by Sierra Brave
“You’re back early. I thought you and Maddie might sleep in and take some time to explore before coming home.”
Abram grunted, looking down at his cup. Feeling like shit was bad enough, but talking about it would be worse.
Gram tapped her fingers on the table. “What happened? Did you do something to upset that girl?”
He looked up and frowned. “Me? Why is everything automatically my fault?” He glanced at Davis for help, but after witnessing the look exchanged between his cousin and Scarlett, he knew he was on his own.
“Well? What went wrong?” Gram looked down her thin-bridged nose at him.
His nostrils flaring, he lifted his chin and answered with defiance, “She nearly got us attacked by wild animals in a cave and then she embarrassed the crap out of me and had the nerve to get mad at me about it.”
Davis palmed his face and frowned. “I kind of thought the two of you would hit it off.”
“We did at first but she had to go and do some unnecessary stuff. It freaked me out.”
“What kind of—“
Before Gram could get the words out, Abram stood up and cut her off. “I never should have come back here.”
The way his gram’s face morphed from shock to disappointment hurt Abram’s heart, but he was too worked up to back down. He averted his eyes as he pushed his chair under the table before bolting toward the house. As he closed the screen door between the kitchen and the porch, he could hear Gram sobbing, and then he heard Davis. “Don’t worry. Give him some space.”
Abram felt about as low as a flea as he pushed open the door and stepped into his spacious bedroom. The large two-story home where he had resided since moving to the mountain belonged to Davis’s dad, but since the silver fox moved to an assisted living community to chase widows, Davis was considered the man of the house. Melly and a couple of their younger cousins lived there too. Gram had her own place a short distance down the road.
He sat on the patchwork quilt covering his double bed before he bent over to remove his boots. The bed’s pinewood frame creaked as he reclined backward and stared at the visible wood beam ceiling. Why did I come back here? He considered his query. Gram had asked him to, but it had to be more than that. He wanted to know the rest of his kin. His shifter relatives were the only family he had left. Even still, he and his mom had gotten along fine without them for most of his life. He rubbed his face as he sighed.
He pushed back his covers and crawled into bed, hoping to sleep through his day off. No matter how hard he tried to push thoughts of Maddie out of his mind, he couldn’t. He remembered everything, especially her scent but also her soft skin and the way she tasted when they kissed. The idea of not seeing her again weighed heavily on his heart, creating a deep aching sensation in his chest.
Maddie picked up her phone and looked at the display. She recognized Davis’s number and answered, “Yeah?”
“Hey, Mittens, so…”
“Just shut the hell up, Davis.” She flopped down in her seat, tapping her foot on the floor as she seethed. “Your cousin is a total asshole. Un-fucking-believable.”
“Can I talk now?”
“I guess.” Button, her tabby cat, crawled on her lap and meowed loudly. She stroked the animal’s back. Somehow, touching the soft fur calmed her.
“You want to tell me what happened?” Davis’s voice was its usual low timbre and ultra-reasonable tone.
“You mean before or after he pulled a gun on me?”
“What?”
“Why don’t you ask your self-hating cousin? Apparently, I’m disgusting and should be ashamed of being a shifter.”
“He said all that?”
“He didn’t have to say it. The look on his face made his feelings obvious.”
“I’m sorry. I guess you don’t want to see him again.”
Maddie bit down on her bottom lip and rolled her swollen eyes. She’d cried herself to sleep last night only to be tortured by dreams of Abram. Somehow her head felt heavier than ever before even as she rested it against her chair. She couldn’t find the words to say to her friend. She didn’t know how to explain the pull she’d experienced when her body had pressed against Abram’s and their pheromone-filled sweat and mixed and mingled. She struggled not to cry again. “We’ll have to talk about this later. I’m going to go take a depression nap.” She hung up the phone and ran to her bedroom.
