tried to get over his aversion to seeing you in pain to bond with you over your new status in the training program, but once he had to physically harm you on purpose, he couldn’t go through with it.”
“I never thought of that,” Calla sniffled. Gods, she’d made him hit her in that training facility while he hadn’t even coped with what he’d seen in the cabin. “I feel so bad for making him train with me.”
“You shouldn’t feel bad.” Dr. Lyons sighed. “We all cope with trauma in different ways. Just because the training worked for you doesn’t mean Malaki sparing with you was helping him.”
“I see,” she frowned. “I wish he’d come talk to you. It hurts me that he’s so angry all the time.”
“He does need counseling,” she agreed. “You also have to remember that you can’t heal when you’re walking on eggshells around him. You’re taking the steps to move on with your life, Calla, and your brother’s anger is keeping you from progressing. It isn’t your job to keep the peace between him and Taze, either.”
“I take their hatred toward each other to heart,” she admitted. “All I want is for them to like each other. I don’t have a family left. Malaki is it, and since Taze will be my mate someday, I would like to have them by my side without the fighting.”
“They’re not helping your anxiety, either,” she added.
“That’s the damn truth,” she mumbled under her breath. “I just want to get my degree and not be worried over the two of them beating each other to a bloody pulp.”
“I think it’s time you step aside from playing the peace keeper, Calla,” the doc advised. “They are grown men. Let them work through their differences.”
“That’s easier said than done, doc,” Calla laughed. “They are shifters, and if you hadn’t figured it out yet, that’s how they work through their differences.”
“Then let them fight it out,” she shrugged. “I’ve heard you all heal very quickly.”
“We do,” Calla agreed. “A black eye won’t be black for long.”
“I’d like for you to work on stepping back from their fighting this week,” she said, looking at the clock. “When I see you on Friday, I’d like a report of how things are going.”
“I hope they go well,” Calla admitted as she stood to shake the doctor’s hand. “If not, I’m sure our hour together will be well spent.”
That night, Kye sat in the control room, monitoring the activity on the pride’s land, at The Deuce, and at Landon’s animal clinic. Even though Landon had handed over the office to a new animal healer, they still kept a close eye on the place since Landon controlled ownership of the building and Savage’s baby sister, Sophia, still worked the front desk during the day.
The night nurse, Amaya, was sitting on the floor of the kennels, checking on one of the animals that had stayed overnight. Kye had no idea what was wrong with it, but the female was showing compassion for the animal as she stroked its fur to keep it calm.
The night vision cameras around the land were quiet; other than an occasional rabbit or mouse scurrying about the dead leaves. The Deuce had closed a few hours ago, and it, too, was still.
He pulled up the tracking app on his phone. Evie and Kye had added another layer of security for each other once they started working for the FBI. He wanted to make sure he knew where she was at all times, and she felt safer having easy access to his location as well.
Kraven had just returned from picking up two male Gadaí Evie and her team had captured before they attacked a human female on the north side of town. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t get a call from her because she’d had skin to skin contact with a male.
The Protectors had taken special precautions in making sure every inch of their bodies were covered, and so far, it’d worked. He had to give credit to Ranger for his help in getting the females special gloves, and the females had come together to ensure they were protected. As much as he worried over Evie, he knew this was her calling in life. He loved his female with a deep passion, but he wasn’t going to stop her from fighting for the pride.
Storm and Lucky were finishing up their rounds and heading back to the pride since they’d come up empty