Taze (Rise of the Pride #11) - Theresa Hissong Page 0,48

for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll study at home today. Call me once you wake up.” Calla washed her cup and returned it to the cabinet.

He didn’t want to sleep. It was Saturday morning, and they should be running in the woods with the others instead of separating because he had to rest for his shift. He’d never questioned his choice of becoming a Guardian until that moment.

“Promise me you’ll come over if you need me,” he ordered. “The door will be unlocked.”

“I have plenty to keep me busy while you sleep,” she chuckled. “Did you see how big that textbook is?”

They both laughed, and he was happy to see the lines of stress around her eyes relax. Calla was showing signs of her old self; the person she had been when she was training.

He knew she didn’t want to talk about her time in the Guardian’s facility, but he didn’t want her to forget her time there. It wasn’t because he wanted her to quit her schooling. Taze believed the sparring helped her control her thoughts, keeping them focused on the task in front of her instead of drowning in memories of the past.

“Go on home.” He paused to yawn. “Let me get a good six hours of sleep. I’ll call you later.”

They said their goodbyes, and Taze watched her until she was safely tucked away in her tiny home. He closed the door, scooped up the blanket she’d used, and made his way toward his bedroom.

He inhaled her scent as he lay there, absorbing everything about her. God, he was such a freak. It didn’t take long for him to drift off, and the blanket stayed tucked under his chin the entire day.

By the time he awoke, it was well after five in the afternoon. He crawled out of bed, and like usual, padded barefoot across the living room to his kitchen to start a pot of coffee and make himself some breakfast even though it was dinner for the rest of the world.

Her scent hit him, and he purred when he realized it’d lingered from her being there the night before. He could get used to waking up with the house scenting of his mate. In fact, while he poured his coffee, he wondered if there was a way to bottle it up so he could cover himself in it for the rest of his life.

Rubbing his eyes, he grabbed his phone and checked his messages. Noah had sent a message around nine that morning, advising him of two more female rogues they’d found and brought back to the pride until they were done transitioning. He couldn’t understand why the Gadaí were being so careless changing them in the streets, and if they were not caught, how were they getting them back to a place for them to go through the change?

He’d seen firsthand what the change did to a human, and he wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone. Thankfully, Harold had a sedative to help, but it didn’t stop all of the pain. He’d once heard Mary Grace compare it to labor, saying she’d rather have triplets with no anesthesia than go through the changing process again. Of course, he wasn’t a female, but he knew that birthing young wasn’t a joyride, either.

When he returned to the living room, he peeked out his blinds to make sure Calla was home. His beast bristled at seeing her brother’s car pulling up in front. Malaki had been mostly quiet over the past week, and he wondered what had transpired between him and the alpha. Taze didn’t want to hate him, because he now knew why he had been such an asshole when it came to his sister.

The male needed to work through his past, too. Calla couldn’t keep making excuses and allowing him to live with so much hate and anger. So far, she’d kept Taze in the loop about her meetings with the therapist, but she hadn’t once spoke about her brother.

He wouldn’t interrupt her during their visit, but he would watch the house for any signs the male was distressed. It took him only a minute to pull a sweatshirt over his head and grab his jeans before stepping out the door. He took a seat and waited.

It took an hour before Malaki came out and got into his truck, turning away from the road that led to most of the cabins. Because of the lots being taken up so quickly by the Guardians, they’d cut a new