Page 75 of Vicious Luna

“This isn't Ares’ fault,” my dad replies in a clipped tone. “If you’d been honest from the beginning about what was going on, we wouldn’t be feeling so left in the dark right now.”

“Oh yeah, and Mom wouldn’t have gone straight to the complex to tear him a new one?” I snort, gesturing toward her.

He darts my mom a glance, wincing.Yeah, he knows I'm right.

“I just wanted to work things out in my own way, in my own time,” I explain, taking a step toward my mom and reaching out for her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys right away, but I swear I was going to at some point. And in some way a whole lot less dramatic than all…” I grimace as I wave a hand, “this.”

The door to the hallway is still standing open, and I can hear the rumbled voices of people arguing back in the living room. It sounds like they’re having a hell of a time holding my Uncle Theo back from charging in here to join the party, and I’m just frustrated and overwhelmed and annoyed that I’m even dealing with this right now.

I heave another sigh, letting go of my mom’s hand and stepping back. “Alright, well since we’re obviously doing thisnow… Mom, Dad, this is Cam. My mate.” I swivel to face him. “Cam, these are my parents.”

He stands up a little straighter, meeting each of their eyes in turn. “Nice to meet you both,” he says smoothly, stepping forward with confidence and extending a hand. “You raised one hell of a daughter.”

“Damn right we did,” Mom chirps, moving toward himand slapping her hand in his. I see her knuckles whiten as she squeezes his hand tightly in her grip, but he doesn’t so much as flinch, holding her eye contact.

“I’m sorry for what you must’ve gone through when she was captured,” he says, swallowing thickly. “I regret my involvement.”

Mom narrows her eyes on him suspiciously as she finally releases his hand, my dad moving in beside her and slipping an arm around her waist. He guides her to step aside so he can offer Cam his own handshake, his left arm still slung around his mate to keep her grounded.

“I’m Gray, and this is Fallon. And while we’re looking forward to getting to know you, I think we need some time for all of this to sink in before we can have a real conversation,” Dad says, always so damn diplomatic.

“Of course,” Cam nods.

I’ve gotta admit, he’s better than I expected under pressure. If he’s intimidated, he doesn’t show it- and there’s something undeniably sexy about that level of confidence in a man.As if my level of attraction to him wasn’t already problematic enough.

“C’mon, babe,” Dad coaxes, pulling my mom in closer to his side. “Let's go back out there and help your sister keep her feral mate contained.”

I snort a laugh, slipping my dad a sly smile of gratitude as he starts to steer my mom away. He pauses as they pass, slinging an arm around my shoulders and pressing a quick kiss to my head, then continues toward the door with his mate in tow.

“Family dinner,” Mom calls back to me over her shoulder. “Make time to come by sometime next week.” Her gaze flickers between me and Cam. “Bothof you.”

“Sure, whatever,” I breathe, just wanting this awkward confrontation to be over.

The two of them disappear into the hall, and I immediatelycross the room to pull the door closed and lock it behind them, blowing out a frustrated sigh as I slump back against the cool wooden surface. “Ugh, I didnotwant to deal with this shit today,” I groan, dragging my hands down my face. “If only Ares kept his mouth shut…”

“Then you could keep on pretending I don’t exist?” Cam mutters, arching a brow. He makes a scoffing sound in his throat, shaking his head with a scowl. “Hey, I get it. You’re back home now, back to your life. The game’s over between us.”

I just stare at him for a beat, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I’m not sure how to respond to that, because while it may have all started off as a game, both of us stopped playing at some point and this thing between us took on a life of its own. He doesn’t get to pretend that none of it was real- not when he made those sweeping declarations the other day and spent the next hour making me come over and over again with his tongue.

What changed on the battlefield today?

He literally shielded me with his body when that bomb went off, but then he was suspiciously quiet as we dealt with the aftermath and returned to the packhouse. I should’ve known something was up with him.

Cam shakes his head, turning away from me with a dejected sigh. “Just go,” he grumbles. He paces over to the dresser, putting his back to me as he rests his hands on the surface and leans forward, hanging his head.

“Go where? This ismyfucking house,” I quip, pushing off from the door and strutting in his direction.

“Yourhouse,yourpack,yourlife,” he murmurs wryly. “Trust me, I get it.”

I pause my footsteps, throwing my hands on my hips indignantly. “None of this would be happening if you’d just stayed in your damn cell, you know.”

He whips back around to face me, lips twisting in a scowl. “Well what the fuck was I supposed to do, sit there on my ass while you all got blown up?”

“We would’ve figured it out,” I snap.

He throws up an arm exasperatedly. “She said you were under attack!”

“So?” I scoff, folding my arms as I avert my gaze. “It wasn’t your place to get involved, Cam.”

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