Page 9

Maze

“He’s what!?” I blurted out as I watched my mom clear the dining room table.

“Namir is bringing this girl over here for an injury. Apparently, she hurt herself,” she said. “So, I’m calling up Essie…an old college friend that helped with your wounds…She uses water for healing…”

“Ohh,” I said, nodding in an attempt to sound cool and chill. All while trying to process everything. “Oh okay. Can’t wait to see them.”

Namir was bringing Maggie over here ? He was going to let her meet our mother? This was a big deal, and my mama knew it too. By the way she started cleaning and wiping down the counters, I knew she was anxious to meet the one everyone talked about. I scurried into the bathroom at the first chance before grabbing my phone to text Draco. Fingers were typing so fast, I could barely finish without sending it.

I smiled. Namir hadn’t given me a definite response since Seth and I proposed the idea of starting our own pack, but it was already taking place. There was really nothing he could do to stop it. Draco planned on running things from his end, and I intended to dominate and guide mine with or without Namir. The plan was to move forward.

“Essie, sorry to call you this early in the morning,” I heard my mama say. I quietly slid into the living room and sat down, watching the two old friends converse by the stove in secret. Essie had just taken her jacket off and NY cap to reveal her wide, round eyes that were only born to nymphs. Her pointy ears struck out and her fangs came down like claws on her lower lip. Who did my mama think she was fooling when they began to talk? I could hear the faintest cough from a stray cat a mile away, surely she knew I could hear her. My mom has been up here, above ground way too long. She sometimes forgot she wasn’t just around humans anymore and their basic hearing.

“He’s bringing the girl here,” she whispered.

“What girl?”

“The one with the white hair…the one even The First Family is uncertain about,” she mumbled under her breath.

“They’re pawning her off as Gaia…did you hear about that?”

“Yeah but is she really?” My mom questioned with a blow of her breath. She didn’t believe it. Her tone already said she wasn’t feeling the idea of Maggie and Namir being together.

“He’s my son but I don’t…I don’t like this… ”

“He’s also been put out…You said it yourself, who is going to take him?” Essie asked. I frowned because why the fuck do you think you know more about our politics as a nymph? Know your place, fish mouth .

“She’s the reason my boys are fighting now and I can’t stand it. I’ve tried to tell Ty to talk to Namir but he refuses as long as she’s around.”

“Mom, Maggie is really nice,” I cut in from the couch as the two women looked at me. “She’s really sweet and always makes Namir smile and laugh. She’s perfect for my brother. I knew from the start.”

“Was it not Ty that told Namir to get with the girl on purpose? Does she know that?”

“No, and she doesn’t need to know that…”

“What exactly am I seeing her for?” Essie asked, crossing her arms over her chest to look at her college friend. “What happened?”

“Broken arms…”

My mouth dropped. Both arms were broken ? How in the hell did Maggie do that unless…

“If she caused my son to shift, we’re going to have another problem on our hands,” my mom warned in a threatening tone.

Just then, I heard two car doors slam shut. I knew Maggie’s footsteps just from memory on how she casually strolled The Grounds. Slow, not a care in the world, and carefree .

“She’s here,” my mama said as she rolled her sleeves up. Essie placed her bag on the kitchen counter to set up.

“Well let me get my stuff together. I can heal a broken arm if it's not too bad,” she said as she ran the water from the sink. My mom was still anxious as she looked into the mirror hanging on the wall and checked her face.

“Mommy, you look fine… Maggie is cool. I promise,” I said. “You’ll like her.”

“Has your brother said anything about your plans to become alpha?”

“Not yet but he knows…At least he knows. I’m not sure if Maggie does though.”

“Hmmmph…It’s not her place,” she muttered.

“Mom, Namir can hear you–––”

“I don’t care. She can’t.” She huffed just as the hard knocks on the door signaled their arrival.

