Kane folded his hands behind his head and glanced over at Mason, who was sitting at his desk. He looked so happy there, a paint brush in his hands and his head tilted down towards the piece of canvas he was working on. "Sorry it's taking so long," Mason said softly, not lifting his eyes.

Kane didn't mind. He was happy watching Mason work. When he had arrived, Mason had hurriedly told him that he was painting something special for his aunt's birthday the next day and was in a rush to get it done. "No hurry," Kane assured him.

Mason turned in his chair, facing Kane who was on his bed. "Comfortable there?" he asked with a smirk.

Kane wriggled around on Mason's bed for a few seconds before nodding. "Very. Thanks for asking."

Mason just smirked at him before turning back to the canvas.

Kane's eyes travelled around his room and he couldn't help but be absorbed in the art that surrounded him. He was sure that he could have lied there for hours. He wasn't sure how long he was there for, but before he knew it, there was no more light streaming in through Mason's bedroom window, and Mason was handing him a beautiful, finished, painting of a stunning lake with pristine water. Kane cautiously held the painting, careful to not touch any of the drying paint.

"It's stunning."

Mason shrugged at the compliment. "You say that about all my paintings."

Kane met his eyes. "Because it's the truth." He wanted him to know he was being honest. He really did think that Mason created masterpieces. Kane had never really been into art before, but looking at Mason's paintings made him feel something that he hadn't known was inside of him. Mason's paintings told a story that went deeper than the brush strokes.

Mason's cheeks turned slightly red. He turned away but Kane noticed well before he did. "We should go, I think we are late."

Kane checked the time. They were well past late. Peyton had told him to be there at six and it was almost eight. Kane jumped up from the bed and looped his arm over Mason's shoulders. "Ready for your first Peyton party?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Kane remembered the night they met and he hoped that tonight wouldn't be like that. It was dark outside, and maybe people wouldn't notice Mason's eyes and maybe the smell of burning wood and alcohol stained breath would hide that he smelled different to other wolves. He just didn't want Mason to be uncomfortable.

"You know," Kane told him, "if it gets too much, we can just leave. Just say the word and we can do something else."

Mason looked at him with an expression he just couldn't pin down. He didn't speak for a few long moments, and Kane tried to read his thoughts through his face but he couldn't. Mason was so unreadable sometimes.

When he did finally speak, his voice was soft. "You're a good person, Kane. Better than most."

Kane didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't like he had offered to save the world from destruction, just leave a party if his friend got overwhelmed. He didn't think that was a big deal, but from the look in Mason's eyes, it was to him.

He noticed that Masons eyes were flickering between his eyes and his mouth. He found himself doing the same thing. He wanted to kiss him. The realisation hit him like a truck and he had to fight every bone in his body that told him to get closer. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He let go of his hold on Mason and took a step away from him. It wasn't that he wanted the space, but his mind told him that he needed it. He wasn't sure what would have happened if he hadn't broken the trance they had been in. Would he have really kissed him?

"Uh, I, uh-" Mason muttered, almost starting a sentence that he couldn't finish.

Kane took a breath to steady himself. "Let's go."

Their walk was silent. When they got to the car, Mason picked up the bottle of vodka that was in the passenger seat. He placed it in his lap as he reached for the seat belt. "I'm guessing you're not driving home tonight?"

It was like their almost kiss in the house hadn't happened. He shook his head. "It's only a short walk home. I'll come back in the morning and get it. Your aunt's still picking you up, right?"

Mason nodded. "Yeah at ten."

"Ten!" Kane sighed. "That's so early."

"I can stay at your house?" Mason asked.

Kane said yes before thinking about it. He hoped that Nora wouldn't mind if Mason slept on the couch. They parked just near the clearing. Kane could see the rise of smoke above the trees, another sign that they were late, not that he really minded. He was secretly happy to have a break from Nora. They had spent the last few days in passive aggressive silence. She seemed to be finding any reason to argue with him and Kane found every reason to avoid talking to her. He had spent as much time as possible hanging out at Mason's or going for jogs with Heath but every time he came home, she was waiting for him. It was a game of cat and mouse that Kane was sure he couldn't win. His cat just wouldn't give up. At first, she was mad that she hadn't seen his wolf. Then her reasons for being mad seemed to get more and more unreasonable.

Kane tried not to think about Nora. He told himself that tonight was supposed to be fun. He was going to make sure that he had a good time. With the bottle of vodka in his hand, he and Mason walked side by side towards the bonfire.

Kane glanced over at Mason as they reached the clearing. The bonfire was in the middle, the roaring fire spreading light throughout the area. Kane could feel the warmth on his skin already. Music blared from speakers around the clearing and people were dancing on one side of the bonfire and sitting on the other. Kane first saw Heath, he was running past them with a full cup in his hand, the liquid sloshing out of the cup as he ran. He had been making his way towards the dancing crowd and he was lost from Kane's sight almost instantly as he started dancing.

