Page 12 of M.A.Y.A
“Knife, Sonya. Now.”
With a grumble, she produced a Ka-Bar from a sheath that was strapped to her thigh. She held it out on the flat of her palm.
Isaiah took the blade, then flipped it in the air so that he was holding the tip while offering the hilt to Maya. “Take it,” he said. “I’m the most powerful wolf on the West Coast. You’ll have me at your mercy if they so much as breathe on you in a way you don’t like. You have the power here, Maya.”
There was a low hum of energy in the room as his Betas froze. None of them liked this idea. That was too fucking bad for them. He had to believe that his mate wouldn’t hurt him. Not intentionally.
Maya took the hilt and slowly rotated her wrist. “Are you sure about this?” she murmured. Her voice was hesitant, as if holding him at knifepoint was as distasteful to her as it was to his Betas.
Isaiah reached out, and using his index finger, lifted her chin so her eyes met his. They were dark, unsure, and filled with a loneliness that made him ache for her.
You’re not alone anymore, my Maya.
“I’m sure,” he said. “It’s important we take a look.” With their gazes still locked, he got to his feet and slowly unbuttoned his shirt to the middle of his chest. He watched her fascination grow at the sight of the tattoos that covered his skin from shoulder to shoulder.
Then he smelled a hint of arousal. It was barely there, but it was easily identifiable.
His Maya liked the way he looked. That was good, considering the fact that they’d need to be naked and intimate in order to complete the claiming ceremony. He’d also be fooling himself if he didn’t admit that her attraction stroked his ego. He was already hooked on her scent, on her hair, and the way those big brown eyes framed with dark lashes told him a whole story. It was only fair that she liked the look of him, too.
Isaiah sat on the edge of the mattress at her side. She smelled just as delicious as the first time he’d met her, but he didn’t want to scare her by taking another whiff of her neck.
“I’m in striking distance,” he said. “You’re armed. The quicker they can look, the faster it will be over, and I can feed you.”
Maya glanced over at the betas before she angled her body towards him again. Her hand tightened on the hilt of the knife. Everyone in the room tensed at the move. The aggression in the air was palpable.
“Explain to me what you’re doing as you’re assessing,” Maya said to Cindy and Sergei.
“We can do that,” Cindy replied. She approached Maya first and then motioned towards her forearm. “Can you tell us what you know about your own body?”
Maya held her arm out in front of her, the knife in the other hand pointed at Isaiah’s chest. “The forearm panel is meant to read out my vitals and alert me if something is not within normal ranges. It’s also meant to act as an early detection system should any of the chips in my heart and brain begin to malfunction so they can be replaced before failing. Since I have no intention of replacing anything, I have a feeling that any deterioration in the future will result in my death.”
A growl erupted through the room loud enough to silence all of the occupants.
Maya gasped and yanked her forearm back. “What was that?”
“My wolf doesn’t like to hear you talk so casually about your death,” Isaiah said smoothly. “And you’re my unclaimed mate, so I might be a bit more possessive when it comes to you and your safety.”
There was an echo of snorts and chuckles in the room from his insolent pack members.
“I feel like you’re talking in riddles,” Maya muttered.
“What he’s trying to say is that with you around, Alpha is about to become unbearable,” Alex replied with a shit-eating grin. He stood against the back wall with his arms crossed over his chest like he was enjoying a show.
“This is all very strange to me,” Maya replied, but she extended her forearm again for inspection.
“What’s strange is this interface,” Cindy said. She began to fiddle with the display window and some of the mechanisms that were touch sensitive. “I’m going to go into the settings function to see what options are here, okay?”
Maya glanced over at Isaiah, then nodded.
Sergei watched over Cindy’s shoulder. “It looks like the same technology we used to have for cell phones ten years ago,” he mused. “It’s deceptively simple. If you are from an alternate dimension, then the technology might be where there is a deviation in timeline.”
“And the fact that all of you think you’re animals,” Maya replied. “Shifters, right?”
Isaiah couldn’t help but chuckle at her frustration. “I can’t wait to see your face the first time I shift, tiny warrior.”
“Tiny warrior?”
“It seems fitting.”
