Runt [ManxMan]

Chapter Fifteen

Mason had never ridden in a car before. It was an uncomfortable experience, and he wished not to repeat it, except he knew Chase would expect him to get back into the infernal device for the ride back to the pack complex. He would have rather walked back or ran in his wolf form.

But at least they had arrived at their destination so he could leave the car behind him and worry about the return trip in a few hours.

He was excited to see the human world. His brother had told him it was different from the pack complex, which was already a different world from the wilderness he'd spent most of his life in. Chase had also said they would stay away from the more populated areas, as there were many more humans than werewolves and Mason was just getting used to being around groups of people. Being around hundreds of humans all packed into the same area would have been hell on his senses.

Well, 'would have been' was rather relative, considering that the area the van dropped them off did not appear to be the little store on the edge of civilization Chase had intended them to arrive at. Instead, they stood on the sidewalk outside a huge building, with rows and rows of the infernal cars sitting in front of it. There were lights and sounds, and so many people moving around them, some giving them odd looks as they passed. Mason was already overwhelmed, and they hadn't even entered the building yet.

Tala stepped in front of them, smiling brightly and clapping her hands. "Let's get started then! Ooh, I love shopping!" She grabbed Mason's hand and pulled him behind her toward the building, and he stumbled a second before catching himself and doing his best to keep up with her.

He glanced back at Chase to find his brother following with narrowed eyes and dark cheeks, his fists clenched at his sides. Mason knew this was not what his brother had intended for his introduction to the human world, and Chase's slower method would have been far less jarring for the omega. He also knew Chase didn't like Tala in general, but after she'd frightened him the first time he encountered her—he wouldn't have called it meeting as she hadn't really acknowledged his existence—Mason hadn't really seen much to sway his opinion one way or the other.

Mason quickly turned his attention back to the building they were approaching as the sounds and lights got more intense. He couldn't help but be curious about all the people and what they were doing in the strange building, what all the bright lights were for, and what amazing things might be inside. Sure, the number of people around made him uncomfortable, but he could feel Chase at his heels along with the big man who had come to visit them often and always seemed to have one eye on his brother, so he felt safe enough, and he didn't feel he needed to leave.

Even Tala made him feel safer as she turned to send him a reassuring smile and led him around the edges of the bigger crowds. With the three of them around him, he was surrounded by a small bubble of space even when they had to cut through denser sections of the crowds, and he found himself pressing closer to the woman as he peered around the area.

Mason didn't know where to look. There were so many signs with words he couldn't read, glass walls showing a wide array of items, some of which he had names for—many of the stores displayed types of clothing, some of which he knew the names of and most others that he at least knew the purpose of—and many he didn't, like the store that seemed to be selling tiny sparkly rocks. Mason thought he'd seen many of the females and occasionally other males wearing them, but he wasn't really sure what purpose they had. Still, he found his eyes lingering on the store as they passed, his attention drawn by how shiny the rocks were, and he had to admit they were rather pretty.

Mason was thankful he didn't have to make a decision on where they went, as Tala didn't hesitate in leading the omega through the crowd. He was also thankful for the other warriors the beta had brought with them, as they formed another loose ring around the core group, and he felt better knowing they were around in case something happened.