Abram’s eyelids popped open as a strong smell forced him awake. He grimaced as his eyes focused on Davis dangling a washcloth over his face. Abram swiped the small square of fabric from his cousin’s hands before sitting up. “Dude, what the hell?”
“Recognize the smell?” Davis nudged him and Abram scooted over enough for him to sit down.
“It’s definitely familiar.”
“That scent is from the concentrated pheromones released when a shifter transforms. Humans can’t smell it, but even shifters with a weak olfactory sense can.”
Abram scowled. “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
“You pulled a gun on Mittens.” Davis snatched the cloth and tossed it on Abram’s head.
Abram grabbed the washrag and held it to his nose, sniffing. His eyes widened and he jerked the cloth away. “Where’d you get this?”
Davis smirked. “Probably better if you don’t know.”
“Gross!” Abram tossed the terrycloth square on the floor while Davis chuckled.
“I’ll talk to her again later and explain about you not knowing all the ins and outs of shifter culture. Afterward, I think with a little groveling on your part, she’ll forgive you. I also suggest cookies.”
Abram felt as if a boa constrictor had wrapped around his heart and was squeezing his life out. He tapped his fingers against his scalp as he considered what had been said. “She actually took the gun thing pretty well.” He glanced at Davis. “Cookies, you say?”
Davis smiled. “After Melly insulted Scarlett, I managed to wrangle an invitation inside her abode with a tin of fresh-baked cookies and an apology for my sister's big mouth.”
Abram rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Hmm…do you know what type she likes?”
“I do, and I’ll tell you but first I need you to start from the beginning. If I’m going to help you smooth things over, I’m gonna need to know every stupid thing you did or said.”
Abram’s face burned hot with embarrassment. He didn’t like to kiss and tell and he hated talking about his failures. He reclined on his back and then lifted and smacked his head against his pillow several times. “Things were going really well. She kissed me. I told her I liked her. Yadda, yadda, yadda—some hooking up type stuff happened and then we fell asleep in each other’s arms. I woke up and she was gone. I looked for her and found a cougar.”
“Okay, let me stop you right there.” Davis tapped his palm against the tips of the fingers on his other hand, giving the timeout sign. “Never, ever, ever call Mittens a cougar. She says her mom’s a cougar and she’s still a cub. Call her a mountain lion or a puma but never a cougar.”
Abram nodded. “Got it. So then she shifted back into herself, and I was a little shocked.”
“Shocked?”
“I haven’t seen anyone do that since I was a kid. It seemed obscene.”
Davis’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “Please tell me you didn’t say that to Mittens.”
Abram sat up again and shrugged. “Not in so many words but shifting is something that should be done alone…like in private.”
Davis shook his head adamantly. “No, it’s a communal, family activity. We do it in secluded areas on account of the danger to us if the wrong humans were to learn of our existence, not because it’s dirty. Shifting is natural, pure even.”
“Maybe for you, but I wasn’t raised that way. I couldn’t tell a soul. I wouldn’t have thought of shifting in front of anyone any more than I would’ve pulled out a porno mag and whack off in the middle of a crowd.”
Davis’s jaw tensed to bitin
g posture as his brow created a vertical furrow. “Do not compare our sacred gift to self-pleasure.”
“I’m sorry. That’s how it was for me.” His eyebrows drooped as he pursed his lips.
Davis’s expression softened and he patted Abram’s shoulder before offering a reassuring smile. “I can’t imagine how lonely it must have been for you, but now everything is going to change.”
Abram lifted an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
“We’ll gather up some of the family. Practice—get you accustomed to the experience. Once you learn to accept yourself as a shifter, your whole world will open up.”
Abram’s top lip curled as he scrunched his nose. “I don’t want to see Gram naked.” Davis lightly smacked him on the back of the neck. “Hey.” Abram flinched.
“You’re lucky I didn’t punch you for saying that. Gram can’t shift anymore. I guess you don’t know, but when you get to a certain age, you can lose the ability. It’s sad. Anyway, since you’re a novice, we’ll start off with just some of your male cousins.”
