《Regretted Rejection : Wrath of the Moon》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 "MAYA FORRESTER..." a scream echoed from downstairs. "Get your ass down here. We arete for the warrior meeting.", Maya''s twin brother Ken screamed. "Ken...nguage!", their father admonished. "But Dad... she always does this and then the pack will think I am azy Alpha." Ken replied whinning a little. "Just tell me who thinks so, O mighty Alpha!, and I will kick their a... rears." Maya hastily corrected noticing her father giving her a stern look. She started down the stairs taking two at a time. When Maya and Ken both became 19 year old, their father Justin had started their Alpha training so that he can hand over the reins of the Forrester pack to them both, with Ken as the Alpha and Maya as pseudo Luna. Though both were now in theirte twenties andpletely in charge of their pack, they still acted a little like kids when they were home. Their mother, Judy, had always ensured that the twins have a ce where they can let go of stress and weight of the responsibility that being a pack''s leader can bring; and hence, they rarely behaved their age when at home. "Careful Maya, or you will fall." Judy, their mother chided. Grinning from ear to ear, Maya hugged her mom and dropped a kiss on her father''s balding head. "Good Morning! my dear parents. Now we will be off to harass the pack warriors and give them a hard time.", saying so she almost dragged her brother out of the door and next to the car. Her father shook his head, a little smile ying on his lips. -------------------- At the warrior meeting: Ken was sitting at the head of a huge conference table with Maya to his right. All the yfulness was lost from their posture and they both looked every inch the Alphas they were. Ken''s forehead vein was twitching a little, signalling his irritation to his Betas. All of the warriors; Betas and the Omegas, were showing their nervousness. The atmosphere was so thick with tension that it could be cut with a knife. A young female Omega made the bold move and said, "We are sorry, Alpha. I know this is the third time this month that a rogue was able to get inside the pack borders. We have been doing our patrols as instructed and with diligence." At this Ken''s head snapped in her direction. "Are you trying to say that I am at fault? Or that I have made a mistake while nning patrols?", Ken thundered. "Well, it certainly is not her fault.", Maya interjected. Ken turned towards her, a little growl escaping his lips. cing a calming hand on her brother''s arm, Maya shoved a file towards Ken. He flicked a nce towards the file. "These are the number of warriors in the pack." Maya started, "Only a quarter of them are on patrol duty with the other three quarters being stationed in city and/or working as spies, etc. If we want the pack borders patrolled 24 hours we have to do it in three shifts, that is if we want the warriors to stay alert. With there being three shifts the number of warriors on patrol duty gets divided by three. And for a packnd as massive as ours, the number of warriors patrolling on 1 shift is not enough. There are bound to be loopholes. I think we muste up with an alternate n for patrols, or we would have to call back the warriors stationed out in the city." Maya''s words lightened Ken''s fury and he began thinking. The atmosphere also became considerably lighter. "If we call back the warriors stationed outside then the packnd will be protected but then we would lose our connection with government and influence over humans. We are in an ideal position to keep tabs withtest happenings in the nearby cities and towns." pointed out a middle aged Beta, Mark. "That is true..." murmured Maya. She bowed her head thoughtfully and let the rest of the warriors discuss various patrol ns. Maya nced around the room and the projector caught her attention. They used it during the meeting as and when required, otherwise it was in a corner, ignored by all. "That''s it.", Maya banged her fist on the desk making everyone jump. "We are idiots.", she dered. Ken threw her an inquiring nce with a raised eyebrow. "Hidden cameras.", she said as if it would exin everything. The Betas and the Omegas threw her a puzzled look. "Let''s install hidden wireless cameras surrounding our pack border. That way we wouldn''t need as many warriors and we would still be able to monitor the border in a better way." Maya rified. Ken nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds a better n than the rest of us came up with. Mark, is there anyone in the pack who is technologically sound and will be able to get this set up done as early as possible?" N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. "Yes actually, there are two of the young warriors or I should say warriors to be. You will be inspecting them at next pack run. If you find them trustworthy enough to be given the warrior rank, then we can ask them to work on pack security right away. They are also the wolves who joined us a couple of months back. So far they have proved loyal and none of them are seen contacting anyone outside the pack. We can test them for Theta levels as well." "All right then, meeting adjourned. Cassidy please send the minutes of meeting to everyone present here." Kenmanded to his secretary. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Ken and Maya climbed into their car with Ken in drivers seat. "Do you think we should trust new pack members and make them warrior level?" Ken questioned. Maya thought for a moment and replied, "My instincts are screaming No. However, if you used your Alphamand on both of them and questioned their intentions then we should be able to get a truthful answer and we will be able to judge if we should keep them or discard." Ken nodded thoughtfully, "You did good today. Dad would be so proud." Maya simply smiled for they reached home. Both of them walked in to the smell of delicious food wafting from kitchen. Ken''s tummy growled and Maya cracked a joke about his stomach being an endless pit to which Ken simply reached out and messed up her hair. "Lunch is ready!" Judy called as she saw them entering. Lunch affair at Forrester house was as always a light and jolly one with Ken shovelling food in his mouth and Maya telling her parents about details of pack meetings. As soon as they were done, the twins made their way to the study to catch up on paperwork and study N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. financials of the pack. They spent the rest of their day solving various problems and dealing with the Forrester industries which was the main source of their pack''s finance. The Forrester co. was started by their great grandfather who had seen the wisdom in staying connected with the human world by working with them. Now Forrester industries were dealing in various sectors with sess. Byte evening, the twins hadpleted most of their work and so they came out of the study and went to their respective rooms for a little free time before dinner. Maya tried to watch TV to alleviate her restlessness but her wolf was having none of it. Maya had a very aggressive wolf who loved outdoors and being cooped up all day inside didn''t sit well with her. Maya jerked her door open and almost ran to the back door. Wrenching it open she stepped out and after observing that there was no one around started shedding her clothes. She changed into a beautiful russet colored wolf. She shook out her fur and stepped slowly towards the forest. Her walk increased in speed and as she hit the tree line, she was running in full speed. Maya loved these runs but today she gave the control to her wolf, as an apology for staying indoors, and retreated from their mind. Maya''s wolf was grateful and started running at an even greater speed. Maya''s wolf ran to a small stream that widened out into a pool. Shepped up the water satisfying her thirst. She heard a branch snap behind her and quickly turned towards the sound, her hackles up and growling low in her throat. The wolf woke up Maya and she took over the control of their body. She contacted her brother mentally alerting him of her situation and sharing what she saw with him. From the bushes a ck wolf slowly stepped out, his eyes on Maya''s. He took in her defensive posture and he stopped, cocking his head to the right. He slowly and reassuringly started towards her. Ken was screaming in her head to step back but Maya held her position knowing it would show weakness to retreat. The wolf kepting towards her. Maya growled once again in warning but the male wolf whined. Maya was confused and Ken too stopped screaming, opting to silently observe now. The wolf was quite near Maya now and she still hadn''t lost her defensive posture. The ck wolf then simply sniff. Immediately her senses were surrounded by the smell of coconut and her wolf rejoiced at finding her mate. Maya backed away and started running back towards the Alpha house to get her clothes. The ck wolf followed her just as quickly and ran behind her, so close that her tail kept brushing his nose. Maya took her clothes and went behind a bush to change. She stepped back and saw that the ck wolf had now changed into a very handsome man wearing just shorts and staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. She walked slowly taking unsure steps towards him. He stayed still, not moving and watching her every step. Maya''s wolf was observing every body part of her mate and she growled approvingly in Maya''s head. Maya came closer to him and he grabbed her waist, pulling herst distance against his body. "Hi, I am Maya Forrester." Maya breathed out. "I am Xander. Xander Wolfe." her mate replied. "And I am Ken Forrester, Alpha of the Forrester pack." called out Ken from behind them. At his voice both of them jumped apart. "Alpha" Xander said bowing. "And you are the new pack member who we are going to test tomorrow for the position of the warrior.." Ken stated simply. Xander nodded, unable to keep his eyes off Maya. His hands were itching to hold her, his wolf barely able to stay in control. Ken looked towards both of them in amusement and then said, "For now stay away from Maya. You can mate her after the test. Although Maya is the Luna of this pack, she is a pseudo Luna and hence even if you mate her you will not be able to im Alpha title." Xander''s eyes flicked towards Ken and he said in a loud clear voice, "I ept your proposal Alpha Ken. However I want to assure you that I have no designs to be the Alpha of this pack. And I will mate Maya only after we both get to know each other well." Maya growled at this but Xander only smiled at her. Ken nodded thoughtfully and beckoned to Maya to follow him. Maya stomped inside. Ken turned towards her amused, "You should be happy that you have found your mate and here you are acting grumpy." Maya sighed, "My wolf wants to jump his bones and he wants to wait till he knows me better...." she trailed off. Ken replied scratching his chin, "As a brother I appreciate this gesture, it means that he is a gentleman and will treat you well." "Perhaps you are right." Maya replied her shoulders sagging. "Go to sleep Maya. Tomorrow is going to be hectic." Ken advised. Nodding her head, Maya dragged her feet to her room. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The sunlight was streaming through her window and warming her up. Maya knew that she should get up but she didn''t want to. She turned in her sleep to avoid the sunlight falling on her face. "MAYA..." Ken screamed. He threw her door open and stomped to her bed. "Wake up sleepyhead, we have the pack test today." Maya simply moaned and turned away. "So you don''t want to meet your mate today?" Ken asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. At the word mate, Maya jumped awake. She red at her brother who walked out of her roomughing to himself. She then dressed up hurriedly and came down to see her family eating breakfast. As she walked down the stairs, her brother Ken looked at her with his eyes full of teasing and amusement. "What is the matter guys?", their father Justin asked. Even though he was technically retired from Alpha duties, nothing ever escaped his attention especially when it came to his children. He had noticed Maya''s wolf on edge today and Ken''s amused nce at her as well, he had noticed that Maya had put on her t-shirt inside out; something that Maya never did knowingly as she was the pseudo Luna of her pack and it meant that she should always be presentable in front of the pack. "I found my mate yesterday." Maya whispered shyly while sitting down to her breakfast. Maya''s mom was offering her the te with toasts to take and after hearing her speak, she just froze. There was a pin drop silence in the house and suddenly Justin burst outughing. "Finally..", he said. "What? You thought I would be angry or something?", he asked at Maya''s startled look. Maya nodded mutely. "My baby girl.. why would I have any objection? I trust in Luna, the Moon Goddess that she will choose what is correct for you." replied Justin with a hint of a smile. "Be sure to correct your clothes." Judy hinted lovingly. ------------------ Maya and Ken walked side by side to the circle where the wolves to be tested were waiting patiently and the spectators surrounded them in a half circle. The other half was left open for the judges. The elders who would be judging whether the wolves would be worthy of being warriors. Justin and Judy were present with them as well. They had joined the elder rank after leaving the leadership role to Ken and Maya. There were 4 contenders, three of them as male whereas only 1 female. Ken was pleased that even though the female was a newer, she was confident enough to try for the warrior pack test. Maya''s eyes immediately went to her mate. Her wolf was drooling over the sight he was presenting. Xander was wearing a pair of shorts and sneakers leaving everything else bare. Ken lightly bumped his shoulder into Maya''s, grinning meaningfully at her. Maya just rolled her eyes at Ken and looked back at Xander. An elder stepped forward in the circle and gestured for silence. Almost immediately all muttering stopped. "We have gathered here to judge whether these wolves present here are worthy of the warrior rank or not. Today you might pass or you might fail, whatever happens.. do not ever doubt your worth to the pack. Let me remind you that only Luna, Goddess of the Moon, is able to truly judge our worth. In her name, let''s begin the test.", the elder dered. Almost at once a silence fell in the ground. "The first test.." Ken began, "is to runps of the ground. To qualify for the warrior rank one needs to are.. that at any given point you will not be allowed to ck off in your speed. And the rounds must be together." One of the elders made sure that everyone was in position before blowing the whistle. And thus the race began.. since there were only 4 contenders keeping an eye on them was easy. Maya and Ken though were only watching Xander. He started off in an easy mannerpared to other contenders, but slowly and surely he increased his speed and soon was on the same level as the others. Fortunately all of them were able toplete the first test in given time with the femaleing inst just a few seconds shy of the deadline. As the contendersy huffing on the ground trying to get their breath back, Ken and Maya walked towards them with the results in hand. "Congrattions!" Maya said, "All of you have managed to qualify for the second round. Catch your breath, have a ss of water if you need and report to elders in 10 minutes." She ended the statement N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. directly looking in Xander''s eyes. He had finished the test first and was in a better shape than others. Maya had a look of desire in her eyes as she surveyed him, but she quickly masked it. After all, even a pseudo Luna is not allowed to show partiality when ites to selecting warriors for it would count as a weakness of the pack. Maya quickly averted her eyes and went to check the preparation for the next test. Xander''s eyes were following her every move. ------------------ The contenders were standing in front of the elders again. The second test was to fight against the already existing warriors without switching forms. They would only be in their human form and it was to be a hand to handbat. Elder Anne stepped forward and asked the female contender to tie up her hair so that other contenders cannot use it to win unfairly. The female contender obliged. "The rules are simple, fight willst for half an hour. The person who is able to withstand attacks and is still able to stand will be chosen for the third round. You are only allowed to defend." Elder Anne announced. The contenders stood facing their opponents, the whistle blew. Each and every one of them was trying to defend against the continual attacks of the pack warriors. Xander stood motionless as he faced his opponent, the warrior smirked slightly and started attacking him. Xander however had a good n and he just kept moving slightly any time the warrior attacked. As a result, the warrior was not able tond a blow on Xander and was getting angry. The anger was making him clumsy and was giving Xander an advantage. Slowly as Xander kept moving he felt a slight unevenness in the ground and realised that it could be used to make his opponent fall. So using a different technique, Xander turned and pretended to run away. The warrior, his anger blinding him to Xander''s strategy, went to grab Xander and fell, spraining his foot. A whistle blew, signalling the end of the fight. Everyone was stunned by Xander''s technique. It had been simple and well executed. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Everyone was staring at Xander and soon the group of Elders started pping. Ken gave a discreet nod to Maya. Maya understood that with the simple gesture Ken had given his approval of her mate. For Ken it had been important that Maya stayed well protected as she was one of the few people he loved. And Xander had shown that he was not only brawns but he could also use his brains. "The third and the final test", boomed out one of the Elders. " Is a fight against the opponents paired with you. The only thing not allowed is cheating to win. You are allowed to attack. You must rely on the weapons given to you at birth to win against them." The four contenders were paired against four already existing warriors. They stood facing each other. Justin blew the whistle, signalling the start of the fight. The warrior facing Xander raced towards him and started attacking him in a series of punches one after the other. With him beginning to attack immediately, Xander could only defend himself. Still he tried to search for a opening tond a blow. Finally, Xander decided to catch a punch of the warrior and twisted throwing the warrior over his shoulder. The warrior was winded for a second. Taking advantage of that fact, Xander quickly sat on his torso and attacked the warrior by punching his face mercilessly. The warrior cked out but Xander was still going. Ken stepped up and pulled Xander from the warrior. Xander turned, pushed him away and went to attack Ken, but Ken gave him a kick on the stomach. Xander flew a little way back and fell on his ass. Maya quickly ced a hand on Xander''s shoulder. Her touch effectively calming him. Xander huffed out, "Sorry Alpha, I lost control of my wolf." and turned to look at Maya. Ken nodded thoughtfully. He knew that in tests such as these, wolves often thought that their superiority is being challenged. Xander was good for a Beta level position. However they had none at this point in time. Finally almost all the tests were done and all of the contestants had managed to prove that they were worthy of warrior positions. Ken and Maya stepped forward together and congratted the new warriors. Maya informed them that they now had a whole day to rest and have fun before Ken would inform them of their respective duties. All the contestants had a look of relief on their face and were smiling slightly as the crowd slowly dispersed. The girl contestant stepped towards Xander and hugged him lightly causing Maya to stiffen and narrow her gaze. Maya stepped forward and went to yank her away but Xander saw her move and quickly caught Maya''s wrist and pulled the young girl behind him. "Her name is ire. She is my sister.", He rified to Maya. Maya''s eyes widened and she gave ire an apologetic look. ire smiled and hugged Maya suddenly. Maya was pleasantly surprised, she looked up to see Xander frowning at them. She raised her eyebrows in silent query but Xander just shook his head and offered her a half smile. ire stepped back and said, "I wish our parents were here. They would have adored you so much." Xander visibly stiffened at her words and even Ken noticed. He came closer to the group. "Is everything alright?" Ken asked. "Yes." Xander replied in a clipped tone. He turned and strode away to get washed. ire followed him silently, subdued. Maya and Ken watched confused after them. -------------------- A few hourster.. Maya was sitting on her back porch reading a book. Inside the house her family was enjoying their daily evening routine. Maya gently ced her book to her side, she couldn''t get the behaviour of her mate out of her mind. She knew there must be a usible exnation to it but she wondered what it was. She was really worried. Suddenly, as if her thoughts had conjured him in front of her, Xander stepped out of the tree line. He calmly and confidently strode towards her. Maya watched his progress with her eyes not making any move towards him. Xander finally stood before her. Nervous he rubbed the back of his neck, "I know you''re curious about today." He began before pausing to take a deep breath, "The truth is we grew up without parents so I am a little overprotective of my sister and I don''t want... I don''t like talking about them. I hate the fact that they left us to fend for ourselves." Maya''s eyes gentled, she got up and ced a light hand on his arm. "It''s okay. I can''t say I understand because I never faced this situation. But I know everything about overprotective brothers; I have got Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. one myself." Xander gave her a grateful smile, "I wanted to ask one more thing. Will youe on a date with me tomorrow? Since I have the whole day free, I was just wondering if you could show me around... Maybe.. if you are free?" Maya noticed his hesitation and gently tipped her head forward showing her agreement. "Have her back by dinner time." Both of them whirl around at the sound to find Judy standing with her hands on her hips, "And bring your sister as well. Let''s have dinner together." "Yes Ma''am." Xander replied his Adam''s apple bobbing. "Get inside honey. I need your help in cooking." Judy ushered a blushing Maya inside. -------------- Next morning: Ken was about to knock on Maya''s door when it opened. Maya stepped out cheerfully and practically skipped down the steps. Ken stared after her with his mouth hanging open, "Howe you are awake? Are you alright?" "Good Morning to you too my dear brother." "Okay. Who are you? And what have you done to my sister?" Ken asked crossing his arms to which Maya just stuck her tongue out at him. She rushed to the table and almost wolfed down her breakfast. Justin came and sat down on the table, "It''s good to see you awake so early honey. If you could do it on days when you''re not going out with Xander then it would greatly be appreciated." Hearing their father give reason to her unnatural behaviour made Ken burst outughing. Maya turned red to the roots of her hair. A knock sounded on the door and Maya immediately stood up. But Judy was near the door and she opened it to a bouquet of red roses. Judy cleared her throat. The bouquet of roses lowered and Xander peeped out from the top, "Hello Mrs. Forrester. Is Maya home?" Judy replied, "Yes, she will be out in a...." "I am here.", Maya interrupted before her mother could "Thank you for the flowers. Come, let''s go quickly.", Maya practically dragged Xander out and shut the door. Loudughter could be heard from inside. Maya had a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks. Xander stood still holding the bouquet, "We should probably put them inside." "No. Just put them by the door. Mom will take those inside.", Maya replied. Xander nodded and did as she said. They both climbed into a car and Xander started it up. "Where to?" He asked. "Let''s start in the city." Maya said. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Xander and Maya spent a lovely day together wandering around the city. Around lunch time they went to a cute little restaurant. The staff at the restaurant was werewolf and they recognised Maya as their pseudo Luna and a few remembered Xander from yesterday''s test. And therefore, both of them had a lot of attention of the staff. They kept oning to greet them and possibly grab a few minutes of their attention. When both of them left the restaurant, they were full with food. Xander turned to Maya and said, "The staff was very hospitable and the food was great." "Yes, they were trying to please us.", Maya replied. "Yes, they were. But we didn''t get any time to ourselves. I feel that if there was a ce where no one could disturb us...", he trailed off. "Okay. There is a ce just near our home that has the most beautiful pond. Almost no one goes there due to the small dense road leading to it." Xander parked near her home. They got out of the car and Maya took Xander''s hand and led him towards the tree line. She went a little inside and then sharply turned left. Both of them kept walking for quite a while till the denseness of th forest broke to reveal a small pond filled with serene water. It was a beautiful spot with trees and rocks encircling the water. There were little wildflowers of different colours growing in the gaps of rocks. Maya slipped off her heels and climbed over the rocks a little. She went near the pond and sat on a t rock with her legs in the water. Xander joined her, "This is so beautiful.. so serene." Maya looked up to see him staring down at her. She smiled andid her head on his shoulder. "I am so sorry, Maya.", Xander murmured. Maya gazed at him confused, "What for?" "For hurting you. Even though you are innocent, your father is not." , Xander replied. "What? What are you talking about?" Maya asked bewildered. She suddenly felt a pinch in her neck and her world cked out. Xander sighed and plucked the dart that had pricked Maya in her neck. A hooded figure stepped out from the opposite side of the pond, "You realise killing her would have been easier?" "Stop it, ire. Our mission was to infiltrate this measly pack and make the Forrester''s suffer for killing our parents. I am going to make them suffer. They took away our parents, I am going to take away their daughter. They would never know where she is but they will be able to feel her pain through their family bond. I am going to make Maya Forrester pay for her father''s mistakes and make sure that they know it. Now be quick and carry her out." "Calm down, will you? How are you going to get out?", ire asked. "I am going to walk out the front gate after informing them about their precious daughter." "And they will let you go? Just like that?" "Yes, ire. They will. After all who other than me knows the whereabouts of their daughter? Also my dear sister, wouldn''t you kill her if they hurt a hair on my head?", Xander asked. ire just gave an evil smirk and said, "I will head out the other way. Stupid pseudo Luna, thinks she is the only one who knows theke." Xander growled, "Just leave now." ire picked up Maya and gave Xander a weird look. -------------- ire dumped the unconscious Maya in the back of a truck and covered her body with tarpaulin. She knew that Xander had changed his ns because Maya was his mate. They had simply nned to kill both the Alpha children and leave. But as soon as Xander found Maya, he had given up on their original n. She thought that Xander had talked big about hurting Maya, but he would never be able to hurt her much. Maya was after all his mate. As the thoughts continue to filter ire''s head, she arrived at the ce where they had nned to keep Maya. But she drove straight past it without giving it a nce. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Driving for an hour or so, she came at the bar which was known to be infested with vampires and rogue wolves. Living a life without their parents or pack had been difficult and she knew many such ces where the scum of the met and made deals. She picked up Maya and walked all confident into the bar. Immediately all eyes were on them. She walked up to the bar and ced Maya on the bar top. Immediately a few rogues surrounded them. "Back up everyone.", ire said firmly. Everyone did almost at once afterall an Alphamandced ire''s voice. "So.. this girl here is the precious pseudo Luna of the Forrester pack and I intend to sell her off to the highest bidder." ire announced brazenly. "Is she dead?", an old rogue with a bad eye and rotting teeth asked. "No. She is very much alive. I want hard cash, and a promise of unspeakable torture to her as the price." Hearing this all the patrons in the bar became extremely interested. After all, how many got toy their hands on an Alpha child? Let alone make them their ves. Immediately, everyone even the vampires stepped up to quote their price. About ten minutester ire stepped out of the bar, highly pleased with herself. She ced a suitcase filled with cash next to her in the truck and started driving back to their hideout. -------------- Xander came out of the forest and headed up to the Alpha home. He knocked the door. It was opened by Judy. "Xander... What are you doing here alone? Where is Maya?", Judy asked. "I will tell you everything Judy. Why don''t you get your husband and your son down here?", Xander replied. Judy''s wolf bristled with the insolence in his words. However a deep fear filled her and she tried contacting Maya. But Judy was unable to reach her. "Don''t bother contacting Maya. She won''t be able to answer." Xander said. "You bastard. What have you done with my daughter?", Judy asked grabbing the cor of his shirt. "Why don''t you do as I say?", Xander replied calmly. A sense of fear and uneasiness rolled through Judy and she mentally called out to her family. "What happened Mom?", asked Kening into the room with his father. "Why don''t you ask your murderer father?", taunted Xander. Chapter 6 Chapter 6 This chapter contains violence. Read only if you think you will be able to digest it. _________________________ Maya opened her eyes. She was feeling very groggy and her head hurt. She tried to touch her head, but her hands were unable to move. Things starteding in focus a little and she realised that she was not in her room. She was held in a dungeon like ce. There was very little lighting in. Maya tried to move, however she was unable to move even an inch. Panic began to set in as she realised that she was tied up against the wall. She struggled against her bonds but to no avail. She let herself rest against the wall and tried calling out to her family but Maya couldn''t even hear her wolf. Suddenly augh echoed in the darkness of the dungeon and Maya turned her head warily towards the noise. "I guess for a girl you are pretty smart. Most bitches don''t realise that they have lost connection to their wolves this early.", a man said. In the darkness, Maya was barely able to make out his silhouette. "Who are you? Where am I?", Maya whimpered. Her head hurting with his voice. "Me? I am Leandro, a rogue to the outside world. But for you my dear ve, you will call me Master. And you my dear are in your new home. Do you like it?" Leandro asked with a tone of pure evil. Maya was terrified but she was a Luna, she had Alpha blood in her. "Quiet." she hissed, "Let go of me this instant." Leandro simply chuckled and smacked Maya on her face. "You silly little bitch. I have suppressed your wolf with silver. You will not be able to use your Alphamand on me. Now do as I say, for I am your Master, your Lord and YOUR OWNER.", Leandro shouted at her while touching her breast. Maya realised then that she was stripped of her clothes. Maya quivered scared, "Stop this. Let me go. I don''t belong here. I have a family. I have a mate." "Some mate he must be if he auctioned you off in a bar" Leandro lied while running a hand up her thighs. He had got that information from the other Alpha bitch. She seemed enthusiastic on giving out details on how to torture her. "No. No. You are lying." Maya denied. "Am I? I guess.. You would know better.. Right?" Leandro asked his voice full of sarcasm. Maya remembered Xander''s words and realised that she was rejected. A few tears made their way down her face. "Now, now my pet. Don''t be sad. Who needs a true mate? You have me. You will find that if youply to my wishes, your life will be much easier. But if you resist, then..." Leandro ced a silver knife against her skin and pushed on the de, causing the wound to sizzle. He burned a L shaped mark into the skin of her shoulder. Maya cried out in pain and gritted her teeth. Leandro leaned towards her to kiss her but she turned away and head butted him. Leandro stumbled back, he looked at her with such loathing. He picked up a whip from the tableid nearby that was full of different torture weapons. "I tried to be lenient with you but you are not interested, are you? Well, let me try to convince you in a different manner then." Leandro started hitting her with the whip in any which way. He was really angry and that anger was giving way to rage. The whip bit into her thighs, her stomach, her hand. Once the whip even hit her face leaving behind a long gash. After 10 minutes of constantshing, Maya''s body was dripping with blood from different gashes. "Look what you made me do." Leandro said in a petnt manner, "I wanted today to be a happy memory. Now you reflect on your misdeeds and I will see you tomorrow. Good night my ve." Maya understood that Leandro was a psychopath. She doubted that she would be able to escape here alive. She thought of her family, of her pack. Maya sobbed for the mate that the Moon Goddess had dealt her. ''Why Xander.. why did you betray me?'', shemented. