John's POV.

I can't help but to wonder what Alpha Grace wants to talk to me about. I know it's nothing bad but I'm still a bit worried. I guess that's just some eft over anxiety surfacing from the past few days.

I knock on her door which was left open and see her sitting at her desk. She looks up and spots me. A smile flashed across her face. " John, please come in and close the door behind you. " she said.

I nod and do as she says. " Take a seat if you like. " she offers.

I do take a seat but my leg starts to tap up and down relentlessly. I barely even notice it doing that. I keep my arms on the arm rests to keep from hugging my arms to my body. This anxiety is causing me to want to shrink in on myself.

She seems to notice right away and is quick to assure me nothing is wrong. " I'm sorry if my suddenness for this conversation caused you any anxiety. It's nothing bad, I assure you of that. I am merely wanting to talk over a few important things with you and I wanted you to feel more comfortable having this talk by closing the room door. If it makes you feel better you can open the door again. " she said.

Her words seems to settle me down and I relax a little and let out a deep breath of relief. " It's fine if it stays closed. " I said.

" Ok, as long as it makes you feel comfortable. " she said.

She then turns to some papers that were sitting by here. They look to have been printed out recently. " Now, I called you in here because I wanted to talk to you about the options you have. " she said.

" Options for what?" I ask.

" I think you would benefit from talking to someone. A therapist. " she said as she looks at me. I can see the concern for me in her eyes.

" Why would I need one though? I'm fine. " I said.

" But you're not John, not completely and not only myself but both your parents can see it. " said Alpha Grace.

I tilt my head in confusion. " I know I've not been carrying my weight around here like I should, but I'll do better. I don't think a therapist is going to help me. " I said.

Her eyes widen. " Your weight?" She asks shockingly.

" Yeah, my weight. You invited me here and I want to make sure I'm helping out in any way I can. " I tell her.

" John, you are a guest here. You have no weight to carry. I invited you here because it was too stressful for you to stay at your home pack. I brought you here to heal, not to stress yourself out with trying to please me or carry your weight in the pack. " she said.

" B-but what about..." I start only for her to hold her hand up. I closed my mouth and stay silent.

" Did you think I would kick you out if you didn't do your fair share of work around here?" She asks me.

I feel like I'm at a loss for words and I feel my anxiety building again. " What, n-no. I never thought that. " I defend myself.

" Then what do you mean? Why do you feel like you have to earn your place here?" She asked.

I stumbled over my words trying to figure out what to say but I have no excuse. I sighed and slumped down. I feel small under her gaze and I don't resist the urge to hug my arms to myself this time.

She spots this and her gaze softens. " John, it's ok. I'm not here to judge you no matter what your answer will be. Take as much time as you need before you answer. My goal is to make sure you are not feeling pressured in any way. " she said.

I fighting with my emotions right now. The anxiety isn't fading but I can feel myself relax just a little bit. I feel more comfortable hugging my arms to myself so I stay like that. I look up at her again.

" I just don't want to burden you. You've done so much for me and are helping me through my problems. I didn't want to add anything to your already busy plate. " I said truthfully.

She offers me a soft smile. " John, sweetie. This is my job. I do this all the time. You are in no way a burden to me and you never will be. I can promise you that. " she said.

I feel my nerves settle a bit. " Are you absolutely positive?" I ask.

" I am. I promise. " she said again.

I relax my shoulders and release my hold on my arms. I settle back down into the chair and try to relax more. This is t a normal reaction to have. I've never had a reaction like this talking privately to an Alpha before. Maybe seeing a therapist is what I need.

" If it makes you feel any better, your sister and her mate are seeing a therapist. " said Alpha Grace.

My eyes widen. I knew Amber was getting a bit better but I didn't think she was seeing a therapist or that Connor would even be up to it.

" Really?" I asked.

She nods and smiles at me encouragingly. " Oh yes. Every few days I believe. One of the humans they rescued happened to be a trials therapist and she offered to see Connor and Amber for free as a way to repay them for the rescue. " she said.

I smile a small proud smile at hearing that. That's my sister for you. Always doing her best in the midst of the bad. Always getting herself help when she needs it. She proves everyday that she's so strong. I'm the older sibling though. I should set a good example too.

