Ch. 40 Not Your Mate

Mallory’s POV

“What the fuck did you do?” Clay howled at Nathan, standing up so fast his chair flew backward.

“Over my dead body!” Cary blared at me simultaneously.

“That can be arranged!” I hissed back. “You don’t own me and you sure as hell don’t tell me what to do. I let you stay because I thought you might be willing to help once you heard what I had to say. If that’s not the case, then you can leave!”

The two men looked at each other, some unspoken conversation passing between them. Then Clay nodded and picked up his chair, returning to his seat.

“Sorry. Maeve. I overreacted. It won[t happen again.” He apologized to my mother for his misbehavior.

Cary moved a little more reluctantly but eventually sat down too. His eyes never left me though and I could feel the heat of his stare on my skin. Nervous energy radiated from both of them in pulsing waves, my own anxiety rising with theirs.

I tried to focus on breathing in and out to calm myself. I’d heard that mates could sense