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Maya tried calling to her wolf, only a weak whimper was heard from her. Maya prayed for help to the Moon Goddess. Softly sobbing she fell asleep attached to the wall. ------------------- Maya was woken up by the ssh of cold water to her face. "You are awake my ve? Good. So what have you thought about yesterday? Will youply with me today?" Leandro asked. "Not in a million years." Maya replied. Leandro''s face twitched, "Fine then bitch. Have your way." Leandro took out a carving knife and started making cuts down her body. He would let the wounds heal and then he would start to retrace the wounds. Maya tried holding back her cries, but she broke. She cried out in pain. "Shut up." Leandro thundered "You asked for it. Now each day you will suffer. And trust me, I will find a new way to make you suffer each day. Have to keep me from getting bored, haven''t I?" Maya just sobbed in response. ------------------- "What happened Mom?", asked Kening into the room with his father. "Why don''t you ask your murderer father?", taunted Xander. "Xander", Ken said in warning. "What are you talking about? Where is Maya?" Justin asked. "Maya is fine... Till now... But she won''t be for long.", Xander drawled as if bored. "What have you done with her?" Justin asked angrily, "What kind of man are you? How could you say such things about your mate?" Xander replied with derision, "What kind of man are you? How could you kill your best friend? That''s what you said you were of my father. You had no problem killing him and his mate. You had no problem attempting to kill his children. Inparison to you, at least I am letting your daughter stay alive." "Who are you?" Justin asked warily. "I am Xander Wolfgang Lockhart, son of Marcus and Mary Lockhart." Xander announced. Justin let go of his cor and stumbled back. He slumped down on the sofa. "Dad...", Ken shouted. He rushed to Justin and kneeled before him, "What is he talking about? Please tell me. Who is he? Dad what is wrong?" "Speechless?", Xander smirked, pain in his eyes as he looked upon a murderer. "Yes." Justin replied, "I am rendered speechless but not because of the reason you are thinking. We tried to find the two of you so much. When there was no trace found, we thought you both had died. Xander... Your parents are alive. They are here.. in this pack." "What?" Xander asked. "You are lying.", he concluded. "No. They are here. Let''s go meet them." Chapter 7 Chapter 7 "Xander... Your parents are alive. They are here.. in this pack." "What?" Xander asked. "You are lying.", he concluded. "No. They are here. Let''s go meet them." "Yes, Let''s meet them. You will be proven wrong. Use every cheap trick you know Justin. Let''s see how far you can fall." Xander replied with contempt. Turning to Judy, Justin said, "Call them honey. Ask them toe soon." Judy gives a nod and looks at Xander with surprise in her eyes as if she has a hard time believing his existence. Judy picks up thendline and dials an extension. She says, "Come soon. A miracle has happened. They are alive." cing the phone back in its cradle, she heads over to sit by Justin. She pulls his hand in her and says, "Don''t worry. Once he gets to know the truth Maya will be back with us. It''s just a misunderstanding." Justin simply nods. Xander being sure of himself, merely smirked at them. Ken merely stared at between them back and forth,pletely confused. Soon the group could hear rushed feet and then an insistent knocking at the front door. Ken walked to the door and then opened it to see Elder Anne and her husband Mark. Ken asked surprised, "Aunty Anne, Uncle Mark, what are you doing here?". He stepped past to let them inside. Elder Anne looked past Alpha Ken to see Xander. "Is he him? Is he my Xander? My little Wolf?", She asked her voice quivering. Xander stood stunned, he remembered his mother calling him her little wolf. "Come inside Mary Ann. Marcus your son is here. He is here.", Justin replied to them. "Wait. Why didn''t we recognise you? We saw you multiple times and even in the warrior test..." Marcus let his question trail off as the answer appeared to him. "Because their scent changed a little after puberty and they were so little when we separated, they couldn''t have remembered our scent." Mary Ann answered her husband. "We thought we lost you, that you were dead in the rogue attack. We tried to call you through the family bond but we couldn''t reach you." "I was knocked out in the attack. I think that the rogues assumed me dead and left. When I came to.. I think we must have been far enough so that our calls didn''t reach each other. But.. how is this possible? I saw you and dad running into a room during the attack and I heard a scream and then he came out alone." Xander replied pointing to Justin, "He was smeared with blood and he smirked evilly before killing our Beta. I saw him killing our Beta." "Xander.. Our Beta was involved with the rogues. He had helped them set up an ambush in ire''s room. Justin killed the rogues that were in ire''s room. When we went inside a rogue flung her from the window which is why I screamed. Justin heard it, he was fighting in adjoining room. He rescued us.", exined Mary Ann. "Justin saved us. We thought you were dead, all was lost. I was an Alpha with no pack. Justin brought us here. He helped me stabilize my wolf, nursed us back to health. When we were better, we decided to not go back to ournds. We couldn''t bear to be in a ce where our pups had died. Now I curse myself, if only we had went back. We would have been in the range to contact you via mind link. Call ire here Xander. Where is she?" Marcus asked Xander. "I am sorry. I will need a solid proof before connecting with her. You could have made up the story for all I know." Xander replied. "Try calling each other through the mind link. It may make the bond appear." Ken replied. He appeared to be watching the proceedings with high interest. However he was desperately trying to contact Maya N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. through his own mind link. His wolf was getting antsy. "Li.. little wolf..." Mary Ann tried tentatively. Xander stilled in shock, "Mom.. Ma.." he called out through the bond just as tentative. Tears streaming from his face he ran to them and hugged his parents. The family copsed together in a huddle each rejoicing in their happiness. At that moment Xander was not a warrior hell bent on taking his revenge. He was just a small child who had lost his parents. "Call her son. Please call ire.", Marcus begged him. "I.. I cannot connect with her." Xander said frowning, "I will call her on her cell phone." Xander dialled her number and waited for a few rings but no one picked up. He tried once more with no luck. Justin began pacing worriedly. "Where is Maya? Xander, get her back here. She is innocent. Dad is innocent." Ken asked indignantly. "Calm down, she is with ire. ire won''t hurt her. She knows Maya is my mate." Xander replied. "Why can I not connect with her you sick fuck?" Ken cried out. "We injected a small medicine to knock her out.", Xander said to calm him down. He tried to call ire a couple more times but was unsessful. About an hourter, his phone rang. Xander immediately picked it up seeing that it was ire''s. "Hello big brother." ire said, "Are you having difficulty getting off the packnds. Should I threaten them with their precious daughter?" "No. ire, we were wrong. Our parents are alive ire. They are truly alive and well." "What are you talking about? They must have tricked you brother." "No ire. It is mom and dad. I checked the mind link. Our bond manifested as soon as we tried contacting each other again. Oh ire, we finally have our parents with us. Come to the Alpha house ire and bring Maya with you. Has she awoken yet?" "I don''t believe you Xander. I aming there alone. I want the proof first. It might be a trick." ire replied before disconnecting the call. Half an hourter, a car stopped in front of the Alpha house. ire got down and walked inside the door throwing it open. Soon she was engulfed in a hug from both side. She went to attack the people hugging her but her wolf held her back. "My princess..." she heard a male voice in her mind. "Dad?" she asked softly. "Yes, my child. We are so pleased ire. So pleased to finally meet you." Mary Ann replied her in the family link. All four of them could hear each other and feel their bond strengthen. The family held on to each other sobbing softly. "Where is Maya, ire? We should bring her back. Is she in our hideout?", Xander asked his eyes shining with happiness. At his words, ire lost the colour in her face. "Oh no.. Maya.." ire gasped softly. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Warning:- Violence and rape ahead in this chapter, in Maya''s story line. It is necessary to develop her character ahead in the story. I am trying to keep the gory details out of the story, so the story will be jumping time a bit. _____________________ "Where is Maya, ire? We should bring her back. Is she in our hideout?", Xander asked his eyes shining with happiness. He would be able to start a proper rtionship with his mate. He won''t have to hurt her. He was ted and he couldn''t wait to see her again. Her beautiful eyes, her face, her smile... He missed them. His wolf was whining for him to go and get her. Xander was prepared to grovel for her forgiveness of his part in her abduction. He would finally beplete. At his words, ire lost the colour in her face. "Oh no.. Maya.." ire gasped softly, "I.. I am sorry... I thought... I thought that you will not be able to hurt her... I.. so I.." A loud growl interrupted her stuttered speech. Ken strode over to her angrily. He got ufortably close to her face and growled out, "What did you do to her?". He reached out to grab ire''s cor and pulled her close and stilled in surprise. His wolf had said the one word he never expected, the one word that ensured ire''s protection in the face of his anger. Mate. His wolf had proimed her as his mate. He let go of her and stumbled back. ire too had gone still in surprise. "No... No... It can''t be... Oh my God! No..." she vehemently denied and started sobbing uncontrobly. "Can anyone tell me what is going on?", Marcus yelled. "She is my mate." Ken replied softly. He was too stunned to move. "What? Why didn''t you realise that sooner?" Marcus asked. "Guys... I think we should be focusing on Maya here. They are mates. It''s a good thing. But we need to get Maya home.", Xander interrupted. "I.. I am so sorry.." ire began to exin. "Just spit it out already." Justin thundered. Ken reacted to it and ced himself between ire and others shielding her from their re. "I took her to a bar. She was unconscious. I sold her to a rogue." ire whispered thest part out. Everyone around her focused suddenly on her. Even Ken was not able to believe what he had heard. He stepped back in shock. This time Xander growled, he began to lose his control on his wolf and started to shift. Fur started to sprout from his skin. "Hold it Xander. We need to be focused if we are going to get her back. Reign in your wolf now. ire tell us the details. What exactly you did? Who was the guy? Be quick. Time is of essence." Judy calmed everyone down and refocused them on the main issue. Mary Ann interrupted, "Let''s talk on the way. We should go to the bar." Both of them were quick thinking and clever females. They werepletely worthy of their Luna title. Mary Ann was disgusted with her daughter. She didn''t want to be but what kind of Luna would she be if she treated others with little to no regard. She loved her daughter, was even pleased to meet her after so many years, but couldn''t help being disappointed with her. She couldn''t meet anyone''s eyes. Mary Ann hoped for ire''s sake that Maya was found in time otherwise it would lead to a very strained rtionship with her new family. Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. Both of the families quickly loaded in two cars. And started to head towards the bar ire directed them to. But only disappointment waited for them. The bar was closed all it''s patrons had left for the night. "This bar... Only the lowest of low, the scum of eart visit this bar. They crack all kinds of deals here. Everything from drugs to weapons to women are sold here. What did you do ire? How could you? You are a woman are you not? How could you hurt another woman like this?" Justin shouted finally losing his temper. He shifted into his wolf ready to tear down his friend''s daughter to pieces. His wolf was going mad at the fate dealt to his cub. He could no longer keep the wolf in check and he lunged at ire. However, Ken too reacted and jumped. They both collided and fell to the ground loud growls ensuing from their mouth, Ken held his father''s wolf form to the ground without shifting. Justin shifted to his human form and stared at Ken in a disappointed manner. Ken bent his head, "I am sorry Dad... Mom please forgive me." Judy was staring at them in disbelief. She calmly walked towards Justin and said, "We have to find our daughter. Collect yourself. Ken... find our daughter." Judy''s voice was soft but it quivered with heavy emotions. She turned to the Lockhart family who were watching them warily. "Mary Ann... never have I regretted our friendship or your arrival in our pack. But today.. " Judy left the sentence hanging. Both the Lockhart elders hung their head in shame. All of them headed back to the pack. grounds, lost in their own thoughts. --------------------- A week after Maya''s abduction: "Ahhh......" Maya''s screams echoed in the underground cer. A drop of blood rolled off her leg and dripped on the ground. Another cut was made in her skin. There was not an inch of space left on her skin which was left unmarked. "Tsk tsk... My dear ve.. does it hurt much? Only you can stop this pain. You just have to ept your role in my life. After all it is not like you have any option left. You have been rejected by your true mate. Still No?? Maybe a different treatment will make you more receptive of me." saying so Leandro dropped his pants and stepped ahead. "No please.. No.." Maya began trashing. "I can''t help it ve. You refuse to break in any other way." Leandro replied with an evil undertone. He held her neck in one hand and started squeezing it. He entered her swiftly and ruthlessly and began pounding away. He was using her to get off and to prevent Maya from screaming he kept a hold of her throat. He then leaned closer to her face and licked it from her chin to the hair line. Maya was trashing to breath, the pain that she was feeling was intensified. She thought that she would not be able to escape alive this time. Her thoughts went to her mate who had ruthlessly thrown her to this fate. ''Would he be feeling even a little sad? a little guilty?'' she thought. Her head screamed No and her heart broke. She felt betrayed and angry at him. Leandro finished and then stepped back looking at the broken form of Maya. For the first time since he started hitting her he could sense her broken spirit. He then calmly fixed his clothes and walked over to her. Maya was hanging from the wall her ability to support herself gonepletely, her head bent as if all her pride was lost. "Looks like today was my lucky day. Do you know how you look right now? Like a ve. MY ve. So much for being an Alpha''s daughter. The Alpha blood didn''t help you at all did it?" Leandro taunted her. Maya justid prone not giving any reactions. Leandro stepped out after giving her a satisfied look. Maya tried connect with her wolf again. Her wolf responded with a weak whimper asst time. Her wolf was also suffering with her. The silver kept it subdued but all the pain that Maya went through was witnessed by her wolf. She also suffered with Maya as the Rouge''s hands destroyed them body and soul. Maya could feel the pain of her wolfing down to her in trickles through the limited connection they seemed to retain. "Can you hear me?" Maya asked her wolf. "If you can, I am sorry... Sorry that you were paired with me. Sorry that you are suffering here with me. Sorry that our mate didn''t love me. Sorry that I am helpless and cannot get you out of this situation. But... I am also thankful.. thankful that I got to spend an amazing life with you by my side. Thankful for your presence whenever I felt lonely. Thankful for being born with you as a part of my soul. It was great knowing you." and with those words Maya cut off her connection from her wolfpletely so that she can be spared the pain that wille their way. She then sumbed to her injuries and fell unconscious With morning''s arrival came more pain for Maya. Leandro came down to the cell this time with a hammer. Ten minutester Maya''s screams once again echoed the cell. Leandro was intent on breaking her bones with the hammer. He noticed that the bones he broke were not healing anymore. "Look at that, will you? Your bones are not healing anymore. It seems as if even your wolf deserted you." Leandro taunted once again. Maya kept quiet focusing her energy on staying conscious. Although Maya knew that getting out of here was going to be impossible, she couldn''t help praying to the Moon Goddess Luna. Finally tired out Leandro left her alone. Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Eight monthster:- Each day passed for Maya as an agony. She seemed to have forgotten her family, her pack, even herself. The pain was a constantpanion of her. She felt as if pain was the only thing that she ever knew. Her routine consisted of hearing Leandro walk to the cell, beginning his abuse, feeding her some scraps of dry bread and if she was lucky a ss of water, while he would eat his proper meals in front of her all the while taunting her, then begin his abuse again. To her credit, she didn''t refer to Leandro as Master yet but then nothing except whimpers escaped her mouth. Everyday after he left her alone she would desperately pray to the Moon Goddess for death, for end of all her pain. Each day Leandro found a new way to torture her. She dreaded hearing his footsteps outside her cell door. That day however was different, she didn''t hear Leandro walk to her cell. She could hear Leandro running. He came into her cell short of breath, unhinged her from the wall and threw her over his shoulder. And started running back upstairs. Suddenly the darkness gave way to blinding light rendering her eye sight useless. She could however hear the sound of a fight that seemed to be going on around her. There was much growling and ripping sounds all over. Suddenly something collided with Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. Leandro and he dropped her to the ground so that he could fight. Unable to move her arms or focus on her surroundings, Mayaid in the middle of the battlefield awaiting her death. She was sure that this was the day she would die and she was d, for this meant an end to the suffering and to the pain. Soon she felt something sh her shoulder, she let out a groan and then ckness surrounded her. --------------------- Maya opened her eyes to bright light surrounding her. She looked around, she was in a room with white walls. ''Is this what heaven looks like?'' she thought. A woman with a smiling face came in the room. She looked at Maya with kindness in her eyes, "Are you awake now?" she asked. "Awake?", Maya murmured. "Yes. You have been unconscious for almost a week now. How are you feeling?" the woman in the nurse''s uniform asked. "Feeling..." Maya whispered, "Feeling...." and as if a veil was lifted slowly all the memories trickled back to her. She remembered her parents, her brother, her pack, her wolf but most vividly she remembered the betrayal... the cruel rejection of a mate bond that was not yet given words. "I want to go home." Maya murmured. "Yes. We will definitely send you home after you have recovered, Maya Forrester.", the nurse replied with a smile. She was bustling around the room checking the machines that were plugged into Maya. "How do you know my name?" Maya whimpered out. The nurse simply pointed to a man sitting by the wall in the far corner of the room. He slowly rose to his feet and walked to the bed. "Hi, I am Dn. I am a part of the Wrath of the Moon team. I am incharge of making sure that you safely reach home." he said introducing himself. "Wrath of the Moon?" Maya repeated with a confused expression. "Yes. Wrath of the Moon. We are the team selected by the governing body of supernatural beings to ensure that the secret of our existence remains exactly that, a secret. In addition, we also help keep peace between the different factions of supernatural beings." he exined, "I must say though, I really admire your perseverance and desire to live. Any other being would have given up long back." "How do you know about me?" questioned Maya. "Your family has been searching for you. They had notified us of your kidnapping." Dn rified. "How long has it been since...." Maya couldn''t bear toplete her question. A drop of tear rolled off her cheek and sshed on to the bedsheet. "Eight months." Dn replied looking at her with pity. "Eight months... of my life... how could he? Why? I wish to go home. How is everyone back at home?" Maya asked. "Fine. Worried." Dn replied evasively in clipped words. Maya looked up, quickly noticing the change in the tone of his reply. "Why are they not here? If I have been here sincest 2 weeks..." Maya wondered out loud. "They are busy. We will go to them as soon as you get better. Just rest and recover soon." Dn replied softly. After he left, Maya sat on the bed trying to think but the medicine administered to her made it impossible for her to stay awake. She slipped into deep slumber with a frown on her face and a word echoing in her mind, busy... ----- Her arms were tied and she couldn''t move. Leandro walked towards her with a menacing smile. He was holding a scalpel. She tried to move and scream but she couldn''t. It made her desperate and she started trashing. Leandro''s smile widened and a crazy light entered his eyes. Maya could hear someone calling her name and shaking her. Startled her eyes flew open and she saw Dn looking at her worriedly. Her eyes wildly searched the room looking for Leandro and his scalpel. "Did you have a nightmare?" he asked quietly. Maya could only nod as she was still notpletely out of her dream. She was panting slightly as she felt that it was too vivid. She was scared of Leandroing back again. "Don''t worry. We have killed him. He will nevere back. Trust me." Dn said softly. He adjusted her bedsheets around her. "Go back to sleep. I am right here. Don''t worry it ismon to suffer from stress after undergoing such trauma. You overcame the actual situation, you will be able to ovee this problem as well. Have faith." Dn said. Maya nodded and shut her eyes trying to get a bit of sleep. Next Morning: Maya''s eyes fluttered open and she looked around the hospital room. She spotted the nurse entering the room. "Oh good, you are awake. Come I will help you to bathe and then you can have some breakfast." the nurse said. Maya nodded gently and the nurse started helping herplete the morning routine. As the nurse undressed her, the wounds on Maya''s body came in focus. Maya looked at them, her body was scarred all over. She remembered how she looked before and her eyes filled with tears, "I want to see a mirror. Please..." The nurse gave her a hand to stand and then half carried her to the bathroom, as her legs were wobbling. As she stood in front of the mirror, Maya remembered all the vile actions of her kidnapper. Each and every scar reminded of her what was taken from her life. And then.. after so many months, Maya heard a growl escaping her mouth. She felt her wolf escaping all the barriers ced on her. Her talons lengthened, ck inked in her eyes and fur started sprouting all over the body. Soon, a majestic wolf stood in Maya''s ce, growling lowly. Anyone could see the pain and suffering the wolf was put through and yet she stood tall and proud. The wolf heard footsteps and looked up to see Dn standing in front of her. "So you are an Alpha?", Dn asked. The wolf merely growled at him and then raising her head to the sky, let out a howl so mournful that anyone listening to it would feel sad. The howl contained all of her sadness and pain that even a seasoned warrior like Dn responded to it, his eyes tearing up. She then walked upto Dn and bowed, showing her gratitude for saving her. Dn lifted a hand and gently stroked the furry little head of the wolf. That''s when she smelt it, the smell of vampire. She jumped back in surprise and then tilted her head. As if understanding her question Dn said, "Yes, I am a vampire. Took you long enough to figure out." Maya''s wolf just scoffed and went back upto him and started rubbing herself on his legs. The nurse was just watching her antics with a small smile. She then shooed Dn away and asked Maya to shift back so that she can bathe. As soon as Maya shifted back, she fell to the ground, her energy drained. As the nurse tried to pick her up, she noticed that most of the scars on Maya''s body seemed to have healed and faded however a few prominent ones remained. After the bath, Maya was given a few medicines that put her to sleep. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Another week passed before Maya could leave the hospital. All the time she was in hospital she waited for her family toe to visit her. But surprisingly no one showed up. She questioned Dn again and again only to have evasive one word answers. Finally on thest day, Maya stood outside the hospital with Dn on her side. A car arrived for them and Dn carefully helped her to climb in. After a few hours of driving, they were at the border of the Forrester pack. Maya didn''t knew why she was this nervous. She felt that she should have been happy, she was going home. However, Dn''s attitude and her family''s absence was putting her on the edge. Their car entered the pack boundary and immediately high level,bat warriors surrounded the car. They didn''t try to stop the car but kept it surrounded as it reached the Alpha''s home. Dn''s lips were pressed into a thin line and his expression was very grim. Maya couldn''t understand the warrior''s behaviour. They stepped down from the car and the Beta of the pack, Mark, came to Dn''s side, "Please follow me Team Leader Dn. The Alpha and Luna are waiting for your arrival." He flicked a nce to Maya and his lip curled in distaste. Maya''s wolf bristled at the behaviour of Beta Mark, but she chose to stay silent and observe for the time being. Mark led them to the conference room. In the conference room, her parents, brother and Elder Mark and Mary were sitting alongwith ire and Xander with her brother Ken and ire sitting in Alpha and Luna position. Maya couldn''t control herself when she saw her parents and cried out, "Mom... Dad" and tried to make her way towards them to seek sce in their embrace. However Beta Mark caught her arm and pulled her back, "Please maintain a little dignity Rogue." "Rogue?" Maya questioned stunned. "Dad what''s happening? Why is he here?" Maya asked Justin pointing at Xander, "Do you know what he did to me?" "Maya..." drawled Justin, "Please don''t make it difficult than it already is." "Difficult..." Maya echoed and stepped back, almost stumbling back into Dn. He supported her and ced his hand on her shoulder, guiding her down to sit in a chair. "Maya Forrester, we know that our Luna and our Pack Trainer Xander hurt you. However we cannot ept your responsibility. We hereby have voted to remove you from the pack in order to maintain the stability of our pack. These are the papers stating you are no longer a member of this pack.", Ken said. "Ken, what are you saying? How can you do that?" Maya cried. "How?" Ken replied calmly, "The needs of the pack before the needs of an individual. Don''t you remember your pseudo Luna training?" Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. "The pack before the Alpha. Don''t you remember your Alpha training?" Maya bit back. "Mom, Dad are you okay with this?" "You are not pack anymore Maya. And we have to ensure pack''s stability." Justin replied. "Are you sure about your decision Alpha Forrester?" Dn asked. "Yes." Ken replied. "Does the pack know? How was this decision made?" Dn asked. "Everyone knows. All the Elders voted in favour of ire as Luna." Justin said. Maya looked around at the table everyone''s eyes held hostility for her. Xander didn''t even bother to look at her, opting instead to look at his sister. She was holding his hand in both of hers. Maya lost her hold on her sanity and stood up pushing the chair back so hard that it hit the wall and broke. Immediately Beta Mark called the warriors inside and surrounded Dn and her. Mark then pushed her so that she fell backwards but Dn rushed and caught her. Nevertheless the stitches on the back opened and started bleeding tainting the room with smell of her blood. A low growl sounded, but Mark didn''t pay any attention and pulled both Dn and Maya out of the room. The warriors escorted them out of the house to their car and made sure that the paperwork was handed to Dn before they left. "What are you going to do now?" Dn asked Maya. "I don''t know. I don''t understand anything. What happened to my loving family? Where is my twin brother when I needed him? Isn''t family supposed to protect, love and care for you? This is not how I had left my family. They would never have hurt me like this before." Maya replied brokenhearted. "Sometimes power trumps family." Dn replied softly. His eyes held a look that spoke of manyyers of pain hidden in his soul. "Would you like to help people such as yourself?" Dn asked suddenly. "Do you think I will be able to make a difference?" Maya asked. "Yes. You are an Alpha blood, right? How good are yourbat skills?" "Officially or unofficially?" Dn nced at her and asked, "What do you mean?" "In a battle, I can take on four wolves at a time. I have even defeated Alpha blood Ken Forrester. But none of this is mentioned in the official records." Maya replied with a bit of venom in her voice. "When I was being held in prison, I sessfully detached from my wolf and was able to bring her back after I was rescued.", she continued. "How is that even possible? Don''t you guys lose your wolf if you detach yourself from them?" Dn asked surprised. "We do. But I have been training at a higher level since my childhood. My grandfather was always pushing me to be the best. When I lost him, I was devastated. After he was no more, people started pushing Ken into the control for Alpha title. They believed he as a male child was more suited to it." Maya said wiping away a tear that had escaped from her eyes, "I guess, power is everything? Ken even forgot that I am his twin sister in the face of power." More and more tears started escaping and she gave up trying to wipe them away. "I have a proposition for you Maya, join the council''s warrior team, get trained and then impart your training to others. Samuel Forrester was a man of excellent judgement. I believe in him." Dn said. "You have met him?", Maya asked in surprise. "How old do you think I am?" Dn asked frowning at her. "I thought you might be near my age?" Maya replied softly. "I am more than a 100 years old. Did you forget that I am a vampire?" Dn asked. "Yeah, I guess I did." Maya replied. Her thoughts were on how her family had treated her. The tears were slowly drying on her cheeks. Dn sighed softly and said, "Things will get better Maya. Trust yourself. Trust in your Moon Goddess." The car made its way to the Council headquarters. ---------------------- Meanwhile in the Forrester pack: "I hope you understand what we have given up ire." Judy said bitterly, "At least try to be a decent Luna from now." "Mom." Ken interrupted, "Please don''t hurt her. ire is just as upset as you. But she is pregnant and is going to give birth to an Alpha child. We couldn''t have put Maya near her. Maya could have hurt the baby." "We have hurt our child to protect yours. I hope you remember this favour Alpha." Justin bit out. Both the Elder Forrester left the room with ire''s parents. Ken sighed and helped ire stand up. As they were leaving the room, ire turned back to see Xander sitting motionless in his ce. She went out to call him, but Ken motioned her to remain silent and slowly walked her out of the room. After everyone had left, Xander remained in his ce for a long time. Then he slowly walked to the spot where blood from Maya''s body had dripped to the floor. He fell to his knees and let out a mournful cry. He collected the pieces of the chair that was broken by Maya and held them to his chest weeping his heart out. "Maya...." he whispered softly. "I am sorry my love. Please forgive me." Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Three yearster; In the Forrester Pack. "Again?" Ken shouted at his Betas and Omegas, "Howe the rogue problem is urring again and again? How can we not find their entry point even after we had installed the wireless hidden cameras? They have managed to hurt 7 people, abduct 15 kids and 20 female wolves. Now you are telling me that they have even managed to kill old man Quinn?" His demeanor had every wolf in the meeting shaking in their shoes. "Actually Alpha, they managed to kill two people, old man Quinn and his mate. We just got the news from the medical facility, she couldn''t make it. Perhaps we should consider recalling our warriors in the city?", one of the Omegas suggested. "And make them sitting ducks? We should think of moving the pack to a safe ce instead.", another wolf chimed in. "We don''t have the facilities to move an entire pack to another location. We are short on funds and our rtions with other packs have been degrading since a couple of years. If anything, our neighbours are waiting to see us fail so they can obtain a chunk of ournds.", a Betamented. "I know the problems. I want solutions. Can anybody suggest something worthwhile, please?", Ken bit out bitterly. "How about going to the Council for help? I have heard that one of their teams called Wrath of the Moon is top notch in solving rogue problems.", Xander drawled slowly. "Do you think the council will help us?", Ken asked a bit worried. "Do you have any other solution?", Xander asked Ken. "They seem to be our best shot.", an Omega mumbled. "They are our only shot unless we want to disband the pack?", Xander replied. "Fine. Father and I will head to Council Headquarters in two days. Xander, do you think you can hold the fort until we return?", Ken asked. Xander simply nodded his head. "Fine then, meeting is dismissed.", Ken said. ------------------------------------- The Council: Maya and her team walks into Councilman Dn''s office. "Team Leader Maya. Gentlemen and Ladies.", Dn greets them with a smile. "Councilman Dn", the team greets him as one. In thest three years, Dn had moved up thedder and was now working as a Councilman. He had assigned Maya as the Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon team. Maya being a natural born leader had been able to take over the team and create a wide known reputation of the team as being able to solve rogue problems. Dn took a look at all the individuals present in the room. Each and everyone of them were recruited by Dn to create the new team of Wrath of the Moon. The team consisted of four people; apart from Maya, who each have their own special talents. Ryder and Marina constitute the brains of the team whereas Andy and Jeff constitute the brawn. Dn had spent a whole year polishing them into warriors and then another year helping them grow into their own talents. Maya had started epting assignments from her second year in the headquarters, as a result she was directly ced incharge of the team. Then, making use of the prestige of the team already created by it''s former members, Maya built the team a name in problem solving. Problems like pack feud, territory issues, rogue attacks, etc. were tackled by her and the team. With impable logic and quick wit, she had managed to get the team to quickly ept her as the Leader. However, despite all of her achievements there were times when she remembers the past and breaks down. At such times, the team knew about her story and did their best to ease her pain just a tiny bit. Each and everyone of them had a past from which they were rescued. Dn knew that this new assignment they were gonna get might just rip a new one for Maya. Dn sighed and got down to the business, "Congrattions forpleting yourst task so quickly. The Council has decided to raise your sries by giving a good hike." "Oh no... Who''s life are you going to screw now?", Marina asked. "What do you mean?", Dn questioned. "She means that whenever the Council has given us a hike in sry, they did it because the task would be extremely difficult for one of us." Ryder exined. "Ummm... This makes it difficult.", Dn said. "What? Seriously? Just spit it out.", Marina said shaking her head. "The Forrester pack needs our help.", Dn said calmly looking directly at Maya. The words ''Forrester Pack'' made Maya flinch but not a single word was uttered by her. Her team members were looking at her and Marina squeezed her hand a bit as if to lend her some strength. "Do you think you will be able to do it?", Dn asked Maya. "The Wrath of the Moon team has never denied help to any sentient beings protected by Council and we wouldn''t start now." Maya replied in a calm voice, "However, I do have a condition. You have to let them know exactly who it is that woulde to their pack to help them." "They areing down here themselves to meet with us. They will arrive tomorrow. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case you happen to run into them." Dn said epting to her request. "Let''s make that meeting in our cabin, shall we?", Andy asked his eyes filled with mischief. "I hope you aren''t nning to do something childish." Ryder retorted. "There wouldn''t be any childish ns. We are going to behave in a perfectly professional manner. I wouldn''t have people saying any nasty things about our team. We have built a reputation, let''s keep it up there. Let''s not give anyone a reason to drag our name in the mud." Mayamanded a bit of the Alpha tone leaking in her voice. A chorus of yes echoed in the room. All her team members expressed their agreement apathetically. N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. "We will be ready to meet them tomorrow." Maya said nodding at Dn. "Okay then. You guys go ahead and rest. I have to talk with Maya for a minute.", Dn replied with a small smile gracing his face. "What did you want to talk about?", Maya asked. "Are you sure you can handle this? If you want, you can sit out this one. I will step in instead of you." "I have never hidden my identity as the Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon pack. If I deliberately sit this one out and peoplee to know, then all the hardwork of my team mateses to nothing. We are the best team out there. We can handle this." Maya replied confidently. "You havee a long way Maya. I am proud of you." Dn said his voice filled with pride. "Let''s see if you say the same thing once wee back.", Maya joked. Dn smiled and said, "You remember and understand the details of your kidnapping, right? I have told you who is the real culprit. So if this problem offers an opportunity to patch your rtionship with your mate then maybe you should do it." "The culprit of my kidnapping and torture might be someone different but you were with me that day we went to the packnds. All of them caused the pain that came after my rescue." Maya said firmly, "Rtions are like threads, once broken they can never be same. Even if you join them, a knot remains." "Okay, I understand. All the best Team Leader Maya. We hope to see another win for you and your team." Dn replied with a smile. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Next Day:- Maya had spent the entire night studying the Forrester file. She had made some phone calls to double check on things and had a few insights to offer to them. If, after introduction, they decided that they are not going to ask for her help, she would dly give them to whoever takes up the case. Shepleted her usual workout routine and checked on the progress of her team. After a lengthy discussion with her teamst night, she had decided to take only Jeff to the initial meeting. Jeff usually kept his head and didn''t lose his temper easily. The rest of the team were given time off till a decision was made on whether or not they will be working on this project. --------------- The Council Headquarters: Justin and Ken reached the Council Headquarters. They made their way to the office main building where a secretary met them and took them to the Councilman Dn''s office. "Good Morning, Mr. Dn. The people from the Forrester pack are here to meet you.", she introduced them. Dn nodded to her and said, "Alpha Forrester and Elder Forrester, please take a seat. The Team Leader of Wrath of the Moon will be with us within a few minutes." "Councilman Dn." Justin started, "How... How is...? Where?" He couldn''t seem toplete his sentence, words were getting stuck in his throat. Fortunately, the door opened and Dn didn''t have to pretend to not understand what he meant. Anger towards his attitude was rippling just under the surface. Jeff walked in and greeted the people inside, "Good morning, gentlemen. Hello, I am Jeff from Wrath of the Moon." "Team Leader Jeff..." began Ken. However Jeff put up his hand and said, "The Team Leader is on the way. She stopped by the secretary to pick up the files describing your case." Just as Jeff finished talking, a knock on the door sounded and the door opened. Maya walked in with the air of confidence and took her seat. "Gentlemen.", she greeted lightly, cing the file in front of her. "M..Ma..Maya.. you? Here? How? What?" Ken stuttered. "Alpha Forrester, please restrain yourself. I haven''t omitted your title. I suggest you afford the same respect to me. I don''t take disrespect towards me or my team lightly.", Maya replied in a firm voice with her brows furrowed a little. Jeff nted a nce at her and then looked back towards the Forresters. His posture grew more rxed. Dn was also showing a hint of a smile. Elder Justin was the first to recover from the shock of seeing her alive and well. He ced a hand on his son''s arm and began, "Excuse us. We are just surprised to see you here, Team Leader Maya Forrester." "It''s understandable. Also, I go by Maya Wright now.", Maya stated. Justin flinched as if pped across the face. To give up the family name was to clearly state that she didn''t want to be considered a part of family. It was a rejection of her bloodline and of him as her father. Maya continued as if she didn''t see his reaction, "Alpha Forrester, considering our past history are you sure you would befortable working with us? We would after all have to step on your territory and have the ess topletely explore it." "We would like to discuss this." Ken replied. Maya just raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay. Sure." "Privately." Ken rified after she didn''t move. "This is my office Alpha Forrester. If you would like privacy you can step outside in the corridor." Dn interjected ruthlessly. Ken pressed his lips in a straight line and stood up to step outside. Justin followed him. Dn reached over to Maya and squeezed her shoulder to offerfort. Jeff too held her hand. "I am fine." Maya said, "Really... It should have hurt or angered me even but strangely I feel... Nothing. At all. This is just another case for me. Nothing more, nothing less." ---------------------- On the other side of the door; "What do you think we should do Dad?" Ken asked. "On one hand, she is the Team Leader of Wrath of the Moon. It is the best team out there who can help us. And on other hand, having her on pack grounds might be dangerous for ire and your son." Justin replied. "We should just ask for someone else." Ken said. "If you think that is the appropriate decision then let''s inform them." Justin replied. They opened the door and heard Maya saying "This is just another case for me. Nothing more, nothing less." ---------------------- Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. As the door openedpletely, the three people inside turned towards them. "We... We will be fine working with you. Just you have to promise that you will never try to hurt ire." Ken announced. "Why would I want to hurt Luna ire?" Maya questioned with a smirk on her face. She had suspected that his decision would be the same. Ken was too predictable for her. "Because..." Ken paused as he considered that Maya may not know the truth of who had sold her to the rogue. "If you are talking about the fact that she sold me in a seedy bar infested with lowlife thugs, then you can rest assured that as long as she won''t be alone in the same ce as me, I won''t hurt her." Maya purposely revealed that bit of information. "I will ask ire to keep her distance." Ken bit out angered by Maya''s response. "Sure. Then would you like to discuss your problems now?" Maya replied a smirk ying on her lips. "I think we should get down to it. Could you describe the problem from your viewpoint Alpha Forrester?" Dn interjected before Ken could reply. Ken sighed, ran a hand through his hair and started talking, "We have always faced problems with rogues roaming on our territory. But we have always been able to chase them off. Later on we even installed wireless cameras to survey our property. It didn''t start until three years ago, the rogues entering our territory were not the normal one who would leave after a warning. The rogues had started attacking our warriors. Soon we started facing other problems, women were disappearing from our territory. We suspected the rogues took them away. They have also started kidnapping children. Recently an old couple was found killed in their cottage." "What''s the name of the old couple that was killed?" Maya asked Alpha Forrester. "Old man Quinn and his wife." he answered. "What did they do? What was their position in the pack?" asked Maya. Justin thought for a while and replied, "Old Mrs. Quinn helped the kitchen staff and Old Mr. Quinn used to help the pack historian." "How many people disappeared from the pack till now?" Jeff asked. "Around 35 people. 15 kids and 20 female werewolves. Also 7 of the warriors are hurt and in the medical facilities." Ken replied giving the exact tally of casualties as well. "When did the violent attacks start?" Maya questioned Ken. "Around 3 years back." "And the disappearances?" "About the same time." "Why did you wait for so long to report this situation?" Dn interrupted. Ken hesitated before answering, "I didn''t... I thought we could solve this on our own. I never expected this to escte so much." "What is the age of the kids and the women who have disappeared?" Jeff asked. Elder Justin scratches his head and answers with his own question, "Does that matter?" "ording to my research, it does matter." Maya answered. "Why is it a factor?" Ken asked. "Why are you assuming that the people who have disappeared are abducted by the rogues?" Maya questioned their assumption. Ken replied indignantly, "Who else could have done it? No other pack would have attacked another pack so covertly." Maya raised an eyebrow and answered with a firm voice, "I know. I am an Alpha myself. ording to my findings, your pack is not ailed by one issue but rather there are two different problems you have to tackle over here." "What? How?" Justin asks incredulous. "The pack members that have disappeared are not kidnapped. They left the pack of their own vition." Maya exins. A silence reigns in the room as people digest this news. Each person draws their own conclusions from this statement and the Forresters'' are most shocked to hear this. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 "The pack members that have disappeared are not kidnapped. They left the pack of their own vition." Maya exined. "What are you saying? Why will they?" Ken asked confused. Maya sighs and starts exining her point, "Let''s tackle one problem at a time. The reason I asked for the age of pack members is because the female wolves that have disappeared are between the age group of 16 to 25. It is the ideal age for finding a mate. Something or someone is guiding them to their mates that are outside the pack." "How can you be so sure of this?" Ken asked. "Because we took the time to ask other pack surrounding you about any recent joining in their packs. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. Just this morning we have found all your disappeared pack mates" "Why didn''t they inform us before leaving?" Ken interjects Jeff interrupts with a huff, "When a were finds their mate, propriety is thest thing on their mind. The mate takes precedence above all. You of all people should know this, Alpha." Ken glowered at Jeff. "And the kids? Why have they left?" Justin questions perplexed. Maya delivers her final exnation, "All the kids that left are orphans of the pack or they are from abusive households." Ken is not convinced and asks Maya, "But they are kids. How can they leave without an elder detecting their presence? There are constantly pack warriors surrounding the territory, to avoid them is impossible for kids." Dn says, interrupting them before Maya has a chance to speak, "Kids are smarter than you think. Also Maya was just talking about something or someone helping them, remember?" "We will help you." Maya says, "However we will help you only with the rogues'' situation. The other problem needs to be solved by yourself. It doesn''t seem to be a malicious person or entity who is doing all this." "Any kind of help is appreciated." Ken said sighing softly, "When will you arrive home?" "I will enter the Forrester pack territory with my team in a couple of days. I need to do some research and prepare a few things before wee over." Maya said standing up and picking up the file. "However, I will remind you to treat us as people from Council and not as rogues. I will leave with my team if we are subjected to any insult. Our amodations can be arranged inside themon pack house. We will take care of our food ourselves." "Okay." Justin said shifting on his seat a little at the thought of his daughter staying at themon pack house and not in his home. Maya nodded and left with Jeff following on her heels. "Maya changed her name?" Justin asked Dn. "Yes. She took on my family name. My wife helped her a lot when she arrived here first. Infact, all the members of her team have taken it up as their own name. They took it up as a sign of respect to my beloved." Dn replied. Justin nodded and left the room with Ken. Anyone watching him leave could feel the dejection in his posture as he left. Dn looks on confused by his behaviour. ---------------- The Forrester Pack''s Conference Room; "Alpha, you mean to say that Rogue Maya is now Team Leader Maya Wright? How is this possible? Isn''t she really weak?" Beta Mark asked incredulous. "She must have slept her way to the top." an Omega interjects with disgust in his tone. A sharp growl sounds in the room. Everyone turns to look at Xander. His eyes are filled with anger. "Watch what you are saying. We cannot disrespect anyone like this. Certainly not anyone from the Council." ire scolds the Omega. "Sorry, Luna ire." he responds. ire just nods. All the pack members in the conference room share the same thought of how their Luna ire was loving and caring towards everyone. The thought that any pseudo Luna might arrive to snatch her ce in the pack came to their minds and their fur bristled. Even though Maya had grown up in the pack, she didn''t have as much interaction with other pack members outside of meeting. And as a result, ire who began her journey in the pack frommon wolves had earned a fond ce in the hearts of pack members. "Alright Luna. We won''t disrespect the Wrath of the Moon team. However if the team insults our Luna or Alpha then we will boycott them and ask them to leave." Beta Mark dered passionately. Everyone around the table nodded except Xander who kept looking at his hands. "ire, you will not be alone in the same room with her. There must at least be two people by your side. Beta Mark, arrange two of our best pack warriors to stay next to ire the entire time Wrath of the Moon team is here." Kenmanded. "I have a better idea." Xander spoke up. Everyone was surprised to hear him speak as he had been keeping silent since the meeting started. "Instead of engaging two warriors for ire''s safety, let me handle it. I will stay besides ire until they are here." Ken nodded and dismissed the meeting after going over the finer points again. As Xander prepared to leave the room, Ken stopped him. Only Ken, ire and Xander were in the room. "Xander will you be able to handle this? She might lose her temper and try to attack ire. Will you be able to defend ire? Will you be able to hurt Maya to protect ire?" Ken asked concerned. "Do you think Maya will be able to hurt me if I stand between her and ire? ording to you, she knows that I haven''t harmed her. So we can determine that she will not try to harm me either." Xander countered. Both Ken and ire epted the fact that Xander made sense. Maya was least likely to hurt Xander. He is her true mate as well as he never hurt her. "But... Xander will you stand by me? If she wants you to tell the pack or worse the Council of how I wronged her, will you support her?" ire asked her eyes tearing up a little. "I have always protected you, haven''t I? Since our childhood I have always stood by your side. I will never reveal anything to anyone." Xander consoled her by patting her back and said, "Also what you did was unknowingly. If it was possible to rescue her earlier then we would have rescued her. You always kept on top of the search reports for Maya to atone for what you did." Xander then left the conference room after a few moments and went to his sleeping quarters. He closed the door and walked to a closet. He opened the closet door and took out a broken chair seat from inside the closet. He carefully stroked the chair seat and hugged it close. He sat on his bed and let out a small smile filled with pain. His eyes held hope for the first time in many years. He fell asleep holding the broken seat and dreaming of Maya''s smiling face. ------------------------- Forrester Pack Elder Justin and Judy''s room; "You saw her? How is she? How is my daughter? Does she still looks the same? Did she talk with you? How did she became Team Leader of Wrath of the Moon? Did she face a lot of hardships? Tell me... Why are you silent? Tell me quick." Judy questioned Justin tirelessly. "She... she seems fine, healthy. She changed her name, Judy. She changed her name." Justin could barely reply Judy before dissolving in tears. "What are you talking about?" Judy asked a bit apprehensive. "She changed her name from Maya Forrester to Maya Wright. She rejected me as her father. She... she hates me Judy." Justin replied with tears streaming down his face. He looked like he aged a lot in a matter of hours. "Oh Justin." Judy sighed her own eyes bright with unshed tears. Both Elder Forresters held each other and cried for their loss. The environment seemed to be as gloomy as their mood. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 At the Border of the Forrester Pack; Two ck SUVs marked with the Council''s emblem came to halt, at the break of the dawn, right where the border starts. There was a group of five werewolves standing in the middle of the road blocking the SUVs. Beta Mark stepped forward with his team of warriors. The scene gave Maya a shback of what happened three years ago. But she reminded herself that Maya three years ago and Maya now are two different people, in spirit and mind as well as the strength. Maya''s head lifted slightly in arrogance and she kept waiting in the car without alighting. Beta Mark got pissed because for he wanted to assert his dominance and show her that she would have to obey the rules here, that it was not her home. "Team Leader Maya." Beta Mark greeted. "Beta Mark, may I know why are you stopping the Council members'' entry in the Forrester packnds? Maya asked rather curtly. "We would like to see the permission slip allowing you to enter the packnds." the Beta drawled with insolence. This triggered Andy and he went to undid his seat belt to punch the Beta. However Maya put a hand on top of Andy''s and that made the Beta grin as if he won a battle. "Beta Mark, your Alpha came to us to ask for our help. With this disy on his pack border are we supposed to think that you don''t require our help anymore?" Maya said with azy yawn. All the members of Forrester pack had ckened faces at her words. Finally Beta Mark bowed his head and stepped aside. Maya simply sent azy smile towards them and motioned the SUVs to continue their way inside the territory. The Alpha and Luna Forrester were waiting at the entrance of the main pack building. Maya got down from her car and walked towards them. Her steps reflected confidence and power. Everyone''s eyes were drawn towards her and the confidence she exuded. After so many years, Maya stood face to face with the ones that betrayed her at the most weakest point in her life. Her parents were standing behind Ken and ire. Her mother''s eyes held a shine as if she had cried recently. Xander stood a little to the side and watched Maya, with unreadable emotions ying in his eyes. "Alpha and Luna Forrester." Maya said calmly. "Wee to the Forrester pack, Team Leader Maya." ire chimed weing her. Maya shot her a look and raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Thank you, Luna Forrester. However I suggest, due to theck of familiarity between us, to call me Team Leader Wright." The Forrester pack members had their hackles raised due to Maya''s behaviour. However, Maya simply ignored them and continued speaking. "It would be helpful if you can ask someone to show us to our rooms and work area, we would like to clean up and then we can set up our equipments. We had a long journey out here." "Oh yes, how silly of me." ire replied, "Our Pack Trainer, Xander, will show you around." Maya nodded, not even sparing a nce towards Xander, and motioned her team members to pick up the luggage. "You can leave that here. We will ask a member to bring it to your rooms." Xander said. "It is fine Mr. Lockhart. We have some sensitive equipment and it is better if we handle it ourselves." Marina replied. Xander noted that Maya still didn''t nce his way and his heart squeezed painfully. He took them to their rooms in themon pack house and came downstairs. "Are you okay?" Ken asked him concerned, to which Xander replied by nodding his head. ire patted his back and left with Ken to their rooms. After a while, Andy and Jeff headed with Xander to set up theputers and their equipments in the work room designated for them. They were set up in the surveince room of the pack and the pack members already working in the room weren''t happy with this decision, as they considered it an intrusion of their space. Their faces showed their inner irritation but Andy and Jeff didn''t pay them any attention and simply got busy in setting up the equipment. Marina and Ryder soon came to join them. However, Maya didn''t arrive for a long time and Xander kept throwing nces at the door. His wolf was getting a bit antsy and wanted to see his mate. "Looks like your Team Leader got lost in the pack house." one of the Forrester pack members "Dumb woman, even forgetting they of thend where she lived for most of her life." another pack member continued. Maya''s team froze and Marina slowly turned to throw the members a look. "It is strange that you would still beg for a dumb woman toe and save your ass." she said. The members immediately turned towards the screens and pretended to get busy in their work. Marina''s aura leaked in the room and the Forrester wolves were able to sense that she is a better warrior that them. Maya came to the surveince room after some time. She threw a nce around the room and saw the tense postures of her team members. She understood something must have happened and walked towards her team. She looked at Marina questioningly, who returned a small smile and shook her head negative. But Jeff being a werewolf was able tomunicate with Maya in her head and he couldn''t hold back on what happened. Maya was his Alpha as well as his Team Leader and he couldn''t tolerate the pack trying to insult her. Maya nodded at him, as if to signal that he did good by telling her, and turned to others saying, "I have made arrangements for our food in our rooms itself. Since our equipment is set up, we can start after having a bite." She lifted the bag with their food onto the table. Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. "We could have provided food for you guys. You don''t need to go through that trouble." Xander said frowning at the bag. If Maya ate with her team in the room then he wouldn''t be able to see her in the "Mr. Lockhart, with all due respect. Ryder is a vampire, Marina a witch and Andy is a were panther. I doubt that you would know what they eat and don''t eat. Also, not all pack members show a tolerance towards someone not their own kind, and I do not expect that they are happy about me being here either. Let us at least have our food in peace with everyone not glowering at our backs." Maya replied, watching the Forrester pack members in the room. The pack members flinched at her words and pretended to be absorbed in the screens. Maya just smirked at the back of their heads and turned to look towards Xander. Xander was frowning at her words, "I assure you that we can behave ourselves Maya. We would never do or say anything to insult you and your team." "I would have liked to believe that Mr. Lockhart but the wee we received till now has proved otherwise." Maya replied. Xander stood up confused and walked towards Maya. He touched her arm and said, "You can tell me if anyone insulted you Maya. I would ensure that they get punished." The sparks of their mate bond ran down Maya''s arm. It made Xander happy to feel those sparks running up his hand. Maya stepped back to avoid his hand and replied,"Please excuse my disbelief towards your statement, Mr. Lockhart. I have a first hand experience of your sincerity." Her words stung Xander and a sh of sadness passed through his eyes. He dropped his hand, stepped back and bowed his head. "I understand." he said, "I will try my level best to earn your trust again, Maya." "What would be the purpose of that Mr. Lockhart? Me and my team would be leaving at the end of this assignment. We will never meet each other after that." she said calmly in a firm voice. Xander looked up at her shocked. His wolf started feeling desperate and wanted to make an appearance before his mate. His wolf wanted to im her so that she would never leave him again. Xander ruthlessly suppressed his wolf as he had been doing sincest three years. "She is right. She cannot stay here. She is a danger to ire and her child." Xander thought towards his wolf. But this made his wolf even more desperate and he renewed the struggle toe out. Xander took a deep breath and let Maya''s smell that saturated the room wash over him. It helped to calm his wolf a little. He left the room calm but dejected. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 "Alright, let''s start our work. Ryder can you start reviewing the surveince tapes of the days on which the rogues attacked? Jeff and Andy start mapping which areas of the territory are covered by wireless cameras. Do not split up. We aren''t sure about the fighting skills of the rogues. If you encounter them, Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. then do not engage them alone. You will inform us and the Forrester pack warriors first. Understand?" Maya asked. "Yes, Team Leader." the three of them reply back. "Marina and I will be checking up a hunch I have. We will be in the records room. Come on people let''s get to it." Maya said encouraging them. ------------------------------------ On the Forrester pack grounds; Andy and Jeff start mapping the cameras at the border of the pack. asionally, they encounter a Forrester pack warrior but the warriors ignore them and give them a wide berth. Jeff is holding the map and Andy is checking the visibility on a small iPad. They mark off the areas that are monitored by the cameras. They cover the entire border of the pack territory to find a loophole. However, they realise that at the border there is not a single area not monitored by the wireless camera. There are no blind spots that could be used by the rogues. It puzzled them as to how the rogues were able to enter the territory without being detected. Soon, they headed back to grab their lunch and report on the progress made. ------------------------------------- The surveince room of Forrester pack; Maya''s team reconvened and started reporting their work to Maya. Ryder got their lunches in the surveince room itself and the team started discussing the case while eating their food. Maya kept staring at the map marked off by Jeff and she was as stumped as the guys at the entry point of rogues. Ryder was talking about his observations in the surveince footage but he noticed Maya waspletely distracted. He cleared his throat and said, "Maya... Are you okay? You seem distracted." "Yes... I am confused." Maya mumbled and continued, "Ryder, when checking the surveince tapes did you find any children or women sneaking off the territory?" "Actually... Now that I think about it... No, I didn''t see any of the people who left the pack on the tapes." Ryder replied perplexed. "This means that there is definitely another way to enter and exit the territory and those who left the pack must know about it as they travelled that same route." Marina chimed in excited to have found a clue. "I will ce a call to few of them and find out more." "Yes, but I am not talking about that. I am talking how would the roguese to know about the secret route? I have been in this pack for so many years of my life and I don''t know such a route exists. How could the people who have never set a foot in the packe to know about it?" Maya questioned. "Do you mean that there might be a pack member who is betraying the pack?" Ryder questioned. "But this suggestion does not hold water. Wouldn''t Ken Forrester as an Alpha sense such a person?" Jeff asked Maya. "Come to think of it, Ken Forrester was not able to sense the decision of about 35 pack members who wanted to deflect to another pack. In fact he assumed that they had been kidnapped. He is the Alpha of the Forrester pack, isn''t he? Howe he isn''t able to sense out such things?" Andy replied. "Maybe he is losing his touch?" Marina suggested. Upon hearing her words, the three werespecies members of their team turned to her sharply. "What? I was kidding. I know that an Alpha cannot lose touch about such things. Their Alpha sense is a part of their aura and it is a birth right that cannot be taken away." Marina rattled off, as if reading from a book. She felt a bit anxious at their shocked expressions. "Actually, Marina, an Alpha losing his touch can happen if the pack is being disbanded due to a natural phenomena. It has happened several decades ago. Most of the details are unconfirmed and possibly inurate. My grandfather had told me of such an incident, he wanted to warn me and Ken against doing anything that would harm our pack. But how can it happen to the Forrester pack? It does not even make sense. The Alpha is the same... " Maya trailed off. "Can you exin in detail, please?" Ryder asked. "Years ago, there were two brothers who were born to the Alpha couple of the Desmond pack." Maya began. "There is no such pack existing. I know the names of the packs chronologically." Ryder replied interrupting. "It existed years ago, but the pack went through a natural disbanding when the Alpha of the pack was changed forcibly." Maya rified. "Anyways, of the two brothers, the younger one was a true Alpha, his powers and strength better than the older Alpha child. Because of his talent, he was made the Alpha of the pack. The older brother was not able to let go of the Alpha title and went away for some time. When he came back, something had changed and he then started plotting a coup against his own brother. The coup was sessful and the true Alpha was removed from his position. The Alpha was brutally killed by his own brother in front of the pack. The older brother then took on the Alpha title and made people loyal to him incharge of the important positions. However, because of the pack betraying the true Alpha, the Moon Goddess Luna was angry. She started a natural dissolution process. There were fewer births in the pack, many of the she wolves had to suffer miscarriages. Some couples couldn''t even get pregnant. Any female or male wolf with a mate outside of the pack left the pack. The children already born slowly left the pack to join another pack. The brother who usurped the title slowly lost his powers and couldn''t sense any of the bonds with his pack members. Soon he was left with a handful of pack members and they were attacked by the neighbouring packs. Since they had only a handful of people left, they surrendered and had no option but to be a Rogue." Maya ended the story. "Is that why you never came back to take revenge on your family?" Jeff asked quietly. "Yes. There are many innocent pack members who do not deserve to suffer through a natural dissolution of the pack." Maya replied solemnly. "And yet, this pack shows symptoms of the same kind of dissolution." Marina said deep in thought, "How about if we check the medical records of the pregnant wolves? We can also trace when the symptoms started showing up." "That''s a good idea, Marina." Maya appreciated her. Marina''s face revealed a happy expression. "While Marina and I were in record room we checked on the visitors file to see if any suspicious people enter or leaving the pack grounds under some pretext. We should match up the visitor log book against the rogue attacks. Perhaps we can find something that would rule out the possibility of a mole." Maya informed others. Unfortunately they couldn''t continue their talk as the Forrester pack members working in the surveince room returned. Alpha Ken Forrester came in after them. "Maya, can you please step outside for a minute? I want to talk about something important with you." Ken said to Maya. "Sure, Alpha Forrester. What is this about?" Maya asked. -------------------------- As soon as the door closed behind her, Ken held her arm forcefully and asked her, "Did you set the rogues after us so that you cane back here?" "What? What are you talking about?" Maya asked. "It makes sense. You have connections to the rogues via your job and you hold a grudge against us. You have motive and the means. It has to be you who is set on destroying this pack." Ken literally screamed at her. Maya threw him a sharp look and stepped back forcing him to drop his hands. "First of all, Alpha Forrester, it is Team Leader Wright to you. Second of all, I didn''t have to put myself through years of hardship to get back at you. If I made a formalint against Luna Forrester at the Council they would have backed me up. Afterall, she had left plenty of evidence against herself. It was enough to deem her unfit of Luna position and force her to abdicate along with you. I wouldn''t have waited three years for it if I wanted it. Alpha Forrester do not push your insecurities on me. I refuse to shoulder them. It is you who is ipetent andcking." Maya replied with a bite in her words. Her wolf couldn''t sit still at this disrespect and released her powerful aura for all to witness. Every creature werewolf or otherwise felt the power of her aura. Creatures with lesser aura fell to their knees, even Ken''s legs started shaking. He was having a hard time standing upright and ced a hand against the wall for support. "Ken Forrester, you are unworthy of the Alpha title." Maya said, her voice hard and unforgiving. Chapter 16 Chapter 16 "Ken Forrester, you are unworthy of the Alpha title." Maya said, her voice hard and unforgiving. Then she wrenched the door open and stepped back inside to see that the Forrester pack members, who were on their knees, were ring at her. The viciousness in their eyes help Maya to reach a decision. Facing her team, she said loud and clear, "Team Wrath of the Moon this assignment will bepleted within the next week. We are only to focus on the rogues attack. I am done with the insults and the arrogance." "Yes, Team Leader." All of Maya''s team gave an agreement to her words. ---------------------- At the night time; Maya made her way to her room. She and Marina were sharing a room while the guys were sharing another. She opened the door of her room and Marina entered behind her. Switching on the light, both of them made their way to their suitcases which were just ced on bed in the morning. Marina went for a shower while Maya was looking through the bag she had haphazardly packed. Maya heard a small sound and froze. She sensed a third presence hiding in the cupboard. Her wolf perked up her ears but thenid down in her mind and gave a yawn. Maya realised from her wolf''sid back attitude that it was not someone who can harm her and she walked towards the cupboard and pulled the door open. A child tumbled out with the linens ced in the cupboard. "Hello, little monkey. May I know what you are doing here?" Maya asked the kid, bending down so she was at eye level with the child. "I am not a monkey. I am a wolf" the child replied standing straight with his chest puffed out. Maya chuckled at his cute face and stance. "Oh yes, I can see that. Definitely a little wolf cub. Now tell me what are you doing here? Didn''t your daddy teach you that a young gentleman like you cannot visit ady sote in the night?" Maya asked him in a cajoling voice. "I just wanted to see my aunt." the kid said twisting his tshirt in his hands. "Aunt? Who is your aunt?" Maya asked confused. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. "She is Maya Forrester. The Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon pack." the kid replied with a smile. Maya froze after hearing his words. "What is your name?" she asked standing up straight. "Sam Forrester. I am the future Alpha of the Forrester pack, Aunt Maya." he said shocking her further. "You know who I am?" Maya asked. "Yes, you are Maya Forrester. The Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon pack and my Aunt." he replied staring at her with wide curious eyes. "Who told you this?" Maya asked frowning at him. "My Grandma." "Elder Judy Forrester?" Maya questioned, to which the kid nodded like a bobblehead toy. "That is not true. I am Maya Wright. The Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon pack and not your Aunt." Maya said. The boy frowned hard at that and said, "My Grandma won''t lie to me." Maya sighed and rubbed her forehead with one hand. Then she again bent down to be at the boy''s eye level and said, "I am not saying that your Grandma lied to you, but she is old and old people tend to get confused with their age. In her confusion she might have told you that I am your aunt but the truth is, I am not a part of the Forrester pack let alone Forrester family. Tell me, do you feel any familial bond between us?" The kid replied with a soft, "No." while shaking his head negatively. "Then that means I am not your aunt. Okay?" Maya asked equally softly. "Okay." the child replied, a bit dejected. "It would have been cool to have an Aunt who is so powerful." "Who is this cutie?" Marina asked stepping out of the bathroom. "Marina, meet Sam Forrester. The son of Alpha and Luna Forrester." Maya introduced him. "Hello cutie pie. What are you doing here sote?" "I came to meet my Aunt but she is not my Aunt. Will you be my Aunt Ms. Wright?" Sam asked a bit hopefully. "Mari, can you please take the kid to one of the Forrester family?" Maya asked. Marina knew that Maya only used the short form of her name when she wanted her urgently and without hesitation. Marina took a look at Sam and understood how Maya must be feeling. So she nodded her head and led Sam out of the room. However as soon as she stepped out in the hall, she saw Judy Forrester with tears in her eyes. When Judy saw her, sheposed herself, stepped forward and took Sam''s hand in hers. She looked in the room to see Maya looking at her. Maya''s eyes held no emotions whatsoever. Judy couldn''t bear to see her dead eyes anymore so she turned around and left with Sam. ---------------------------- The next day; Marina ced a call to the people who left the pack. Most of the women were reluctant to step back in the Forrester territory again. They stated that their wolf goes berserk at the mere mention of returning to the Forrester pack territory. It was as if something was preventing them from returning. Finally, a couple of them agreed to meet with her and show her the hidden route. In the meanwhile, Maya had already started matching the visitor log book to the dates on which rogues attacked and what she found surprised her. Each time the rogues attacked, old man Quinn''s wife had been out of pack territory. Maya double checked to ensure that it is true. This revtion confused Maya even more. ''Why would someone who was helping rogues be killed by them? It makes no sense.'' Maya thought. Maya walked out of the record room deep in her thoughts. As she neared the surveince room, she heard an altercation taking ce within. Pissed off by yesterday''s argument and the continuous mistreatment of her pack, Maya mmed open the door of the surveince room. "Stand down." Mayamanded in her Alpha voice. At once each and every member inside the room went still. "Team Wrath of the Moon to the front." Maya''smanding voice made her team run to the front. They stood in a line awaiting her next instruction. "Jeff, report what happened here." Maya said. "Team Leader Wright..." Beta Mark began exining but was cut off by Maya''s re. A shiver ran up his back but he ruthlessly suppressed it. His wolf was trying tomunicate something with him buy he ignored it. "Team Leader, we requested the post mortem reports from Beta Mark, however we were refused." Jeff exined. Maya shifted her attention to Beta Mark and raised an eyebrow questioningly. She asked, "I thought you would be keen for us to get off the packnds by solving the situation as soon as possible. Am I wrong to assume so, Beta Mark?" "Hey! I would be happy if you left the pack territory at this moment. You are just here to rob the title and position of the Luna from our rightful Luna." Beta Mark thundered at them. "And how is the post mortem report of old man Quinn rted to the position of Luna Forrester?" Maya asked observing Mark keenly. "That... that..." he stuttered. "It doesn''t matter. You are just wasting your time here doing unnecessary things as you don''t want to help us." Maya sighed and looked at her team, "Team Wrath of the Moon, apologize to the Forrester pack members." As one, the entire team turned towards the Forrester pack members and apologized in perfect synchronisation. No questions or hesitation was disyed in their actions. "Do you know why you apologized?" Maya asked her team. "Permission to speak, Team Leader." Andy asked stepping out of the line. "Permission granted." Maya replied. "We wasted time arguing with idiots instead of directly approaching Alpha Forrester when we hit a snag." Andy replied. "Exactly." Maya said and asked Andy, "How much time did you guys waste?" "We wasted four minutes and fifteen seconds." Andy reported. "Excellent. The Forrester pack has a running track on which the warriors of the pack practice. They also keep extensive records of the timings of each warrior. Your punishment is toplete the entire track within the time required for wolves to clear warrior level minus the time you wasted, i.e., four minutes and fifteen seconds. Understand?" Maya asked. "Yes, Team Leader." her team responded. "Good. I will expect you at the track at 5:00 PM sharp." Maya said and left the room after ncing at Beta Mark. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 At 5:00 PM; On the Forrester pack''s training grounds, Xander was concluding the training of his pack warriors. He had heard about Maya''s punishment to her team members. He was purposely dying leaving the pack grounds, simply so he could catch a glimpse of her. Just as his warriors got off the training ground, Maya and her team walked in. Each and everyone in her team walked in perfect synchronisation, ready in their training outfit. "Pack Trainer Lockhart, do you mind if we use the pack training ground?" "Please, be my guest." Xander replied calmly. "Pack Trainer Xander, why don''t we make it interesting?" one of the warriors interrupted. Maya gave him a disinterested look but he still continued, "If these Wrath of the Moon team members are able to achieve their goal of clearing warrior level time set minus four minutes and fifteen seconds, we will not bother them and also help in their investigation. But if they aren''t able to achieve their goal then they will leave the pack territory today itself. How about it? Do you dare?" "Those are hardly fair terms." Maya said. "We knew you wouldn''t ept the bet. You are just a coward Maya Forrester... No, Sorry... Maya Wright" the warrior said derisively. Xander''s wolf was rising, he wanted to rip out the warrior''s head for disrespecting her. Xander was struggling to suppress his wolf. "I meant that if we achieve it then you would still be hindering us. If you were able to solve your problems by yourself, your Alpha wouldn''t have called us in to save your asses." Maya stated calmly. "You... Fine.. what do you want if you guys win" he asked. "If we win, I want our names on the wall of glory. Agreed?" Maya asked. "Agreed." the warrior stated. "Trainer Lockhart, can I borrow your stopwatch and whistle?" Maya asked, looking at him. He handed it over to her without a word. Their hands brushed and sparks flew through their body. Xander frowned as his wolf had calmed down immediately. However, Maya didn''t change her expression at all and this pained him. He remembered their date, how she had took him around the town chatting with him nonstop. She had changed a lot, he realised. In the time he had spent musing, Maya''s team members were already on ce on the track. Maya stepped forward and exined to her team, "To qualify for the warrior rank one needs to off in your speed. Your punishment entails that youplete these rounds in 25 minutes and 45 seconds." Maya blew the whistle and started the stopwatch. The team members flew like a bullet from a gun, their speed and power shining through the moves they used. After sometime, Maya''s team memberspleted theirst round and crashed to the ground utterly drained. They had seen and heard their Team Leader being disrespected and wanted to teach a lesson to the Forrester pack warriors. They hoped that theypleted the punishment. Maya walked over to them with bottles of water and Xander trailed behind her. She handed down the bottles to her team. "Team Leader... How... How much time... did we take?" Ryder asked whizzing to catch his breath. "You didn''tplete the track in 25 minutes 45 seconds." Maya stated and her team looked crestfallen. She continued disregarding their expression, a hit of smile ying on her lips, "You allpleted the exercise within 23 minutes 40 seconds with Rydering inst. If youplete the track in less than 25 minutes then that means you have cleared Beta level. Congrattions Andy and Marina, you beat the current record of Beta Mark by two minutes." Her team members started beaming and Jeff even thumped Andy''s back. "Congrattions!" Xander said drawing Maya''s attention. "The work is not done yet." Maya stated and everyone looked at her in confusion. "I have to run the track now." Maya rified and asked Xander, "Will you time me, Trainer Lockhart?" Xander merely nodded. His wolf was looking forward to see his mate disy her strength. Her team cleared off the track and Maya stood at the start point in position. As soon as she heard the whistle, Maya shot up running at full speed. She ran with abandonment, for the simple joy of feeling the wind on her skin. Her wolf remembered how she had spent years training on this very field. Her wolf loved running through the forestpared to that on a track. Shepletely forgot about the bet and just concentrated on running in full speed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xander signalling her to stop. So she ran over to his side, she was sweaty but had even breath. Just as she came to halt, her scent wafted over to Xander and he felt sucker punched. He couldn''t articte a word and just kept staring at her with open mouth. Maya raised eyes filled with query to him and the moment passed. Xander shook his head as if to clear it and said, "You cleared the rounds in 16 minutes 02 seconds thus breaking the record of Alpha Ken by 3 minutes 45 seconds." "Good. Our names and time must be disyed on the wall. Be prompt." Maya said her speech clear and loud to reach the trainees of Forrester pack who were standing a bit away from them. Throwing a look at the trainees, Maya walked away with the team. She didn''t know, but a pair of eyes were following her movements. ----------------------- Dinner time, Maya and Marina''s room; "Maya, you called us?" Jeff asked. "Yes,e inside. I found something today that I couldn''t share in the surveince room. Are Andy and Ryder with you?" Maya asked. Jeff nodded and stepped inside followed by Andy and Ryder. They seated themselves and took out their food containers. "Today, in the record room, I found that Late Mrs. Quinn used to always leave the pack just on the day of rogue attacks." Maya exined. "It makes sense, for her to be the informer. She is not higher up in the pack that her movements could be monitored and she used to work in the kitchen, which means she could go outside for supply runs." Ryder observed. "But why would the rogues kill their own informer? That doesn''t make sense at all." Andy questioned. "You kill your own people in two conditions. One, when you don''t trust them anymore and they pose a threat to you. Otherwise if they have outlived their purpose and you have no need of them." Maya stated her view point. A silence fell as each of them became absorbed in their thoughts. They hardly took a couple of bites of their food before Marina interrupted, "But then, for which purpose was she killed for? And what about her husband? Was he in on it?" "What job did he used to do?" Jeff asked. "He used to work with the pack historian as his assistant." Maya mumbled, still deep in her thoughts. "Who is the pack historian?" Ryder questioned. "The pack historian is... Matthew Sanders. I have met him in the record room. He seemed like a douche bag but then, all of the pack members seem the same." Marina imed exasperated. "Matthew Sanders? Isn''t he like 40 years old? Why would an old guy like Mr. Quinn still be working as an assistant to Matthew Sanders?" Maya asked confused by the fact. "Yeah... Guys, I think we should dig the history of Quinn couple. Who can we ask about them? Matthew Sanders would only know about them for like 20-25 years. What about before that?" Andy said. "Maybe an Elder. Who is the oldest Elder in the pack?" Ryder questioned. "Grandma Jenkins. She used to bake cookies for me and Ken back then. She lives near the old man Quinn''s house. She is their neighbour, I guess." Maya said. "Okay then. Let''s visit her in the morning. What about the ex-pack members? Marina did any of them agree to help us?" Jeff asked Marina. He was eager to find the opening point of the secret route. "It took a lot of convincing but a person has agreed to meet me tomorrow. She will be here by afternoon. Oh, that reminds me, we may need to pay her travel fares." Marina imed. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. "Don''t worry about it. Just direct the bill to Alpha Forrester''s office. The Forrester Co. provides enough money to the pack." Maya answered off handed. Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Next day; "Grandma Jenkins? Granny J?" Maya called knocking at the door of a cute little cottage. The path to the cottage was lined with wild flowers and the air around the house was saturated with the smell of warm baked goods. The door opened to reveal Sam Forrester. Maya and Andy, who had apanied her, were taken aback by his sudden appearance. "Aunt Maya?" Sam asked surprised to see them here. "Sam? What are you doing here?" Maya asked him. "Granny Jenkins lives alone. She likespany and she bakes awesome cookies. Would you like to try some? We just baked a new batch." Sam exined. "Who is at the door, Sammy?" a woman asked followed by the sound of walker and some shuffling. "Grandma Jenkins, it''s Maya. I came to visit you." Maya replieding inside the house. Andy followed her in looking around the cottage trying to locate the cookies by their smell. "Little May? You came after a long time honey." Grandma Jenkins said. An olddy walking with the help of a walker came in the room slowly. A smile yed on her lips when she saw Maya. Little blue eyes, that were surprisingly clear with happiness reflecting in their depths, stared at Maya. She moved forward to hold Maya''s hand and nearly lost her bnce. Andy quickly moved forward to catch her and with help of Maya, gently guided her to the nearest seat. After Grandma Jenkins was seated andfortable, Maya lightly admonished her to take better care of her health. "I am fine. I am fine." she replied to Maya''s nagging. "Sammy run to the kitchen and bring some cookies for the guests. And be careful they are hot..." she yelled at Sam as he ran to get them. After Sam left to get the cookies, she continued, "I was awaiting your return Little May. You took a long time toe home." "Granny J..." Maya began unsure of how to continue. "Oh, I know. I know what happened sweetie. To be honest I was disappointed in Little Kenny." Grandma Jenkins continued with a sad smile on her lips. "So what brings you to my ce Little May? Did youe for the cookies?" she asked just as Sam put the cookies down on the table. "Well, cookies was the primary reason Granny J. But there''s another thing I wanted to talk about. Do you know the Quinn couple?" Maya asked. "Olddy Quinn and her husband? Yeah, they were nice people. It was unfortunate, what happened to them. So sad. And to think I didn''t hear anything. Not even a scream. It was next afternoon their bodies were discovered." Grandma Jenkins said. "Afternoon? Not in the morning?" Maya asked. "No. You see dear, since some years the Quinn couple had stopped interacting with others much. They only interacted with people from work. So when Mrs. Quinn didn''t go to the kitchen that morning, a colleague of her came down in the afternoon to check on her. That''s when they found the dead bodies." she exined. "Oh. Why did they stop interacting with neighbours all of a sudden?" Maya queried. "I don''t know, sweetie. It started the year that you left, some pack members were really sad that you left us. It felt as if happiness was slowly leaving the pack." Grandma Jenkins said, sadness in her eyes. "Really, Granny? Because, since I came back all I have got from the pack is hostility." Maya replied a bit sad. "Oh sweetie, I don''t know what to say. But I assure you, all the people who actually knew you and loved you were very unhappy. Now, don''t be so sad. You visited me after so long. Come, let me see a smile. Have a cookie." Grandma Jenkins said and turned to lift the te off the table only to see no te. Maya and Grandma Jenkins looked up and saw Sam and Andy with their mouths full of cookies. Even their clothes had a lot of cookie crumbs but the te was wiped clean. Maya raised an eyebrow at Andy and Grandma Jenkins just burst intoughter to see the two of them squirming under Maya''s gaze. Ignoring the two gluttons, Maya turned to Grandma Jenkins and asked, "Hey Granny J.. when did the Quinns'' joined the pack?" "Oh sweetie, it was the year you and Ken were born." she replied confidently. "What? Are you sure?" Maya asked dazed. "Yes. I remember because old Mrs. Quinn wanted to hold the two of you all the time and never gave me any turn to hold you. One day she disappeared with the two of you for some time. When ex-Luna Judy questioned her, she simply said that she wanted to show you guys the herb garden near her house." Grandma Jenkinsined. "Granny J why didn''t Mr. Quinn ever apply for the pack historian position? Why stay as his assistant?" "Oh, Mr. Quinn was not as good at his work. He took long breaks and many sick leaves, for him to be promoted. The man was aszy as theye. At least that''s what Rina always said." she replied. At longst, Maya and Andy bid adieu and left the cottage to start heading back to the surveince room. "That was a productive morning." Andymented, to break the silence. "Yeah, wipe your mouth though. There''s some crumbs on your face." Maya replied and walked ahead faster before Andy could reply. ------------------------ Forrester pack border; Marina was waiting at the pack border for Ava, the woman who wanted to help them with the secret route. She was apanied by Jeff, who seemed really excited, while they waited for Ava to arrive. "Why are you this excited about the secret passage?" Maria asked him. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. "I am not excited. I am just curious about such a passage existing in the pack and none of the pack members ever discovering it. I mean... There are children in this pack. Don''t cubs tend to explore their surroundings? There is not a single idental discovery for all these years. It just surprises me. That''s all." Jeff replied. "Yes. There are a lot of things that are hidden about this pack. Some things arepletely different than they seem. For instance did you notice that Xander wants to be with Maya? Her parents also held longing in their eyes when looking at Maya... Do you think they realised what they did and want her back?" Marina asked him. "I doubt it. But let''s discuss thatter." Jeff interrupted as ady was seen making their way over. A couple of Forrester pack warriors were leading her to them. "Hello, my name is Ava. You must be Marina?" thedy asked Marina. The warriors just stood nearby and watched them. "Yes, I am and this is Jeff my colleague. Thank you foring. We were stumped about the passage and this would really help us secure the pack." Marina replied. "Marina, let me be honest with you. I will show you the entrance to the passage from outside the pack "It is enough. Do you know where the passagees out inside the pack territory?" Jeff asked. "No, I don''t know. I was in a trance when following the scent of my mate. I couldn''t really see anything. However I was able to identify the smell and sound along the trail." Ava replied. "What?" Jeff asked shocked. "Calm down, Jeff. Ava, it''s okay. Please just show us the entrance." Marina said. Ava nodded and took them almost half way around the pack territory. There she pointed at the ground. Marina and Jeff saw the manhole cover. "You went through the sewage pipes?" Jeff asked. "No, it is not a sewage pipe. It ispletely dry and abandoned. I think it was deliberately dug by someone. It is tall and wide enough for humans to walk straight andfortably." Jeff nodded and thanked Ava. After ensuring that she left with some Forrester pack warriors, Jeff and Marina climbed down into the pipes and followed it. They were not shocked when they came out inside the pack territory. But when they saw Maya and Andye out of a house nearby, it surprised them greatly. "What are you doing here?" Maya asked them as soon as they came in front of her. "We were following the secret route. It''s an underground passage. It seems to be deliberately dug by someone." Jeff replied. "I think it was dug up by the Quinn couple. That is their house." Maya said pointing to the house next to them. "Does this mean that the Quinn couple dug a secret passage for the rogues?" Marina questioned. "Let''s discuss this in the surveince room and ask the Forrester pack to post a couple of guards here." Maya suggested. Chapter 19 Chapter 19 In the surveince room; "You guys are back already? Tell me what happened." Ryder asked. He had some sort of blueprints open all over his desk. Marina and Maya gave a gist of their morning. Ryder immediately informed the pack warriors about the secret passage, "Please station a few guards near the Quinn couple''s cottage. Also there''s an abandoned pipeline near the old medical facility. Why don''t you guys check that out and see if it is worthwhile to monitor?" "Abandoned pipeline?" Jeff asked after the warriors in the surveince room left. "Yes, after talking with the pack historian, Mr. Sanders, I was quite bored and just thinking about the secret passage. I had an idea to check the pipeline structure of the pack. It turns out, they built a new medical facility some years ago that is near to the training grounds. So the old medical facility was abandoned due tock of use. There used to be a drainage pipeline connecting the old facility to the outside of packnds. I have a hunch that rogues might use that to enter the pack territory undetected." Ryder exined. Before he could talk further, amotion was heard outside and Maya went to check with her team. Xander and Beta Mark were detaining a rogue, who was continuously trashing around to free himself from their grasp. Ken soon arrived to check the scene. "Alpha, we have caught this rogue near the abandoned medical facility. We were directed there by Mr. Ryder Wright.", Xander informed Ken. "Put him in the interrogation room." Ken ordered. "Thank you Ryder. We will inform you what the rogue tells us." he said turning towards Maya''s team. Maya nodded and headed back to the surveince room. "Good job, Ryder. Great thinking." she praised him and asked, "What happened when you talked with Mr. Sanders? Was he able to shed any light on Mr. Quinn?" "Just the fact that old man Quinn waszy and took long breaks. I couldn''t get much out of him other thanints." Ryder replied, "So, that''s basically a dead end." "I don''t understand. Werewolves are basically a social animal. They thrive in packs. Howe a couple detaches itself from the pack to this extent? Did this start three years ago or before that? And if it started three years ago the what happened that triggered this change?" Jeff asked trying to make sense of the things they know so far. "I think... I mean I am not sure... But if you look at the time line of events, I think it started three years ago." Marina said "Why makes you think like that?" Andy questioned. "Let''s see. The Forrester pack had some previous issues with rogues but they started facing hostile rogues three years ago. The women and kids started leaving the pack three years ago. The Quinn family started withdrawing from the social circle three years ago." Marina exined. