Page 39 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)

Okay. This isn’t her second glass of wine. Possibly not her first bottle.

“What are you going to do?” I think I know the answer, but I’m praying I’m wrong.

“Well, roomie, I arranged to sublet my apartment for the last two months of my lease, and then they’ll sign their own lease. I have a severance package, so I don’t blow things sky high for those assholes while I figure out what I’m doing next.”

For the first time, I see insecurity in my big sister.

“Is that okay, Mallory? I know this is your place now, but it’s a big house. I’ll stay out of your way…”

I pull Valerie into a hug, and she lets me, even though she’s usually not a hugger.

“Valerie, this will always be your home. Of course it’s okay. You do what you need to move forward. I’ve got you.”

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I meant it when I said this was her home, but her being here means collecting benefits from Liam has gotten even more complicated. I can’t afford Devil’s Den every week.

My phone dings with a text.

Liam: Almost there. Are we meeting at the barn?

Good question.

I go to the foot of the back stairs. “Ethan, Trevor! You in here?”

Daphne’s eyes widen. She’s an only child. She’s not used to the bellow.

My brothers thunder down the stairs, sounding more like a herd of elephants rather than a pair of wolf shifters.

They shoot wary glances at Valerie as they enter the kitchen.

I’m betting they were afraid of Valerie and waiting for me to get here to be a buffer.

For a couple of wolves, they’re big chickens.

“You rang?” Trevor asks slightly snarkily.

“Should Liam and Logan come to the house, or were you meeting them at the barn?”

“Who are Liam and Logan?” Valerie asks.

“Logan is Daphne’s boyfriend, and Liam is his cousin.” I shoot eye daggers at my brothers to keep them from saying anything more. They have powerful senses of self-preservation and keep their mouths shut except to say they should come to the house.

Me: Come on up to the house. You can meet my sister. She’s going through stuff—please don’t mention we work together. Just be Logan’s cousin.

Liam: Okay…

Me: You’ll see.

Liam: Pulling up now.

“They’re here,” I say to my brothers and walk to the front door to see Liam and Logan emerging from Logan’s Jeep.

“Hi,” I say to them, “come on in.”

“Wow, this is some house,” Logan says, looking around. “Daphne asked to move in yet?”

Liam follows him, but he doesn’t glance around the entry or anything else. I’m the focus of his attention. I hope Valerie is too deep into her wineglass to notice.

“You know Trevor and Ethan, obviously. This is our sister, Valerie. Valerie, this is Logan and Liam.” Logan moves next to Daphne and slips his hand around her waist, and Liam just stands there awkwardly.

In gray sweatpants. Damn it! The man is wearing gray sweatpants, and I’m not supposed to want to jump his bones?

Promises to my sister and the need for secrecy be damned.

“Nice to meet you,” Valerie slurs, waving her wine glass.

How much has she had to drink that she’s this drunk?

Wolf shifters metabolize alcohol quickly.

It takes something like Nana’s special eggnog to knock us on our asses.

It’s essentially jet fuel with a touch of nutmeg.

A glance in the sink shows a glass with the dregs of eggnog.

So the wine is the chaser to the eggnog? This isn’t good.

Trevor follows my gaze and must realize the same thing.

“Ready to go?” he asks the rest of the guys.

Logan nods.

Liam reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet and phone. “I forgot to leave these in the car. Okay to leave them here?” He holds them out to me.

“Sure.” I take them from him and put them on the counter.

Daphne and I follow the guys out the French doors in the breakfast room and across the patio.

I’ve seen my brothers shift countless times, but I’m dying to see Liam in his cougar form.

I’ll never understand the magic that makes shifting with your clothes on possible, but I’m grateful for it.

Well, usually. No one wants to see their entire family naked, but I quite enjoy Liam in the buff.

The guys walk across the back lawn and, with a slight cosmic vibration that never fails to cause the hair on my arms to stand on end, shift.

Logan is regal as his golden eagle form takes flight, his massive wingspan casting shadows as he circles above. I shift my gaze to Liam.

“Oh.” I can’t help the sigh that escapes as I take in the tawny form of Liam as a cougar. He’s all sleek feline grace with his muscles rippling as he stalks away on his massive paws. My brothers are big men, and their wolves are huge, but Liam eclipses them both. Wowzers.

Before they enter the tree line, Liam looks back at me.

His eyes are the same blue as always but even more vibrant with the black fur rimming them.

He gives a wink and a happy kitty chuff, then follows my brothers into the woods.

I look up and see Logan flying high above the treetops, soaring in lazy circles.

Occasionally, he gives his massive wings a flap, and I swear I hear the leaves rustle from the draft they create.

With the guys off on their adventure, Daphne and I reenter the kitchen. Valerie is still sitting there, but gone is my morose wine-guzzling sister of a few minutes ago. In her place is a furious woman, appearing stone-cold sober, glaring at me. Daphne steps behind me.

“You lied to me,” Valerie spits out.

“What?” I ask.

“You’re sleeping with him.”

“Who?”

“Liam.”

“Okay. I never said I wasn’t.” I keep my voice calm and modulated in hopes it calms Valerie down as well.

“You work together!” she screeches, flinging something at me as I approach the counter.

It’s Liam’s business card. I look around and see Liam’s wallet in front of Valerie. I scoop it up.

“You went through his wallet? What the fuck is wrong with you?” I slam my palm on the counter as my scream tears through the kitchen. Valerie should be grateful for the counter between us because if I could reach her, I’d be yanking out fistfuls of hair.

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, you swore , 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’ve never 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?