The Dark Ones (The Dark Ones Saga 1)

Mason held up the pan of eggs again in his hand.

Ethan kissed my head and left, leaving me and Mason alone in the hallway.

"So…" Mason moved out of the way so I could step by him. "Good morning so far?"

I fought to hide my grin. "The best."

"Wait until you eat my eggs."

"You mean it gets better?" I joked, elbowing him in the side.

"Yes, but be warned, I made the whole carton on account I'm used to cooking for more than one person. You'll insult me if you don't eat. Besides, according to your mate, you're lacking in protein."

I rolled my eyes and sat at the table while Mason served me an ungodly amount of eggs.

Both Stephanie and Alex were nowhere to be found.

I shoveled some eggs into my mouth and fought back a moan. The man could cook. They might tease him about eating berries and pinecones, but his eggs were fluffy. "So what do you guys do during the day?"

"As opposed to during the night?" Mason laughed. "Tell me, are you under the impression I go outside and howl at the moon when night falls?"

I felt my cheeks heat.

He barked out a laugh. "I may sit in on your studies this afternoon just so I can watch you blush the entire time."

I poked a few more eggs. "So?"

"The four of us are Immortal Elders, not only do we each have business holdings all over the world — ones we're still very much involved in — but we keep the peace."

I frowned. "Like the police?"

"Sort of." Mason shrugged. "I guess, in a way, I'm pack leader. I check in on the different families of werewolves in the Greater Seattle area and keep in constant communication with them. Some of the families like to live outside of the city and, naturally, outside of the country, so I get reports on them on a daily basis."

"Alex and Stephanie? What about them?"

"Sirens," Mason leaned back in his chair and lifted a mug of coffee to his lips, "tend to focus on play more than work."

"Meaning?"

"Curious little thing, aren't you?"

"Well…" I put down my fork. "I'm curious because, to be honest, when I was in school, I was taught you guys kept to yourselves. Nothing ever mentioned jobs or hobbies. I guess I assumed you just sat around and thought about your own immortality."

"How boring…" Mason's eyebrows lifted. "To sit around and only think about yourself. Sounds more like a Dark One than a werewolf."

"Is that what they do?"

"I'll let Ethan explain exactly what Dark Ones do, other than rule with an iron fist and petition archangels."

My ears perked up. "Real archangels?"

"No, fake ones… we just like the name because it sounds cool." He smirked. "Yes, real ones."

"You've seen them?"

"Once, a very long, long time ago. As long as we keep the peace between all species, they don't interfere. They have no reason to."

"And if war breaks out?"