Chapter 197

Claire's POV The sound of Joey's muffled sobs from the kitchen tore at my heart. She thought I couldn't hear her, but my enhanced werewolf hearing picked up every hitched breath, every sniff she tried to hide. I sat on the couch, staring at my hands. "You should help her," Stella whispered in my mind. "She's family to us now." "She won't accept it," I replied internally. "You know how stubborn she is." Stella huffed. "Then be more stubborn." When Joey called me for dinner, I walked into the kitchen to find her eyes still red-rimmed despite her obvious attempts to hide it. "Smells amazing," I said, taking a seat at our small kitchen table. Joey nodded, avoiding eye contact as she served the food. We ate in silence for several minutes, the only sound the scrape of forks against plates. "So," I finally broke the silence, "when were you going to tell me about your mom's surgery?" Joey's fork clattered against her plate. "You heard." "I did," I admitted. "Not intentionally, but werewolf hea