Page 12 of M.A.Y.A (After the End #4)

Chapter Seven

“We’ll have to administer another sedative to complete the procedure.”

“No, the sedative may skew our results.”

“But sir, she’ll feel the pain.”

“She is no longer human. Whatever feelings will be temporary.”

Gudiya’s scream ripped out of her as she pulled against the restraints, the probes, and the knife that was digging in her open chest cavity.

Her voice was muffled by the bite they’d shoved in her mouth.

She rose in and out of consciousness as the pain tore her apart.

Her voice went hoarse and the scientists cutting her showed no remorse.

“Unit 13 will be our strongest machine yet.”

* * *

Maya bolted upright in bed. She was drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

The shrill sound of her control unit pierced the silence, and she slapped at her forearm to shut it off.

Stumbling out of bed, she barely made it to the toilet before she heaved and emptied the contents of her stomach.

The tiled floor underneath her bare legs chilled her to her bones as she gasped for breath and curled into the fetal position.

There was a crash, the sound of a door slamming against the wall, and heavy footsteps.

“Maya? Maya!”

Then Isaiah’s hands were stroking her hair and rubbing her back. He carefully pulled her into his lap as he sat on the floor against the wall. His warmth chased the chill away, and she burrowed against him even as tears poured down her cheeks. Her body wracked with trembles.

It was as if she was still in captivity, as if she was still tortured every day at the hands of her tormentors. She hated that even though she was safe, she’d never truly be rid of the memories that haunted her.

She needed to stop them from coming after her, from finding her.

As protected as she was in Isaiah’s arms, there was a chance that she’d be ripped away from him, and her nightmares would become her reality once more.

They’d put her back in that box where she’d never see the sun or the constellations again.

That would never happen if she could destroy the portal.

The thought of being by herself again, alone and exposed, was enough to trigger another rush of tears. She clung to Isaiah’s broad shoulders, even as she heard the soft whine of his wolf and felt the scruff on his jaw brush against her temple.

“You’re okay,” he whispered. “You’re going to be okay.”

Maya pressed her forehead against his neck, as she soothed herself with his heat and his scent. He didn’t move a muscle except to stroke a hand over her back, with his other hand covering her feet to ensure her toes didn’t get cold.

“Come on,” he whispered when her heart rate went back to normal. “Let’s get you back in bed.”

Maya shook her head. “Shower,” she replied. “I need to shower.”

He stood with her in his arms, carrying her bridal style over to the sink.

Then he perched her on the vanity before stepping over to the shower stall and turning on the knobs to start the water.

Maya could smell the stink and sweat on her, so while he was adjusting the temperature, she grabbed her toothbrush to brush her teeth.

When she finished, the room had filled with steam, and Isaiah was crowding her space again, his hands on the hem of her sleep shirt.

“Arms up,” he said, his voice gruff.

“I can shower by myself.”

With his thumb and forefinger, he tilted her chin up so she could look at him. “I should’ve been here when you slept. I had to get some work done, and I neglected my mate. Let me do this for you.”

Maya thought about it for a moment, and, realizing that her nakedness wasn’t as much of a concern as it was before her captivity, she nodded. After all, he’d seen her when she first arrived in their dimension.

Isaiah took his time, carefully peeling her clothes off her sweat-soaked body until she stood in front of him in nothing but her panties. To her surprise, he reached over his shoulder and pulled off his fitted shirt, then undid his belt, and dropped his jeans as well.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, breathless at the sight of him in fitted briefs.

“Showering with you,” he said quietly. “Don’t worry, tiny warrior. The first time we’re together won’t be after a nightmare.”

“Presumptuous,” she muttered.

“You’re my mate,” he replied, as if that was the answer for everything between them.

As he carefully ushered her into the shower stall and then stepped in behind her, Maya was beginning to believe that maybe there was some truth to a mating connection.

Isaiah seemed to anticipate her wants and needs, and she was beginning to believe that if she was strong enough, she could do the same for him.

She tilted her head back and let the water stream through her hair. The heat and the soft pressure against her scalp did wonders, rinsing away the last of the memories that plagued her after she woke up.

“Are you okay?” he said against the shell of her ear. The expanse of his chest pressed against her back as they were enrobed in the heat and steam.

“Getting there,” she replied.

He grunted, then squeezed some bodywash into a new washcloth that rested on the shower ledge. Instead of resisting, Maya pulled her wet hair over one shoulder and let him rub the cloth over her back, her shoulders, and then her arms.

When she turned around, Isaiah carefully washed her breasts as well, taking time to massage the soap into her skin.

Maya placed her hands on his shoulders, her forehead resting against his chest as he made his way down her body, until nightmares were replaced with warmth and desire.

She became lightheaded, swaying gently until she was breast to chest. She stayed that way as he put the washcloth aside and began to scrub shampoo into her hair.

His hands brushed over its length until he touched the curve of her back, the swell of her butt.

She felt his arousal against her lower belly, hard and thick, brushing against her, right above the hem of her transparent, wet panties. She pressed against him a little harder to fill the thick ridges, to explore the pleasure that was slowly burning inside of her.

“Isaiah…”

“Ignore it,” he grumbled. “Come on, let’s get you dry and in bed.”

Before he could step out of the shower spray, her hands tightened on his biceps. “Wait,” she said. “I…I don’t want to ignore it.”