" What all does therapy entail?" I ask.

" I've looked into it and every now and then when I feel like I need it, I go to a therapy session as well. You basically tell him or her whatever you are comfortable with them knowing about your problems and what seems to be the root of your stress. You would then talk about the different ways you would go about treating that as a way to help you. " she said.

" So it's really just a bunch of talking mostly?" I ask. That doesn't sound too bad.

" At first, yes. Once you build up a level of trust between you two and you figure out the root of your issue he or she will give you ways to get you through it and you are to practice those ways during the weeks before you see him or her again. " said Alpha Grace.

" That doesn't sound as intimidating as I assumed it to be. " I admitted.

" Therapy can be scary to some at first, but it really is a useful thing to do. I've noticed your anxiety peaking this past week. Slowly but surly and o should have mentioned therapy to you a long time ago. I am sorry for not seeing you were struggling. " said Alpha Grace.

My eyes widen. " Taking care of me isn't your job though. It's mine and I've been neglecting my own health because I wanted everyone to see that I was fine. " I said.

" John, you are a guest here and in the time you stay here it is my job to help you in any way that I can. I've been neglecting my job by pushing a big load of work onto you when you weren't ready for it. I deeply apologize for that. " said Alpha Grace.

" O don't mind doing the work though. I like to have something I can do. It helps distract me during the day. " I said to her truthfully. I really did enjoy all the work she let me do.

" How's this then, you take a week off and see a therapist once or twice and once you've et some tools you need to handle your anxiety better, I'll ease you back into the work. " she said.

I smile at her. " Sounds like a good compromise to me. "

She grinned and passed over the small stack of papers I had seen earlier. " We have three therapists here in the pack that can help you but there is the town nearby where they have an entire clinic of therapist that work with werewolves too. Do to doctor/patient confidentiality they can't tell anyone we're werewolves. They have people who specialize in anxiety and those who specialize in trauma like what you went through. I wanted to hand you these so you can take a day or two to read over their name and qualifications to see who you think would fit best for you. Then we can call and set you up an appointment. " said Alpha Grace.

Wow, she really has done a good amount of research. I take the papers and place them in my lap. I then look back to her. " Thank you for all of this. It means a lot to me to know I have people around looking out for me even when I myself am not. " I said

" I'll always be here when you need me. Even if you decide you don't want to see any of those therapists and you would feel more comfortable talking to me instead, I would do what I can to help you. " she said and that made my smile widen.

" That means a lot to me. Thank you. " I said.

" Anytime John. " she said.

After a bit more talking I left her office and walked back into the kitchen to see my mother and father talking to each other. They stopped when they saw me and my mother was instantly curious as to what I was holding, I could see it in her eyes.

Instead she looked at my father and he smiled at me. " We have decided that you need family with you for a while, at least until we feel better about your condition. So your mother has decided she would remain here with you for the foreseeable future. " he said.

My eyes widen. " What? As sweet as that is, you guys don't have to do any of that. You have a life to live too. " I said.

" That life includes our children." Said my mother.

" What about Amber? Doesn't she need more help than me?" I ask.

" Amber has Tasha and Connor, not to mention Clayton and Alpha Conan. Then there's the entire pack that just adore her. She has so many people on her side but you don't. My place is here with you John. I don't want to leave you until you start sleeping through the night again without nightmares. " said my mother.

I can't help but to get a little teary eyed. " Thank you. " I say a bit weakly.

They immediately wrap me in a big hug and I right away melt into their embrace. It's been so long since I've felt this safe. " We love you John. Anything you need we will always do our best to provide. " said my father.

We then broke the hug and I smiled at them. " Now, what's that you're holding?" Asked my mother.

" It's a list of different therapists that live here in the pack our work in a clinic in the human town a few miles away. Alpha Grace and I agreed that I should see one so this is a stack of them for me to read and go through to see which one would fit me the best. " I said.

Her eyes lit up. " A Therapist. That's a big step. I'm so proud of you. " she said.

I grinned. My father smiled proudly at me. " Come, lets sit down and go over some of these together. " said my mother.

I nodded and together the three of us sat at the table and began to read over the list of therapists.

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A/N. Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be in Amber's POV. Until then. :-)