Page 28 of M.A.Y.A (After the End #4)

Chapter Eighteen

Maya and Isaiah climbed up the ladder and reemerged in the glen surrounded by towering redwoods covered in moss. She sucked in the fresh air and released her breath with a sob.

They did it. They fucking did it.

She felt Isaiah’s arms wrap around her as she turned to count the pack members that had made it through the bunker portal. When she was certain that everyone was present, she let out a squeal of delight.

Freedom. She was finally free.

Alex’s voice cut through the glen. “This can’t be happening.

” He stood naked, his muscled body shining with sweat, as he hovered over Margeret.

She cowered next to him on her knees, her eyes squinting since it was most likely the first time in a long while she’d seen the sun.

Her red hair glittered in the rays of light filtering through the tree branches.

“What’s wrong, Alex?” Isaiah called out.

“I’m mated to the enemy!” he shouted. “What the fuck?”

Everyone froze.

Mated.

Maya heard Isaiah take a deep breath and sniff the air from where he stood next to her. “Alex is…mated,” he said, confirming his best friend’s assertion.

“Another one bites the dust,” Sergei said.

“I can’t believe Alex is mated,” Cindy added in astonishment.

“At least we’ll have someone who can help Alpha’s mate with her arm,” Drayden said.

“Alex mated is something I never thought I’d see,” Sonya said.

“This is going to be so fun to watch,” Nako replied with a laugh.

Alex snarled at the rest of the Betas, the sound vicious and full of frustrated bite.

Maragaret shrieked and looked like she was about to faint again.

Maya took a step towards the doctor. “You’re scaring her, Alex. Maybe you should—”

“She worked for your captors!” Alex shouted.

“Brother.” Isaiah’s easy voice cut through the chaos. “Your responsibility is to take care of your mate, and you’re doing a piss poor job of it right now. She’s terrified.”

His eyes flashed gold and black, and a growl filled the air. Everyone but Isaiah froze at the sound. It was filled with a dominance that could only be rivaled by the pack’s Alpha.

“Maya?”

“Yes, Alex?”

“Did this doctor hurt you in your captivity?”

Maya’s wide eyes blinked in response. “No, of course not. She was the one who helped both me and Isaiah—”

“Fine,” he called out. “The rest can wait.” Then, in a move that shocked Maya and the Betas, Alex hoisted Margaret over his shoulder and took off at a steady run. He was still naked, and Maragaret was now eye level with his bare ass as they disappeared through the trees.

Maya’s mouth fell open.

“She’ll be fine,” Isaiah said.

“Boss, I’m going to take the day off, then we’ll debrief at the Beta Council meeting tomorrow morning.

” Sonya was now clothed in a sports bra and biker shorts.

She walked in bare feet over to Isaiah first and gave him a quick hug before she did the same to Maya.

“I think that’s enough excitement for me for today. Alpha’s mate, do you need me?”

Isaiah watched as Maya’s expression filled with shock at the gesture, then at Sonya’s words. “Ah, no. Thank you for today. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

“And we wouldn’t have saved Isaiah without you.

” She winked before pulling Maya into another firm hug.

With a sassy salute, she spun on her heels and ran off into the forest. Maya received the same warm appreciation from the rest of the pack until she stood alone in the glen with Isaiah at her side.

He’d pulled on a pair of shorts that had been cached in the glen.

“Your plan C worked,” he said as he linked his fingers with hers, and they turned toward the bunker portal. “I’m so glad you brought it up last night.”

“Plan C worked,” she repeated. “Now, there is no way they can access the portal entrance without removing all the rubble from the Empire State Building collapse, and they don’t have the resources or the manpower to do that.

If we mimic the explosion on our side, then it’ll be sealed for generations at least.”

“We’ll check with Margaret to see what she thinks about the rock face collapsing over the opening,” Isaiah said, pointing to the mountain in the distance. “I’m surprised your rebel scientist turned out to be Alex’s mate.”

“I hope this is where Margaret and I both find peace,” Maya said.

A part of her was still scared that they missed something, that her enemies could still find her.

If she was being honest with herself, there was a chance that fear would never go away.

But realistically, there was no way that was happening.

As if he could read her thoughts, Isaiah cupped Maya’s face and traced a finger over her cheek until her eyes met his. “You’re safe,” he said.

The reality of the ordeal came rushing to the forefront of her mind. The way that Isaiah followed Darwin into the bunker portal was a memory that would haunt her.

“You’re safe too.” Her voice cracked with the words.

They rested their foreheads against each other and breathed in their scents.

“I almost lost you again, tiny warrior. I was going to kill all those men in that clearing, but the risk was too great. One stray bullet could’ve ended your life. And I knew you had to face your demons on your own.”

Maya’s eyes filled with tears, and she buried her face against his chest. A soft sob breached her lips.

She trembled in his arms. “I was so scared,” she whispered.

“I was so scared that I wouldn’t see you again, and then I was so mad that I kept you at arm’s length because I thought that I wasn’t good enough for you.

And you ended up getting captured anyway.

” Another sob, and she held onto Isaiah’s broad chest as she finally let go of all the pent-up emotion that had built since the moment she’d escaped almost two weeks ago.

Her body racked with each painful cry, but she knew that Isaiah was there to protect her even as she closed her eyes from the rest of their world.

She was so grateful for her mate.

When her tears slowed, Isaiah pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “You did it. You saved yourself and you saved me. You’re truly a powerful shifter in your own right, baby. You slayed your own demons.”

Maya knew her face was most likely splotchy red, and her eyes were bloodshot, but she felt lighter. She felt free. “Tomorrow. We’ll fill the hole with as much concrete as we can. Then when your geologists give you the okay, we’ll drop a mountain on top of it.”

Isaiah nodded as he stroked a hand over her ponytail, a repetitive gesture that seemed to soothe him just as much as it soothed her. “It’ll be done. Help me with the cover, and I’ll send a team out tomorrow to handle the rest.”

Maya nodded, and together they closed the metal disk over the hole and walked through the glen and into the forest.

“What do we do now?” Maya said quietly.

Isaiah grinned then hoisted her over his shoulder, the way Alex had done with his new mate. She shrieked in delight, loving this playful side of Isaiah.

“I believe you promised me a claiming ceremony,” he called out. Maya burst out in laughter as Isaiah spun her in a circle before running toward their home.