Page 73 of Claiming Her Cougar
She snarls.“It’s obvious you’re screwing each other.I could smell him all over you.I was making sure he didn’t have a picture of his wife and kids in there.Can’t have us both make the same mistake, can we?And you promised, youswore, you wouldn’t sleep with a coworker.You lied to me just like everyone else does.”
“I know he’s not married!And it’s none of your business what I do!”
“You’re my little sister.It makes it my business, Mallory.Sleeping with your boss?Really?Going to sleep your way to the top?I’m not surprised.You always were a failure.I guess fucking your way up the corporate ladder is a valid strategy for those without brains or ambition, but I stupidly expected better from you.”
I rear back like she struck a physical blow.This.This is why I don’t want people knowing about me and Liam.No matter what the truth is, it will always boil down to me sleeping around to get ahead.My intelligence and skills won’t factor into it.Well, maybe my blow job skills, but not my legal skills.
Daphne steps in front of me to confront my sister.
“Valerie, you know nothing about Mallory and Liam’s relationship.I’m sorry you’re having a crisis, but that doesn’t give you the right to say things like that to your sister.Liam isn’t Mallory’s boss, he’s not married, and he’s a good man.”
Valerie turns her heated gaze to Daphne, and I’ll be damned if Daphne doesn’t just glare back at her.I don’t know where this bravery and loyalty is coming from, but my sister angry is a scary sight.She makes my brothers turn tail and run.However, Daphne’s standing up to her.In my defense.That’s never happened before.
And Daphne isn’t finished.
“I don’t know what is wrong with all of you, but Mallory is a great paralegal, and the success she has, and will have, is all because of her hard work, dedication, and brilliance.She’s not an attorney because she doesn’t want to be, not because she can’t be.Attorneys are a dime a dozen.Paralegals really get the job done, and your sister is stellar at that.So take your head out of your ass, sober up, and then apologize for being a bitch to Mallory.”
I stare in awe at Daphne.No one has stood up for me like that before.Hell,I’venever stood up for myself like that before.I don’t think anyone has ever confronted Valerie like that.My sister is physically intimidating.She’s almost six feet tall and leanly muscled.Even if you didn’t know she’s a wolf shifter, it’s obvious she’s strong.Add in her keen intelligence, confident attitude, and general air of “I take no shit,” and she’s a force to be reckoned with.And Daphne reckoned with her.For me.Tears spring to my eyes.
Valerie continues to glare at Daphne, but now I swear I see a glint of respect in her hazel gaze.With a huff, Valerie grabs what remains of her current bottle of wine and storms out of the room.She tromps up the stairs and slams her bedroom door.I hope she takes Daphne’s advice and sobers up.I don’t expect an apology.That’s not how we do things.We just ignore the issue and move on.
I wrap Daphne in a hug, and I’m surprised to feel her trembling.
“Holy shit.I was afraid she was going to turn into a wolf and eat me!”Daphne says, giving a shaky laugh and lowering herself to a stool at the counter when I release her.
“What?No!Really?You were afraid?And you stood up for me anyway?”
“Have you met your sister?She’s scary!I thought I was going to pee myself.”She looks around.“Do you have anything to drink?I know she took the wine, but is there anything else?”
With a teary laugh, I turn to rummage through the fridge.My search is successful, and I emerge with a carton of orange juice and half a bottle of champagne.
“Let’s grab some blankets, turn on the patio heater, and have mimosas while we wait for the guys to get back.”
That’s how we spend the afternoon.If it wasn’t for the shadow Valerie cast with her outburst, it would have been perfect.Logically, I know I should just shrug off her words, but I can’t.I’ve been chasing her approval my whole life.I want her to like and respect me.We’re sisters.We’re supposed to be best friends, but she doesn’t want me.Yet again, I’m not good enough for this family.Will I ever be?
29
LIAM
We run for about an hour.The woods around the Carter family home are great.I assume these are the trails that Mallory runs on.Hopefully we can run them together sometime.When we reach a clearing with some old wooden Adirondack chairs and a cooler, the Carter brothers shift back to human form.I follow suit, and a moment or two later, Logan lands and shifts as well.Trevor opens the cooler and holds up a bottle of water, silently asking if we want one.When we all nod, he tosses them around our group, and we settle into the chairs.
Chuckling, I look around.“Cozy setup you have.How’d you get it out here?”
Trevor takes a pull of his water and nods.“Yeah.We’re civilized.There are ATV trails throughout the woods.We hauled them in that way.Later this week, one of us will come restock the cooler and take any empties.I’m sure our Lycan ancestors are rolling their eyes at us for not drinking out of the river as God intended, but…ew.”
“Your property goes to the river?”Logan asks.
“Yeah.It was a great place to grow up.I hope the boys like growing up here,” Ethan says.
“Don’t you live in Maryland?”I ask.
Ethan nods.“My wife and I are divorcing, and I’ll have primary physical custody of the boys.We decided it would be best if they were raised away from DC.They’ll finish out the school year there, and then we’ll move up here in the summer.”
“Does Mallory know this?”Trevor asks.
“I don’t know.We haven’t discussed it.”
He’s moving here-here, like…in with Mallory?Is he really that clueless?