Kane motioned for Mason to follow him. He made his way to the other side of the bonfire where logs had been placed in small circles. He found his friends right at the edge of the clearing.

"You made it!" Amelia called out to them as they walked over. "It's about time!"

They sat on the log facing the group. Kane didn't miss the sour expression on Nora's face. Being close to Nora seemed to open the floodgates of the bond and her feeling made their way through the bond. Kane felt her anger. He tried to ignore it and it wasn't hard because his eyes were then glued to Adam, who was downing a beer at an unsettling pace before him. Kane pointed his eyes towards Violet. "Is he okay?" he mouthed to her.

Kane noticed the dark circles under Violet's eyes. She shrugged but halfway through changed her mind and shook her head softly. Alarm bells went on in Kane's mind. Adam always drank at parties but never like this. He had never seen such a dejected look in Violet's eyes either. The couple usually sat close together with their arms linked or even with Violet snaked around Adams body, but today they were sitting almost an arm's length apart. This wasn't normal. This wasn't right.

Adam threw his empty bottle on the ground at his feet. That was when Kane noticed the other bottles there as well. He reached behind the log and pulled out a new beer.

Violet suddenly turned her eyes on Adam. "Maybe take a break from that, hey?" She reached for the unopened beer bottle in Adam's hand but he pulled it away from her.

Violet shook her head at him. Her eyes were filled with disappointment. She stood suddenly. "Come on girls." She stormed away from them and Nora was quick to follow her, without so much as a glance towards Kane. Amelia sent Adam a saddened look before quickly following after Violet.

Kane turned to Mason. "Will you be okay here for a minute?"

Mason was looking at Adam with concern in his eyes. "Yeah. Where are you going?"

Kane lowered his voice so that Adam wouldn't hear, not that he would be paying attention anyway. Adam was more interested in the bottle in his hand than what was going on around him. "I need to talk to Violet." He handed his bottle to Mason. "Why don't you go get a drink."

Mason nodded towards Adam who was downing the beer in his hand even faster than the one before. "I might get a water for him while I'm at it."

Kane tried to smile. "Good idea. Thank you."

He followed in the direction the girls had gone. He found them standing at a table of drinks. Violet was pouring something into three cups. He walked up behind them and Nora turned around. "What do you want?" she asked. Her words were edged in annoyance and he felt the words like a cut to his skin. They were still mates after all. 

Kane pointed towards Violet. "Can I talk to you for a second, Violet?"

Nora's eyes were disappointed. Kane couldn't understand that. She had sounded so annoyed that he was there in the first place.

Violet handed a cup to Nora and then to Amelia before turning to face him. She took a big swig of her drink before speaking. "Yes."

Kane followed Violet to the edge of the clearing. She paced back and forth as they spoke. He saw that her hands were shaking slightly. She looked around them. When she was sure no one was in earshot she spoke, "You have to do something, Kane."

Kane sighed. "What's going on?"

Violet looked exasperated. "I don't really understand it. Adam hasn't been himself for the last couple of weeks, he's been drinking too much at night and that he comes home from these meetings with his father a complete mess. I've tried talking to him about it, but he just says that he's not allowed to tell me anything."

Violet took a deep breath. She glanced past him, towards Adam.

"Then at your house the other day," she continued, "after he was so rude to you and Mason and you spoke to him, well I thought you'd talked some sense into him but it's only been getting worse." Tears fell from Violet's eyes. She was shaking more now. "He's shutting me out, Kane." Her words were all but whispers by the end. 

Kane wrapped his arms around her. He held onto her tightly. Adam wasn't like this. He had to know what was going on behind the scenes in this pack. What would make Adam act like this? It was one thing for Adam to be rude to him, but it was another to treat Violet like this. After a few minutes, Violet stopped shaking and she pulled back. She wiped a finger under her eyes.

"I'll talk to him, okay?" Kane promised her. "I'm going to figure out what's going on."

"I love him, Kane, and I can't keep watching him spiral."

Kane felt the same. Adam was his best friend and he didn't see any of the boy he knew in those drunken eyes tonight. "I'll take him home now, and tomorrow I'll talk to him."

Violet nodded. "I'll stay with Amelia tonight."

Kane turned to walk away but Violet wrapped her hand around his wrist. He faced her.

"Thank you, Kane. I know that you have your own problems right now." Violet glanced over his shoulder and Kane followed her eye line to see Nora and Amelia standing near the bonfire. "Nora and I had a talk today and I kind of know what's been going on with you two, but anyway, I just want you to know that I'm so thankful for you helping me. You're the only one who can get through to him."

Kane nodded. He couldn't say anything more. He made a beeline for Adam. Mason was standing above him, trying to change the beer bottle in his hand over for a bottle of water. Adam was shaking his head. He was swaying in his place and smiled when he saw Kane walking towards him.