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. "There is one more thing that happened three years ago, Maya." she continued. "What?" Maya asked curiously. "You left the pack for good." Jeff interjected. Marina nodded at him. "How would that connect in with the rogues? Even if Alpha Ken was facing natural dissolution, why would that motivate rogues to attack the Forrester pack?" Maya questioned. "We are definitely missing something... like a vital link that will help us make sense of this. But what is it? What are we missing?" Ryder replied. "Maybe the rogue will tell the pack something. Should we go down and watch the interrogation?" Andy suggested. "Let''s give Alpha Forrester some time to crack the rogue. In the meantime, let''s report back to Dn on what we have found so far." Maya said. ------------------------- Outside the interrogation room of the Forrester pack, Alpha Ken Forrester was pacing up and down the hallway. They had used multiple approaches to break the rogue however it had all proven useless. "He needs to break. We must close this rogue business soon." "Why don''t we get Maya to handle this? Isn''t this her job? We got her here to handle all rogue rted stuff." "Alright. Get Maya." Ken nodded to Beta Mark, who immediately ced a call to the surveince room. Luckily, it was Maya who answered and when she heard their problem she decided toe down. Maya soon came along with Jeff from her team. Ken directed her attention to the rogue in the interrogation room. Without a single word, she mmed the door open and entered the interrogation room. It was designed like a police interrogation room with two metal chairs and a metal table. An electric bulb hanging on the table and a one way mirror to the side. The rogue was sitting handcuffed in the chair. The door swung close after her. She didn''t speak anything and strode towards the rogue. She just held the rogue by his hair and banged his head twice on the table with all her might. She then held his cor and threw him against the wall, where his entire body hit the wall and slid down to the floor. As the rogue kneeled on the floor trying to catch his breath, Maya took out a small knife that was ced in her right shoe. She pulled up a chair, sat down and held his head up by his hair. cing the knife right on the edge of his eye, she asked him, "Do you know who I am? I am Maya Wright, Team Leader of Wrath of the Moon. I was held captive by a rogue for eight months. In those eight months I was hit, cut, whipped, broken and tortured in ways unimaginable to you. I am sure you can understand the hatred I contain for criminals such as yourself. If you don''t start talking and tell us what we want to know, I can condense those eight months into eight days for your sake. However, if at the end of it you will survive or not, I don''t know. But I assure you that it won''t affect us. We will simply wait for another rogue to trespass and capture him. So, your choice, will you tell us what we need to know or die in a slow torturous way?" The rogue started whimpering at her words. Maya slowly dug the knife in his skin, soon a foul stench filled the room. The rogue was so scared that he had pissed himself. Meanwhile, outside the room, Alpha Ken, Xander, Beta Mark and Jeff were listening to her words and looking at her actions. Xander visibly tensed after hearing her but Ken simply frowned and said, "She is too vicious. We need him alive." "Actually, she is going easy on him. At other times, the prisoner would have lost an eye or a fingernail already." Jeff rified, "When you want to ensure the safety of your family, there cannot remain a limit to the viciousness. Don''t you agree, Alpha Ken?" Ken Forrester flinched and bowed his heads in shame. Looking at them Jeff continued, "At least she ensures that the prisoner is definitely someone who would cause harm. She ensures that the party in front of her is a guilty one and not an innocent one." His words caused silence to reign in the room. As a result, the rogue''s words were heard clearly, "I am ready to tell you everything I know. Please... don''t hurt me anymore. I... I will tell..." "Good." Maya said and picked him up by the cor and deposited him on the chair where he was sitting previously. "Now, tell me. Who all are in your little pack of rogues? Why are you targetting the Forrester pack?" Maya asked him harshly. "We... We are..." the rogue stuttered. "Quickly, I don''t have all day." Maya said banging the table with her hand. The rogue flinched back scared. "We are the descendants of the Desmond pack." he said. Maya froze for a moment before looking at the one way ss. Turning back to the rogue she motioned him to go on. "We found out... that the Forrester pack is going through a natural dissolution process simr to ours. We figured that if we attack the current weak Alpha that we can win and start building a pack again." he said in a small voice. "How did you know about the natural dissolution process that is affecting the Forrester pack? Did the Quinn couple told you?" Maya questioned him. "Yes. They were a part of the Desmond pack but they were the fortunate ones who got a ce in another pack. The less fortunate ones were left to fend for themselves as rogues." he replied. "Less fortunate? You mean the traitors?" Maya scoffed. "We... we never assumed that Moon Goddess will... When we disbanded, we still stayed together for the sake of convenience. Moving from town to town, living a life like the gypsies. Generations changed and we were getting antsy to settle down but no pack would ept us. Finally we met a witch, she told us that there''s going to be another incident simr to ours. She told us about the twins born in the Forrester pack where one twin would betray the other for sake of the title. We told the Quinn couple about the prediction and asked for their help for old times sake. Weid in wait for the betrayal to happen. Then three years ago, your brother and your pack betrayed you, the true Alpha of the pack." he exined. Maya was struck by his words, she couldn''t think anything. Like a nk te, she stared in the one way mirror. Ken her brother, her twin, was also having a same reaction. He couldn''t believe the words of the rogue. He just kept staring at Maya. Chapter 20 Chapter 20 "Three years ago, your brother and your pack betrayed you, the true Alpha of the pack." the rogue said. "What are you talking about? I am the true Alpha. Father named me as the pack leader, as an Alpha, when he stepped down." Ken thundereding inside the interrogation room. "But are you truly an Alpha? Didn''t your sister beat you in the test to be an Alpha? You were named as an Alpha because your dad wanted to keep the Alpha title in the family. If your sister was named an Alpha and she mated to another then the next person in line for the Alpha title will not be a Forrester. Isn''t that the truth, Alpha Ken Forrester?" "But... Yes, she did beat me in the test. However I was named an Alpha and I had been taking care of the pack for thest 8 years. How didn''t anything happen at that time? Why did things started going south only in thest couple of years?" "Isn''t it obvious? Your sister, Maya, allowed you to hold the title. She generously gave away her birth right, while supporting you from the sidelines. But the pack and you betrayed her three years ago. And that is why, your pack faces dissolution since three years ago. You called us traitors, Maya. How is your brother and this pack any different?" Maya red at him and replied, "You are right, they betrayed me. However this doesn''t give you any right to put the innocent people through a war or to murder people. Why did you kill the Quinn couple? They were helping you, weren''t they?" "We didn''t kill them. I mean we wanted to, but we didn''t. Someone already killed them before we got there." the rogue rified. "Stop lying. Do you think this will reduce your punishment?" Maya questioned. Her irritation with the rogue was increasing with each passing minute. "I am not lying.... Look, I have got no motive to lie now. I know I am going to be handed to Council for my punishment. I don''t know who killed them but trust me, it was not us." he exined earnestly. His tone and his bodynguage suggested that he was speaking the truth but Maya knew she couldn''t relent. "Then who killed them?" Maya asked him. The rogue sighed, thankful that Maya believed him, and said in a calm voice, "I don''t know but old Mrs. Quinn, she suddenly developed a conscience. She wanted to let Alpha Forrester know the situation about the dissolution process. That''s thest thing we heard from either of the Quinn''s." "Where is your band of rogues located?" Maya asked herst question. "We keep moving the location so we are not randomly discovered." he replied sighing. "Ok. We are done here." Maya said and left the interrogation room. Ken followed behind her. Maya stopped a few steps away from the interrogation room. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked to the neers. Her parents and ire stood in front of her. "We heard... we wanted to exin." Justin began but Maya put up her hand signalling him to stop. She didn''t want to listen to his excuses. "Jeff, get our team down here and inform Dn about thetest development." Maya said without looking at him. Then she turned to face Ken and said, "From this moment on, the Wrath of the Moon team will lead the further proceedings on the rogues front. The Forrester pack takes a back seat. Councilman Dn will get in touch with you regarding the dissolution matter. I need your utmost cooperation to get to the bottom of this rogue problem." "We will help you in any way we can." Ken assured her. "Good." uttering that single word, she turned to Beta Mark and punched him across the face. He fell on the floor and held his jaw, that was throbbing in intense pain. "Now, Beta Mark will you tell me why you killed the Quinn couple?" Maya asked him calmly. "What? What are you saying Maya? He won''t do such a thing against his own pack. He has been loyal to the pack since his birth." ire tried to intervene. "Luna Forrester, I ampletely aware of how everyone in this pack is responsible and loyal. Now shut up and let me clean up the mess you made." Maya ended her speech while releasing her Alpha aura. The aura rolled of her in waves and ire fell to her knees submitting to the powerful Alpha in front of her. Her Luna title mocked her. She didn''t have any face left in front of the people in the pack. "So, Beta Mark would you like to be treated as a traitor or as a rogue?" Maya asked menace in her voice. "I am not a traitor. I killed the Quinn couple so that our Luna ire remains in power. The olddy was spewing nonsense about natural dissolution of the pack. She needed to die." Beta Mark screamed. "He confessed to his crime. Put him in a holding cell." shemanded Jeff. "I have done nothing wrong." Beta Mark screamed. "Why didn''t you inform Alpha Ken of this situation? Did hemand you to kill the Quinn couple?" Maya questioned sarcastically. "No. But I..." Mark tried exining himself. "So you took the decision on behalf of an Alpha? What made you think you can supersede the chain of chain ofmand... Did you want to rece Alpha Ken as the pack leader?" Mark just stared with wide eyes at Maya, muttering ''No'' repeatedly. She just scoffed at him and Jeff dragged him away to the holding cell. Another pack warrior helped Jeff to lock up the Beta. "How did you know that the one who killed the Quinn couple was Beta Mark?" Ken asked her. Maya replied, "He tried to obstruct my team when we wanted the post mortem reports." "And you knew just because of that?" Xander was the one to question her this time. "No. It was just a hunch. It solidified when I saw his face aftering out of the interrogation room. His bodynguage suggested that he was afraid. But why would a Beta be afraid all of a sudden? Unless it was because his secret was to be ousted." Maya replied. Marina and Andy came running towards Maya. "Ryder stayed back to inform Dn of the situation. He will also request for back up warriors before we attack the rogues. What are our orders Team Leader?" Marina asked. Maya started walking and issued hermands at the same time, "Marina, take to the skies and scour the immediate neighbouring area of the Forrester territory. Do not fly low. Do not engage inbat. Notify me immediately if you face any danger." Maya walked past the Forrester family and didn''t throw a single look their way. Marina nodded and looked around to find the nearest window. Marina murmured a spell and wings sprouted from her back. As she spread her wings and took flight, Andy whispered, "Face like the Moon, Eyes like a star bright, Borrowing wings of Icarus, My angel takes flight." "Dude..." Jeff groaned. "What?" Andy asked defensively. "Just ask her out on a date." Maya replied shaking her head. She then continued her tone serious, "Jokes apart, Andy check on the warrior and weapon status of the pack. Jeff find the areas that can be used to secure the vulnerable members of the pack. I will check the medical supplies avable for use." Xander had followed Maya as she instructed her team. He was impressed by her clear mind. When the team left her to do their assigned duties, she turned to him and raised an eyebrow as if questioning his Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. presence. "I wanted to apologise. We didn''t knew that you are the true Alpha of the Forrester pack. If we had known that this would happen when we... you know... we would have left the pack with ire and Ken." he said. Disgust reced curiousity in Maya''s gaze. She asked him, "Answer me this Trainer Lockhart. Why did you people make a decision to throw a victim out of the pack?" "We... we felt that once you came to know about ire''s mistake you would attack her. We felt that you would harm ire and Sam." he tried exining. "You were worried about your sister and your nephew?" Maya questioned. "Yes." Xander replied grateful that Maya seemed to understand but as he looked in her eyes, his heart gave a painful squeeze. Her eyes were filled with nothing but hatred. "When you sought my help, when you invited me back on the packnd, did this fear magically vanish?" Maya asked sarcasm dripping from her words. "Maya..." Xander started to speak but Maya interrupted him, "You just wanted to make use of me just like the others." After saying her piece, she started to walk away when Xander again stopped her by holding her arm. "No, Maya. I didn''t want to use you." he tried to convince her. "Okay. Just answer this question, if you can. You threw me out of the pack for ire''s sake. Then couldn''t you have apanied me out of the pack for my sake?" Maya asked her eyes gazing in Xander''s eyes. Xander had no reply to her question. His hand dropped away from her arm. His eyes left hers and he stepped back as if acknowledging his crime. Maya didn''t say a word and left without another nce at him. Chapter 21 Chapter 21 It was deep in the night and Maya had finished her work. She had organised warriors such that they were ready to battle at a moment''s notice. The Council had been notified of the situation and they were sending backup as well as ammunition. Marina had sessfully marked out the rogues location and their numbers. If it was not for the fact that the pack didn''t trust Maya much, she would have led them in the battle to capture the rogues. But as things stood, she could only wait for the rogues to attack or the back up to arrive. It had been a long, hectic day for her. She made her way to the roof garden of themon pack house and stood there for a while trying to calm herself. Gentle winds blew the strands of her hair that framed her face. Moonlight shone down on her as if Moon Goddess Luna was lending her strength. But the calm was short-lived, she felt a presence behind her and turned to find ire standing there. "Luna Forrester." Maya said to acknowledge her presence and then started walking towards the stairs. She didn''t want to have a conversation with ire. Her patience was already running thin. "Maya, wait. I wanted to say something. My brother, he... loves you. He wants to start a new life with you. We all want to start a new life with you. So... Can you please forgive us? I really want to get to know you better. Please Maya..." ire said, stopping Maya as she passed. Maya turned to face ire with her back to the stairs. Maya smiled a bit, but the smile didn''t reach her eyes. She took a step in the direction of ire and said, "Why do you think I would want to live with a criminal?" ire was taken aback with her question. She said her voice breaking a bit, "Maya... What I did that day was a mistake. I sold you in that seedy bar because I thought your father killed our parents. If I had known the truth, I would never have done that. I tried all ways to locate you, to find you and get you back to the family." ire had tears flowing from her eyes. She presented a picture of purity and sadness. "Really?" Maya asked amused. "Yes!" ire replied with conviction. "Then why didn''t you rescue me when you found me after a week of my captivity? Why did you told Leandro to ensure that I will never return to the pack? Why ire?" Maya questioned her Alpha tone leaking into her voice. "What? What are you talking about, Maya? I... I didn''t... find you..." ire fumbled around trying to exin. Maya smirked before speaking anything. She said, "ire, do you remember that day when Ken used me of using rogues to cause problems for the Forrester pack? I told him ''If I made a formal plenty of evidence against herself.'' I didn''t say it for fun. Leandro had secretly recorded your little visit. Everything that you said is on tape." ire stumbled back gaping at Maya. She was really scared of her but Maya didn''t stop. She continued, "You wanted power, didn''t you ire? You thought if I came back after a mere week then how would the power of Lunand in your hand? You had to win Ken''s love and the pack''s loyalty. You had to get pregnant for that. That is why you buried the information, and came down to give Leandro more money. You asked him to ensure that I would never get back to the pack. He raped me to ensure that. And now... Now you want me back so that the natural dissolution of the pack stops. Am I right, Luna Forrester?" "If... if you truly had proof then why didn''t you go to Council? You are bluffing. You have no evidence of my visit." ire said, sure of her words. She smirked a little at Maya. "Do you know that when we were 5 years old, Ken wanted to blow the candles and cut the cake by himself, even though we are twins? I let him have it. When we were 8 years old, he wanted my bicycle as he crashed his. I let him have it. When we were 18 years old, he wanted the Alpha title even when he lost the test. I let him have it. When I returned back after 8 months of captivity, he wanted me to leave the pack. I let him have it. When he chose his mate over his twin sister, I let him have it. But now, I have nothing left to give to him. Just... Nothing." Afterpleting her speech, Maya turned towards the stairs to leave the roof. She was surprised to see Xander and Ken standing. By the looks on their face Maya guessed that they must have heard a fair amount, if not everything. Maya''s stiffened for a moment before breaking into a stride. She left them standing on the roof with the truthid bare in front of them. The truth that would show them the darkness in their souls. --------------------------- Xander slowly walked back to his room. Any hope that he had held for happiness, was thoroughly extinguished. He sat, more like fell, on his bed. Tears started making their way down his eyes. Grief was overwhelming him and he gave in to his grief. A few secondster sounds of crashing and breaking could be heard from Xander''s room. A mournful howl sounded before the door to the room was crashed open by a ck coloured wolf. Xander''s wolf had taken the control from him and forced a shift. The wolf just ran out of the pack house manically and went on a run. No one spotted in which direction the wolf ran. When the Elder Lockhart couple came to know of their son''sck of control on his wolf they immediately began contacting him with help of their family bond. However all they could get were feelings of deep grief, anger, helplessness and some growls. They ran to find Alpha Ken. When they reached, they found the Forrester elders also present in the office with ire sitting on a couch and crying. All the story came out in front of them, right from what the rogue said to what happened on the roof. They couldn''t believe that their daughter did something so vile. Ken Forrester contacted Councilman Dn to ask him of the facts and what he heard shook him to the core. Dn described the condition Maya had been found in, he listed all types of wounds found on her body. He emailed Ken the video footage of ire meeting Leandro and the medical reports of Maya. Judy Forrester was continuously crying, barely able to say anything as Councilman Dn''s voice filled the Alpha office. Justin Forrester just sat with his head in his hands, unable to believe the psychological damage he had inflicted on Maya, his own daughter, for a woman who wasn''t innocent like he believed. After a discussion of about an hour or so, Ken Forrester reached a decision. He knew what he had to do, for the pack, for Maya and for ire. His decision made, he stood up and left the room not giving a single nce to ire. He knocked on Sam''s door, the child opened the door, and let his father inside. Ken squatted at Sam''s level and hugged him tightly. "Dad..." Sam protested, his voice still sleepy. "Sam... I made a mistake Sam. A horrible, horrible mistake." Ken said and he let the child escape his hug. He then continued, "Sam, when you grow up, do not be like Mommy or Daddy, be a better person. A person like your Aunt Maya, she is a good person. She helps innocent and imparts justice. She saves good people from bad guys." Ken choked a bit, then continued, "Sam, Daddy knows what he can do to correct his mistake but it means that I might have to go away for a while with Mummy. You will be living with your Grandma and Grandpa Forrester till wee back, Okay?" "When will you leave?" Sam asked, his head tilting to the right. "I will be leaving after I take care of the rogues. It will be sometime before Ie back." Ken replied N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. with a small smile. "When will youe back?" Sam asked. "I don''t know, baby." Ken replied and hugged Sam again. "I am not a baby." Sam protested. A smallugh escaped Ken along with the tears flowing from his eyes. "I know my little wolf. I know." Ken said his voice breaking a bit. "You have to be brave. You have to take care of yourself and Grandma and Grandpa. It is a big boy responsibility, you will be able to do it, right?" Ken asked Sam softly. Sam hesitated for a minute but nodded his head solemnly. Chapter 22 Chapter 22 The morning brought with it a terrible news. Marina contacted the surveince room, "The rogues have started moving. They n to attack us now. They are just an hour away from the pack borders." Her voice echoed in the surveince room via the speaker of the phone. Everyone nced at Maya for guidance. Maya closed her eyes to stabilise her emotions. When she opened her eyes, her entire posture reeked strength and she started shooting instructions, "Someone sound the rm for an attack. Guide the nonbating members of the pack to the underground vaults. Alpha Forrester and Ryder, you will step inside the vaultst after ensuring you got every member on pack territory." "I can help you guys on the outside." Ken interrupted Maya. "With all due respect, Alpha Forrester, these guys are out to kill you so that they can gain the control of your pack. Your capabilities are severely limited due to natural dissolution. Stay out of my way for once." Maya retorted in harsh tone. "Marina seal the underground vaults with spells then get to the roof and take cover position for using spells. Jeff and Andy you take the back entrance of the pack with all the guns our team has. Fortify the entrance against breach and use the silver bullets without hesitation. Xander, you and your pack warriors will be the second line of defence for the main entrance. I will be the first line of defence for the main entrance." Mayamanded. "You alone cannot take the brunt of the attack. Let me stand with you." Xander screamed at her. "Who said anything about an attack? I am going to talk them down first. I will try to negotiate to keep the war from breaking out. And Xander... I am enough by myself." Maya replied smirking. Her killer''s aura leaked and at that moment, people realised that Maya was not just an ordinary female wolf. She was an Alpha that was trained into a machine by the Council. She had earned her title of Team Leader through blood, sweat and grit. Itpletely humbled Xander. --------------------------- Within half an hour or so, the entire pack was prepared as per Maya''s orders. Maya was waiting by herself outside the main entrance of the pack territory. The wolves guarding the entrance were stationed on their posts with Xander. All the warriors were getting antsy waiting for the attack. Xander looked at Maya, to calm his wolf down. Maya''s stance was casual with her hands folded behind her back. She appeared entirely rxed. The other warriors took inspiration from her and also calmed their nerves. Xander walked towards her and silently stood beside her. Surprised by his sudden appearance, she asked, "What are you doing here?" "In the past, I left you alone but from now on, I will stand by you in every situation." Xander replied her calmly. "What if I say I don''t need you to stand by me?" Maya questioned him. "I will wait till you need me until then I will be right beside you." Xander whispered to her, his voice ringing of conviction. Soon, they saw a huge pack of wolves running towards them. Growls, howls, snaps and barks were heard as the rogues made their way down to the entrance. When they saw Maya, they were surprised and came to a halt. A grey coloured mangy wolf came to the front and stood low growls escaping his mouth. A little of his aura leaked but when it reached Maya she simplyughed. Herugh irritated the wolf and he allowed his aura to reveal itself entirely. The rogues surrounding him shuffled their paws and stepped back. Pleased by the submission showed by his subordinates, he turned to look at the woman blocking his path. Maya simply raised an eyebrow, then tilted her head and released her aura. All the rogues quaked after feeling her aura, some even started whimpering. "I am Maya Wright, Team Leader of the Wrath of the Moon. Anyone who wants to stand down from this fight can stand down now. I will ask the Council for leniency towards those who stepped away." Maya announced, her voice carrying to thest member of the rogues. The mangy grey wolf transformed into a man, somewhere in his thirties, and stood in front of Maya, unabashedly in his naked human form. Maya wanted to avert her eyes but knew that it would be seen as weakness, so she kept her eyes on his face. Xander didn''t feelfortable at all when the man just stood there, a low growl slipped through his lips. A pair of track pants was immediately thrown at the man by one of the pack warriors. "Maya Wright, the Council cannot meddle in this matter. We are here to challenge the Alpha of Forrester pack. A wolf can challenge another wolf for the right to control his pack." the man said after he wore the track pants. "True... true... but a rogue cannot kill any pack members. If they do, then it bes a Council business. So you see Mr. Rogue, we can and we have stepped in this matter. Now the ball is in your court. What will you go for, fight or surrender?" Maya said smirking. "You see when we came here, I had to get this pair of pants from the pack so that I canmunicate with you. We really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So my answer is.... FIGHT." concluding his speech, the rogue lunged towards Maya. In mid jump, he transformed to his wolf and was about to take a swipe at Maya when she crouched and the wolf went sailing above her. Just as the rogue''s stomach got exposed, Maya she thrust a silver dagger in his stomach and twisted it. Immediately a lot of blood gushed out and coated Maya and Xander. The rogue then fell down dead. Seeing their leader injured, the other rogues got incited to participate in the fight. Another wolf took his ce and as one, they stepped towards the pack''s main entrance. Maya and Xander assumed the position to fight. A heartbeat passed before both of them were engulfed by the rogues. Attacks were rogues from breeching the pack territory. However due to therge number, quite a few of the rogues managed to get past both of them. The pack warriors standing behind Maya and Xander stepped in and soon one could hear howls, deadly snaps and weapons shing from the both the entrances. The fight at the back entrance began simultaneously when the attack on main entrance began. Maya was not a newbie to this kind of situation and handled her share of attackers very well. Like a battle worn soldier, she used minimal moves and all the weapons to ensure that her enemy falls down. Her hands transformed to paws and her ws attacked her enemies, slicing through muscles and sinews like they were made of butter. Her entire team was handling the onught of rogues very well. Marina was helping Jeff and Andy, she set up a spell where if any rogue managed to cross the pack territory they would be thrown outside immediately. Marina''s magic and spell would have been enough if they didn''t deplete her energy when in use. Keeping two spells going on was depleting her energy twice as fast. Jeff and Andy killed the rogues using the guns at their disposal. At the main entrance, Xander fell to his knees as a rogue attacked him from behind. Swiping up a silver knife fallen to the ground, he struck the rogue on his back. He stood to see Maya engaging inbat with two rogues with a third rogue nking her back. He jumped to her help just as the third rogue decided to attack. The rogue was able to get a bite on his shoulder and was able to break it. Maya had sensed the third rogue at her back, she quickly dispatched the two in front of her with two silver throwing knives and turned to see Xander fall due to pain. Her wolf lost control of sanity and she rushed forward in Maya''s mind to take control and change her form. Almost at once a glorious wolf stood in Maya''s ce, her Alpha aura leaking in waves. It brought many of the rogues down to theirN?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. knees. Maya''s wolf howled in anger and jumped on the rogue who bit Xander, she killed the rogue by snapping his neck between her teeth. Maya gave over the control to her wolf and a blood bath ensued. The rogues quaked in fear but couldn''t do anything as Maya''s wolf cut them down one by one. The battle at the main entrance was quickly over after Maya''s wolf made a short work of the rogues. Her speed and her strength were unmatched. The pack warriors stood in awe and fear as they watched her wolf panting after she had hurt thest of the rogues. Maya''s wolf went to Xander''s side. Xander watched her wolf make way towards him. He didn''t show fear nor was he wary of her. As she got closer, he ran a hand through her fur and said, "You are just as beautiful as the day I first saw you." before he nked out due to pain. