Page 40 of M.A.Y.A
Maya lay flat on the ground and peeked behind a root. From the cliffs, someone was taking aim and picking off the armed men one at a time. There were two wolves that tore the heads clean off their victims. Maya watched in the distance as two of the guards were attempting to crawl towards the manhole.
She assessed the area, then taking a chance, she bolted from behind the trees and dove onto the back of the first guard. Using her robotic arm, she cranked back and punched a fist against his skull so hard that she saw her knuckles leave indents against his temple.
She didn’t have time to be sick in the grass this time. Instead, she reached for the ankle of the second soldier and yanked him back. Before she could take a swing at him, he kicked her hard in the chest. She flew back, grunting at the impact. For a moment, she worried about the fractured part of her heart that was falling in love with an Alpha wolf.
Maya shook her head, breaking out of her daze, and charged at the soldier again. She needed to focus; she had the rest of her life to fight for.
After the soldier lunged for her, she used her legs to grip his neck, and then in one quick twist, ended his life the same way she’d ended the life of the other soldier.
There were casualties in war, and she’d mourn the blood that stained her soul when she was done fighting.
The glen grew quiet, and she scrambled to her feet once she confirmed that all of the intruders were dead. There were three wolves in the clearing, Drayden and the two soldiers that were rescued.
“Are you okay?” she shouted to them.
They nodded, bowing their large canine heads in acknowledgement. Thank God, she thought. She didn’t know what she’d do if pack members died on her watch. She’d been entrusted with their safety, which she’d take seriously. Especially since she was the reason Isaiah wasn’t here in the first place.
Maya was about to ask Drayden what happened when she heard the first sound of rustling brush and pounding feet. Alex burst through the trees, his chest bare and gleaming with sweat. Cindy, Nako, Sonya, and Sergei entered the clearing.
“What the fuck happened?” Sergei shouted. His chest heaved from exertion. “We left you just a few hours ago! Are we too late? Where is Alpha Isaiah?”
Drayden shifted, a display of popping muscle and fur retreating into human skin. When he stood on two feet, his face gleaming with sweat, he began speaking between panting breaths. “I responded to a request for backup from Rina and Gage, who were responsible for security tonight. When I arrived, it was already too late. Rina and Gage were taken hostage, and I was held at gunpoint before I could call for help or retaliate. Then Alpha’s mate came to stall before Alpha was taken through the bunker portal.”
“Isaiah’sgone?” Nako whispered.
“He traded himself for me,” Maya said.
The Betas stood shell-shocked for a moment as reality began to sink in.
“What the fuck,” Cindy said. In all the times they’d worked together in the gym, Maya had never heard Cindy swear.
“I retrieved whatever I could from the weapons cache in the safe house and ran to the cliffs,” Alex said as he turned to Maya. “Backup met me there. We were the snipers shooting from above. I didn’t hear the negotiation that happened. Where are they taking Alpha?”
“To their hidden lab,” Maya replied. She swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat. She was already clammy and sweaty at what came next, but she was going back. There was no choice. “I have to get Isaiah before I try to close the portal for good.”
“You can’t go by yourself,” Drayden said as he continued to angle his body away from her, as if protecting her from having to see him naked. “Isaiah told me we had to support you, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. How can we be back up?”
The question threw her off. She glanced at all their faces as they stared at her expectantly. Not one of them laughed at Drayden’s comment. It was as if they truly expected her to lead.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. The Betas all stood in a semi-circle around her, their power in their formation and in their strength.
“Claimed or not, you are the Alpha’s mate,” Alex said. “We’ll defend you with our lives.”
“It’s your call on what we do next,” Sonya said. “You’ve proven yourself, and after last night’s meeting, we know that you’re determined to save our dimension and our pack.”
Sonya had been Maya’s biggest roadblock. Her snide comments about training, the glances towards Maya’s arm, they were all clear signs of rejection. However, her solemn expression now was anything but defiant.
“Is it really my call?”
Nako stepped towards her, hands on her hips. “Alpha’s mate, if you haven’t figured it out yet, we trust you with his life and with ours. Now, what are we going to do to get Alpha back?”
Maya realized they were treating her as if she was so much more important than the monster she thought she’d become.
She looked at the metal grate over the bunker portal, then back at the Betas. She now knew they had a chance of winning.
“Okay. We had three plans that we devised last night. We’re going to skip plans A and B and go directly to C.”
The Betas looked at each other warily. They knew what the C recommendation had been and the enormity of the task. She’d seen their skeptical faces as she stood next to Isaiah’s side and illustrated her plan in detail.