"Will you tell your little friend that I'm fine?" Adam asked, his words slurred.

Kane shook his head. "Take the water, Adam."

Adam just laughed. "Party pooper!" he accused with a pointed finger. "Come on, have a beer with me."

Kane reached for the bottle and pried it out of Adam's grip. He let it drop to the ground, the small amount left in it spilt out onto the grass. "You're coming with me."

Adam shook his head. "We aren't leaving! The party is just starting."

Kane sighed. He knew this was going to be more of a mess than he's hoped. "I'm going to take him home," Kane told Mason. "Will you be okay here for ten minutes?"

Mason nodded quickly. "I'll be fine."

"Stick with Amelia, okay?"

Mason lifted his chin. "You don't have to worry about me."

"But I still will," Kane told him. "Call me if you need me."

"I won't," Mason insisted.

Kane smiled at him. "Stubborn, aren't you?"

Mason nodded after a moment of consideration. There was a smirk on his lips.

"Alright come on Adam," Kane reached under Adam's arm and pulled him up. Adam stood on shaky legs.

"Kane, what do you think you're doing?" Adam was annoyed. He tried to pull out of Kane's grasp. "I'm not leaving."

Kane stood so that their faces were close. He looked him straight in the eyes. "If you care about Violet you will come with me now." It made him uncomfortable speaking to an Alpha in such a tone, but he fought the feeling and kept a straight face. This needed to be done.

His words must have resonated with Adam because he stopped fighting him. Kane led him into the tree line and he got into the car without fighting.

"I know you've been having a hard time but this is too much, Adam," Kane told him as he stood over him, strapping him into the seat.

"Let's just go back to the party, Kane, come on," Adam said, but made no move to get out of the car.

Kane was glad, he didn't want to have to crash tackle his best friend, but he would if he tried to leave. "No."

Kane slammed the door and made his way to the driver's seat. He was grateful that he hadn't had anything to drink yet. He started driving, heading towards the main road.

"What's going on with you, Adam, really?" Kane asked. "This person isn't you."

Adam closed his eyes and rested his head back. "You're still hanging out with Mason."

Kane wasn't going to fall for that. He still didn't understand Adam's reasons for wanting Mason out of the picture, but now wasn't the time to dig deeper into that. Adam just didn't want to talk about himself. "You're changing the subject."

Adam shrugged. "I told you to stay away from him," he said pointedly. He didn't sound mad, however.

"I chose not to."

There was silence for a few long seconds and Kane glanced over at his friend to make sure that he was still conscious. Adam's eyes were open but he was looking down at his lap. When Adam spoke, his words were small. "He likes you, you know." 

Kane had to focus to keep the car on the road. "What are you talking about?"

Adam rubbed at his eyes. "Amelia told me."

"She told you that?"

"Yep. He's had a crush on you from day one." Adam pointed a single finger at the roof. "Day one," he repeated with slurred words.

Kane wanted it to mean nothing. He wanted to laugh it off because he had a mate and he wasn't interested in other people, but that was a lie. He wanted it to mean nothing, but why did he fight a smile when he heard it? Why did it make his chest feel warm when he thought about Mason? He didn't have any answer for that other than that maybe he felt the same way about him. He pushed away at the thoughts.  He said the only thing that he was sure of, "You shouldn't have told me that."

"I told you to stay away from him."

Kane pulled the car over. The tires screeched as he slammed on the breaks and turned onto the shoulder of the road. As soon as the car stopped, Kane faced Adam. "You're a dick. You shouldn't have told me. That's not your business to tell."

Adam didn't seem phased by the name calling. He did, however, get a sour look on his face when Kane finished talking. "Look," he said, "it doesn't matter anyway. If you don't like him then there's no problem, I just didn't want you to lead him on."

Kane just stared at him.

"There is a problem, isn't there?" Adam said. Realisation hit Adam's face, and to Kane's surprise a small smile found its way to Adam's lips. "You do like him back."

Kane continued to look at him blankly.

"Admit it!" Adam demanded with a drunken smile.

"Why?" Kane yelled at him, "So that you can lecture me about Nora for the millionth time?"

Adam's expression changed. His face softened. "You really aren't meant to be with her, are you?"

Kane shook his head slowly. No, he wasn't. He had known that from day one as well.

"You like Mason, don't you?"

He nodded before he could even think about its implications. He couldn't say it out loud, but he knew that it was the truth.

"Jesus, Kane. I need another drink."

Kane ripped the car into drive and pulled quickly back onto the road. "No. No, you don't, but I do."

A few minutes later and Kane glanced at Adam. He had either fallen asleep or passed out. He wasn't sure of which. As he drove, his mind was wrapped around Mason. Mason liked him back. Mason, the boy he could never be with, liked him back and somehow that was simultaneously the best and most terrible thing in the world because they would never be together.