Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

December wasn’t.
    Kat walked back into the living room carrying a bowl of popcorn and collapsed on the couch next to her. “Want some?”
    December shook her head and took another cold bite. “No thanks.” She planned to eat her weight in ice cream tonight. Liam was such a jackass and hadn’t even tried to contact her all day. Even after her parents had died, she hadn’t felt so abandoned and alone. Right now, it was as if her heart had been ripped out and she didn’t know that things would ever be right in her world again. After everything they’d shared, she’d expected more from him. Especially now.
    Looked like men were the same, no matter the species.
    As she started to press play, the doorbell rang. Kat sat straight up against the couch and shot December a nervous glance. “It’s Liam,” she whispered.
    December frowned. “How do you know?”
    “I can smell him. Or—I think it’s him. I’m still getting used to this heightened-senses stuff,” she whispered again.
    Gritting her teeth, December looked away from her friend and back at the television. Now that she concentrated, she could actually smell him too. Ana had called December after she’d left the ranch that morning, because she’d been worried about her—and the other woman had promised to come by tomorrow to answer all December’s questions about the changes she was going through—but Ana had already explained that Kat had more noticeable abilities since she’d been bitten. Since December was pregnant by a shifter, she had heightened senses—which made her nausea even worse—but she wouldn’t fully develop all her extrasensory abilities until after her baby was born. Ana had also explained that even though December’s body had adapted to her child’s, her strength level would remain human until later. It was all too much to digest right now. And seeing Liam would just make it that much harder after the way he’d acted earlier. Pretending not to notice the faint masculine scent that reminded her of the forest in spring subtly twining around her, she pressed play.
    “What are you doing?” Kat sat her popcorn bowl down and started to get up.
    “Do not answer that! I don’t want to see him.” She did, but not right now. Not when her head was so messed up. He’d ignored her all day. He could suffer too.
    Her friend eyed her disbelievingly and sat back on the couch. “You’re sure?”
    “What if it was Jayce at the door?”
    Nodding, she picked her bowl up and sat fully back. “Good point.”
    When the doorbell sounded again, she turned the volume up. After the way he’d tried to brush her off earlier, telling her he’d take care of her or move her out of town as if she were some shameful secret, she had a lot of things she wanted to tell him but knew all she’d do was cry if confronted now. Next time they met, she wanted a level head.
    Next the banging started but she ignored that too. Rolling her eyes, she shoved the thick blanket off and headed for the kitchen. As she put the ice cream back in the freezer, she heard the movie stop; then the front door opened.
    When she heard Kat and Liam talking, she wanted to scream. What the hell? A few seconds later Kat walked into the kitchen. “I want to watch the movie and we can’t do that with all that racket. Just talk to him, please.”
    December knew Kat didn’t give a crap about the movie. She started to respond when Liam stepped into the kitchen.
    “And that’s my cue to leave.” Kat quickly disappeared, leaving her alone with Liam.
    He had bags under his eyes. She’d noticed it at the ranch, but they seemed more pronounced now under the bright lights of her kitchen. Some perverse part of her was happy he wasn’t sleeping well.
    When he took a couple more steps inside, she moved back until she hit the counter. She wanted to curse herself for showing weakness, but the reaction was instinctive.
    Liam stopped dead in his tracks and spread his hands out. “I’m so sorry, December.”
    “For what?”
    “For everything.”
    She glared at him. “It’s easy to say that. What are you sorry for?”
    “For…abandoning you when you needed me most. I saw how messed up Jayce was when Kat got taken and I thought…I thought it’d be easier on you if I was out of your life. I’ve brought you nothing but pain since we’ve met. You never would have been a target if not for me. I thought…” He shook his head slowly.
    “You thought you’d make a decision