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 When Xander regained consciousness, he was in the medical facility of the pack. His shoulder was bandaged heavily to help set the bones but being were, his healing abilities had already kicked in and were able to repair most of the damage. He looked around the room. A few of his pack warriors along with his parents were in the room with him. His parents wore a worried expression, their posture screamed exhaustion. "Maya?" Xander questioned with a single word. That word was enough to convey his meaning. "She is handling the pack matters with the Council." his mother replied. "Want to meet." Xander groaned. "Sweetheart, I don''t think she wants to meet you or any of us." she replied. Marina came in just as she finished talking. "Excuse me guys, Councilman Dn wants to meet with the Lockhart family. He is waiting for you in the conference room." The Lockhart parents nodded to Marina and left the room. "Marina..." Xander called out to the leaving Marina, "I... I want to meet Maya." "She is busy with the back up and medic team. I think you should meet with Councilman Dn first and foremost. We may have a way to stop the natural dissolution of the pack." she replied tersely. Xander nodded and pushed himself off the bed. He stood up with help of a pack warrior and slowly made his way to the conference room. The warriors left after ensuring he could walk to the conference room. -------------------Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. In the conference room, the Forrester family was already present with Dn in the presiding chair and the Lockhart family joined them. Marina entered and closed the door, after which she spelled the room against eavesdroppers. "I believe we may have a solution to prevent natural dissolution of the pack." Dn began without exchanging any pleasantries. "Please tell us. We are ready to do anything to help." Ken Forrester replied. "Please understand, the Moon Goddess Luna wants to dissolve the pack and that will happen. We cannot avoid it or stop it. However, we may be able to keep the remaining pack members together under another Alpha. We don''t want them to turn out like the Desmond pack moving from one ce to another because no one will ept them." Dn exined. "What do you suggest?" Justin asked. "Revival of Lockhart pack." Dn stated calmly. Everyone in the room was shocked by his words and Xander, whose attention was wandering, suddenly looked at Dn in surprise. "What are you talking about?" Xander asked him. "Well basically once the connection of the packpletely breaks with Alpha Ken, you can take over as the new Alpha. The pack might be smaller in size but you would be able to lead them legitimately. Other Alphas'' would have to ept your power and acknowledge your aura but we can easily arrange that." Dn continued calmly. "I thought that in a natural dissolution, everyone in the pack loses their power, aura and their strength diminishes. Wouldn''t Xander be affected by the same?" Marcus Lockhart questioned. "Actually, Xander is an Alpha blood and would have been a true Alpha of the pack, if the attack hadn''t happened. Technically he is not directly linked with Forrester pack and his Alpha powers never diminished. He is just so used to keeping them leashed that no one would have expected him to be a true Alpha. Also, we have his records on strength and speed. When wepared them with his previous records, we found that he was spared from the natural dissolution." Dn continued to ay their doubts calmly. "We can stay together. I will be the Alpha''s sister and you guys will be the Alpha''s parents. We don''t have to separate." ire eximed. "Actually Luna Forrester, you and Alpha Forrester will be taken in custody to face a trial for staging a coup, kidnapping, misleading the pack and non-human trafficking." Dn''s harsh words cut in ire''s daydream. "But... But why... I mean... Maya never ced an officialint with the Council. She didn''t want to hurt her brother and her family. Was that just a lie?" ire spoke her voice trembling at the thought of harsh punishment. "I ced the officialint. I have surrendered to the Council and I am ready for any punishment the Council metes out." Ken replied, conviction ringing in his voice. "Have you lost your mind Ken? Why did you do that?" ire screamed at him. "It is the right thing to do. It is what I should have done the moment Maya was rescued. Instead we just spread salt on her wounds. I have made my decision and this is my final act as the Alpha of Forrester pack." Ken said calmly, ignoring ire''s re. "What about Sam? What will people say once they find out that his parents are in jail?" ire yelled as a final resort to change Ken''s mind. "You should have thought about that before you decided tomit the crime." Ken replied levelling his gaze on ire. His words deted ire and she sat in a corner quietly. "She is right. What about Sam? You have to think about him." Mary Ann Lockhart chimed in. "My parents will take care of him." Ken replied his words neither courteous nor discourteous. Ken had never spoken to his inws in such a manner. He had always been perfectly polite to them and his manners impable. For him to be so distressed, that he forgets their rtionship was a first. The elder Lockhart couple was aggrieved but couldn''t say anything. ire looked at him in shock. "Will you take the responsibility of an Alpha, Xander? Will you lead the pack?" Dn asked him interrupting others before a fight broke out. "Will she... Will Maya stand by me to rule the pack?" Xander asked Dn. "No. She is returning to the Council headquarters to take charge of the new position. It was her suggestion to make you the Alpha so that innocent pack members do not suffer through the dissolution process." Dn replied him. "Then my answer is ''No''. I don''t want to rule the pack. You can make different arrangements for them." Xander replied losing his interest. "Xander, what are you saying? Think of the pack, what will they do?" Marcus chided his son. "I have always thought of others; of my sister, of my parents, of the pack. I gave up my mate, my happiness for their sake. But what did I get in return? My mate was sold off, she was hurt, she was... raped. I had to constantly subdue my powers and my aura. This time and every other time henceforth, I choose her. I chose to stand by her side Come What May." Xander replied indignant. "What makes you think she wants you? She is a Team Leader in the Council. She might even reject you as her mate." Mary Ann tried to make her son understand. "When she offered me her love and her trust, I broke it. Now even if I have to give her my life to earn her love back, I would give it happily." Xander stated his voice unwavering. "Xander... As you said, you have lived for your sister and your parents till now. You should live the remainder of your life for yourself. Why do you want to throw that away for your mate? What''s the guarantee that ten years down the line you wouldn''t regret it?" Dn questioned Xander perplexed. "I am not throwing away my life for her. She is my life. Thest four years, I have been dying without her, barely going through the motions. I have heard a man once say - I would give up the world to spend a day with my beloved. Dn, I would give up my life to spend a moment in her presence." he replied. "What if she chooses to be with another man? What would you do then?" Dn continued to probe. "I would stay besides her as a friend, as a supporting character, whatever she needs." Xander said. "Are you sure about your decision?" Marina asked, speaking for the first time since she sealed the room. "Yes." Xander replied turning his head. Marina could see his conviction reflected in his eyes. "I am not the one who needs to hear these words. Go, you can do whatever you want. Don''t worry about the pack. I had a contingency n drawn up already." she said. As if waiting for those words, Xander got up and left the conference room without saying a word to anyone. He went in search of Maya. He wanted to bare his heart in front of her and grovel for forgiveness. He was uncertain of her reply but certain of his actions. Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Maya was on the pack ground, taking care of the after effects of the battle. She had already directed the medic team to move the injured warriors. The injured rogues had their injuries patched up as well but were being detained in the prison till Dn became free to address them. The dead werewolves were taken to be burned. All the pack members were helping out. The pack warriors were feeling ashamed of their doubt in Maya. The nonbat members helped to clean up the area and arrange food for everyone. A passing kitchen staff pressed a bun filled with meat in Maya''s hand, so she could eat while she worked. When the clean up finished it was almost night, Maya had a shower and the proceeded to have dinner with her team. Dn joined them for dinner and started talking about how to arrange the pack members after dissolution. It was at that time, Maya learnt about Xander''s refusal to lead the pack. She was surprised at that but refrained from asking more details. She kept telling herself that whatever the reason Xander chose to do so, it couldn''t involve her. Then shaking her head to rid herself of his thoughts she focused on her team members. Dn announced to the team about the Council''s decision to promote Maya to a Deputy Councilman and the rest of the team members to the Team Leader position. He told them of how when they left for this new mission the Council had decided to add new team members to Wrath of the Moon and expand their reach. The news was weed by her team and they became loud and raucous in their celebration. Dn brought out a special wine, made for non humans, to toast them and said, "I have been grooming you all for the past three years. I am very happy to see that mybour bore fruits. I want to you all to seed in your careers and your personal life. You all deserve happiness, you just have to borrow courage and go for it." Everyone cheered as Dnpleted his impromptu speech. "I have to say something." Andy suddenly said standing up, "I am inspired by your words about happiness. I want to grasp mine. So... Here goes... Marina.. I admire you. Your eyes, your voice, your fighting capability, your brain, your spells, everything about you is so fascinating and so beautiful. Marina, what I... what I want to say is that I like you and I would like to go on a date with you." "Okay." Marina replied calmly. "Okay?" Andy questioned stupidly. "Yes. Okay." Marina said her voice calm. Andy then jumped and gave a whoop before falling on his back. Jeff just shook his head and gave him a helping hand. Marina snorted and startedughing hard. Soon everyone joined in herugh and Andy looked around sheepishly. ----------------- After the celebration, Maya''s wolf was feeling antsy and wanted to go explore outside. Maya decided to go on ast run in the Forrester pack. Unconsciously her run led her to the pond where she was kidnapped. Her paws slowed and she came to a halt near the edge of the water. She sat on her haunches and stared at the reflection of the moon in the water. A tear escaped her eye and sshed on her furry paw. "Atst, you are alone." a voice called. Maya turned around in a whirl and growled lowly. Xander stepped from the shadows and made his way to her. She took a few steps back as he advanced towards her. "It is poetic justice. A crime wasmitted at this ce, the punishment for the crime should be meted out here." he said in a low voice, almost whispering to himself. He whipped off his tshirt and offered it to Maya, so that she could change her form and talk to him. Maya gingerly grabbed the tshirt in her teeth and went behind the bushes to change. She stepped out, her body covered in his t-shirt. His smell surrounded her and calmed her whirling emotions. Although she was his mate, she was still wary of him and stopped a bit away from him. Her eyes were scanning the horizon and her nose was was up in the air trying to smell a scent of any other person. Her demeanor pained Xander but he knew he deserved it. "I wanted to talk to you." He started but didn''t know how to continue and silence reigned between them. "You didn''t ept the Alpha position?" Maya asked to break the silence. "You weren''t going to be besides me. How could I ept that?" he replied. "It didn''t make any difference to you three years ago." Maya bit back angrily. "It killed me three years back to be away from you. When you left, I kept everything that you touched, that had your scent in my room. I couldn''t function properly if I didn''t touch them, see them or smelled them. I know it was my mistake... my crime to leave you to fend for yourself. I am not going to ask for forgiveness. I am here to ask for your punishment." Xander replied in a soothing voice. Maya''s anger ruled her and she walked towards him and pushed him back. However the moment she stumbled a step back, he caught her hands and steadied himself. This movement pulled her close to him. Maya red at him angrily and said, "It is so easy, isn''t it? Just ask for punishment and I would have to forgive you after youplete it. Why should I give you any punishment? Why should I forgive you?" Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. Tears started pouring from her eyes by the time she finished talking. "As a werewolf, loving your mate and being loved by them is a given. So what happens when your mate hates you? When your mate hates you, you work like hell to turn that hate into love." Xander replied, caressing her cheeks to wipe her tears away. Sparks were making their way down his hands, as he caressed her but Maya drew back to break their connection. "You retain the right to hate me but I retain the right to earn your love back. No one can take this right away from me, my love." Xander said firmly, his hands falling down. Maya looked away from him, her gaze holding the reflection of the moon. She took a deep breath and said, "I don''t hate you. I know that you never wanted to sell me to the rogues. It was your sister who did that. When I returned you kept quiet to protect her and her child. How can I hate you for protecting your sister when I wanted my brother to do the same for me? However, I do not know if I can trust you." She stopped as more tears made their way down her cheeks. Leandro had taken away her ability to trust, to love. As much as she didn''t want to let him rule over her, the person standing in front of her was Xander. He had already broken her trust once, in this very ce. "Then don''t trust me." Xander said. Maya snapped her attention back at him. "Don''t trust me. Make me prove myself." he said, his words puzzling Maya even more. "In ancient times, werewolves used to challenge each other for the right to mate a female wolf. I challenge you Maya Wright, Team Leader of Wrath of the Moon. I challenge you for the right to stay besides you as your mate, as your lover, as your friend, as your person. Do you ept my challenge Ms. Wright?" he exined. "This is not a game, Xander." "I agree, it isn''t a game. It is our life. I am ready to take on this challenge my love. And so I swear on Moon Goddess and on my Alpha powers, everything that I do will be for you. My each breath, my each heartbeat will be in your name. If you find that I do not keep this promise, then may the Moon Goddess take away my very existence." he pledged an oath to her. The oath he swore by had heavy repercussions if broken. Maya knew he meant it. She also knew that his actions previously had stemmed from an obligation to his family. Her grandfather had always told her that whenever she had doubts while making decisions to turn to her wolf for guidance. Maya consulted her wolf, the wolf sat calmly in her mind. Her eyes reflected pain and sadness but also pride and courage. Maya understood that her wolf wanted her to take a leap of faith for herself and for her happiness. "I ept your challenge Mr. Lockhart." Maya replied. Xander was gazing at her with soft eyes. "Prove to me that I can trust you. Prove to me that you are truly in love with me. The semantics of how you would do that, I would leave to you. However, I have to leave for the Council headquarters tomorrow morning with my team. Dn has taken over here and I am no longer needed." Maya notified him. Xander gave her a soft smile and nodded determined. Chapter 25 Chapter 25 In the morning, Maya came to know from Marina all that had happened in the meeting between Dn, Forrester family and Lockhart family. She was grateful to her brother for finally taking a stand for her sake. But at the same time she knew that their rtionship could never return to what it was. ire was Ken''s soul mate and he cannot leave her simply because she hurt Maya. As his twin she understood that it must have pained him to take this decision as he implicated his own mate. So, as thankful as Maya was to him, she still couldn''t be together with him. She wished him luck in her heart. As she stepped out of her room, a small body collided with her legs and held on to them. Maya looked down to see Sam hugging her legs tightly and looking at her with eyes filled with tears "Hey Sam, what''s wrong?" Maya asked him. She crouched in front of him. Sam didn''t say anything and gave her a hug. His tears were making her feel distressed. She patted his back slowly till he got a better hold on his emotions to speak. Sam said, "Aunty Maya, I am sorry. I... I have heard everything. Mommy and Daddy hurt you badly. That''s why you said you are not my aunt and you are leaving me too. Please don''t go away. Mommy and Daddy are leaving me as well. I... I..." He burst out in sobs withoutpleting his words. ''When did he develop such deep feeling for me? Are all kids like this?'' Maya thought. She patted his back gently, not knowing what to say. "Sam..." Ken called. He was searching for Sam who had run away from him suddenly. Picking up Sam in his arms, he turned towards Maya and said, "Goodbye Maya. Have a happy and safe life ahead." "Goodbye Ken. Thanks for everything I guess." Maya replied. Ken gave her a sad smile, his eyes held sadness for the way their rtionship turned out. As Maya turned to leave, Sam started trashing in Ken''s arms. "Aunt Maya... Please don''t leave go away. I promise no one will hurt you anymore." "Sam, I have to go for my work. However, this is my number. You can call me anytime. Okay? Be good now. Grandma and Grandpa will be with you. You are not going to be alone." Maya replied. "No. It hurts. It hurts when you are away." Sam yelled. Maya realised that it must be the effect of natural dissolution. The Moon Goddess was sure cruel when crossed, she didn''t want the Forrester family to raise Sam. Maya''s wolf nudged her to pick up Sam. As soon as she held Sam, he stopped crying and Ken sighed, understanding what this was about. "Take care of him, please." Ken said. Maya nodded and asked Marina to pack up Sam''s things as well. Ken''s eyes overflowed but he couldn''tin. It was his and his mates deeds that brought about this result. Her team members were loading all their equipment and belongings in the SUVs. Sam was sitting besides in the back seat waiting for Maya. She was talking with Dn about what happened between her and Xanderst night. She said, "I am taking your advice of being courageous but why do I still feel so scared?" Dn chuckled and replied, "It is okay to be fearful, scared and wary of him. After everything happened it is expected that you would feel this way. The fates have ced you and him at the foot of a mountain on the opposite sides. Both of you have to surmount this mountain by yourself. It will be very difficult, there will be tears, arguments, fights but when you reach the top, the two of you will be free of your burdens and together forever. Both of you have your work cut out for you. He has to learn to forgive himself and earn your trust. You have to learn to forgive him and let yourself trust others. It may sound idealistic but you were made for each other. Have faith, in yourself and in your Moon Goddess." "You had told me to have faith thest time I left this pack as well. It did work in my favour. I hope it will work this time as well." Maya said, giving him half a smile. Dn just patted her back and left to get the remaining work done. He was going to call other pack Alpha''s in order to get them to ept as many pack members as possible. The remaining members would be ced within the Council in low end jobs. Maya had waited for Xander before leaving the pack territory but he was nowhere to be seen. Giving up on searching him, she finally left with her team and Sam. When she reached Council headquarters, it waste noon. As her team entered the Council headquarters, many of their co-workers flocked to congratte them about their promotion. After epting the good wishes, they broke up for lunch. After making sure that Sam settled down in her living quarters, Maya went to report to Mr. Hudson who N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. is in charge of the personnel department. "Congrattions, Ms. Maya Wright. You are promoted as the Deputy Councilman to Mr. Wright. You will be in charge of expanding the team of Wrath of the Moon. It will entail training of new recruits, case distribution, optimal use of manpower avable. However, we have made a slight change. Since the number of recruits this year isrge, we have hired a Trainer who will report to you." Mr. Hudson said happily. A knock on the door sounded, interrupting him. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Hudson." a familiar voice said. Maya whipped in her chair to find Xander standing there, smiling at her. "Oh yes,e in Mr. Lockhart. Ms. Wright, this is Mr. Xander Lockhart, we have hired him as the Trainer to work with you. Mr. Lockhart, this is Ms. Maya Wright, you will be directly reporting to her. After a very detailed and lengthy discussion on their duties and responsibilities, Mr. Hudson granted them leave. As they walked down the corridor outside the office, Maya asked him, "What are you doing here?" "I had a discussion with Councilman Dn yesterday before we talked. He told me that there was a position avable here in Council. The Trainer''s position reports to you and thus, we would get to work together everyday. I didn''t need anything else." Xander informed her. "You gave up an Alpha position to join as a Trainer for the Council. That''s a losing deal you made." Maya replied casually looking at him. "No, my love. I gave up a lifetime of loneliness to be by your side." Xander said. His eyes were filled with love for her and she could see her reflection in their depths. "Oh... I thought..." She trailed off leaving her statement iplete. Her insecurities wereing forth and she was finding it difficult to be articte. "You thought I left you alone, again. My beloved, I have taken an oath in front of Moon Goddess. I will never leave you alone ever. Trust me." he said. He knew that there would be episodes when she would "Okay." Maya replied, nodding her head. Xander nced at her and offered a genuine smile to which Maya responded with one of her own. "Does this mean I won the challenge?" Xander asked her. "Hardly. The challenge has just begun Mr. Lockhart." Maya said. Xander nodded thoughtfully and said, "Okay, sounds fair. I have our entire lives to win this challenge." "What makes you think I will wait my entire life for you to win the challenge?" Maya asked him "Confidence." Xander replied. Maya tilted her head to roll her eyes at him and gave him a soft smile. Xander held her hand tentatively. When she didn''t immediately reject his touch, he tugged her towards their new office and a new beginning. Chapter 26 Chapter 26 The former Forrester pack members were sitting in the courtroom. Their Alpha Ken and Luna ire were on trial for treason against the true Alpha. The ex-pack members were stunned when they came to know the reason for rogue attacks and why the pack as a whole was weakened over the years. Shook to the core of their very being, the guilt they were feeling was overwhelming. Maya arrived in the courtroom, her team members were present to support her. Xander was standing beside her, very silently. She threw a look around the court room and perched on the seat the Council had assigned to her. ire who was looking disappointed at Ken swithed to ring at Maya when she walked in. Her lips curled in a snarl as she wished that she could escape the cuffs and scratch out Maya''s face. Ken was ncing at Maya with sadness etched in his eyes. The three werewolves council members, representatives of the werewolf race in the Council, were present as the presiding judges for the case. The three Council Representatives were quite impressive in stature and once they arrived, people in the court felt a slight pressure on their wolves. It was not to ensure peace in courtroom. ire''s wolf quivered under their pressure. The procedure for the case started and Dn stood up to present the case as he had investigated. The judges and the other people in the courtroom were shocked as various facts were ced in front of them. They couldn''t digest the fact that a true Alpha gave up her position for her brother''s sake and the whole pack turned around to betray her. The other people in the courtroom stared at the former pack members of the Forrester pack incredulously. The former pack members hung their heads in shame. When Maya had vacated her position for Ken, her family had been grateful and praised her. But when she had needed them they ungraciously turned around and asked her to leave. The Luna of the dissolved pack had ensured that the true Alpha suffered so that she remained in power. Listening to these facts, the frown on the face of three judges got deeper and deeper. They had a grim countenance after Dn finished speaking. The main judge turned to ire and Ken and said, "Is there anything that you want to say in your defence?" ire opened her mouth to vehemently deny the charges but before she could get any word in, Ken spoke up, "We ept all the charges ced on us and we are ready to face the punishment issued." The main judge nodded thoughtfully and turned to Maya to ask, "Do you want any specific Maya threw a look around the room before nodding. "Yes, thepany that was used to manage the expense of the pack. I want it. The pack is being disbanded and the few remaining members who were not epted in any other pack are going to do menial work for Council. As such they will not have any use for the thepany. Thepany was created by my forefathers and as such I would like the Everyone turned to her in shock. No one expected Maya to make a materialistic demand. If anything, they expected her to make a gesture of goodwill to show off her new position of a Council member. The werewolf Council Representatives, acting as judges, were quite surprised. If any of them had been in Maya''s position they would have used this opportunity to gain sympathy which would in turn pave the way for climbing up through ranks of the Council. But after thinking about the fact that Maya was a new Council member they thought that she must be inexperienced in such matters. "Are you sure that it is the only thing that you want?" the main judge asked in order to prompt her to make another decision. "No. It is the only thing that I want. Please make arrangements for it as soon as possible." Maya replied calmly. Xander sat next to Maya and had his hand on top of hers. He wanted to interlock their fingers but he wasn''t sure if Maya would befortable with it. After all, he was part of the reason she was facing this situation today. Xander never pushed Maya to ept their rtionship faster. But he went with her flow. They didn''t share a room but he often slept outside the door of her room. He loved her and was using little gestures to show her how much she means to him and how sorry he was for hurting her previously. "If that is all you want then we shall pass the judgement now." the main judge stated after a sigh. He expected more from Maya but maybe she would require time before she became aware of the hidden politics. "Wait. I have to say something." ire interjected. Ken turned to look at her with disappointment in his eyes. And the other people were ring at her in anger. Only Maya, Dn and the judges maintained their calm. Xander disyed a nk face but Maya could feel his anger. She turned the hand he was holding and light locked their fingers. "What does the ex-Luna ire wishes to convey?" one of the judges asked her. "Why are Ken and myself the only ones getting punished? We weren''t the only ones who betrayed Maya. Shouldn''t her parents be held ountable as well? Shouldn''t some responsibility fall on Xander''s shoulder as well? This isn''t a fair trial." ire stood up andined loudly in the courtroom. "An Alpha and Luna are the highest authority in a pack. They enjoy all the power and amenities that are a result of that authority. However it also means that they hold the highest responsibility and ountability in the pack. Even if other pack members moured to betray me, then you should have used the authority bestowed upon you and ensured an ethical decision. The case is against the coup was carried out in Forrester pack. The only people who received any kind of benefits from the coup were you two. Also for the betrayal by the pack members they have all been assigned menialbor by the Council as a punishment for the rest of their life, irrespective of their gender. As for Xander, he only brought me to theke. You were the one who sold me off. His crime is of hurting his mate and the only person who can decide a punishment for this crime is me. Not the Council, nor you have any right to question his punishment." Maya replied her tone even. "Oh please! Don''t pretend to be a saint. You are saving him just because he is your mate and your wolf cannotpletely abandon her mate. Your wolf is a weak bitch." ire snarled at Maya. Ken looked at ire shocked, only to see the resentment she felt disyed on her face clearly. "Weak wolf?" Maya smirked and released her aura to pressure ire with it''s full extent into submission. ire tried not to let it affect her but she fell to the floor gasping for breath. After full five minutes, Maya reigned in her aura. ire could barely move and yet she turned her head to nce at Maya with resentment in her eyes. "Who says I am not being punished? The years I spent apart from my mate was my punishment. The moments when I see hesitation on her face when deciding whether or not to trust me is my punishment. The moments she has doubts on the strength of our rtionship is my punishment. Staying close yet apart from her is my punishment. Looking at her agonizing whether or not to move ahead in our rtionship is my punishment. But this punishment will be dly borne by me for as long as it takes to heal her." Xander replied his voice soft but clear in the courtroom. Maya''s team members along with Dn nced at them worried. They didn''t knew how long Maya would take to recover from the trauma she faced. They wanted her to be healed but they also knew that healing couldn''t be forced. It will require it''s own time and space. They were d that Xander was making efforts for Maya''s sake. However, they were wary of him in their hearts. "That is not a real punishment." ire yelled back. "How about never bing the Alpha for any pack?" the main judge asked intervening. ired looked at the judges in confusion. Maya was just as preplexed by the question thrown. "Xander himself made amitment to the Council that he would never upy an Alpha position in any pack as the punishment for betraying his mate. Also if Maya rejects him in future and finds another male wolf for herself then he would remain mateless till the end of the time." The other judge rified. Immediately there was a buzz of conversation in the courtroom. Maya was shook by the punishment Xander had given himself. She nced at him from the side of her eyes. "You should stop throwing me around. Instead of acting out, you should ept the punishment with same fortitude that your mate disyed just a few moments ago." The third judge who had been silent, spoke up angrily. "Ken Forrester and ire Forrester are hearby sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years. After which they can join any pack and start to build themselves from the bottom ranks of the pack. If any pack refuses to ept them, then they can opt of menialbor jobs with the Council." The main judge gave Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. their ruling and left with the other two judges following him. Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Once the case ruling was given, Maya and Xander left hand in hand. There was a tense atmosphere between them. Maya didn''t speak a word since the ruling was given. Xander was worried that the little progress their rtionship had made would be abolished by the memories dredged up by the trial. He absolutely hated the silence between them but he also feared saying the wrong thing and hurting Maya. He was always mindful of Maya and her feelings now. "So... Thepany...?" Xander spoke hesitatingly. "Hm? Oh yes... I wanted to take thepany and leave it for Sam. It is his birth right. He can handle the operations of thepany when he grows up. It will help provide for Sam''s upbringing now." Maya said. "You intend to run thepany yourself? It will be difficult to manage the position of Deputy Councilman as well as the position of CEO." Xander reminded her. "Yes, I know. I n to hire a CEO who will be able to take care of thepany and report to me. Meanwhile I can work as the Deputy Councilman." Maya replied to him. Xander nodded thoughtfully and asked her, "Do you have anyone in mind?" "Yes. There is a person who would be perfect for this position. I met her on one of my missions when I was just starting out as a Team Leader." Maya replied. "Her?" Xander asked, "Who is she?" "She is Be, a vampire, one of the younger ones. She is someone who rarely makes friends. But once she does make you her friend, you can trust her blindfolded. It is just that..." Maya trailed off. "It is just what?" Xander prompted her. "Ryder might have some objection to her presence." Maya said frowning. "Why would Ryder object to this? He is also a vampire, so it can''t be a problem of the species." Xander asked lightly. "Heh.. let it be. Their problem... it cannot be exined. You will understand when you see them together." Maya replied, as she shrugged her shoulders. "Hmm.. perhaps it will be interesting or even entertaining. I have never seen Ryder losing his cool easily." Xander replied. Maya and Xander went together to pick up Sam from his friend''s house. ------------------- Dn was hanging around with the new Team Leaders Ryder, Jeff, Andy and Marina in the conference room. They were waiting for Maya toe. It was on the agenda to discuss the new responsibilities given to them by the Council. "Do you think Maya would be fine? The hearing would have definitely reopened her old wounds." Dn "Also, the ex-Luna, ire, she kept on yelling at Maya shamelessly. I just wish I could have pped her silly." Marina ground out angrily. "Why do you think Maya asked for thepany?" Jeff threw the question to the room. Try as they might, none of them found the demand logical. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. "I asked for the Forresterpany so that Sam could inherit it when he is older." Maya said. She had entered the room as Jeff was speaking. "It is understandable." Dn said, "However, a gesture of goodwill would have helped further your career." "I know." Maya replied. "However I intend to avoid the office politics as much as possible." "It isn''t logical. You are a part of the system. Politics in the Council ys a huge part in gaining positive image which would in turn give you support." Andy replied objectively. Even though he was the brawn of the team, he still understood this fact. "I think Maya''s decision is a good one." Ryder interjected. The people in the room turned towards him as one. "What?" Ryder asked. "You are the brains of the team. How can you think that?" Andy asked. "You are failing to take into ount the money that would be brought in by the Forresterpany. If people find her to be a harsh person, Maya can simply throw money at them to gain their support. And if she gets bored with the Council''s job, then thepany can be a retirement option for Maya as well." Ryder observed calmly. "Oh..." Andy murmured after a minute of thinking. "But what about her job at Council now? Surely she doesn''t want to retire now, do you?" Andy directed thest part at Maya. "No. I n to hire a CEO to manage thepany." Maya replied. "That is a good idea." Ryder said approvingly. Maya threw a subtle nce at Ryder and a slight smirk graced her lips. "How about we get to discussing what was on the agenda?" Maya changed the topic calmly. "Right. So I guess Hudson from the personnel department gave you the official letters for your promotion. Let us discuss the responsibilities noted in the new role in detail." Dn said. The word promotion brought a cheer in the room. Even Dn cracked a smile. He was proud of the team he had created. Each of the members were individually selected by him. He wanted them to go ahead in life and make great achievements. "Maya and I will be briefing you on the Team Leader role together." Dn said and ceded the floor to Maya with a gesture. Maya nodded and turned to face others, "Let me start off by saying how far you guys havee since I came to know you. I couldn''t think of people better than you guys for the position of Team Leader. Each Team Leader has their own unique style and method of managing their own team. You guys will have a chance to create your own team and guide them in your own style. The Council has developed a new structure of operations and divided teams into departments. From here on, each of you will be handling an entire department, which will be responsible for a part of operations in the country. Ryder, for you, we have decided the department of Online Protection Operations. As the inte has developed, it became famous in humans as well as supernatural beings. It came to our notice that many non-human beings have turned to the Inte to do crimes just like humans. You and your team will be responsible for finding such criminals and thwarting them. Jeff, you will be running the Field Operations. Essentially you and your team''s work will be simr to what we used to do whenever the Council used to give us any assignment. Your team will be bigger than other teams. Marina and Andy, you would be handling Public Rtions or as we say it, Cover Up Operations. Any exposure of supernatural beings in the world must be covered up. You will travel all over the country inorder to achieve this purpose. We have given both of you equal authority of this department. You are the co-Team Leaders. Will both of you be okay with this?" A chorus of approval rang through the room. However, Marina questioned, "Why are there two Team Leaders of PR department? Is it just because we are dating? Is Council worried that I might not be able to handle a department of my own?" "On the contrary, Marina, the Council is very assured of your ability to handle the department. But be as it may, some PR situations may require a person handling on the inte front and another on the field work. Hence the department is divided up between you two." Dn said reassuringly. "What would be Maya''s job? All the important departments seem to be divided up between us." Jeff questioned. "You will be directly reporting to her so she will be providing you support via equipments and official permissions from the Council. Apart from that both Maya and I will be working towards rehabilitation of the criminals and the victims as needed. It is a new project of the Council." Dn replied. "Why is this new project being developed all of a sudden? Didn''t we use to put the victims in the hospital and criminals in prison? Our job would be done once weplete that task." Andy asked. "Yes, but what about the dissolved Forrester pack? There were pack members who were lied to by the Alpha and as such they were both innocent yet guilty. It led to dissolution of the pack and the ex pack members are now under the care of the Council. It is to avoid a situation like the Desmond pack. I admit that this project is unlike others but you can see why it is needed. Greed knows no bounds. What if tomorrow anothr true Alpha gets betrayed and another pack dissolution happens? It is for this very reason that Dn and I will be working in this department." Maya exined calmly. Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Be was sitting in a cafe, sipping hot coffee, as she worked on herptop. She was auditing the reports sent to her by one of the clients. No human who saw her would be able to guess that she was a vampire. After all who would guess that a 80 years old vampire could drink and eat like a human. N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. Technically speaking she should not be able to drink coffee easily. In fact she should have hated the taste and texture of a coffee. However, she actually preferred the taste of the coffeepared to human blood. She was the only one of vampire species who preferred to live off the human food instead of the human blood. No one knew how it came about. Even Be herself was in the dark about this unique condition of her body. Deep engrossed in her work, she was smiling lightly. She looked like a fresh faced, 20-something girl, when she smiled. Her smile could easily captivate hearts of people and make them fall for her. She suddenly heard the phone ring and saw the Caller ID. It was Maya who was calling her. She had fond memories with Maya and had a good friendship with hers over the years. She picked up the call and put the phone to her ear holding it in ce with her shoulder. She continued typing with her hands as she talked. "Hello, little pup." she drawled with a smile. She loved to tease Maya. "Hello, Batwoman." Maya shot back. Hearing the nicknames took Be back to the day when she first met Maya. The otherwise calmdy, Maya, was easily riled up when she called her a little pup. Challenging Be to a match, Maya had beat the living daylights out of her. It took Dn broke up their fight. He had to exin that Be wasn''t being derogatory towards werewolves but calling her with a cute nickname, as ut was her habit. Only then Maya stopped fighting with Be and apologized sheepishly. The incident, though embarrassing, had led to them forging a ording to human folklore vampires can turn into bats and she was a woman. Be felt it was quite "Batwoman? You there?" Maya asked concerned, when she didn''t hear anything for some time. "Yes. Hey, How are you? How did you remember me after such a long time? I was sure that you had forgotten me after you became a Team Leader." Be replied, the smile still lingering on her face. "Okay... First of all, I am quite well and I hope you are the same. And secondly, I didn''t forget to connect with you. You just became too busy jetting around the world solving your client''s business problems. How is your work going on by the way?" Maya asked. "It is what it is... Sometimes it''s good and sometimes there''s no work. It is one of the downsides to opening a business consulting firm and having to stay on the down low in poprity." Be replied. She had to stay out of business circles. Because if she became well known, then she wouldn''t be able to exin how she didn''t age at all. "How would you like to handle a firm at CEO level? No need to search for clients while worrying about safety." Maya asked. The offer sounded quite tempting to Be. If she had permanent work then it would be best for her. Also if there''s no need for obscurity then she could easily use her knowledge to full extent and bring the free dinner in this world. "You will be reporting to me. I am the current owner." Maya replied. "Is that it?" Be asked a bit relieved. "Also a few years down the line, you will have to train a child in business matters." Maya replied. "What? No way. You know I don''t interact with kids." Be denied vehemently. "Bells... It is my nephew. And I promise that you will only have to teach him after he is 18 years old." Maya cajoled her a bit. "It is still too young for me." Be replied morosely. "Come on Bells... I promise you won''t have to interact with him unnecessarily and I will never ask you to babysit him when he is young." Maya tried once again. "You promise?" Be asked. "Yes, I do." Maya replied. "I don''t know, Maya. Let me think about it." Be said with slight hesitation. "You can also mess around with Ryder." Maya threw her little bait. "Ryder? He is also there? That ungracious wimp, that toad of a vampire, that disgraceful being, that... that..." Be muttered angrily. "He doesn''t know that you areing. Don''t you think it will be a nice surprise for him, if youe to stay here?" Maya asked, reeling in her bait. "Oh... He doesn''t know, does he? Of course, I must give him a grand surprise. Alright, I ept your offer Maya. However, remember your promise. No requests for babysitting will be entertained." Be said and disconnected the phone promptly. Maya nced at the phone a smile breaking out on her face. Xander was sitting in the same room with her. He could hear both sides of the conversation due to his werewolf hearing power. He was shocked when the vampire named Be started cursing at Ryder. He raised an eyebrow in inquiry when the call was over. Maya smiled and said, "Be and Ryder are actually mates. However Be is Ryder''s second mate. He lost his first one in his early years as a vampire." "Then why doesn''t Ryder ept Be?" Xander asked puzzled. "A vampire''s mate is also his chosen unlike ours where we are paired by the Moon Goddess." Maya exined. Xander was even more puzzled than before and it showed on his face. "Be is an anomaly. She is a vampire through and through however she eats like a human and she found her mate like a were-person." Be exined further, "When Ryder chose his first mate, he promised her that in this lifetime she would be his only partner. He remained true to that word until Be came along. She took one look and one sniff of Ryder and proimed him as her mate. Ryder, however, is a simple vampire and he refused to ept Be as his chosen one. He is confused when around her and feels as if he is betraying his first mate." "But... How did Be know that what she was smelling was the scent of her mate?" Xander asked. "How do we know that what we smell is the scent of our mate?" Maya questioned back. "The wolf tells us." Xander replied. "Yes, the wolf tells us. But there are also other signs like desperate need to mate, unable to stay apart for long durations, the pain in the heart when we are away for long time, dreams about the mate, etc." Maya exined calmly. "Right. Those signs... she felt it?" Xander asked. "She felt it, she feels it, she would keep feeling them until there is a natural progression of their rtionship." Maya replied. "Oh.. I get it." Xander replied and then fell in deep thought. Maya got busy with the reports of Council work and didn''t pay attention. Xander was remembering the time when Maya and he stayed away from each other. He was also reminded of the fact that Maya and he still hadn''t mated. His wolf was pining for Maya''s wolf. Sometimes he just wanted to take her forcefully and say to hell with consequences but he also knew that he wouldn''t be able to hurt Maya ever again. His whole body shies away from the thought of hurting Maya. He nced at Maya thoughtfully, ''Does she ever feel the same? Does she feels the desperate need to mate with me? Will our rtionship ever be able to be normal?" After staring at Maya for some time, he left the room to get to the training field. It was time to get back to his work. As soon as Xander left, Maya looked up and thought to herself, "I feel the same need but how do I convey it? What if the repressed memories of trauma surface when we are mating? Will we ever be able to be a normal couple?" A silent tear rolled down her left eye. Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Be had a sad smile when the call with Maya disconnected. She sat back in her chair and contemted the day she met Ryder. The past rose up like a treasured memory in her heart and everything that happened on that particr day yed in her head like a video. #start of shback# A few years ago, Be worked part time as a hacker for the Council and Dn had contacted her for the purpose of getting information on one of the vampire of Xia n in Asia. He was suspected to have set up awork of human trafficking in the guise of n activities. Be had read up on the case file that Maya gave her. Maya was visiting with another person named Ryder Callum who she imed to be an expert in hacking. Be had a smirk on her lips. She had been in the field for quite some time now and she had never heard of this person. "Even if this ''Ryder'' goes by a fake name, would his results still be better than me? Maya is bringing him unnecessarily." Be said to herself. "We will see whose presence is unnecessary." a voice said to her. She turned around quickly and saw a handsome man standing behind her booth. His eyes were sparkling and there was a delicious scent for a better sniff. The man took a step back and raised his eyebrows at her. Be blushed pink to the roots of her hair. Ryder however didn''t gave another look at her and sat down in the booth. Maya joined them and immediately noticed the tension in the air. Ignoring them she started briefing up on the case history. Be too started noting down the points that she would have to take care of. She understood that the person she would be targeting online was a creep of the topmost category. He not only was involved in human trafficking but also in organ stealing. All the money he gained from his illegal activities was involved in gaining power in the vampire n that he was a part of. The money was used by him to gain favour from the old leaders. Not everyone in the n knew where he got his money from but there were a few who knew it and turned a blind eye towards it. Be''s job was to find out who all were involved. Ryder was supposed to help her find them but since he heard her dissing him, he wasn''t that keen on helping her. He said, "Since you deem me unnecessary, then should we have a small bet between us?" "Bet? What kind of bet?" Be asked quizzically. "Let''s see who amongst both of us can find maximum number of criminals in an hour. Whoever finds the most criminals, wins." Ryder said smirking. "What does the winner gets?" Be asked a small smile ying on her lips. "Whatever the winner says, loser will have to ept for a total of 24 hours." Ryder said irritated by her confidence. After about an hour, Ryder confidently leaned back in his seat and said that he found all the perpetrators inside of the n. "How many did you find?" Be asked calmly. "I found three people other than the main criminal who have directly profited from the criminal activities. This means that they have good amount of knowledge of the activities going in the n." Ryder said. "I see." Be replied, her face solemn, without a smile. Ryder smirked after seeing the smile disappear from her lips. "So... I take it that I won? I will see you tomorrow sharp at 7:00 am in the morning for your punishment loser." he taunted her. "On the contrary, I would be seeing you at 6:00 am in the morning tomorrow... Butler." Be replied with a full blown smile. "Huh!?" Ryder looked puzzled at her. Be simply replied by spinning herptop so that the screen faced him. She then calmly ordered a slice of pecan pie. Ryder''s jaw dropped when he saw the screen. He looked like a funny cartoon character at that time. Maya had sat quietly observing their antics at that time. Tormenting the delicious smelling vampire called Ryder had been a pleasure for Be. #end of shback# Be shook her head, her face softened in fondness of the memory. She then quickly paid the bill and left the cafe to start packing for the journey to the Council Headquarters. As she started her journey to the Council Headquarters, determination was zing in her eyes. She was not going to let Ryder get under her skin anymore. Since for all intents and purposes he didn''t want her, then she wouldn''t want him either. She will just indulge herself in her favourite activities and simply ignore the incorrigible man''s existence. ---------------------------------- Maya was in the gym when little Sam came running towards her. "Aunt Maya!" he yelled before rushing to hug her. He had rushed directly after school, to meet his Aunt. "How was school today, little monkey?" Maya asked. "I am not a monkey. I am a wolf" Sam said pouting. Maya gently rubbed the top of his head, musing up his hair. "Yes, yes my little wolf, how was your school today?" "It was so much fun." said Sam as heunched into a lengthy tirade exining his daily activities. Maya was feeling relieved to see Sam so happy and rxed. Since the day they came over, Sam had been asking her for his parents. Maya at that time didn''t know how to face this child. It was only when Xander exined everything to Sam calmly and reminded him of Ken''s parting words that Sam had settled down. Under the loving care of Xander, Sam had gradually understood that he would be living with his Aunt Maya and Uncle Xander for some time. He also understood that during N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. this time, he wouldn''t be able to see or visit his parents. Slowly but steadily, Sam started getting used to the new environment. His new school and new ymates kept him distracted from the gloom at times. Thankfully he had made new friends and was no longer confused by the situation. Maya calmly listened to his stories about the school andughed gently at his antics. She was reminded of the time when her brother, ex-Alpha Ken was a child. His behaviour was quite simr to little Sam, even the way they gestured when talking was so simr. Xander walked in the gym with a few of his trainees to start their regime and saw such a heartwarming scene. His mate, Maya was leaning towards a little child and listening to the child while smiling. His heart gave a loud thump and his wolf projected a series of images of Maya being pregnant or Maya surrounded by their little pups. He couldn''t help but wish for such a scene toe to fruition soon. Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Maya''s wolf felt the little signals that Xander''s wolf was sending to her. She couldn''t help but sigh. The wolf knew that Maya would require a long time before she was able to trust in her mate again. Maya felt a gentle gaze on her and turned to see Xander looking at her with a smile. She threw a nce around the gym and saw that none of the people working out had noticed Xander staring at her. Feeling a little embarrassed, she bowed her head. Xander strode towards them and saw his nephew look at him with a smile. Sam ran towards Xander and gave his legs a hug. Xander fondly rubbed his head before picking him up in his arms, "Hey, little champ. How was your day?" "Awesome." Sam replied. Xander walked towards Maya with Sam in his arms. Maya straightened her stance and asked him, "How is the training of new recruitsing along?" "It ising along fine, Deputy Councilman. This batch of trainees are well on their way to set new records for their juniors to follow." Xander replied his tone formal. However, even if his tone was formal, Maya could detect the underlying warmth. Xander''s tone always held this warmth whenever he spoke to her. "Aunt Maya... Uncle Xander, can we go somewhere out on the weekend? My teacher gave me an homework, I have to talk on the topic of a family trip. But.. I have never been on one with you. So... Can we go somewhere out? Please..." Sam murmured hesitatingly. Hearing the child''s words, Xander''s eyes shone. He wanted to go on a small trip with Maya, even a day trip would be fine. It would take them out of their daily environment and he hoped that maybe they coulde a little closer to being together again. Maya''s wolf noticed the child''s desire to connect and strengthen his bond with Maya. She gently nudged Maya''s mind to ept the offer to go on an outing. Maya too felt that she should bond with the only family member she had left in her life. She epted the offer without much thought. It was only after the nephew and uncle pair left, that Maya remembered Be was supposed to arrive on the weekend. She felt slightly worried about Ryder and Be. The sparks of anger that flew whenever the two met was definitely something to be worried about. Maya was too caught up in the thought about how she should manage them when she herself was not going to be present. She didn''t even notice when Marina came up to her. Noticing that Maya was absorbed in her thoughts Marina ced a hand on her shoulder to wake her up. However, Maya''s warrior senses kicked in and she caught the hand on her shoulder, twisted it, and threw the person over her head. Angry and embarrassed that she allowed someone to sneak on her, she turned to beat up the ''intruder''. When she saw that it was Marina, and that she was lying on the floor mat of the gym slightly dazed, the anger changed to chagrin. Maya apologized and hurriedly extended her hand to help Marina up. "What the hell, Maya? What were you so busy thinking about?" Marina asked her. "Ah... Sorry Marina. I was thinking about Be." Maya replied. "Be? The freak vampire? What about her?" Marina asked. Maya immediately gave her a warning re when she called Be a freak. "You remember how I was talking about hiring a CEO for the Forresterpany?" Maya asked. "Yes, I remember it... What? You are nning to hire Be as the CEO?" Marina guessed correctly. As Maya nodded assent, Marina burst outughing. "Oh my god! This is hrious. Does Ryder know about this?" Marina asked. "No. That is what got me stressed. You know how they are whenever they face each other. Watching them get into fight for petty reasons is so frustrating. It makes you want to pull your hair out. Also after theirst fight, I hardly think there will be any disy of civility among them." Maya replied. "Well... for all intents and purposes you will be their boss. Be would be working under you and Ryder Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. is already your subordinate. So why are you so worried? Just give an order to both of them to not fight each other and use their time to work instead of causing trouble." Marina suggested. "Yeah... About that.. I am going for a family outing with Sam on the day Be is supposed to arrive. I won''t be here to put a lid on their temper." Maya replied sheepishly. Marinaughed out loudly and said, "Well then you can safely assume that at least part of the Council Headquarters will be under restoration after their fight. If anyone witnesses the fight then they might even apply for a stress leave." "If only there was someone who could keep both of them in line until I get back." Mayamented. "How about handing this over to one of the guys?" Marina suggested. "That''s a good suggestion. But who will take it up? Andy will definitely screw up and Jeff is already busy." Maya replied. "How about Dn? He is senior to both of them and they will definitely have to behave in front of him. He has authority over both of them." Marina said. "Marina... You are a genius. It will definitely work. He can just scold them or give them a good beating of required." Maya said happily. "Genius? That I am... However why are you going out with the little wolf?" Marina asked. "It''s a school assignment to talk about family outing in front of ss. One cannot let it be boring." Maya said calmly. Marina guessed that Maya wanted to go on a trip with Sam in order to ensure his happiness and that Maya will be able to sessfully form proper rtionship with both Sam and Xander. She wanted Maya to be happy andplete in all ways. Marina had a small smile as she watched Maya leave to find Dn. Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Be was driving down in a car, a smile on her lips. She was looking forward to the new challenge that Maya had thrown in front of her. Running apany as a CEO required her to step out of herfort zone and take charge. She steadfastly ignored the fact that she would also be guiding a child on how to handle thepany. After all, people tend to ignoreplicated blocks and focus only on the pleasing parts in their life. However, Be was soon reminded of anotherplicated block when she reached Council Headquarters. As soon as she stepped through the main doors of the Council Headquarters, she came face to face with Ryder. Be stopped walking and her face paled slightly before she recoveredposure and started walking inside,pletely ignoring the man. Ryder instead stood as if frozen when he saw her. Theptop in his hand slipped to the floor. ''Be... What is she doing here?'' he thought to himself. He saw her pause slightly and then start walking again. He expected her to start pestering him again. As soon as that thought entered his head, a grimace settled on his face. He decided to ignore her as soon as she approached him. He watched her walk towards him and steeled himself. However, Be didn''t stop by him and walked past him without throwing him another nce. Her hair streaming behind her, she walked away from him. The natural fragrance of her body surrounded Ryder and caused him to stiffen again. Ryder nced at her back as she walked away. ''Is this for real? After pestering me every time we met, she decided to ignore me now? Is this the mate bond that she had imed to have with me? Hmph. Since she is staying away from me, that''s good.'' Ryder thought to himself and walked away with a nonchnt expression. However even unknown to him, aplex emotion shed in his eyes before it disappeared. Be walked past a corner and then finally slowed her steps. She sighed at her behaviour. It had hurt her when she saw a grimace on his face. She felt that he didn''t even want her in front of him whereas she hurt every time his memory rose in her mind. This mate bond hurt her and for the thousandth time she wished that she was a normal vampire instead of the freak she was. Her mood and her face down, she quietly made way to Maya''s cabin. Pausing in front of the door, she "Hey Maya, I am.... Dn.. you?" Be halted her words as she saw Dn instead of Maya. "Hello Be." Dn greeted her with a smile and extended his hand. Be shook her head and grasped the hand shaking it twice. "Hello Dn. I was expecting to meet This is from N?velDrama.Org. Maya here." Be said in a questioning tone. "Ah yes.. she is out with her family. She will be back soon though. In the meantime, make yourself at home here." Dn replied to her. "You want me to stay in the Council Headquarters?" Be asked surprised. "Yes. Well, I haven''t made any amodation for you yet. Maya will make those when she gets back." Dn replied calmly. Be didn''t want to stay in Council Headquarters as she was not here in an official Council capacity and also mainly as Ryder was here. "Oh.. then I guess.. I will be fine here." Be murmured softly. Unfortunately nothing could be done at the moment and she had to adjust ording to the situation. "Come, you can stay in Maya''s room." Dn said encouragingly. "When will she be back?" Be asked curiously. "Tomorrow. She has gone for a trip with her nephew and her mate. Apparently it''s a school assignment thing... One cannot let it be boring." Dn replied, offering unnecessary information. "Her mate... How is that going on?" Be questioned. She knew all about Maya''s story, after all she was a hacker and she had to stay updated on news. Dn sighed but didn''t reply. Be too quit her line of questions after realising she was being too nosy. Embarrassed she rubbed the back of her neck and followed Dn to Maya''s room. -------------------- Dn had settled Be and was in his office working on a file when his door banged open. "Why is she here? Is there a new case? I thought I was supposed to handle the online cases, is there a need to call her specially when I am here?" Ryder barged in and threw questions one after the other. Dn nced at him once and then dropped his head back to the file, putting all of his attention there. ''Bang'' a noise sounded as Ryder hit the desk to get Dn''s attention. "Answer me." Ryder demanded. "I will answer you as soon as you are done throwing a tantrum." Dn replied calmly. "I am not throwing a tantrum." Ryder said, "I am just not pleased by her presence here. She irritates me." "What you are doing is exactly called throwing a tantrum. Ryder, you are a Team Leader now. You will have to learn to deal with your displeasure yourself. There will be many times over the years of your tenure as a Team Leader where you will have to deal with people who you don''t want to meet. You will be the face of the Council when you meet them. Is this the kind of representative you want to be?" Dn asked tersely and continued admonishing him, "I know for a fact that Be didn''t exchange a single word with you since she came in. Do you think she is happy to face you? Definitely not but she can be an adult about it, so why not you?" Ryder''s face turned red in sheer embarrassment. "I apologize foring off aggressive. I just wanted to know if there is any online case that requires her presence here." he said in a normal tone. "Refusing to call Be by her name is still childish Ryder." Dn sighed but decided to give a reply to his question. "Be is called in for a special task that has nothing to do with you. Don''t worry she won''t be working in close quarters with you." Dn assured him. "Okay.... Have a good day then." Ryder said as he hurried out of the room with a red face. Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Before Be arrived at Council Headquarters, Maya was pacing up and down while waiting for Xander to load up the car with camping gear. "Good Morning Maya... are you guys all set for your trip?" Dn asked, pulling Maya off her thoughts. "Yes. Xavier is bringing down the bags to the car." Maya gestured towards the entrance. "So, where are you guys going?" Dn asked. "There is a private forest area located about a couple hours from here. It is kind of a reservation for were creatures. We thought that it would be perfect for Sam. He could experience the life of being a wolf thoroughly. He could also meet different were creatures and get some exposure to their culture." Maya replied. "That seems like a good n." Dn nodded. "Hey guys... how about giving me a hand here?" Xander was standing with a bunch of bags in his hands and staring at the door of the car trunk. Maya nced at him in confusion, before hastily mumbling, "Sorry! I was distracted." Maya apologized when she realised that she had been too absorbed in her thoughts and had left all of the work to Xander. "Are you still thinking about Ryder and Be?" Xander asked noticing the frown on her face. "Yes. I don''t want them to hurt each other. They have already been through a lot. There is no need for added trauma." Be said softly. "Don''t worry Maya. I will keep an eye on them and make sure that they behave." Dn assured Maya. Xander looked at her sad face and felt that her words also suited their situation. Maya had been through a lot and that trauma sometimes made itself known in form of nightmares. He wondered if his presence was adding onto her trauma. As her mate, he wanted to take away her pain but he didn''t know how to take away the pain that he himself had caused her. Perhaps there was no need for him in her life... Before Xander could start thinking deeply on the matter, a pair of little arms wrapped around his leg. He looked down to see Sam hugging him, looking all excited. Maya had put away few bags in the trunk when he was caught up in his thoughts. Xander shook his head and squatted down to Sam''s level. "Someone is looking very excited for the trip." Xavier said in a teasing tone. "Yes. Yes. Let''s go. We are going camping. Stop being so slow." Sam rushed both Xander and Maya. Laughing they climbed in the car and set off to drive to the camping ground. ---------------- When they arrived at the camping site, they could see a few were creatures roaming about in their animal form already. There were wolves, tigers, panthers, bears and so on. Sam couldn''t stop his eyes from wandering everywhere. His sense of smell was overwhelmed by the scent of so many were creatures. Sam could feel the wolf inside of him wanting desperately to get out and he couldn''t stop his transformation in time. The clothes ripped off his body and fur sprouted all over him. In a blink of an eye, a wolf pup was standing where Sam originally was. He yipped lightly and ran towards Maya to rub his body on her legs and sniff her wonderful scent. Xander alighted to see Sam sniffing around Maya''s ankles. Maya was looking at the pup indulgently. "He recognises you as his family." Xander said softly. Maya looked at him and nodded in agreement. "I am d. I was worried about him and whether he would be able to adjust in the new environment." she replied in the simr soft tone. Kneeling down she gently patted his head and brushed his coat with her fingers. All were werewolf pups loved getting pets. Sam yipped again and ran towards Xander. He pulled Xander by the jeans that his little teeth were able to bite. Xanderughed at Sam''s antics and walked with him to find an appropriate camping ce for themselves. Maya followed behind holding a basket of food and her small bag. As soon as the tent was set up, Xander and Maya took turns to change out of their human skin and take the wolf form. The family of three then set about exploring the area. They walked around sniffing at the new scents and familiarising themselves with the environment. They came across a few were panthers who were frolicking in the river nearby. A small panther cub came up to their group and stared at them curiously. Sam too moved forward cautiously and sniffed slightly before drawing back. After a moment or so he repeated the actions till his nose bumped against the panthers nose and the little cub jumped back in surprise. Sam lightly chuffed at her. The other panthers also came up one by one from the water and stood in front of Maya and Xander. Maya and Xander both sniffed them and noted down their scent in the mind. The groups greeted each other and watched the two kids ying with each other. Maya and Xander were happy that Sam was disying his pup tendencies without any issues. Xander was worried that Sam might have an issue with his wolf side as an effect of the natural dissolution of the pack. But it seemed that his worries were unfounded.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. Maya got up after a few minutes and went in the water to enjoy a dip in her wolf form. She swam in the shallow part of the river and as the force of river wasn''t strong she had no issues in her swim. She suddenly thought of a way for the two little children to increase their bond of friendship. Maya knew that were panthers are fond of fishes and she dipped her head in river to catch a fish for the little cub and Sam to eat. Xander''s eyes followed her movements and he was a bit worried when Maya''s head dipped inside the water. Maya soon raised the head and shook herself. She came to the shore. Sam and the panther cub ran to her, there was a big fish in her mouth. As she ced the fish on the shore, it flopped around twice, hitting Sam''s face with the tail. Sam jumped back a let out a bark. The panther cub swished his tail and stood at a distance. Sam nced back at Maya as if asking permission. When she nodded her head, Sam carried the fish to his panther friend and shared the fish with him. Watching the two boys enjoy the fish, the panther female also went to the river to catch another fish. Soon enough a small pile of fishes was built on the shore. The panther female then signalled Maya and Xander to join them in this impromptu meal. Both of them joined dly and had a nice time with the were panther family. Chapter 33 Chapter 33 After spending time with the were panther group, the family of three - Maya, Xavier and Sam, went roaming in the forest some more. Sam was running in the forest at his full speed while Maya and Xavier were following him at a normal pace. The simple act of running as a pack made Maya''s wolf calm and happy. She reminisced about the days when she used to run in a pack in her childhood. Maya could see traces of herself in Sam''s innocence and his nature. Maya''s wolf had started seeing Sam as her own child instead of her nephew. She also knew that Sam carried in his blood a potential to be a true Alpha. She made a decision to hone his skills and his nature to be that of a leader. Xavier was following Maya''s wolf as she trotted after Sam. Her tail kept brushing against his nose. Xavier was enjoying her scent and her touch. His wolf pushed for control of the body from Xavier and in a moment of weakness Xavier allowed the wolf to reign over him. His wolf pushed ahead and started walking shoulder to shoulder with Maya. He lightly jostled and guided her onto a different path and gave a mentalmand to Sam to follow them. Maya was amused by Xavier''s insistence on guiding the path and allowed him to lead her. They unexpectedly stepped into a small clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing were countless small lights just flying around. Sam and Maya were both awestruck by the thousands of fireflies buzzing around the clearing. It seemed very dream like and Sam dashed in middle of the clearing to chase fireflies. Maya sat on her haunches to observe the beautiful vista. Xavier''s wolf sat beside her, his tail swishing around to engulf her body and then flicking back again and again. Maya turned to look in Xavier''s eyes and realised that Xavier''s wolf was the one in charge. Instinct told her to give over the control to her wolf and she followed that feeling. Maya''s wolf leaned against Xavier''s body and sniffed his scent deeply. Both of them could feel small sparks in the touch they shared. Xavier''s tongue brushed against Maya''s face and licked her lovingly. Perhaps it was at that moment that Maya realised that even her wolf required a mate by her side. Even though her wolf was all powerful, she truly craved the gentleness and the love that a mate bond could bring in her life. She realised that her inability to find trust in their rtionship was not only hurting Xavier and his wolf but also was affecting her own wolf badly. ''A werewolf is a strange creature; it''s a wolf and a human mind staying in one body. Then are the wolf and human different or are they the same?'' Maya questioned herself. As if reflecting on herself she realised that this strain of their rtionship has reached the point where she has to make a decision to move forward or to step back and away. Calmly she lifted herself and trotted towards the bushes. Changing back into her human self, she wore the long t-shirt she had carried tied to her leg. Although a little wet from the river, it was enough to keep her modesty. Sensing her need to talk, Xavier to changed in his human form and wore a pair of track pants. Maya was lounging on the ground with her arms supporting her and staring at Sam''s antics. A smile garced her beautiful face and it was at that moment Xavier fell a little more in love with her. "Maya" he called out softly breaking her trance. Turning towards him, she beckoned him closer and patted the ground beside her. When Xavier sat besides her, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Xavier went still as a statue. Admitted that it was the most innocent form of intimacy but it was the first ever gesture from Maya''s end. "It hurts." she whispered, "It hurts not being able to trust our own mate. It hurts not being courageous enough to take next step. It hurts not being able to be a part of a pack. But most of all, it hurts to see the pain of an unfulfilled mate bond in your eyes. It hurts most not being able to give Sam a stable family. It hurts, Xavier." Painced her voice and though it wasn''t spoken loudly, Xavier felt the impact of those words in his very bones. Hope had blossomed unbidden in Xavier''s heart at her action and it further grew by her words. He desperately wanted to ask her if she was finally allowing him in her life. He wanted to hug her in his arms and kiss her so very badly. But he retained a bit of control and spoke softly, "Take your time to heal. I am here. Besides you. Whenever you need me." "When a mate bond ispleted, we are able to hear each other''s thoughts..." Maya spoke just as softly as him. "Yes." Xavier replied not understanding where this was going. "If weplete the mate bond, then I will be able to hear your unfiltered thoughts." Maya said. "Yes." Xavier was still confused. He felt that she was asking for him toplete the mate bond but for Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. that they would be required to make love. And Xavier knew that because of her trauma Maya wouldn''t be able to cope with love making part of mating process. "Toplete a mate bond we just need to bite each other on the joint of neck and shoulder. It is enough toplete the mating process. There''s no need to have sex." Maya said "First of all, mating process doesn''t involve having sex, it involves making love. And second, we can skip that part but if we really do skip it then we would be in great deal of pain till the bond forms "I know... It will be painful, I know. But I don''t see any other way to learn how to trust you again. I am sorry Xavier. I know it isn''t what you would want but I don''t know how I can..." Maya''s voice broke as tears escaped her eyes. Brushing away her tears with his thumbs, he cradled Maya''s face in his palms carefully. "I love you Maya. You have no idea how much. I want to give you the whole world. Please... Don''t apologize for something that isn''t your fault. It was my mistake, I shouldn''t have abandoned you when you needed me. It is my punishment to bear." He said, sadness tinting his voice. "Please Xavier I want to heal. I want to feel happiness again. I don''t want to be broken anymore." Maya whimpered softly. Xavier took a look at Sam, he was busy sniffing the clearing curiously. He issued a mentalmand to Sam to not leave the clearing without informing him. Sam looked at them and nodded slightly. He loomed at Maya''s teary eyes and gave in to her demand. He pulled down the neck line of the t-shirt and bit her on the cor bone. Immediately Maya felt a deep burning in her heart. It was as if her heart wanted to reject the new bond that her soul was forming with Xavier. Xavier then bared his shoulder to Maya and Maya bit him emphatically to give away some of her pain. A pain started in Xavier''s neck and spread to his heart. It felt like the heart was burning on an open me. Soon their breathing became ragged and Maya copsed in his arms. Xavier hugged Maya tightly and fell on his back. It took a couple of minutes for the pain to be bearable. "Xavier" Maya called out tentatively in her mind. "Yes, Maya?" she heard Xavier replying in her mind. "I can hear you." Maya said excitedly in her mind. She felt a chuckle rumble through his chest. Chapter 34 Chapter 34 "I can hear you." Maya said excitedly in her mind. She felt a chuckle rumble through his chest. "When will I start feeling your emotions and thoughts?" Maya questioned, this time using normal "The bond is newly formed. It will take some getting used to before we are able to share everything with each other." Xavier replied. Sam excitedly ran near the two of them and sniffed their slightly changed scent curiously. Acquainting himself with the new scent, he gave both of their faces a long lick and snuggled down next to them. The little family of three fell asleep in the meadow itself. Under the stars, the gentle wind blowing as if singing a luby, they settled down for a nap. ------------- Xavier knew he was dreaming. He knew that he was surely dreaming but he couldn''t understand how This is from N?velDrama.Org. to get out of it. He saw that he was in a room with almost no light. It was cold and the ce reeked of blood and other bodily fluids. He witnessed a strange man taking a knifeced with silver and making small cuts on his skin. He tried to resist but his hands were tied up. He could only watch in horror as the man sneered at him and took up a variety of torture instrumentsid on the table nearby. He watched as the man made a deep cut and poured a little molten silver in his lower abdomen. The man leaned near and said, "Oops. It seems I tool away your ability to be a mother. Your mate had made explicit instructions to this end. Now even if you do escape this life, no one will ever want you again. So be obedient and ept me as your master. I promise that all torture will halt as soon as that word passes your lips my beloved little ve." It was those words that made Xavier understand that it was not his dream but Maya''s dream. The mate bond was transmitting this nightmare that Maya was suffering from to him. This realisation gave him strength to leave the dream behind and wake up. It was dark in the night and he sat uppletely disoriented. He nced at Maya who was sleeping by his side. Some time during the night she had shifted in her wolf form and low snarls were rumbling from her mouth. He saw that the snarls had woken Sam as well and he was whimpering and licking Maya''s face. Xavier lifted Sam in his hands and sat upright. He then closed his eyes and concentrated on the mate bond. Almost at once pain and fear overwhelmed him but pushing aside those feelings he focused on his love for Maya. He thought about the day he first saw her, how the majestic wolf form of hers had blown him away and then he focused on the day when he had realised how he lost her perhaps forever. The pain and sadness had filled him to the brim. He then thought of the day when he saw her again, her strength and courage had overwhelmed him and filled him with pride. He also thought of the pain that he had dealt on her and his thoughts of regret. He finally focused on how despite not consummating their rtionship, they had marked each other and how much love he wanted to shower her with for the rest of their life. Finally Maya''s snarls quietened down and she shifted in her human form, though she still remained in deep sleep. Xavier set Sam down on his other side and curled around Maya''s body as if protecting her. Sam also fell asleep, after a while, his body snuggling against Xavier''s back. -------------------- When Xavier woke up again, it was morning and the sun was shining on the meadow. He looked down at the woman in his arms and was reminded of the nightmare he had at night. He finally realized why Maya was so defensive and untrusting with him and her family. It was because they really took away everything from her including her future. He then had an epiphany, it was because Maya couldn''t be a mother anymore, that Sam was given to Maya by the Moon Goddess herself. The natural dissolution was the Moon Goddess''s way to correct a grave injustice and right everything that was wrong. He felt humbled at the reality that was a part of Maya''s life and now his. He couldn''t help himself and ced a gentle kiss on her cheek. He wished that he could take away her pain and shield her from the trauma she was still clearly suffering from. Maya roused from her sleep and stretchedzily. It was the best sleep she had in ages. She nced around her and saw Xavier besides her. She blushed when she saw that Xavier had been staring at her. "Good morning." Xavier drawled softly. "Good morning", Maya replied. "Where is Sam?" she asked ncing around. Xavier sat up and revealed the small ball of furying on the ground with his two legs up in the air. It was such aical position that Maya couldn''t help but smile. "We will head back in the afternoon. Do you want to get breakfast?" Xavier asked her. Maya nodded and shifted her attention to Sam trying to wake him up. ----------------- In the Council Headquarters, it was time for breakfast as well and Dn was apanying Be to get her breakfast. As Be still preferred human food instead of having blood loke other vampires, Dn had brought her down to the mess hall of the trainees. A few trainees nced in their direction as Be sat eating and couldn''t help but be enamored by her beauty. Dn and Be were having an animated conversation discussing on thework security at the Council Headquarters when a trainee suddenly decided to approach them. "Good morning Councilman Dn." he said respectfully "Good morning Andrew. How is your training going on?" Dn asked him. "It is going fine. The trainer asked me to pass of the list of new equipment needed in the gym." he replied, putting down a thin file in front of Dn. Turning to Be, he said, "Good Morning Miss." "Be. You can call me Be. Good morning." she replied with a smile. "Wee to Council Headquarters. Is it your first time here Be? Maybe I can show you around?" Andrew asked returning her smile. "Thank you. It is not my first time here. But it was kind of you to offer. Maybe I will see you around the training grounds some time?" Be replied. Andrew nodded and left them alone. It was a very simple and regr interaction but when Ryder saw it, it became a flirtatious interaction in his eyes. His mood dampened pretty quickly and he glowered at everyone around him. Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Be''s interaction with Andrew was a very simple and regr one but in Ryder eyes, it was a flirtatious one. He left the room and returned to his office quarters. His team was sitting around with theirptops and gadgets trying to monitor illegal activities carried out by both humans and non humans. Any activities they find evidence of was then subjugated to heavy scrutiny. If the activity concerned humans and had no trace of non humans connected to it then they would anonymously tip off the various human government bodies. Of there was even a slightest trace of non humans connected to it then the activity would be handled by the Council field agents assigned to the task. "Boss man!" One of the team members eximed loudly. Ryder turned and calmly walked towards him. The junior team mate was bursting to unload his findings. Other team members nced at him disapprovingly. His loud exmation had distracted them. "What''s up Carter?" Ryder asked exercising patience. "You need to see this Ryder." Carter imed trying to modte his voice level. He showed Ryder an announcement on the deep web. It looked as if there was a sale of exotic animals going down in the country. Ryder nced back at him with a questioning expression. "Boss.. Ryder... The exotic animals are were animals. It is were wolves and were panthers. The organizers seem to have Asian connection." Carter replied. "Why do you think it is were animals and not simply exotic animals? How did you reach the conclusion?" Ryder asked surprised. "Well..." Carter hesitated a bit. Ryder raised his eyebrow at his obvious difort to rify. Carter took a deep breath and said, "Because I posed as a buyer and asked them to send details of the exotic animals." "You did what?" Ryder looked at him bbergasted. "I used a different connection and masked my IP address. I asked them leading questions about the exotic animals saying I am looking for exotic pets. I pretended to be talking about the exotic pets like a human would. They also asked me a few questions regarding my ie and daily life. They also asked me what did I think about night creatures. Since I was pretending to be human I gave them nd answers and said I was looking for dangerous beings not bats or owls. After my answer they immediately said that I was not what they were looking for in a buyer and they would contact me if they get something suitable for me." When Ryder still showed a confused expression, Carter rified further, "Night creatures. It was the key word. For centuries amongst humans weres and vampires and other mystical beings are disyed as devils that prey at night. It was what gave them away." "When is this sale going to take ce?" Ryder asked. "It will take ce in about a week''s time, oning weekend." Carter replied. "What about the Asian connection?" Ryder asked. "The organizer introduces himself as Xia. It seems an Asian name." Carter replied. "Xia? How can that be? Didn''t we wipe out the criminals working inside the Xia n? Call Maya back quickly." Ryder instructed Carter and turned around to leave. Carter was a bit disappointed with Ryder''s reaction. N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. "Carter!" Ryder yelled when he reached the door. Along with Carter all the team mates turned to look at Ryder. "Good job. Select a few people to help pinpoint the mastermind. You will lead this project with me." Ryder said and left the room quickly. Carter too turned to hisptop with a smile on his face. --------------------- Ryder went to Dn with the findings. There was very little time for them to get more details on this illegal sale and mobilize the task force to rescue the were animals. Dn was pissed off at the news. He banged the desk with his fist and asked, "How is this possible? Last time we cleaned the Xia n both you and Be worked on it and both of you had managed to get enough information on the n. We had disabled the mastermind hidden deep in the n so who is this new person? Did we or did we not manage to get the mastermindst time?" "Calm down Dn. Me and my team are focusing fully on getting information on this new person. I have asked Maya to be contacted as well. She will be here soon with Xavier." Ryder informed. "Ask Maya to report to me once shees and get Be to work with you." Dn stated grimly. "Be? That woman is not needed. My team is more than sufficient to work on this project." Ryder protested. Dn gave him a long and meaningful look and asked him in a no nonsense tone, "Do you known why you are leading your team?". Ryder stared at him at the sudden change of the topic not knowing how to reply. Dn continued in the same tone, "It is because you are better than them in tracking such stuff down. But Be is better than you. She is faster than you. Didn''t she won the bet against youst time?" "How do you know about that?" Ryder asked surprised. It doesn''t matter how I know and how much I know. What matters is the fact that if Be was interested in working with Council full time, she would be the one leading the team not you. So I suggest Ryder, get your head out of your arse and focus on the mission. Justify to me and the Council that your Team Leader position is well deserved." Ryder lost the colour in his face and hung his head in shame. He realised that he had got sidetracked by his emotions and the main point now would be rescuing the kidnapped were animals. Dn''s disappointment showed and it stung Ryder badly. He knew that if Maya came to know about it she would be disappointed as well. As he came out of Dn''s office, he decided that he would behave professionally and seek out Be''s help on this mission. It was his first mission as a Team Leader and he was determined to prove his worth to the Council, Dn, Maya and most of all to himself. He became determined to do well and be professional and resolved to help the victims out of the situation safely. --------------- Be was waiting in Maya''s room for her toe back. She expected Maya to be back by evening and was surprised when she heard a knock on the door. She thought that Maya must havee back early and opened the door to find Ryder standing in front of the door. When she saw that it was Ryder, she immediately thought that he must havee to warn her off from following or talking to him and it made her defensive. Be wanted to m the door in his face and started to do so but Ryder put foot in the gap and blocked her from closing the door. Be frowned and stepped away from the door. "What do you want?" Be asked curtly as if she was annoyed to talk with him. cing a hand on her heart she steadied her mind to hear various incriminations of her actions and rejection of her from him once again and waspletely thrown when Ryder said, "I need your help." Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Be waspletely thrown when Ryder said, "I need your help." Be understood Ryder''s nature. Unless it had been a really problematic situation, Ryder would never approach her directly. "What is the problem? How can I help?" Be asked a bit tensed. She moved to a side and allowed Ryder to step inside Maya''s room. "The Xia n." Ryder replied in a clipped tone. "Xia n?" a voice called from the open door. Both of them turned to see Maya standing there with a bag slung over her shoulder. "Didn''t we deal with the power struggle in Xia nst time? As far as I know we cleaned out all the bad people from the n." Maya continued questioning them. "Apparently, we missed someone thest time. There is a illegal sale of were animals going down in the country. It is scheduled on theing weekend though the specific day and time is unknown. We are still trying to get the information on this sale. The organizer seems to be named Xia." Ryder replied in a reporting tone. Although Ryder was leading his own team now, he slipped into his old way of reporting to Maya. "Any chance that it is a coincidence? Maybe it is someone else named Xia with no rtions to the vampire n." Bemented trying to see other possibilities. "Someone else named Xia in the criminal worldmitting the same type of crime? Highly doubtful. It cannot be a coincidence." Maya replied. "Alright, it is your first time as a Team Leader Ryder. A lot is riding on you. If you need any help then don''t hesitate to ask me. Also remember, sessfully rescuing the victims of trafficking is more important than anything else." Maya stated to Ryder and turned towards Be, "Once this mission is Be and Ryder left the room to walk towards theputer zone and Ryder''s office. There was a feeling of an unspoken truce between them. "She doesn''t make it easy, does she?" Be asked Ryder with a smile. "It is certainly difficult to work while knowing the expectations people have from you." Ryder replied in a soft tone. "Put me to work. Let''s make sure this demon is in forever." Be said. When Be entered the room, everyone was busy on their workstations and no one paid attention to her. However when Be set up her own work station and logged in on it, Carter noticed her and asked Ryder, "Who is she? Is she a new joinee?" "She is a temporary consultant that will be helping us on this case." Ryder replied. "Is she any good?" Carter asked. "She is Be. She is a vampire and she is the best online tracker out there. Trust me, she is more than good for this work." Ryder said. "Ok boss man, if you say so." Carter replied not believing his words. For Carter, Ryder was the best person for online criminal tracking while he ranked the second. "You don''t believe him, do you?" Be asked raising her head a little arrogantly. "Forgive me, but I find it hard to believe that there''s a better tracker than us out there in the world. It is nothing against you, just that Council has more money and equipment and has given us the best of the training avable." Carter exined his viewpoint. "I don''t me you for disbelieving. How about a little bet Carter?" Be asked. "What type of bet?" Carter returned her question with one of his own. "Let''s see who amongst both of us can find most relevant clues with regards to the case in under an hour. Whoever finds the most relevant clue, wins. It can be judged by your boss, Mr. Ryder." Be said smirking. Ryder was jolted back by her words. What Be had said was quite simr to the challenge he had thrown her way. He had arrogantly challenged her and had fallen t on his face. It was an embarrassing moment of his life. However it was also that moment were he had felt attraction towards someone other than his mate. He had been shocked at that time. When Be had imed herself to be his second chance mate, a lot of things had made sense. Unfortunately he had never been quite ready to ept another person as his mate. "What does the winner gets?" Carter asked a smirking wildly. "Whatever the winner says, loser will have to ept for a total of 24 hours." Be replied with a smirk of her own. "Challenge epted." Carter replied. Their banter had attracted the attention of the entire office and people gathered around them to see them work. Be and Carter went at it and started collecting information from their sources, tracked down other illegal sale activities connected with name Xia and did so much more. After the hour waspleted, Carter disyed his results to the group and showed them the past illegal activities with traces of Xia n involvement. Beughed lightly and showed herptop screen to Carter. She had found out the date, time and ce for the sale of were animals that was going to take ce on the uing Saturday evening. But what clinched her victory was that she had managed to secure an invitation for the sale. Her contact was going to send her more information about the sale that was going to take ce. Carter stood up holding on to herptop. There was disbelief written on his face, his mouth hung open. He looked quiteical and Be couldn''t resist a showing a smile. Silence reigned in the office for a moment or two before everyone started speaking at oncementing andplimenting on Be''s work. "How? It would have taken us a few days or at the very least a few hours. How did you manage to get these details in just an hour? Who are you?" Carter asked his shock showing in his speech. "I am Be, a hybrid vampire and an online criminal tracker. Now do you believe that I am good enough for this job?" she asked raising her left eyebrow. Carter nodded dumbly and sat back down in his seat. "Don''t feel too bad. She had bested me once as well. She is really good." Ryder said patting Carter''s shoulder. "Hmm.. yeah I had forgotten about that." Bemented nonchntly. Her head was already back in herptop and her attention just focused on the task at hand. She didn''t notice how pain shed in N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content. Ryder''s eyes at her words. He wanted to say something, question her about her new behaviour but he was reminded of Dn''s words. He barely managed to keep himself quiet. He sat with other members of the team and they started researching on the past sales of the were animals. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!