Both shifters were still coming to grips with the revelation.
“Don’t you want me to call him your brother?” I asked when he didn’t immediately respond.
“I don’t know.” Galen’s expression had turned pensive and I hated that I’d ruined our good time. “He is my brother. It’s just … weird.”
“I thought you liked Julian.”
He lifted one shoulder. “I like him well enough. I mean, I have noreason not to like him. He’s been forthcoming with his plans. The pack needs new leadership and he would be a step into this century for them.”
“But?”
“I grew up an only child. That’s the life I know. I was always somewhat removed from the pack because my mother believed we were above them.” He fell silent, searching for the right words. “Don’t you think I’m a bit old to have a new brother?”
“Not if you want a brother,” I said. “Julian could be good for you. You’re kind of spoiled and set in your ways. So is he. You’ll both have to learn to compromise to get along with one another.”
“I am not spoiled.”
I laughed at his outrage. “I can’t help but notice that you’re not arguing about being set in your ways.”
“Being stubborn is different.” His eyes moved up and he brushed a flyaway strand of my black hair from my face. “You’re spoiled.”
“I’m a little spoiled,” I said. “I’m not a brat or anything.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“I am not a brat,” I insisted, my voice ratcheting up a notch.
“See, it’s not fun to be called spoiled, is it?” His eyes gleamed with amusement and he leaned in for another kiss. This time, he rested his forehead against mine. “I like spoiling you,” he said in a low voice.
“I like when you spoil me.” I wanted to comfort him. He’d been tightlipped about the Julian situation since it had been confirmed two weeks ago. “Have you talked to your mother?”
Galen pulled back and stared at me in abject horror. “You did not just bring up my mother as I was trying to be sweet and romantic.”
Here’s the thing about me: I speak before I think. Not occasionally, almost always. I can’t seem to help myself. If there’s a situation I can make worse by saying the exact wrong thing, that’s what I’ll say. It’s part of my charm.
Galen’s relationship with his mother Marjory Blackwood was a mess. She’d fought Galen and Julian taking the DNA test because shealready knew the truth. Once Galen had told his mother he was taking the test, she’d ceased speaking with him.
She wasn’t talking to me either, which made things really difficult because she served as my office manager in the mayor’s office. She put messages from constituents on my desk and informed me in clipped tones when someone wanted a meeting. Other than that, she was completely quiet.
“Sorry.” I offered him a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to ruin your mojo.”
“Nothing ruins my mojo.” He was deadly serious. “I could do it in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.”
“You should put that on your resumé.”
He smirked, then sighed. “Things with my mother are … not great.”
That was the understatement of the year.
“She is purposely difficult. I refuse to apologize. It’s a stalemate.”
“So the first who gives in loses,” I said.
He shifted uncomfortably.
“You’re both stubborn,” I added. “If one of you gives in, the other will have power for the foreseeable future.”
“Do you really think I’m that petty?”
