Maya shifted slightly, her eyes sealed shut, her nose scrunched up, the pain could clearly be seen in her face which made Charlie feel completely guilty and Ace wanted to do nothing more but to hurt him. Maya continued to move around until she was cool enough to fall back to sleep. Her body temperature still high from the bite mark. "This is your fault." Ace growled, glaring at Charlie.
Charlie glared back, "What? And you think that I don't know that?" Charlie glared back at Ace, trying to keep a strong front on.
"This wasn't how she was supposed to react, was it?" Zac asked as he paced back and forth in the room. Ace kept his eyes locked on Maya as she began to shift around again. Charlie moved his eyes from Ace to Zac, an annoyed expression played on his face.
"No sh-" Charlie was cut off to his phone ringing. "Dammit, it's Noah, be quiet." He said, his voice hard and demanding. Both Ace and Zac nodded their heads. "Hello?" Charlie answered the phone, putting it on speaker.
"Charles~" Noah sang on the other side. "I was thinking about what you told me about Ace's mat-"
"My mate." Charlie growled, his eyes becoming a charcoal black.
Noah released a deep chuckle, "Right. Your mate. I want to see her mark, as you know. So why don't we meet up sometime this week?"
Charlie looked at Ace asking if it was alright. Ace nodded his face hard and cold, not really fond of the idea, but he needed to make sure that this was as realistic as possible so that Noah won't suspect anything going on. "Fine, I'll let you know when we are free." Charlie said hanging up without giving Noah a chance to respond. "I want you there, wherever we go. You need to make sure that nothing goes down. And another thing, you have an older sister?"
Ace shook his head, "No, why?"
"If Noah also saw you with another girl, it will help us out, hopefully." Charlie whispered as he looked back at Maya. He felt guilty, part of this was him being selfish. He knew that if he really wanted to he could take Ace out of the picture, but he wanted to make Maya happy and if that was having Ace by her side then, he was willing to suck up his pride for her.
"I could use my older cousin, she and I look nothing alike. She's pregnant though." Ace said looking down at the floor, a small frown stretched on his face.
Zac spoke up, "What about Kylie? She already has a mate so we won't have any complications in that area."
Charlie tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowed together. "Who's Kylie?"
"My sister, she's about two years younger than me and Ace. She isn't in the pack though, she is staying at her mates house. So I would have to call and ask her to come up here for a couple of weeks." Zac said pulling a chair over to Ace and Charlie.
"Great." Charlie said everything seemed to be going smooth sailing. "Are you alright with this?" Charlie asked Ace.
"Yeah." Ace's response was short. No one was truly happy with the situation, but were all tolerating it because of Maya.
Maya's eyes fluttered open. She closed them again, momentarily, before opening them again, looking at her surroundings. Ace was the first to be by her side. "Maya?" Ace softly called her name, making her look at him. Maya turned her head and looked at Ace. Her throat was still in pain, and she had a pounding headache. "My head hurts." Maya's voice was hoarse, raspy, and raw. Everyone was silent, eyes wide and breathing heavy. Maya looked around at the three males, their mouths hung open.
"What?" Maya asked.
Charlie eyed her, not knowing whether he was dreaming or not. "You're s-speaking." Charlie's voice was filled with so many emotion, not sure how he should feel about the situation.
Maya just realized that she was indeed speaking. Her eyes widened, she thought she was speaking in her head. She pulled her hand up to her lips, brushing her fingertips along her bottom lip. Tears brimmed her eyes, and for once they weren't tears of sadness, or it wasn't because of pain, it was because she was happy. Completely and utterly happy. Maya jumped out of bed jumping on Ace, the person closest to her. Her tears beginning to stain his shirt sleeve. Ace was still in shock, his body stuck as he tried to process what happened.
Maya released Ace and immediately jumped on Charlie. "Thank you." Maya whispered to Charlie. Charlie tightly wrapped his arms around Maya's waist. Ace finally came to his senses, turning and looking at Maya, whose arms were still wrapped tightly around Charlie. Jealousy entered Ace's body but nevertheless, he didn't do anything, knowing that this meant a lot to her and he didn't want to ruin the moment.
