Page 18 of M.A.Y.A (After the End #4)
Chapter Twelve
Isaiah knew he had royally fucked up the minute Maya stormed out of the dining room. All of his Betas knew he’d fucked up as well with the way they were avoiding his gaze. But shit, he didn’t want his mate in the middle of a fight. He wanted her safe.
As if Alex could read his mind, his second in command spoke in a quiet voice. “Your mate has her fair share of Alpha aggression and should stand by your side when we’re defending the pack.”
“She’s not ready,” he repeated.
“Looks like she’s ready to me,” Sonya replied as she began taking her knives out of her holsters in preparation for a shift. “She nearly kicked my head off during training today.”
The other Betas nodded; they’d all taken turns working with Maya to improve her skills.
“I’ll talk to her later,” Isaiah grumbled. Much later. “Let’s just get to the portal. Have you heard back from the Omega who reported the disturbance?”
Drayden shook his head. “Michelle. She lives in sector six with her sister. She isn’t responding to requests for communication at this time.”
“She could be in trouble,” Nako said.
“Which is exactly why Maya can’t go,” Isaiah replied. “I don’t want this cyborg anywhere near her or the rest of my pack.”
They rose from the table and quickly rushed through the Den to the front courtyard, ready to strip and shift. Drayden was the only one who would remain in human form, so he could continue to track the intruder.
Just as they were about to leave, their alarms went off again.
“Oh shit,” Drayden muttered.
“Oh shit?” Isaiah repeated. “What do you mean ‘oh shit?’”
Drayden handed his tablet over with a map pulled up on the screen.
The territory markers were clear—the safe house was at one corner of the screen while the bunker was at the top left.
A second figure appeared near the safe house location with a marker that was perilously similar to that of the intruder.
Maya.
Isaiah roared. “Let’s move out! Now!”
Without bothering to change out of his clothes, he shifted and took off into the forest. Drayden caught up with him first and took the lead with his map in hand. The Betas were close on their heels.
When they reached the safe house, Isaiah waited for a signal. Drayden shook his head. “She’s already near the clearing. She’s as fast as a Beta shifter, so it’s hard to keep up with her.”
Isaiah’s wolf snarled. Through fractured, hyper-focused eyes, he recognized his mate’s marker on the outstretched tablet.
It headed straight towards the enemy intruder.
The human part of him knew he had to keep a clear head.
Maya spent so long in a glass box that if she faced an intruder trained in military combat, there was a good chance that she’d get hurt.
“We have to go,” Drayden said grimly. He left his tablet between the roots of a neighboring tree before he shifted as well.
They moved as one with Isaiah leading, until they heard the sounds of a gun firing, and a feminine battle cry. Isaiah charged forward and reached the glen just in time to see his mate defeating her enemy without any help.
He watched at the edge of the tree line as his tiny warrior snap the neck of an enemy combatant twice her size.
Isaiah’s heart swelled with pride. This woman was strong enough to stand by his side, and he was such a fool to make her think that, even for a second, she wasn’t good enough to sit with his Betas.
To be part of their plan to protect his pack.
He watched as shock and horror reflected in her glassy eyes.
He nearly went to her when she threw up in the trees.
He could feel her despair, and he wanted to cradle her against his chest and take away the pain.
His wolf could smell blood and knew she needed medical attention, too.
Maya was limping and favoring her right leg.
Both her heart and her body were his responsibility, and as soon as she was ready, he’d cherish both.
When she passed out, Isaiah left his Betas to handle cleanup in the glen.
He shifted and carried his mate back to his rooms. There, one of the pack’s doctors checked her from head to toe after which Isaiah stripped her and tucked her under the covers.
Her injuries were minor, but any hurt was unacceptable.
Maya had already suffered enough in her life; he felt it was his responsibility to ensure she enjoyed every moment going forward.
As night fell, Isaiah kept watch, and for the first time in his tenure as Alpha, he ignored the messages and the phone calls.
His focus was strictly on the woman in his bed.
She was a shifter in her own right, and the greatest gift he’d ever been given.
More importantly, he knew that even though it had only been a week, even though they’d shared a bed for less than that time, the life he’d envisioned for himself had changed.
Maya was his priority, and he’d do anything and everything to protect her first.