Hector's POV
Katia had told me about her conversation with Maliyla. My biggest concern was that she thought I would leave her. It was important that she trusted me and believed what I felt for her was genuine. I needed to remind myself that this was a challenging experience for her and to be as understanding as possible. Being betrayed by your entire family and pack and then having some random people declare their love for you couldn't be easy. There was no doubt that Maliyla was confused, but dodging it wasn't healthy. As much as I wanted her to become independent and develop into the powerful woman she occasionally showed signs of becoming, I would rather not force her into anything.
Her view of herself would be different if she saw it from my perspective.
(Flashback)
"Try not to for
