Page 13 of M.A.Y.A
A few minutes later, Cindy got to her feet. “I don’t think you’re in any imminent danger, nor do I think you have any malfunctioning parts. We’d need scanners to really understand if you’re okay and to detect whether there is a tracking device or a detonation element.”
Sergei nodded and helped Cindy to her feet. “You’re going to have to tell us if you feel sick or if your system is warning you of any malfunctions until we can get a handle on how best to support you.”
Isaiah watched as Maya assessed his packmates and then lowered the knife so that it rested on the bed next to her hip. “I don’t trust any of you enough to allow for additional testing. I’m sorry. You’ll just have to trust that I am not here to bring you harm.”
His packmates didn’t like her response. He felt their discontent as if it was his own emotion. He knew they wouldn’t hesitate to say something that could potentially hurt her feelings, so he stood and motioned to the door.
“Let’s give her some space. Maya, go ahead and eat the food that Alex brought for you. If you don’t like anything, let us know and we can run out and get something else. I’ll
be back in a few minutes.”
He waited for her to nod before he followed his Betas out the door. He wouldn’t leave Maya alone with anyone unattended, even the people he trusted the most. She was his mate.
For now.
That could change if she rejected him after two weeks. It all depended on whether she was willing to participate in a claiming ceremony. Until that time, he’d become increasingly feral and protective, which were feelings that were only made worse by the open bunker portal between their dimensions that threatened his pack.
Based on what he’d seen of her so far, Isaiah was well and truly screwed.
ChapterFive
Maya waited until Isaiah and his soldiers left the cabin before she stood and walked to the dresser to inspect the food selection that was laid out for her. Meat and cheese, jam, fruit, and two small bottles of water.
She was just a child the last time she had food that didn’t come in a freeze-dried container packaged for wartime. Maya wanted to dive in, to shove the different flavors and textures into her mouth and savor them.
But first things first. She needed a shower. She still smelled like the bleach and antiseptic that was used in the lab, and she hated the reminder. There was an adjoining bathroom that she’d seen when Isaiah had first left the cabin. She’d hoped there was hot water, a luxury she’d dreamed of every time she’d been forced to go through the sterilization process in the lab.
Taking a moment to look through the bedroom door, she listened for Isaiah before she retreated to the bathroom. She shouldn’t trust him. He was virtually a stranger, but there was something about him that tugged at her. She didn’t know if it was the mysterious mate business that he kept referring to, or if the power that radiated off of him just made her feel safe.
Maya flipped on the light, wincing at how bright it was, and the way it reminded her of her glass box prison. She scanned the small bathroom and realized that the lighting was where the similarities ended. It was functional, with a single sink, toilet, and shower stall. Regardless, Maya loved it because it afforded her privacy.
Quickly stripping out of the button-down shirt Isaiah had given her, she fiddled with the nobs in the shower stall until she was able to get the hot water running. She checked to make sure her bandages were water sealed and wasted no time in stepping under the overhead nozzle, tilting her head back and immersing herself in the spray.
As her body relaxed, Maya was overwhelmed with relief, with gratitude that she escaped. She looked down at her hands, at the metal glinting off her left arm. She then lifted the same hand to her chest, where there was a small port that connected straight to her metallic heart.
She’d cried when they’d first torn her apart. She’d screamed when she’d seen the metal plate on her arm. She’d even wished for death on more than one occasion. However, she’d never been grateful for the skills the scientists had given her. Not until those same skills enabled her to fight back, to survive and possibly protect another world from the same annihilation that her dimension had been subjected to.
In the privacy of the shower, in the cocoon of warmth she’d never thought she’d experience again, Maya unlocked the part of her mind that she’d sequestered away and wrapped herself in grief. She wondered what her parents were doing, and if they were still alive. She questioned her purpose as she used the soap dispenser attached to the shower wall to wash herself. Then she swallowed the lump in her throat as she shampooed her hair.
When the sadness became overwhelming, she locked her feelings away again and focused on the next steps of the plan.
The towels in the linen closet next to the sink were warm and soft. She wrapped one around herself and stepped out of the steamy bathroom, only to run into a hard, muscled chest.
Isaiah’s words were gruff, his voice low, when he spoke. “Are you alright?”
“Of course.” She was trembling now. “Why do you ask?”
Isaiah stunned her when he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. The touch was soothing. There was a spark of something more, of a longing that she’d never experienced. It scared her.
“I can feel your sadness inside me, tiny warrior,” he said gently. “Whatever it is that you were remembering, you’re breaking my heart.”
Maya’s jaw dropped. “Wha-how? What do you mean?”
“We’re mated, remember?” Isaiah said.
“I’m still unfamiliar with the term.”
The rugged planes of his face relaxed as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the curve of her cheek, leaving a trail of sensation in his wake. “When you saw me for the first time, did you feel anything…different? Like you were somehow in tune with what I was feeling, my next steps, and where I was in the room?”
