Since last Thursday was a holiday here in the USA, there was no Thursday Threads challenge. Have no fear, though! As I periodically judge the installments, there are prompts that I don’t use–at least not at the time. I keep them, though, and went back to find one. Also, I cheated a little bit because I went over the normal 250 words count. Still, I think it’s a pretty good snippet and we get to touch base with Mac and Hannah. Writers, in case you’re ready to get back in the writing mood, the prompt is: *”It wasn’t like that.”*

****
Mac watched Hannah. He wasn’t glowering. He wasn’t amused. In fact, for the first time in all the years they’d been together, she couldn’t decide the exact state of his mind. Not for the first time, it irked her that, as a Wolf, he could so easily discern her emotions just by her scent. She had to rely on basic human abilities—body language, facial expressions, tone of voice. At the moment, he was pretty much a blank slate.

She knew better but she couldn’t help herself. She opened her mouth to defend her actions. Before she could get a word out, Mac raised one hand, palm in her direction. She could almost feel the sigh he didn’t release.

“Mac—”

He cut her off. “Not now, Hannah.”

Her temper bubbled. “If not now, when?”

“Later.”

“No. We aren’t playing that game again.”

“It’s not a game, Hannah.” He threw out an arm in a sweeping motion. “This is very real.”

“You think I don’t fucking know that?”

“If you know, why are you here? This is a damn war zone, babe, and you dragged all the women and kids right into the middle of it. For what? To keep a promise you shouldn’t have made in the first place? To prove that you’re some kind of bad ass?”

His anger hit her like a wall of flame and her own flared in response. She notched her chin, planted her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to rip him a new one.

“It wasn’t like that, Dad.”

She and Mac both whirled to face their son.

“Don’t blame Mom. This is all my fault.”
****

Ah, Liam. The peacemaker. Also, Liam, who has one of the best lines in this part of the story! “Dad! It’s like a Die Hard movie!” And that brings us to the question of the day: IS “Die Hard” a Christmas movie? 🙋🏼‍♀️