28. Maya

28

Maya

"She's not feral," I whispered as I curled my hands. "She's doing the best she can. How can you tell?"

"My wolf can sense it," Anna said calmly while she walked ahead. "Come on."

So she wasn't going to kill me on sight? I debated the decision I'd made in coming here. What if she was leading me into a trap?

"You want answers or not?" Anna asked impatiently. "I'm hungry. I'm not going to stand here much longer."

Swallowing hard, I followed her. Anna banged on the front door. "Irene? It's me. I've got company, and we're coming in, so don't throw any plates at my head."

"Why would she throw plates at your head?"

"The only person who visits her right now is her mate, and he's the reason she's so mad all the time," Anna whispered back.

"Wait, she has a mate? Like a werewolf?"

"Yeah. It's complicated. Come on." Opening the door, she walked in. A tall and slender woman was on top of the fridge. Long silver locks of hair fell over her shoulder, and her eyes glowed purple. I immediately stopped fearing Anna and started fearing this woman. Magic practically pulsed off her.

"Irene, this is Maya. She needs a little bit of help if you think you can come down," Anna said calmly as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a glass jar. "I'm going to make some eggs and toast. This jam is amazing. Want some?"

"Sure," I said nervously as I stared up at the witch. "Are you okay?"

"Are you stupid?" Irene snarled. "Do you know of sane women who climb on top of refrigerators? No, because only crazy people do that."

"You're self-aware, so you can't be that crazy," I pointed out. "Can you inspect me from up there, or do you need to come down?"

"Irene, I swear to God, if you are on the refrigerator again," a woman called from the back room. She came around the corner, a coffee mug in hand, and stopped short. "Oh. Hi, Anna. Are you here to check up on Irene?"

"If you get anywhere near me with that mug, I will blast you with so much magic you'll be singing ‘Over the Rainbow' for weeks," Irene growled.

"Luckily, I don't have to worry about that. I gave you a sedative ten minutes ago. Well, nine actually. So any minute now…" the woman said as she glanced at her watch.

Irene moaned and slumped off the fridge. With a yelp, Anna slammed the door shut and managed to break her fall. "Janelle! You drugged her and let her climb all the way up here?"

"For the record, the fridge climbing is new, and I was trying to finish the stupid tonic. Open her mouth, quickly, before she burns off the sedative."

I watched in horror and wondered if I should intervene as Anna and Janelle opened Irene's mouth and poured the liquid in. Irene coughed, cursed, and sat upright. Anna and Janelle immediately jumped back and stared at her.

After a few seconds, Irene sighed and shook her head. "Thanks. How bad was I?"

"You climbed the fridge again," Anna said cheerfully. "We're thinking of blocking it off with a chair, or maybe getting you a crate."

"I will kill you," Irene muttered before her gaze fell on me. "Who is this?"

Confused, I looked behind me, but she was talking to me. "I'm Maya. Anna and I came in a few seconds ago. I was told you might be able to help me."

"Oh. Sorry. I'm experimenting with a new magic that has gone horribly wrong, and it'll be another three weeks before I burn it off completely. It kind of makes me go into a fugue state, and I black out."

Shit. "Maybe Sera was wrong, and you're not the witch to help me."

Irene and Janelle's gazes snapped to me. "The fae sent you?" Irene demanded before she turned to Anna. "Did you know about this?"

"I did, and maybe she'll tell us more of what's happening if you help her because apparently, she's feeling pretty loyal," Anna said as she went back to the fridge. "Irene, if you broke the eggs, I'm going to be mad."

While she made breakfast, Irene went to change and returned in a different pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. When Janelle raised an eyebrow, Irene wrinkled her nose. "I'm still feeling a little uncomfortable in clothes."

"I'm sorry, are you pregnant too?" I asked.

"No, but I do feel like something is inside of me," she muttered.

Janelle sighed. "I told you, there is nothing inside of you."