Maya released Charlie and looked back at Ace, a wide smile on her face, her emotions were everywhere and she wasn't sure if she was a dream or not. Charlie placed his hands on his thighs, his leg bouncing. Charlie watched as Ace wrapped his arms around Maya, lifting her off the ground, spinning her around in mid-air. Zac stood in the back of the room eyeing everything that was happening, still slightly shocked, but was still able to catch Charlie's reaction to Ace and Maya.
Charlie clenched his fist, tightly, until his knuckles began to turn white. Zac pondered as to why Charlie would react to this type of way. Ace smiled down at his mate, excited to hear her voice more often. "Hey, guys." Maya said, but this time it was much sweeter, not as raspy, but you could still hear the struggle that she had to get her words out.
"Maya." Charlie said.
"Charlie," Maya responded.
Charlie couldn't help the smile that overtook his face. He was incredibly happy, that he couldn't hide it. "We need to talk."
Isabella, Maya's mother, paced back and forth in her living room, waiting for Maya to answer the text messages that she had been sending her, nonstop. The front door opened, making Isabella look in the direction that her daughter was. "Maya, finally, do you not know how to answer your phone?"
Maya looked at her mother for a moment before tilting her head to the right. "My phone died a while ago, sorry."
Isabella's eyes widened, tears brimming at her eyes. "Maya, di-did you really just speak?" She asked, cupping Maya's cheeks in her palms. Maya nodded, a smile making its way onto her face. "Yeah mom, I did."
Isabella engulfed her daughter into an enormous hug, squeezing her. Maya struggled to breathe as her mother tightened her grip. "Can't. Breathe." Maya coughed out, tapping Isabella's shoulder. Isabella quickly removed her arms from around Maya, placing them behind her back, intertwining her fingers, a smile never leaving her face.
"Maya, we seriously need to talk." Isabella's smile was soon replaced with a frown, not sure how to explain this to her daughter.
A frown overtook Maya's face, not wanting to hear bad news, especially since she was having such a good day. "You're a healer." Isabella's voice rang through Maya's ears. Maya's eyebrows knitted together, tilting her head to the side, not sure as to what her mother meant when she had said that she was a healer, but she sure was curious. "You have the ability to heal others, including yourself, and bring the dead back to life, depending on how long they've been dead for."
Maya's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, not sure how to react to this information. Blinking her eyes, and slightly pinching herself to ensure that all the events that have happened today were real. "Maya, honey, are you alright?" Isabella asked Maya shaking her shoulder slightly, snapping her out of her trance. Maya quickly nodded her head, snapping her mouth shut, as she began to look like a goldfish with her mouth beginning to open and close.
"I want to teach you how to use your powers the right way, I want you to know the limits." Isabella explained, looking at her daughter.
***************
Maya shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she felt Noah's intense stare on her. Playing her fingers on her lap, Maya hung her head low, not wanting to be there at the moment. Noah's honey eyes never left Maya face. Maya wore a beautiful maroon dress that stopped mid-thigh and had a sweetheart neckline, hugging her curves to perfection. She had a dark grey knitted cardigan pulled over her dress and the slightest amount of eyeliner to help her sea blue eyes look brighter. Her hair was curled, resting on her shoulders.
Charlie was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white button up, not trying to impress anyone. His brown hair was pulled back, neatly, his circle rimmed shades placed on his laps as his hands were placed on the table, playing with the silverware as if he were three. Noah wore a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a periwinkle shirt that made his muscle pop out. His hair fell messily over his forehead, covering a bit of his eyes. Maya looked up and noticed that Noah had a lip ring in. She hadn't noticed the last time she had seen him.
Maya's lips forcefully turned upwards, smiling at Noah, which he returned.
"So, how long have you two known each other?" Noah asked all of a sudden.
Charlie looked up, eyeing Noah, knowing where he was going with this. "We've known each other for about twelve years now." He answered.
Noah smirked nodding his head and understanding. "Interesting. So why have you two all of a sudden became interested in one of another?" Noah asked.
Maya scoffed and rolled her head before opening her mouth to speak, "Why the sudden interest in our relationship, because last time I check, our relationship has nothing to do with you." Maya snapped.