I stood up, beaming from ear to ear, anxious to see Maggie for the first time, but when the door opened…my mouth dropped. Maggie stepped in first wearing sweats that belonged to him with a large black t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back and braided down to her but in one thick chunky braid, and her arms were wrapped against her chest. You could tell she’d been crying a little, probably from the pain but she was trying to stay strong when she greeted my mom first.

“Hi, Mrs––– ”

“I know who you are,” my mom said with her hand in the air to stop her. “No need to do all of that. Come in.”

I heard the attitude in her voice just from the sight of looking at Maggie but when Namir stepped in behind her, my mom became mute. My body naturally backed up. He walked into the house with his eyes hardening only for our mother, silently checking her before she could say anything else. His energy felt off. It wasn’t the usual Namir that was easy going, playful, and rebellious. This felt different. He even smelled different. Namir even looked like he’d gotten a little taller…a little thicker in muscles…and his face…matured a little with the beard coming in like thick prickly hair covering his lower half.

“Sit down right here,” Essie said, tapping the chair. “This is probably going to hurt for a moment but I need to see the full extent of the damage before I can do anything…”

My mom closed the door, nervously glancing up at her son before looking at me as I shrugged. She sensed something was off about him too, but he smiled at Essie in greeting.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Namir… I was hoping my niece would have your class while she’s at the school but, how are you?” Essie asked as she unwrapped the bandage around Maggie. I silently waved to her as she grinned .

“I’m alright.” He nodded towards me in greeting. “Doing my best to get by.”

“That’s good.”

“You hungry, Namir?” My mom asked, walking into the kitchen.

“I’m not…You want anything, Maggie?” He asked while setting his keys down on the table. Our mother let out a snort in protest.

“I didn’t ask her.”

Namir stared at our mother and I swear, I felt the hairs standing up on my back at attention. There was no mistaking the look he gave the woman who brought him into this world. The only thing that broke the tension was Maggie letting out a loud cry which caused Namir to launch towards Essie with a threatening growl. He stepped in between the two, keeping Maggie behind him. Essie’s hands were in the air, wide nymph eyes startled as she looked towards my mom for help, but even she didn’t know what to do.

“Namir…chill,” Maggie whispered with a sniff. “She said it was going to hurt…You gotta chill…”

“You said you wanted her arms to be healed, she can do it,” mom said as she placed her hand on Namir’s shoulder. “She’s not going to hurt her.”

No one said a word as Namir slowly backed out of the kitchen and simply watched Essie’s every move. That felt primal…animalistic. Nothing human or logical about that ju st now. He was protecting Maggie from pure animal instinct.

From boiling the water on the stove to placing particular herbs to make some sort of tea, she eventually used her hands to pull the water from the boiling pot. The bubbles formed into a small trail in midair before letting the liquid wrap around both arms and hold. Maggie winced, trying not to cry as her eyes stayed on Namir who stared back. They were locked in with each other as she bit her lower lip to counter the pain. His teeth only had a few moments of gritting and growling in response, watching her endure the heat, but they never took their eyes off one another.

He was in love with her. That was a look of love, affection, and his aggression towards everyone else was a way of making it known his territory was her. Wherever she was, is where he would be. Just like that, the balance in the house went through a natural reset. Namir had set the tone just based on how he was carrying himself. He looked, moved, and even smelled like an alpha… It was always said that he should have been, but now… You could feel it. He was different now. He smelled like power…dominance…strength. The problem is, she did too. My mom even went into the fridge to pull out breakfast food, asking Maggie if she’d eaten yet because she could sense it and naturally responded to it.

I pulled out my phone to see Draco had texted me a few times to ask if he needed to be there. If his presence was needed, I sighed, and simply replied,

Maggie and Namir.

I didn’t say anything further as I tucked the phone away and slowly smiled, feeling the bittersweet moment of being an alpha of my own pack and family pass me by. It was always my brother but even with Maggie looking every bit like his match…his mate, his equal… She was set to be the new alpha, too. Draco and I didn’t stand a chance.

