Page 74 of Finding Her Panthers

“Hey, no. You were doing the best you could. We were all worked up. We felt like something was coming. I had been feeling off for a long time. We all let some things slip. I got comfortable here. I should have taken Penny with us to the house. I should have set two of the pack to guard her. I underestimated the threat.”

“How could you know?” He sits back in his chair, running his hands through his hair.

“Exactly.” I smile.

“You're an asshole,” he smirks.

“That’s what our mate called me when I was walking out the door.”

“What did you do?” he asks hotly.

“I’m not sure you want to know.” I place my chin on top of my folded arms.

“Probably not. How is she?” He can’t help but want to know.

“Good. She was going to sit with Penny. Are you coming home tonight?” I ask.

“Maybe, I still have a lot to do here.” He avoids my stare.

“Well, you can come home tonight and come back to the club tomorrow,” I urge.

“We’ll see.” Eyes back to the screen.

“Are you going to avoid her forever?”

“Of course not. I just have to make sure the club is secure before I come home.” He pushes back from the desk to stand.

“What are you afraid of?” I sit up.

“I’m not afraid,” he denies.

“Could have fooled me.” I put my hands on my hips.

“I just have to get this done. I don’t want anything like this to happen again.” He paces away and then back.

“Do you remember how when we were young, we always competed for everything? How fast we finished supper. Who could get their chores done faster? Who could get the girl first? Who could stay shifted the longest?” I ask.

“Yeah. I could always eat supper faster.” He stops in front of me, some of the tension falling off his shoulders.

“I still hold the record of the longest shift,” I state proudly.

“Just because James snuck you food for two days and covered for you with Mom.”

“His mission in life is to help make us happy. He hated it when we fought.”

“We didn’t fight that much,” Blue disagrees.

“Bullshit. Once we hit the teenage years, we argued all the time.”

“That’s only because you had to become the next in line. Dads were on you all the time. Be tougher, be a leader, and you fall in line,” he scoffs.

“I know it was hard on you,” I say quietly.

“It was hard on you, not me.” He starts to pace again.

Blue avoids talking about the real things, the things that will reveal his true insecurities.

“I saw your face the day you realized I would be Alpha,” I say softly, watching his face whither before he hides the emotion behind a mask.

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