he pressed. “I have every right to protect you, Calla. It is my duty as your only family to make sure you are cared for.”
“But I don’t need you to coddle me and hold my hand through everything, Mal,” she sighed, reaching across the table to take his hand into hers. She gave it a little squeeze and hoped it was enough to get her message through. “I’ve grown…a lot.”
“You have,” he agreed as she released his hand to resume eating. “We went through a lot during our captivity…you especially. I will forever be protective of you, because I know…I know.”
His breath hitched, and she felt a shiver of fear roll up her spine. There would never be a time she would be able to live without remembering that experience. It was obvious he was dealing with the same issues.
“We both have PTSD from that,” she stated, narrowing her eyes when he sat up straighter in his seat. “You have not addressed, or even dealt with, your issues behind our kidnapping, Mal. We were drugged, collared, and…well, yeah. I think we should talk to someone. Harold has been good to us, and I think he has a suspicion we never told him, or the alpha, what really transpired in that cabin.”
“I’m a Guardian now,” he reminded her. “It’s not something I’d like to repeat.”
“So, you’re just going to try and forget it?” she asked, her eyes wide. “How do you sleep at night? Do you not have flashbacks in the middle of the day?”
He chewed some more, drank his water, and tossed his napkin on the table. The questions she asked were solid ones, and from his nonresponse, she knew he was dealing with it, too.
“I do, okay,” he blurted as he stood. “I’m dealing with it my own way.”
“By making life hard for me?” she pushed, knowing she’d struck a chord when his eyes glowed amber.
“You’re worth more than Taze Malone, but I know how matings work,” he said, changing the subject. “If he is good to you and loves you, that male better understand everything.”
“Are you telling me I should come clean with him?” Calla was surprised her brother even mentioned Taze and her possibly mating. He was still an asshole, but it appeared he was coming around. If they could just get along, things would be so much easier for her. “Because, I am considering going over to his place this afternoon.”
“I’m telling you that he better treat you with the respect you deserve, or I’ll end him,” he warned as he grabbed his keys off the table. “I have to go back to work.”
“Please think about talking to Harold, or even Talon,” she urged. Malaki needed as much help as she did when it came to their past, but he wasn’t going to get help willingly. Maybe she needed to take the first step and reach out to the healer.
He mumbled a goodbye and was out the door before she could say anything else. A lone tear escaped her eye as she watched him walk away with his shoulders slumped.
Taze had slept the entire day. It was right before dusk when he made his way into his kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he ran his hand over his stomach. He hadn’t eaten that morning, because he’d spent time with Calla. She’d been in her own little world as they ran through the property, and he was content for the first time in ten days.
She’d admitted to always being in control while in her panther form, and it bothered him she was not allowing the panther to be itself. The back and forth between the human and animal was a constant struggle, but there was always balance. If you didn’t let your beast be in control while it roamed, it would drive you mad.
He checked his phone and was glad there were no messages from his alpha or the other members of his team. Calla hadn’t contacted him at all, either. He wondered what she’d done all day, and he found himself going to his front window to look at her tiny house to make sure she was still there, but what he found had him lunging for the door.
“Calla? Why are you sitting out here?” he gasped. The female was sitting in a chair on his front porch, reading a book. She had a blanket over her lap like she’d been sitting there for a long time.
“I was waiting for you to wake