Page 44 (1/2)

Zander sighed "Are we done with the ay?" He tried to sound bored, but they both knew she’d interpreted the situation too well for his liking

"No Now, as I said, neither of you give much of yourself to people You both seeh With you, it’s because you find it instinctively uncomfortable to connect with people, probably because the connections you had with your family, particularly with your twin--a person who should have been closest to you--eak and, in Rory’s case, warped I wouldn’t want to let people close either" Ally propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand "You confuse Gwen"

That ued him, which was no doubt Ally’s intent "Confuse her?"

"The level of attention you pay her The possessiveness The way you try to preempt what’s best for her It baffles her That’s how I realized that the reason she doesn’t give much of herself to people is that she doesn’t think they want it--and she definitely doesn’t trust that they’ll want to keep or protect her"

That ht Gwen’s mother and stepfather were too wrapped up in their own draical father hadn’t even acknowledged her

"I think a big factor was that some of the boys who pursued her over the years were really just trying to get to her foster sister"

He scowled "Why?"

Ally pointed at hi to her She knows it’s not about looks for you She doesn’t get what it is about It’s not that she has a low sense of self-worth She doesn’t She’s confident, bold She’s at ease ho she is; she just didn’t expect anyone else to be"

"You said she doesn’t give much of herself to people, but she let Yvonne, Marlon, and Julie get close"

"Ah, but have you noticed that she sort of ht Gwen put them first, protected them, and was a rock to each of them In a way, she’d fostered that fa for them The dominant force of the fath, you don’t need a rock, and that makes you unfa around people who are as equally strong as she is She doesn’t quite kno to deal with someone who’ll want her to rely on them Everyone wants to know there’s someone they can rely on, even if they never intend to do it She’s never had a rock The idea of having one will be as alluring as it is scary"

Because to rely on soht, and trust was hard for Gwen "Okay, Dr Ally, I got a question for you"

"Dr Ally," she echoed with a smile "I like that"

"She invested some trust in me She’s let me in a little She’s let me know her But she still holds back Why?"

"This confuses you?" Ally rolled her eyes "We’re shifters, Zander What are shifters "

"Yes We’retrue mates and metaphysical bonds"