Abram opened his mouth and pretended to gag. “Not making it sound any more attractive.”
Davis sighed. “Do you want to win Mittens over or not?”
Abram nodded. “I do, but why do you care so much?”
Davis laughed. “Man, if you grew up here, you wouldn’t even have to ask. We’re family, and blood means everything. Plus, Gram will be devastated if you leave again. On the other hand, if you get settled down with a local girl and stay, she’ll be happy as hell. Setting you up with Maddie was her idea in the first place.”
Abram’s jaw dropped. “My grandmother picked out the love of my life?”
Davis sighed. “Join the club. It’s best not to think about it too much.”
Chapter Six
Maddie sat in bed wearing the same stained tee-shirt she’d been in for the last two days. Blankly, she stared at her computer screen. She’d already read the same email twice but couldn’t concentrate.
Her sister Harley had come over to cheer her up, but mostly she had badgered the hell out of her. “Get up!” She tugged on Maddie’s foot.
Maddie scrunched up her face. “Nope.”
“You’re starting to stink. How long have you been wallowing in your own filth?”
“None of your business.” She smacked the lid of her laptop closed before setting it on her bedside table.
Harley disappeared into the master bathroom but soon re-emerged holding a hairbrush. She crawled on top of the bed beside Maddie. As Harley ran the brush through her sister’s hair, Maddie grumbled and complained. “Ow, that hurts, jackass.”
“What do you expect? It’s tangled, you smartass.”
“It’s my hair. Leave me alone.” She squirmed, attempting to get away, but Haley grabbed a handful of her dark locks. “Ouch!”
“I’m your big sister and I want you to stop moping over a man. We’re getting you all gussied up and we’re going out to lunch.”
Maddie crossed her arms in front of her chest. “No way in hell.”
“I swear, little girl, I will pull you over my lap and use this hairbrush on your butt.” Harley tightened her grip on Maddie’s hair and yanked lightly.
Maddie squealed before attempting to take the hairbrush. She had managed to take hold of the handle when the doorbell rang. A chill ran up her spine, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Who the hell could that be?”
“No idea. I’m guessing you’re not expecting anyone considering you look and smell like ass.” Harley pushed her shoulder-length hair back away from her face as she snickered.
Maddie poked out her lips. “Laugh it up, hooker.”
“Whoa, nice insult. How long did it take you to think that one up?”
“We can’t all be librarians.” Maddie shoved Harley to the edge of the bed. “Go see who’s there but don’t let anyone in my house for any reason.”
“Okay.”
The same smug-looking cat who had greeted Abram the first time he’d visited Maddie’s home was staring at him as he waited at the front door. He inhaled deeply and then sniffed a few times. No pheromones—I guess it’s just a regular cat.
The top portion of Maddie’s Dutch door opened and a woman Abram had never seen before asked, “Can I help you?”
Abram stood staring, picturing the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy Gale makes it to the Emerald City only for some guy to open part of the door and end up slamming it in her face. He gathered his resolve, pushing his shoulders back. “I’m looking for Maddie Mittens.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other while gripping the plastic container he was holding.
The lady smirked at him in a manner that made him feel completely naked. “She’s not available right now. Is there something I can do for you?”
Abram examined her face and what little he could see of her body. She resembled Maddie to a point. They had the same color hair and eyes, but this woman was taller and didn’t have Maddie’s voluptuous curves. She also had a longer, thinner face. “I really need to talk to her. When will she be home?”
“She’s here, but she’s not receiving guests right now. Did you try calling her?”
He sighed as he nodded. “Only about a million times—she won’t return my calls or answer my texts.” He looked over her head, trying to get a glimpse of the girl he came to see.
“I guess she doesn’t want to talk to you then. Why don’t you take the hint and leave my little sister alone?”