Isaiah looked down at her, the water lukewarm now as it poured over her hair and blanketed her body. “Not like this, baby. Not when you’re still wrestling with your demons that woke you up so frightened that my heart was in my throat, and I was running clear across my territory to reach you.”

She nodded, accepting the rejection for what it was. Some of the warmth receded, replaced by a chill. Then she moved to step out of the shower first, before his grip on her waist tightened.

“Maya, no.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for coming when I was falling apart…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Isaiah’s mouth crashed down on hers.

She gasped, and he swallowed the sound as his mouth devoured hers.

He was all tongue and lips and teeth, crowding her into the tiled wall of the shower, consuming her until all she could think about was the way he smelled and felt and tasted.

His body was so large that she drowned in his wet, hard, and hot touch.

He tasted her for so long that her mouth was bruised and used under his unwavering focus, until his fingers pushed below the waistband of her wet panties.

Isaiah’s fingers found her clit swollen and desperate.

She hadn’t pleasured herself, hadn’t felt pleasure in years, and the slightest brush of his thumb had her erupting.

Her knees went weak as an orgasm trembled through her, robbing her of her breath and her sanity.

Her mouth opened against his to call out Isaiah’s name, but she couldn’t speak.

“It’s okay, baby,” he gasped. “Take a deep breath for me.” Then he buried his face against the curve of her neck and bit her hard as his fingers pushed inside of her.

She felt another wave crest, stealing her thoughts and her breath. She couldn’t hold off no matter how hard she tried to escape Isaiah’s ministrations. She stood on her toes, leaned back against the tile, and gripped his shoulders until he had crescent shaped marks from her nails.

“I c-can’t!” she cried.

“You can,” he said, this time his words taking on a sharp edge.

He growled against her ear, and the shudder that took over her was like an electric shock.

Her body was no longer her own, and for a millisecond of clarity, she realized that he’d replaced the terrible feeling of lacking control with one far more pleasurable.

Maya’s knees gave out, and Isaiah was there, ready to catch her and hold her upright before he shut off the water. Her eyes closed when he wrapped a towel around her, and carefully dried her hair, then her body.

They’d come so far that he gave up pretenses of modesty and stripped her out of her underwear before drying her swollen and tender pussy too.

She rested against the vanity, drunk on the aftershocks of her orgasms, while he quickly dried himself as well.

After he tossed his towel in the hamper next to the linen closet, he turned to face her fully nude.

Maya noticed that he was still erect, and when she reached out to touch him, he gripped her wrist to stop her.

“If I feel your hands, tiny warrior, then the rest of our mating period will be spent in bed, and we’re Alphas with people who rely on us.”

His statement was jarring and briefly shook her out of her lust haze.

She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t an Alpha.

She was weak. During her captivity, she cried and screamed and begged.

She could never imagine Isaiah ever giving into the same weaknesses if he had been put in a similar position.

No, she was a coward while he was a true leader.

Goosebumps raced up Maya’s arms as her skin began to chill. Before she could retreat, Isaiah scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

He laid her in the spot she’d abandoned after waking from her nightmare, then slid under the comforter beside her. His body heat was delicious and warmed her as he tucked her against his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and waist, as if she was the most precious commodity in his world.

“W-what are you doing?”

“What I should’ve done the first moment I found my mate,” he grumbled. “Watching over you while you sleep.”

“I don’t need—”

“There is no doubt in my mind that you can handle anything, Maya,” he said against the crown of her head. “But you’ve been free for three days. What you experienced was incredibly traumatic. You can’t expect to resume a life without feeling its effects.”

Her eyes welled with tears, and she fisted a hand against his chest. “I don’t want this to ruin the rest of my life,” she whispered. “But I’m never going to be free, not really, am I?”

Isaiah hushed her and stroked a hand down her naked back. “Baby, you will, but you’re at the start of a marathon. You’ll get there, but you can’t expect it to happen right away.”

She sniffled again, hating that he’d been so kind to her, so generous and caring, and here she was falling apart and needing his attention. He had a pack to take care of, and that’s where his focus should be.

“You deserve a mate who doesn’t have this baggage,” she whispered.

“No one deserves a mate. They’re blessed with one.”

“Some blessing,” she murmured.

Maya felt Isaiah stiffen, then his fingers tightened in her hair, pulling her head back in both a firm and gentle gesture as he exerted dominance. When she looked at his face, she saw an angry fire burning in his eyes.

“Don’t you ever think you’re anything less than a miracle, Maya. You survived. It’ll just take you some time to thrive. Trust that I am the person chosen to help you do that.”

She didn’t believe him. How could she? But she nodded and tucked her head against his chest again.

“Go to sleep,” he said. “Tomorrow, I’ll get you in touch with one of our pack therapists, who works with our soldiers.

It’s up to you whether or not you want to talk to them, but they’ll help you if you want.

We’ll also work on ways to make you feel safe.

In the meantime, I’ll be here every night, okay? ”

Maya nodded. She closed her eyes and listened to the heavy beat of Isaiah’s heart. The rhythm eased the remaining tension she’d carried in her bones.

Her last thought before she went to sleep was that although she could make a mile-long list of things she could do to heal, nothing would make her feel as safe as being held in Isaiah’s arms.