It felt good to tell them.
Evie held out her hands while Hope wrapped them so she could take out some frustrations on the heavy bag. Liberty had left not long after she’d had her breakdown and talk with the alpha’s mate. Having Liberty know was freeing. Hope was as close as a sister to her, too.
“Where’s everyone?” Hope asked as she secured the end of the tape.
“Calla and Taze will be here soon,” Evie answered. Calla had been hanging around that male a lot lately. It was odd, because Taze had given all of the females so much trouble in the beginning, but now, he was one of their biggest supporters. He’d taken to Calla after the final straw had broken and Taze was almost stripped of his Guardianship by the alpha.
“That’s a weird pairing,” Hope chuckled, then stood from where she had been sitting on the ground in front of Evie.
“Tell me about it,” Evie said, rolling her eyes. “Calla swears there’s nothing going on.”
“I think Malaki had something to say about that.” Hope frowned.
“He will come around,” Evie hoped. “He’s very protective of his sister.”
The door opened, quieting their conversation. Calla and Taze entered, both of them smiling. Just like all of the males, Taze was so much larger than Calla. His body could shield her if the need ever arose. He’d let his hair grow out on top, but he had kept the back undercut and shaved tight to his scalp. His icy blue eyes glowed from the contrast. Calla kept her blonde hair up in a bandana most days, preferring not to have it in her face. Evie understood the need. The wolves liked to use that to drag them around when they were held hostage.
“Evie?” Calla whispered as she approached.
“I’m fine,” she promised, shaking her head slightly. “My mind wandered for a second.”
“I know the feeling,” Calla sighed, reaching out to take Evie’s wrapped hands. “We are going to beat this.”
“Yeah, we are,” she agreed, looking at the door when it opened.
“Hey,” Kye said as he walked in. His eyes immediately fell on her, and she felt his love from across the room. “Are we ready to train?”
A collective agreement sounded and they got down to work. Calla and Hope paired up as Kye approached her. He didn’t say anything as he stopped a few inches away. He tucked a finger under her chin and gave it a little nudge. When she looked up, he pecked her lightly on the lips and gave a wink. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Kye donned the focus mitts and turned toward her. She held her fists up in front of her face and waited for him to nod, giving her the okay to begin. She jabbed with her right hand, making the perfect connection. Their eyes were locked on each other and she felt an overpowering connection to him. Each time she hit, he would nod and softly say, “Good.”
The sound of her knuckles meeting the mitts was one of the most comforting sounds she’d ever heard. Each and every time, it told Evie that she was winning the fight against her demons. She’d done this on her own. No one had forced her to learn to fight, and it’d been the one thing that was solid in her life since that night.
“Focus,” Kye barked, bringing her thoughts back to the present. He didn’t stop her. He didn’t ask her what was wrong. All he did was hold those mitts up to remind her where to send all of her energy.
She punched with her right hand, feeling a small thrill as Kye was pushed back a few inches from the strength of her blow. The next one, he held his ground. The third, fourth, and fifth time, the force sent him back a step. Before she knew what had happened, Evie relaxed and leaned back, signaling she needed a break. When she finally broke eye contact with Kye and looked around the room, she noticed they’d worked their way to the other side of the mat. Her strength had done that, and everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to watch.
“You did well, baby,” Kye beamed.
Everyone parted and started cooling down after their training. The door opened and Dane walked in, searching the room. Evie felt his worry when his eyes fell on Calla. “Your brother is looking for you, and he’s not happy.”
“What the hell is his problem?” Taze barked, taking a protective stand next to Calla.
“His sister,” Dane answered as he rolled his eyes. “I’m here so he doesn’t cause any trouble. The little punk has been quite irritating, and I figure if he starts something in here, I can tell the alpha that we were training.”
“Please don’t,” Calla gasped, stepping around Taze. “He’s going through a lot right now.”
“Like?” Evie pushed, moving to her friend’s side.
