Page 22 of M.A.Y.A
The crowd inched closer to her, threats of violence ratcheting up tenfold. Isaiah’s voice cut through the noise.
“Enough!”
Like a light switch, the snarls stopped, the aggression died, and every single person bowed their head at the power that vibrated in that one word. Maya’s arm began to beep in an erratic alarm. There was an override signal that only sounded when her body was going into shock and it was currently blaring loud enough to make her ears ring.
She didn’t belong, and Isaiah’s pack knew it. They looked at her like they wanted her gone, and she was once again an outsider, someone who was taken away from her home and thrust into a different world.
“Maya?” Isaiah said quietly.
She spun around to face him. “I-I’m sorry. I thought you were hurt, and I felt the hits, and Cindy brought me to you?—”
He crossed to her in a few short strides before lifting her up and into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she buried her face in his neck. “It s-scared me,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“I should have told you that was a side effect of the mating bond,” he said as he stroked a hand down her back. “It’s okay. I was doing a sparring demonstration. I’m completely fine.”
“You took a hit to the ribs and then the chest,” she said, and was appalled at herself when she heard her voice hitch.
He pressed a kiss behind her ear. “Shh, it’s okay. Just a scratch. My Beta hits like a toddler.”
“It looks like your robot is just as protective as you are, right, Alpha? And I donothit like a toddler.”
Maya didn’t look up from where she was tucked against Isaiah’s throat, but she recognized that voice. Alex, the one who brought her food, had shifted back into human form.
“Get out,” Isaiah said gruffly.
“Come on, Isaiah,” Alex said. “We still have an hour left to?—”
“Everyone out!” Isaiah roared.
The gym went silent, and Maya heard the crowd walk toward the exit. She was too embarrassed to see, too comforted by the smell of Isaiah’s damp skin to do anything but hold onto him.
When the doors closed with a resounding bang, Maya felt the hard ridges of his shoulders relax under her arms.
“Tiny warrior, I promise you, I’m fine,” he said soothingly. His hands spanned most of the width of her back as he stroked her from shoulder to ass.
“God, your entire pack must hate me,” she said against his neck. She trembled as the adrenaline began to wear off. “I attacked your Beta. I made Cindy run through the forest because I thought something bad had happened to you. And then I interrupted your class.”
“You didn’t know, baby,” he said as he slowly lowered her to her feet. He pulled back to look down at her face. His expression was tender as he cupped her jaw. “You’re my mate, so it’s only reasonable to assume the worst when you’re in that situation. It’s understandable that you’d be scared.”
“I’m not your mate yet,” Maya said. She took a step back, hating the distance that she was putting between them. She hated how much she wanted to jump back into his arms, because of how safe she felt with him. “This was a perfect example of why we don’t belong together. Your pack sees that, too. I can’t shift, I don’t understand your Alpha duties, and I look and smell and react differently.”
Isaiah’s expression hardened, and he closed the gap between them. “Everything you’re listing is an external factor. When it comes to our mating bond, the only thing that matters is what’s between you and me. We’ll figure out the rest together. We still have a week and a few days before you have to decide, Maya. Don’t quit just yet.”
“If I decide then or now, it doesn’t matter. We can’t just ignore external factors. You have a responsibility to your pack.”
“No,” he said. His voice had bite to it for the first time since they met. He’d never spoken to her with such authority. “Now that I’ve found you, my responsibility will always be to you first.” He pounded a fist against his chest. “I was afraid of it before, but the longer you’re in my life, the more it makes sense. I’m not afraid of it anymore. You will be my North Star, and don’t you dare give me that bullshit that you’re not my mate yet. You were my mate from the moment that I found you.”
North Star. He’d pointed to the North Star a few nights ago when they’d lain in the field and traced the constellations together. It had been eons since she’d experienced something so beautiful, and he’d given it to her. But how could she be as bright and shining as a North Star? It was filled with so much light, and she was so broken.
“Maya,” he said, his voice hard and unyielding. It was as if he knew exactly what her train of thought had been.
“Isaiah…”
“Maya, let go. Please. For me. Just accept it and let go of all those worries you have that you’re just not good enough or that you don’t belong with me. Fate has chosen for us, and it’s never wrong. I promise, I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving it to you.” His arms squeezed her waist, and his eyes were warm and pleading as they bore into his.
Maya didn’t know if it was the adrenaline that was still coursing through her body, or if she just wanted to be selfish for a moment despite all her misgivings. But if they only had less than two weeks together before she had to tell him no, she didn’t want to waste it arguing with him. Not when he’d shown her joy and pleasure instead of the horror and pain she’d experienced for years. Not when she was starting to feel just as dedicated to him as he’d been to her.
She stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his mouth down to hers. She felt his shock, the way his body jerked at the impact, and then the tension that coursed through the lines of his throat and shoulders.