Namir smiled at Maggie as she spoke about her friends and watched her stand up at Essie’s command to get a good look at her arms. Her white braid that hung down her back side slowly untangled from the braid and gently unfolded, moving on its own as she spoke. He watched, jaw slowly rotating like he was chewing on gum but instead, he was feeding off the energy her body was giving out.

“They feel better now,” Maggie said in awe as she moved her arms.

“Be careful not to do any heavy lifting for about a day or so,” Essie said as she took some cream to rub between her hands. “I’m glad you and my niece are close. She’s a sweet girl… ”

“She can do this too, right? She has healing abilities like yours?”

“Yes, all the women in my family do. We don’t really know how or why but the men are naturally protective over us for this very reason…We’re jokingly called the vampires of the waters on account of our fangs and healing abilities.”

“That is so cool,” she gassed. “I wish I had something like that…some sort of ability or power…”

“Tuh, you are the moon…that is more than enough.” She laughed. “Your gravitational pull is strong, don’t you feel it?”

Maggie shook her head. I carefully leaned in to watch Essie pull water from the sink to drop on the tile floor.

“Watch what the water does,” Essie whispered. Everyone became quiet as my eyes became fixated on the droplets of water on the kitchen floor. She spilled more water all around the floor, careful not to get Maggie wet until I heard a gasp. I got up to make my way over, watching the small droplets of water slowly trickle to the center where Maggie stood as if being pulled by her.

“In my family,” Essie said with her hand on her chest. “The women can make water move because we have the ability to see what this is.” She pointed to the floor as more water sucked towards Maggie’s feet. “We can feel it in the air and manipulate it…You should be able to as well.” She gently pulled a water droplet from the ground wi th a raised hand. Pinching her fingers ever so slightly, the water began a thin line just hovering in the air. “Hold your hand out for me, baby.” Maggie looked at Namir with a grin before holding her hand out as Essie gently placed the trail of water above the palm.

“Close your eyes and try and feel it…Feel the energy holding this water up,” she whispered. “This is how I taught my niece…even though she’s a natural at it.”

I looked towards Namir, who kept a hard gaze on Maggie with his chest silently heaving. It was faint but the electric jolt that coursed through my body was the same feeling I get when it was a threat around. The hairs on my back stood up, and my body began to overheat in preparation to shift. My mother looked at me, feeling the same thing I felt as her hand silently clawed at the table to restrain herself. Namir was the only one who stood calm, carefully watching her without so much as a blink or twitch of an eyelid. There’s no way he didn’t feel it. His body had to respond to hers the way ours did. It was impossible not to.

Essie backed away with her hands raised and we watched the bit of water slowly swirl, forming some sort of circle that rotated in her hand for a second or two before the water splashed against her hand. Essie clapped as Maggie freaked .

“I know y'all saw that!” She blurted out. “I just made the water move!”

“What do they have you in? You should definitely be an elemental student like my niece,” Essie said with her arms folded across her chest. “They aren’t doing you any service by holding you back but I bet that’s on purpose. That type of ability doesn’t do well with being suppressed. But…I suppose since you’re a first year…they are trying to get a sense of who you are before the real work begins. So now, you are basically a kin to a healing nymph,” she joked as she placed her hand on my shoulders. “Look at me, related to a sky god… Tah ! I’m telling everyone I know.”

“A sky god?” She repeated with curiosity.

“That’s what you are…yes…The old Black magic would have called you a sky god…Gaia is some other mess…colonizer name.” She waved off. “It’s as simple as you being in the sky…out of our reach.”

Maggie turned around to hug Essie, who looked caught off guard by the exchange.

“Thank you…I actually feel like for once… I learned a little something about myself,” she said before holding her arms out. “And my arms feel great…Do you see it, Namir?”

Namir hovered over her to take a look. It’s the way she stared my brother in the eyes with no fear as she spoke to him…I couldn’t explain it. Maggie was exactly who they say she was. There was nothing Namir could do that would deter her or scare her. She found a way to tame the most violent part of his nature and in that, she found her own strength and dominance that resonated with the rest of us.

Things were about to change.