Taze (Rise of the Pride #11) - Theresa Hissong Page 0,54

going to be my mate, then I need to keep you nourished,” he winked. “I have a feeling my panther and I will be quite insatiable.”

She chuckled at the thought. From the condition of her panties, she was sure she would be needing all the protein and nutrition he was promising.

“Now, go home,” he ordered. “I’ll call you when I wake up.”

“Goodnight, Taze,” she breathed as she slipped on her shoes and left him for the day.

Malaki sat at his post at the main gate, keeping an eye on the monitors around the land. He watched as his sister left Taze’s house, walking toward her place. She wore a smile he hadn’t seen on her since before they were taken and their parents killed.

As much as he hated that male, Taze was bringing her joy, but Malaki wasn’t sure it would last long. The joys of first love could quickly be extinguished over the years. Just because you found your mate didn’t mean you found true love. He’d seen it in his old pride. There was an older couple who’d touched but hated each other with a passion. All of the insta-love bullshit with his fellow Guardians was driving him insane.

He didn’t want that for her. His sister had been through hell, and even if she found her mate, was she ready for the moment they touched? Males were rough during the mating, or so he’d been told. There was no way she would get through that without issue.

Harold had put her in touch with a therapist, and he’d suggested Malaki go as well. There was no fucking way he would be talking to a goddamn shrink about the things he’d seen during their time with the wolves. It was hard enough dealing with the manipulation he’d experienced. Throw in the visuals of his sister being raped by those men…yeah, no. He wasn’t ever going to be the same after that. No one could consciously say they were able to heal from that trauma, either. If they did, they would be lying.

Cursing, he kicked his feet up on the counter and tried his best not to get worked up over the male. Calla was his sister and the only blood family he had left. He wanted to shelter her for the rest of her life. She’d been dealt a big ole fuck you from the gods, but he always knew they’d grow up and find their mates. He still didn’t like the idea of trusting a male to care for her and her past. Malaki just couldn’t believe a male would be willing to deal with it all.

He wanted to make sure Taze was ready for all that with his sister. The male needed a gentle hand when it came to her, and he wasn’t sure if Taze could do gentle. It wasn’t in his nature. They were Guardians and much larger than the female shifters.

He was still on the fence about Taze, and he figured the male would be awake when Malaki got off work. They needed to hash out some more details about his sister, their mating, and his general disgust for anything with a cock that got close to her.

He’d left the gate and immediately headed to Taze’s cabin, taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. The male answered a moment later, looking like he’d just woken up.

“Everything okay?” he mumbled and looked toward Calla’s home. She wasn’t off work yet, and Malaki was going to make his visit as quick as possible.

“I only came by to tell you to take care with her,” Malaki warned. He didn’t want the male to touch his sister, but he knew it was going to happen. Thankfully, she was taking it slow, and if he was lucky, Taze would keep his paws off of Calla for a long time. “I will call a truce with you as long as you don’t touch her.”

“Last I checked,” Taze scoffed, “your sister can make her own decisions. I have no immediate plans to touch her, so you can rest for a little longer, Malaki.”

“She’s my only blood relative, and she’s been through a lot,” he continued, trying his hardest not to lash out at the male. “As far as I’m concerned, no male will be good enough for her, but she’s begged me to get along with you.”

“Okay,” Taze drawled. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you anymore, but if you continue to cause her heartache, I will have something