Abram pushed down on his chest, attempting to alleviate the hollow, painful, burning sensation. His stomach turned, and fatigue plagued his muscles. Sleep had eluded him for days, and the few times he’d dozed off, he’d been tormented by crazy dreams. Davis had called it raging horse sleep. Abram wasn’t certain about all that ‘your-horse-wants-her’ stuff, but he sure as hell missed Maddie. “I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Her eyes widened and she pulled her head back, lifting her chin. “Is that right?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Abram felt even sicker than he had before. “I made her some cookies.” He lifted the square, plastic container.
She reached out and took the box. “I’ll be glad to give them to her for you, but Maddie’s feeling poorly and isn’t seeing anyone right now. She’ll call you once she recovers, and if she doesn’t, you will know to piss right off.” She stepped back and shut the top portion of the door. Abram heard her push the latch close. He lingered for a moment, hoping Maddie would change her mind and greet him. After a while, the feline to his right meowed, and even that sounded scornful. Thoroughly defeated, he hung his head as he walked to his truck.
“Well, look here what we got.” Harley gently shook a takeaway container, rattling whatever was inside.
Maddie leaned back into the pillows she’d fluffed up behind her. “What is it?”
“There was a strapping hunk at your door bearing gifts.”
“Give me a break.” She huffed as she reached her hand out.
“I’m serious. He kinda favored your buddy, Davis, so I’m guessing he’s the one who put you in this sorry state.”
“Give me the damn box, Harley.”
“Such language!” She laughed as she gave Maddie the container. “It’s cookies. He said he baked them.”
“Seriously?” Maddie popped the top open before fishing out a cookie and sniffing it. She closed her eyes enjoying the fresh scent of peanut butter.
Harley snagged one and took a bite.”Mmm, not bad and someone told him what your favorite was.”
Maddie nodded, fresh tears running down her face as she took a bite. She chewed and then swallowed. “Damn him. These are delicious.”
“Aww, what did he do to you, baby?” Harley wrapped her arms around Maddie and hugged her close.
Maddie buried her face in sister’s shoulder and balled. “He doesn’t like cats and he’s grossed out by shifting.”
Harley stroked her hair. “Then forget about him.”
Madd
ie whimpered. “If only I could. My lion won’t let me. He’s my fated mate so I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”
Haley gripped both of Maddie’s forearms and pushed her back, staring her in the face. “Do you honestly believe that stuff? Not everyone goes in for that one-true-mate business.”
After wiping her face with her bedsheet Maddie nodded. “It’s real. I felt it the first time he and I kissed. No, even before that—when we met, he pissed me off, but I could already feel the pull.”
Harley looked at her alertly, her pupils half-covered and one eyebrow lifted. “Are you sure you didn’t just imagine it?”
Maddie grabbed her sister's hand and placed the palm on her chest above her sprinting heart. “You feel that? And that’s just from him standing outside the door to my house. Yes, I’m sure. Do you think I want to be fated to a guy who’s ashamed of me? That’s what you call a deal-breaker.”
Harley looked away, clearly avoiding Maddie’s gaze as she continued her denial. “You might be working a bunch of nonsense up in your mind.”
Maddie folded her arms over her chest. “So now I’m a nutcase? If there’s nothing to the fated mate, explain my mom and our dad—a cougar and a house cat.”
Harley shifted her weight. “You got me there. Before he met your mom, I always thought he should have married mine, but he said the Tomcat in him wouldn’t let him settle down. A few years later, he follows home a cougar and falls head over heels in love.”
“Right? They shouldn’t work but they're perfect.” Maddie bit into a cookie and chewed.
“At one time, didn’t you think Davis might be the one?”
Maddie finished chewing and swallowed. “I’ve been pondering about that. Sometimes when I looked at Davis, I’d get bits and pieces of feelings here and there, but they always disintegrated fast. He and Abram are cousins. Perhaps our soul mates are imprinted in our DNA. Maybe my internal love thermometer was picking up the genetic similarities but never got past warm and fuzzy.”