“Well, he just turned twenty three months ago, and I’ve been fighting.” Calla shrugged and bit her lip. “I think he wants to try to fight for Guardian status next summer.”
“Unless we have new members come into the pride, he will have to fight me,” Kye stated. “He needs to be training.”
“He’s running on anger and hatred,” Calla explained. “I’ve moved out of the alpha’s home.”
Everyone gasped at her confession. Hope came over to take Calla’s hand. “She’s staying with Ranger and me for a little while.”
“Is it that bad?” Taze asked, his eyes flashing amber. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want anyone to make a big deal about it,” she frowned, the blush of embarrassment reddening her cheeks. “He’s going through his maturity. I’m sure he’ll settle down in the next few months.”
Dane tsked, looking out the back door. “Well, you can either stay or head out the other side of the building, because he’s coming.”
“I’d rather go,” Calla said, looking up at Taze. “Will you walk me back to Hope and Ranger’s place?”
“Get your things,” Taze ordered, but Evie could tell he wanted to stay. The young Guardian seemed very protective of Calla, and she was sure that Taze would give Malaki a beat down if he disrespected his sister.
“You two need to go,” Dane urged, pointing to the back door of the building.
Both of them left only seconds before the door flew open and one pissed off male entered the room. “Where’s my sister?”
“She’s not here,” Dane said, leaning against the wall as if he were bored. “Might want to tone it down a bit. The attitude is causing problems around here.”
“Man, fuck you,” he snarled.
“No, fuck you,” Dane growled, pushing away from the wall. “Little boy, you don’t want none of this.”
Malaki launched himself at Dane, but was quickly brought to heel when the Guardian used his strength and training to subdue the maturing male. “Let me go!”
“Wrong move, asshole,” Dane laughed. Evie cringed when his fist connected with Malaki’s face.
Harold tied off the last stitch to Malaki’s eyebrow. Sometimes, the damage would require a stitch or two for a day, and from the beat down Dane had delivered, this male needed it. Patching up Guardians was his specialty, but these young ones were getting more and more heated as they matured. The one in front of him was already on his last nerve.
“Boy, don’t you know not to cross a Guardian?” the healer scolded, turning to drop the bloody gauze in the trash can behind him. He grabbed a stool and pulled it away from the wall to sit down and maybe talk some sense into the kid. When he turned around, he saw the young male’s eyes had turned amber, his jaw set.
“They’ve turned my sister against me,” he stated.
“No, they didn’t.” Harold sighed, shaking his head. “Boy, your sister is learning to fight alongside the other females for a reason.”
“There’s no reason why she needs to learn how to fight,” he scoffed. “It’s my job to protect her until she mates. After that, her male will keep her safe.”
“You have a lot to learn about females,” Harold laughed sarcastically.
“What do you know?” Malaki asked, a smirk turning up the corner of his mouth. “You’ve never been mated.”
One minute, the healer was sitting in his chair. The next, he’d moved with super speed to take the young male’s throat into his hands. His claws extended and nicked Malaki’s flesh.
“I may not have a mate, but I have had a mother and three sisters,” he snarled. “They’re dead because they didn’t know how to protect themselves, and the Guardians weren’t there in time to save them. I’d have given anything to go back and teach them how to fight, but I can’t because it’s too late. Do you want that to happen to Calla? Huh, boy?”
“I’ll be with her,” he choked out when Harold squeezed tighter.
“You cannot be with her all the time,” he barked. “She is strong, and you’re putting her at risk by causing problems. That young female cannot concentrate on getting stronger when all you do is treat her like she’s a fragile doll. Have you seen her fight?”
“N…no,” Malaki stuttered when Harold’s canines thickened in his mouth. This little punk ass kid was going to make him break his rule of not doing damage to a pride member that he’d have to later put back together.
“She can take down a Guardian,” Harold informed him, putting his nose against the male’s. “God, you make me sick. Be respectful toward your sister, and if you come back into my office with injuries from getting your ass kicked again for being a jackass, I swear to the gods, I will let your little punk ass bleed out on my doorstep.”