32. Maya

32

Maya

"Wait, why are you yelling at me? I don't even know you. She tried to eat it," I said as I pointed at Anna. The man in front of us glared disapprovingly while the enormous body was laid out on the table behind us.

The healer's veins bulged in his forehead. "You were going to eat it?" he echoed.

Anna turned to me. "What the hell, Maya? I showed you a good time, and now you're going to throw me under the bus?"

"Sorry," I whispered and dropped my head. "He looks mean."

Anna just snorted. For the past hour, I'd had the most fun I'd ever had. I hadn't considered myself violent, but taking down that mutated creature had been exhilarating. Anna's warriors worked as a team and listened to her every word, and she was an excellent strategist.

Unfortunately, the creatures were in a pair, and the first was too far gone to take down safely. The female had been secured and was being brought in now. I'd given my wolf plenty of control and watched her joy.

And this man was totally judging me for it.

"My name is Saul," he sighed. "And most of my life seems to be about keeping my alpha-mate alive. I do try to remind her that I have a whole pack to care for, yet she is still my most frequent patient."

Anna frowned. "That's not true. You patch up Jax plenty."

"Not as much as you. I'd heard we had guests, although I did not realize one was pregnant or would be going out hunting monsters." Saul wrinkled his nose. "You both smell like carnage. Anna, you know where the shower is."

"We're traveling with a healer as well. Tessa," I informed him.

"Yes, I know. I have sent for her. Her knowledge may prove helpful. I have not yet met…her type," he said politely.

Her type? It took a moment to realize that meant off the mountain. He knew? I turned to glare at Anna, but she just shrugged. "He can be trusted."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" The door opened, and Jax and Rhyson burst through, fury written all over their faces. I immediately turned and tried to slip away, but Anna grabbed my arm.

"Oh, no. You're not leaving me alone now."

It was her idea, and we were not friends, but from the way she was clutching my arm, it occurred to me that maybe she was trying to be. Still, I really did not want to face Rhyson right now. The look of disgust he'd worn earlier still haunted me.

"Hunting one of those creatures alone?" Jax shouted.

"I was not alone," Anna said calmly. "There were ten other wolves with me."

"In your condition?"

"I'm pregnant, not terminally ill."

"Without telling me?"

"You were in a meeting."

Jax stopped right in front of us, and I studied him with interest. If his eyes bulged any more, they would fall right out. "So you fucking interrupt!"

"No. I can handle it. I did handle it. I barely had to do anything."

Rhyson growled. "Then why the fuck are you both covered in blood."

Anna grinned. "That was mostly Maya. She goes for the jugular, and it gets messy. He was starting to fall on us, and he was bleeding everywhere."

The double doors behind us opened, and Anna's grin quickly faded. "Shit, I keep forgetting they're wolves. It's so much easier to think of them as monsters. There were two. We could only save the female."

The mood turned somber, and I felt the adrenaline fade from me. Around me, the infirmary buzzed with activity. A few people gave us curious looks, and one female in particular kept looking at Rhyson. I tried to put it out of my mind. What did I care if someone was looking at him? It wasn't like he was mine.

Jax walked over to Anna and kissed her on the top of her head. "Go clean up, sweetheart. We'll see if we can save her."

Anna grabbed my arm and pulled me away. We scrubbed off the blood and dressed in clean clothes. When we returned, Saul, Tessa, and two other wolves were around the table. Jax and Rhyson were leaning back against the wall, their arms and legs crossed as if they were copying each other.

The female who I'd been eyeing before was also lounging against the wall.

Close to Rhyson. Too damn close.

Mine .

Blinking, I swallowed the word down. He was absolutely not mine. Not now. Not ever. Who was I to care who stood next to him?

She said something to him, and he frowned and leaned down toward her. Lifting up to her tiptoes, she practically put her lips right to his ear.

My feet were moving even before I realized what was happening. "Move," I snarled as I slammed my arm against the wall between them. Eyes wide, she stumbled back, and I moved the rest of my body so that she couldn't touch him.

"Maya." Rhyson's breath was in my ear. "She was just asking me a question."

I bet she was. I didn't even realize I was still snarling until his hand went to my waist. Only then, did I relax. Rhyson cleared his throat. "I don't know the identity of any of the wolves that were brought into the infirmary. I'm just a guest. You'll have to check with your healer," he told her.

