. He felt like a pretty useless second hand. "I always have time for you. What's been happening?"

"I've been having more lessons with my father."

"They haven't been going well?"

"I want to tell you about it, I really do, but my father says that I can't."

"How can it be that bad that you're this upset? Please tell me what's going on. Is the pack okay? Is your father okay?"

Kane felt worry building up in his chest. He didn't know Adam to be easily rattled. He knew that the pack had money worries, but he wondered if there was something deeper going on.

Adam shrugged. "I'll tell you about it when I can. It's just, I've lived in this pack my entire life. My family have run this place since its conception, and yet I feel like I don't have any idea how to help run it. I can already feel the weight of looking after this place and I'm nowhere near twenty-five."

Kane had a realisation. "You're scared."

Adam nodded hesitantly. "Being an alpha is more than preforming mate ceremonies, it's being responsible for hundreds of people who count on you to survive. I just never realised what being an Alpha really meant until now."

Kane nudged him. "If anyone is fit to run this place it's you. It's just all new to you now. You'll get used to it."

"I guess."

"You are going to be a great Alpha. There are a lot of things in the future that I worry about, but your ability to run this pack isn't one of them."

Adam smiled over at him. "I've missed you."

"I haven't been around much, have I?"

Adam shrugged. He glanced back at the house. "I have wife now. You have a mate. Things have changed."

"Still, I'll make more of an effort."

"Me too. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't tell you what to do with Nora, I know that you're trying your best."

Kane tapped his foot against the stair. "I don't know what to do about her right now. Did I tell you that we've decided to be friend mates?"

"You've decided to be what now?" Adam asked with confused eyes.

"Friend mates," Kane laughed out. He was even more aware of how weird it sounded. "She coined the term. Oh, and Wyatt came to visit me today."

"He did?"

"There's a lot I need to tell you."

Adam lent back against the stair. "I have time."

"Okay, but after that I need two favours from you."

"Name them."

"Number one, apologise to Mason."

"Okay."

Kane was glad that he didn't fight him on that one. "Number two, I need you to ask your father to help you track down a witch doctor."

"Why?"

Kane smiled. "I'll explain." 

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