Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
****
“You’re in a bad mood,” Pam said.
Shadow glared across his yard at Pam, who had decided to stop by for an unannounced visit. There were a lot of the pack who liked to do that. He didn’t realize how much his pack loved to visit, but then again, they all adored Lisa, and none of them were here to see him. Made sense. His mate was amazing and strong, smart, and funny. He’d watched her with the pack and seen them one by one fall in love with her.
“Why are you here?”
“Is this one of those times I’ve got to think of a deep and meaningful answer?” she asked.
“Stop being a wiseass.”
“I’m not a wiseass. I’m just stopping by to see how you and Lisa are doing.”
“We’re doing good.”
“And that bad mood is to show just how good you two are doing?” Pam asked.
Shadow glared at her.
Pam held her hands up. “Don’t get angry at me. I’m a concerned pack member and it is important to me that my best friends are happy.”
He lifted the axe, stared at the large plank of wood, and brought it straight down. He never had to worry about keeping his home at a blistering heat, but Lisa felt the cold a little too easily, so he was keeping up the warmth inside.
Lisa. The love of his life. The woman who carried his child.
They had been having sex, and it was like it always had been. Hot, sexy, needy, full of everything he could ever want with a woman. Only, there was something between them, something holding Lisa back.
After sex, in the past, Lisa would snuggle up against him. She would rest her head against his chest and talk to him, or she’d wrap her arms around him and then still talk to him. Either way, he ended up holding her, smelling her, enjoying her company, listening to her. In the past few weeks, she’d … left.
The first time they had sex, she’d not said a word, but after he finished and settled beside her, wanting to hold her again, she had thanked him and then left his room. He had wanted to chase after her but figured he had to give her time, to allow her to get used to wanting him again. He figured time was all she needed.
Only, each time they were together, the moment they were finished, she’d leave. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even say anything. She’d just leave. He wasn’t used to feeling this helpless.
Looking toward Pam, he didn’t want to tell her what was happening. He’d even been tempted with making an ultimatum. He’d have sex with Lisa, but afterward she would have to pay him in hugs and attention, but that seemed wrong. Also, he loved having sex with Lisa, and he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.
“How is Lisa?” he asked.
Pam frowned. “You’re the one living with her.”
“And you’re one of her friends. I can’t talk to Adele, because I don’t think she likes me that much.”
“But you think I do?” Pam asked, with this big smile on her face.
Any other time, he might have been entertained, but he wasn’t feeling it today.
“Has she said anything about me? About us?”
“No,” Pam said. “She seems happier, but she doesn’t talk about your relationship.”
Shadow gritted his teeth. He was hoping there would be answers there, with the way she talked to her friends, but once again he was in the dark.
“Something is clearly bothering you. Why don’t you ask her?” Pam asked.
“I … I messed up,” Shadow said.
This caused Pam to fold her hands across her chest. “Go on.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“What you’re feeling, that might help?”
Shadow put the axe down. He ran fingers through his hair, and he glanced back at the house.
“How do you make it up to someone when you say bad shit about them, lie, and … mess up?” he asked.
“And what kind of messed-up shit and lies are we talking about here?” Pam asked.
“Come on, stop making this harder for me. You know what bad shit I’m talking about. The bad shit where I messed everything up with Lisa, and she doesn’t trust me. That’s it, isn’t it? She doesn’t believe I’m here for her and that I want to be with her?” he asked.
Pam shrugged. “Look, Lisa knows you’re my Alpha, and because of that, I am kind of obligated to listen and do as you say. If you were to start questioning me about how Lisa is doing, she knows I would have to tell you.”
“And so, she’s not saying a word.”
He moved toward the bench near several trees that his grandfather planted years ago. “I can’t believe I messed up so badly,” he said.
“Just because Lisa won’t tell me every little detail of her feelings, it doesn’t mean I don’t understand her. She’s hurting. She loves you more than anything, and I know that hurt her before the pregnancy.”