"I said ‘feels,' didn't I?" Irene snapped. "Stupid wolf witch thinks she knows everything."

"I know enough to keep you from losing your mind until the moon cycle finishes, don't I?"

I cleared my throat. Whatever problem they were having, they were wasting my time. "You're a wolf witch?"

Janelle looked at me and did a double take. Her eyes started to turn white, and I began to back up to the wall. "Stop," Janelle ordered. "What is wrong with you? You're a werewolf?"

"Uh, yes, and you're scaring me. Right now, my wolf is a little unpredictable when I'm scared," I warned her. "Why are your eyes white? Can you see my wolf?"

"No," Janelle said tightly. "I can sense that you're a werewolf, but I can't see your wolf. I can see bonds, but there are no bonds around you. Even a rogue has bonds."

"I…I mean, I'm bonded to an alpha. My father."

"No you're not. You're lying. Tell me, does your skin itch?"

"What?"

"How long have you been on this land?"

My heart pounded in my chest. "Anna," I said quietly. "I can feel my wolf. How fast can you shift?"

"Pretty quickly," she said easily as she scrambled some eggs. "You like cheese in your eggs?"

"How powerful is your wolf?"

"I'm bonded with the most powerful alpha on this mountain. I can take you down if I need to. Was that a yes to the cheese?"

"Sure. Why not?" Crying out, I hit the ground on all fours.

Janelle put her hands on my shoulder, and I started to jerk back, but her touch warmed me. "How long have you been on Jax's territory?"

"Ten hours, maybe? Eight?" I whispered. My wolf shuddered, but she stopped rising inside of me. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Janelle said angrily. "She's there, but I can't reach her. You are not bonded to your alpha. You don't have any bonds at all. Why did you come here? Why did the fae send you here?"

She moved back, and I took a deep breath. Maybe this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come alone. My wolf was confused and scared. Even if Anna could put me down, I was still a danger to them.

The radio in my hand crackled. "Maya, where the fuck are you? I gave you one instruction. Take a guard. Did you do that? No. You went off on your own to a fucking witch's den," Rhyson growled.

His voice strangely grounded me, and I looked up apologetically. "He doesn't mean offense. He's just a little mad."

"A little?" Irene echoed.

I put the radio up. "You know everyone can hear you, right?"

"I don't give a fuck. Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

"No. I think I can make some real progress here. I'm not in any danger, Rhyson, and I need to know what's wrong with me. I'll let you know when I'm done. Talk to Jax. Find out about the man who killed your brother. That's what you're here for, remember?"

My comment was met with silence, and I slowly put the radio down. "A wolf named Emerson killed his brother. He's trying to find more information about him."

"A wolf named Emerson," Janelle said slowly. "Are you fucking with me?"

"Oh, yeah, I might have forgotten to mention that," Anna said from the kitchen. "Janelle was Emerson's witch."

Standing, I looked at the women in the other room. "Did you set me up?" I demanded. "What do you know of Emerson?"

"Plenty, and I wasn't lying, nor did I set you up. Elonso might have answers, and he really is kind of pissed at us right now, but Janelle might have answers as well. I brought you here to get you away from Rhyson. I came here to find out if you brought your man here to kill mine."

The room crackled with energy, and I stilled. "Rhyson is not my man, and we'd never even heard of Jax until we got here looking for Emerson."

"So you're not from the mountain at all," Anna said flatly. "You truly came here to find the man who killed Rhyson's brother."

"I didn't," I told her honestly. "I came to tell Rhyson that he had a child on the way. Instead of a hero, I found myself trapped on a mountain where everyone wants to either kill me or save me. You apparently haven't decided what you need to do."

Janelle's head snapped up. "We have company."

The door broke open, and Rhyson's enormous wolf broke through.

He wasn't alone. "Move," Anna shouted, shoving me and the witches back into the living room just as a black wolf broke in after Rhyson.

Jax.

"Someone is going to die," I whispered.