Page 77 of Claiming Her Cougar
“Liam!”she whisper-shouts.
“What?I don’t care who knows about us.You’re the one who wants to keep it a secret.”
“You know why!You just told me about your parents.I know you know why.”
I incline my head, acknowledging her point.“I know why.Doesn’t mean I agree with it.”
She sighs.“I’m sorry, Liam.This is the best I can do for now.”
“I know, Sparky.It’ll be okay,” I say.
She smiles at my use of the silly nickname.It was only a few weeks ago I first used it, but it feels like a lifetime has passed.
Mallory stands on tiptoe and presses a quick kiss to my lips.She’s backing away before I have a chance to grab her and kiss her the way I want to.
“I hope so,” she says.
As I ride away with Logan and Daphne, I make a silent promise that it will be.
30
MALLORY
I walk backinto the house, dreading the conversation I’ll be having with my family.Conversation is a less scary word than confrontation.
“A cat.Really, Mallory?It’s not enough you’re screwing your boss.He’s a cat too?You don’t have any self-respect, do you?”
Valerie has me cornered in the entryway to the house.My home.I can smell the wine on her breath, and I want to gag.My back’s against the door, the doorknob pressing into my spine.Valerie towers above me and, for the first time, I’m afraid of her.
“You’re such a fool, Mallory.He doesn’t care about you.You’re an easy piece of ass.No one cares about you.You’re useless.You’re a burden to the family.Mom and Dad wish you were never born.Iwish you were never born.”
I wake with a gasp, my heart pounding and sweat pouring down my face.Looking around my room, I confirm I’m alone.I’m always alone.I’m always going to be alone.Last night with Liam can’t happen again.Not if I want to have respect at work, not if I want my family to respect me.Not if I want to respect myself.
I check my phone.It’s four in the morning.I wonder what Liam is doing.I wish he was beside me.
Stop it, Mallory.
It was just a dream.When I walked back into the house, no one had anything to say about our visitors.Valerie sat in stony silence at the breakfast bar, scrolling on her phone.My brothers and nephews were playing video games in the family room.Mom was cooking a lasagna with forty-five minutes left on the timer.I went upstairs to my room until dinnertime.Dinner was tense—at least it was for me.It was quiet, polite, cold.Even Matt and EJ were quiet.I went back up to my room as soon as the meal was done.
I sit on the window seat that looks out into the woods.Movement catches my eye, and a shadowy figure emerges from the trees.It’s Valerie, and she’s not alone.Ethan and Trevor follow her.Their wolves are beautiful.Valerie’s fur is so black it almost looks blue.With her mysterious hazel eyes, she looks like she should be a cover model for shifter romance novels.Our brothers flank her like gallant knights protecting their queen.I guess that’s how it’s always been.The three of them have a bond that I don’t share.I’ll never share it.As well as I get along with Trevor, we’ll never share the bond he shares with Ethan and Valerie, that he’ll share with our nephews when they shift.I give a mirthless laugh.It’s fitting that a pane of glass separates us.I’m always on the outside looking in.Yeah, I’m inside, but it still fits.
I hear their low murmurs as they reenter the house.Since I don’t have super-duper wolf shifter hearing, I can’t make out what they’re saying.Probably what a good time they had and how they should do it more often.
I crawl back into my bed and manage a few more hours of fitful sleep.I wish I could call out from work for a mental health day, but being cooped up in the house with my family won’t help my mental health at all.
I’ve been at my desk for about an hour when my phone chimes a text notification.I thought I’d silenced it, but I guess I forgot.
Liam: Hi, going to have to go out of town sooner than expected.Issues with an outlet in Washington state.Will miss New Year’s.Sorry.
Me: Are you leaving today?
Liam: Yeah, on my way to the airport.
He’s not even going to say goodbye in person?
Me: How long will you be gone?
Liam: Not sure.Have visits to other centers on the West Coast already scheduled.A few weeks?
