Page 35 of Shattered

“I’m going to say this again, Mac, and I want you to listen to me. You’renotgoing feral.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know if I am or not, Kal.”

Kalkin grimaced before he gave a halfhearted-amused chuckle. “Yeah, I do, and so would you if you pulled your head out of your ass for once and listened to the creature inside of you.”

“That’s part of the problem, we don’t communicate anymore. I haven’t shifted in years. I’m more man than a wolf, Kal,” Mackenzie admitted. “And now, all of a sudden, I’m shifting again. I couldn’t stop it. Worse, I can’t remember what happens when I do.”

Kalkin shook his head, studying the ceiling before he muttered what sounded like a prayer. “Gods, save me from stupid, fucking wolves.” After a solid minute, Kalkin’s gaze dropped to Mackenzie’s. “You really serious about this shit?”

“Yes,” Mackenzie assured.

Before Kalkin could respond, someone knocked on the back door. No one knocked unless they weren’t family. The Raferty clan had no boundaries.

“This should get interesting,” Kalkin mumbled.

“Come in!” Mackenzie hollered.

The door squeaked open, and the woman who filled most of his waking thoughts stepped into the house. She stumbled when she saw Kalkin, and her gaze darted between the two of them. Although human, she still possessed the need for self-preservation, and deep down, Mackenzie suspected she sensed the discord in the room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Aurora asked.

“Other than Mac proving again what a total dumbass he can be, then no, Aurora, you didn’t,” Kalkin stated.

“Oh okay.” She glanced at Kalkin warily.

Mackenzie could see the confusion in her features and the need to keep her safe rushed to the forefront. “It’s fine, Aurora. We were just wrapping up our conversation, weren’t we, Kal?”

Kalkin snorted. “Yeah, sure, if you say so, Mac.”

“I can come back,” Aurora said.

“No stay, I’m heading out, I’m going to be late for work,” Kalkin stated.

“I bet no one calls you on your tardiness, Sheriff,” Aurora teased.

Kalkin grinned. “One of the perks of being a boss.”

“Kal—”

“Later, Mac,” Kalkin said with a wave of his hand before he left.

“Urgh…he does the same thing on the phone when he calls in,” Aurora muttered, staring at the door.

“What?” He tried to focus on the conversation at hand, and not the sweet smell of honeysuckle, sweet peas, and pussy. His wayward dick twitched in his jeans and pressed against the zipper. If his dick got any harder, he’d have to adjust himself. With Aurora standing right there, it wouldn’t be an easy feat, either. He needed to focus on her face, and not what her tight little body would look like spread out in his bed.

“Hang up without saying goodbye. I guess he does it with everything. Got to tell you, I know he’s your brother and my boss, but I find it to be rude, frustrating, and it pisses me off,” she confessed.

Mackenzie chuckled. “He knows it, too, it’s why he does it.” Silence filled the room for a moment. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Aurora smiled, and a feeling of contentment filled him. “I stopped by to thank you for last nightandfor getting Abby to school this morning. I really appreciate you helping me out.”

“It was nothing. You know I’m scheduled to have Abby again tonight, right?”

Her cute little face scrunched up. “Yeah, why?”

He chuckled. “Well, you could’ve told me thank you then, instead of making a special trip out here, when you should be at home, sleeping.”

“Have you ever worked the night shift, Mac?”

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