"Or, you know, your pack alpha," I supplied helpfully with a smile. The question was bullshit and Rhyson had to know it.

The female smirked and strode away. Only then did I realize that Rhyson was still touching me. Reality hit me hard. What the fuck was that?

Saul turned. "Maya, my dear, your wolf has kindly requested that I examine you and the babe, so if you'll go into room one, we're almost finished up here, and your healer will join you."

It was all I could do to run away from Rhyson. Tessa winked at me as she ushered me into the exam room. "By kindly, he means that Rhyson bellowed it very loudly after he and Jax got into a heated argument about his mate leading you into danger. It was very entertaining to watch, and it didn't end until Saul shouted at them that they were breaking his concentration."

There was a strange light in her eyes. "You seem excited," I observed.

"Saul has some amazing equipment here, and his knowledge is incredible. I thought my training was superior, but he knows far more about wolf magic than I even thought possible. Outside of this mountain, we tend to forget that we're magical creatures. It's all about biology there. These monsters are created from the same drug that Paisley is on. Apparently, in its more pure form, it mutates the wolf."

"Who the hell would create something like that?"

I got up on the exam table and wrapped my arms around myself while Tessa rolled some equipment out from the corner. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I think they do, and they're not saying. Rhyson pulled me aside and told me about the bonds. Maya, I'm so sorry."

Great. Soon, the whole group would know. "Any way you can tell if the baby is going to have the same problem?"

"I don't think so." She glanced at the closed door. "This place is so strange. It's like a real pack."

I chuckled. "It is a real pack. Everything we thought we knew about this mountain was wrong. Can you use that thing yourself, or do I need to wait for Saul?"

"No. I can totally get us started. Let me get the gel, and I'll be right back."

She ducked out of the room, and while the door was opened, Rhyson walked in. I immediately tried to straighten and cover myself, and he just scowled. "I have seen you naked before."

He had, but this was the first time he'd seen me naked after hearing about my psychological scars. I felt more vulnerable than ever. "You don't have to be here for this," I muttered. "You don't have to be here for me. I'll do this myself."

"The exam?"

"The rearing of the child," I snapped. "I absolve you of fatherhood. Or better yet, I lied. You're totally not the father. I banged ten other wolves that same night."

Rhyson just leaned against the wall and watched me quietly. When Tessa returned, she squeaked. "Uh…Rhyson, you probably shouldn't be here."

He didn't move, and the door opened and Saul came in, and he also frowned. Rhyson looked at him coolly. "I'm not leaving."

"You, sir, are absolutely leaving if the lady requests it. We believe in privacy here," Saul thundered. "And I believe your own healer has requested that you leave. Please step out."

Rhyson straightened and looked at me. "I'm getting awfully tired of people telling me what to do."

I knew what he meant. He could make every wolf here do what he wanted and kneel before him. I swallowed hard. "Join the club."

Growling, he turned to Saul. "Is there any way to tell the paternity of the baby now?"

For fuck's sake! The door was still open, and his voice carried. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. Closing my eyes, I willed away the tears.

"There is a procedure, but it is incredibly painful for the mother," Saul said calmly.

His sentence was met with silence, and I opened my eyes. Enough was enough. "Do it," I muttered.

"I had hoped that was enough, but it is also incredibly dangerous for the baby, and I will not perform it, nor will I allow it to be performed in my clinic."

Rhyson turned and left without a word. The door closed, and I knocked my head back and blew out my breath. "Is that true?" I asked. "Or did you just want to get rid of him?"

"It is true," Saul said cheerfully. "I will let your healer perform the exam, and then I am going to teach her several techniques she might be able to employ to keep an eye on the babe while you are without the equipment. How far along are you?"

Time had lost most of its meaning since we'd come to the mountain. How long had we been here? "Eight weeks, I think."

"Excellent. Would you like to know if you're carrying a boy or a girl?"

A boy or a girl. Would that make it more real? Tears welled up in my eyes, and I nodded. Saul took my hand and squeezed it gently. There was so much fucking kindness here in the middle of nowhere. It was actually starting to hurt.

"Then let's not keep you waiting."