Page 137 of Pack: Posy 3

"We're okay again, right?" she said at last. "You're not mad at me for getting mad at you?"

She bit her bottom lip before continuing, making me moan silently.Ishould be the one doing that.

"Because I don't like this ... this upset between us. It makes me so sad and anxious, I feel sick. I don't want to do this again."

"Oh, baby," I said, laying my head in her lap, "we don't, either. This last hour or so has been absolutely horrible."

"I'm sorry!" She sank her hands in my hair and massaged my scalp. "It's my fault for making you feel that way. I—"

And she stopped herself. I felt her body tense under me and raised my head to look at her, but all I saw in her eyes was curiosity.

"What is it, cutie?" Wyatt asked, and I knew my brothers also recognized something had happened in her thought process.

"Ty explained the fawning response that some trauma survivors have after stress," she said slowly, "and I'm doing that right now. Huh. It's so ... odd to think about the way you're thinking, isn't it?"

We looked at each other, then slowly shook our heads.

"We know what the word fawning means, sweetness, but we've never heard of the fawning response you're talking about. Will you explain it?" Jay asked for all of us.

"Basically, to keep from being hurt again, trauma survivors like me and Ty will say or do anything to please the other person, usually agreeing with them even if we really disagree or know it's wrong. He said it starts as children because our caretaker is also our abuser, so we learn to try to please them to avoid pain."

When she paused for breath, I linked the boys that we needed to bring this up during our next session with Dr. York. They all agreed, then we listened in fascination as she continued.

"He also said it can lead to big problems later in life because we'll give up boundaries that we shouldn't. That's why he said to try to notice if I'm doing it and to stop myself if I can. I'm going to talk to Dr. York about it next time. Oh, and I also want you to set up an appointment for Ty with him. Ty's worked hard to educate himself about his mental health, but I think now that he has a mate, he would be thankful to get some professional support."

"Oh, my love," Wyatt whispered, his eyes full of anguish. "Can I hold you?"

She looked at him as a gentle smile tilted her lips up.

"Yes, please!"

We moved aside a little so he could gather her up in his arms, and he held her like a baby as he walked back and forth, his face buried in her neck near her mate mark.

After a few minutes, when his sniffling stopped, he wiped his face with the front of his t-shirt, then linked us to ask who would like to hold her next.

We sorted out an order and passed her around with her consent, each of us hugging her and whispering in her ear, until finally she caught sight of the flowers and gasped.

"Are these all forme?"

"Yes, honey." I was the last one to hold her, and I was making the most of it. I wasn't going to put her down until she asked me to. "Do you want us to tell you who picked which, or do you want to try to guess?"

She clapped her hands and her eyes once more sparkled with happiness.

"Guess, of course!" she laughed. "What do I get if I'm right?"

"The same thing you'll get if you're wrong," Wyatt said with a wolfy grin. "Long, lingering kisses that usually end in a tangle of sweaty limbs, but we have a surprise planned for you, so you'll have to wait for that until tonight, cutie."

Sighing, Mase reached over and smacked his head, but not nearly as hard as usual. Probably because it was true.

Posy's pretty pink blush told us she caught his meaning, and her shy smile and demurely lowered eyes told us she wasn't opposed.

Pressure’s on you, Mase, Wyatt linked with a waggle of his eyebrows.Better rise to the occasion so you don't disappoint her.

Mase shot him the bird behind Posy's back.

"What is it? What's my surprise?" she asked.

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Ash teased her. "Now try to guess which flowers are from who."

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