But Kara set her jaw adamantly, and I knew her mind was already set. “I will not be run out of my home by anyone, much less a high school bully. I’ve got my stun gun. I will not leave.” She was being totally stubborn, and I saw her shutting down right in front of my eyes.
“I’ll be right here with you,” I assured her. “You’ll have protection.” If she wasn’t going anywhere, neither was I.
Maverick promised they’d find him, even if they had to resort to unconventional means, and they all left us. Kara sat down on the couch and tucked her legs up as she hugged a pillow. Though she insisted on staying, her expression as she curled in on herself was defeated.
I sat beside her and put my hand on her knee, rubbing my thumb back and forth comfortingly. “Hey. They’ll find him. And in the meantime, I’m not leaving your side.”
She turned confused eyes my way. “How did you get here so fast?”
That was a good question. “I was already on my way,” I explained. “I went home, and I was digging into my research when Valor freaked out. I couldn’t get him to calm down, and he wouldn’t explain. He nearly shifted us, he was so agitated. So I packed a quick bag and came straight over here.”
Kara stiffened. She blinked, then smiled. “Valor just told me he felt my distress.”
“What were you distressed about?” I asked. “Valor didn’t tell me why we had to come, he just kept yelling for me to get over here.”
She didn’t answer my question, averting her gaze to the floor in front of her. “Are you planning to leave Black Claw?”
How did she remember that? “I told you once that I’d always wanted to be a hermit.”
Her fingers tightened their grip on her pillow, but her voice remained calm. “Yes, but did you plan to leave once you knew I was your mate?”
I nodded, going for honesty. “Yes, when I first came here, I never intended to stay permanently. My plan was to stay here long enough to prove to my uncles that I deserved my inheritance. Originally, I had no intention of staying. But things changed. I changed. You saw that for yourself.”
But her eyes had hardened, and her voice became razor sharp. “So, you used me.”
“I don’t know why you’re so upset. I told you my plan from the get-go.”
She shook her head, and I felt her mood shifting again. “Everyone leaves me. Nobody ever wants to keep me forever.” Her heart beat so fast, so erratically, I knew she was in some sort of a panic attack. She began to breathe faster and tears streaked down her cheeks. “I was just something to pass the time for you, wasn’t I?”
Damn. She was long gone. I didn’t have much experience with panic attacks or anxiety or whatever it was called, but I could hear that her nervous system was out of whack. I wished Charlotte was here. Axel’s wife. She knew about the human body and what to do to help.
I tried to pull her close, hoping that contact would help. I remembered the effect her touch had had on Valor and me when we got angry.
But Kara shrugged me off and stood, arms crossed defensively over her chest. “Please leave.”
“Kara, stop it. Take a deep breath and calm down and you’ll see. You’re probably freaked out about all this and doubts are plaguing you. I have no intention of leaving you. Until Tye is sorted out, I’m not leaving at all.”
“I want you to go.” She backed away from me, her voice wavering. “Now.”
What was I supposed to do? My words weren’t coming out like they needed to. I just needed to convince her that I was staying, that my plans had changed. Was that really so hard?
“Kara, come on.” I knew it had to be her old fears of abandonment making her act like this. She knew I loved her. I’d said the words first. She had to know how much she meant to me. To Valor and me both.
Maybe she was so worried about being abandoned that she wanted to do the abandoning first. Valor rebelled at the idea.
Her breathing got harder and faster and she doubled over. I took a step toward her, but she flung her hands up, warding me off.
“Please,” she said pitifully. “Just go.”
If I didn’t do as she asked, she was going to pass out or something. “Okay, I will. If you promise you’ll go lie down and calm down, I’ll leave.”
She nodded, her eyes bright and watery. “Okay. I will.”
“I’m not leaving for good,” I promised her. “I’m coming back. In a couple of hours. And I’ll have my cousins patrol this street. I can probably get one of them to stay outside and keep watch.”
She kept backing toward her bedroom. “Okay. If you go. Promise me that you’ll leave. Don’t stay outside or something.”
Damn it. That’s exactly what I’d planned to do. “Damn it, Kara, snap out of this.”
“Rico!” she screamed. “I was fine before I met you. I’ll be fine after. I know you planned to leave me. You didn’t keep it a good enough secret. Now get out!” By the time she finished, her voice had risen into a raw scream. She scrubbed at her face angrily.
I backed as far away as I could and shook my head weakly. I kept my voice soft as I tried once more to explain. “After I realized how much I loved you, the only time I planned to leave Black Claw was to tie up loose ends in Arizona. I was going to ask you to go with me.”
“Go. Do it. It’ll give me some time away from you. And if you come back, Rico—if you come back,