Charlie squeezed Maya's thigh trying to signal for her to relax. He had already spoken to her about how Noah can get when he is disrespected. Maya placed her hand over Charlie's playing his fingers to distract and calm her down. Maya doesn't normally get riled up like this, but she was trying to leave this place as soon as possible feeling more and more uncomfortable every minute she stayed here.
"Feisty, I see. Also, last time I check, you couldn't speak." Noah said placing his elbows on the table, resting his head on the palms of his hands.
Maya left leg began to bounce as she stared back at Noah. She clenched her jaw, her blood beginning to become hot and her pulse racing. Charlie sensed this and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around the back of her chair. His fingers began to draw small patterns on her thigh. "Charlie's mark 'healed' me you could say."
Charlie rested his head on Maya's shoulder, closing his eyes, his fingers still drawing small patterns on her thigh. "So, what about Ace?" Noah asked.
Maya shook her head looking down at Charlie's hand. "I rejected him. I realized that I loved Charlie after we became distant, you know that feeling."
"What feeling?"
"When you don't realize how much a person means to you until they actually leave you." Maya stops Charlie's hand, tangling their fingers together. Maya's thumb rubbed over the back of Charlie's hand. Charlie knew that Maya most likely didn't mean a word she said, his heart still began to slam against his ribcage.
Noah began to believe that Charlie and Maya were truly a thing, his eyes softened as Maya placed a soft kiss against Charlie's temple. Charlie smiled even though his heart was breaking. Charlie moved so that he was sitting up straight, making direct eye contact with Noah, he needed to leave before he exploded. Maya noted how Charlie's body language changed in a matter of seconds. Maya cleared her throat and stood up, "I think we should get going, it was nice to see you again Noah." Maya said holding her head out. Noah grabbed her hand, shaking it, Charlie and Noah mirror the action before taking their leave.
Ace stood far away from anyone's view. His eyes grew a shade darker and darker with every small thing that Maya and Charlie did to each other. Zac decided that it would be a good thing that he came with Ace, which he was right because at the current moment he was holding Ace back from attacking Charlie. "Ace, relax." Zac said as he smacked Ace upside the back of his head.
Ace eyes were completely black as Maya and Charlie made their way towards him and Zac. Zac eyed Ace as his body tensed. Once Maya was close enough to Ace, he grabbed her and forcefully kissed her causing Maya's eyes to widen in surprise as soon as Ace's lips met hers. Placing her hands on Ace's chest, trying her best to push him back, knowing exactly why he was doing this, yet Ace wouldn't budge.
Maya grew frustrated quickly as well as Ace when he realized that Maya wasn't going to kiss him back. Maya picked up her foot and dug her heel into Ace's foot. Ace immediately pulled back grabbing his foot. Maya wiped her lips before she shook her head, disappointedly, dragging Charlie out of the restaurant with her.
Maya stormed out of the restaurant, tears brimming her eyes. Biting her, Maya made a sudden halt and broke down. A cold breeze harshly came in contact with Maya's bare legs, causing her knees to buckle. "C'mon, let's get you home." Charlie said as he wrapped an arm around Maya's waist to support her from falling. Maya placed her head on Charlie's shoulder as he led her to his car.
The blank navy blue walls were the only thing keeping Ace company as his mind began to overflow with thoughts. His arms were placed behind his head as his torso was fully exposed, his black Nike sweatpants hanging dangerously low at his hips. His silver eyes were sealed shut and his lips were parted slightly as his breathing evened out, his chest moving up in down in rhythm. The door opened revealing Zachary, yet Ace made no attempt to move, still kicking himself for what he did earlier. Knowing that it wasn't right and that he shouldn't have done it, yet he couldn't help himself. The need to let Charlie know that Maya was his was overpowering, that he forced himself on her without even noticing.
The bed dipped beside Ace as Zac sat down next to him. "You're really stupid, have I ever told you that?" Zac asked.
Ace opened one eye and peeked at his best friend before closing it again and turning his back towards Zac. Zac rolled his eyes. "Maybe instead of kicking yourself in the ass for what you did, why don't you try to make it right. Your skulking isn't helping you. Just thought I'd let you know that. Good night, Ace." Zac walked out of the room, shutting the light off before he shut the door, allowing the darkness to consume Ace.
The tires swerved into Maya's driveway. Charlie put the car in park and got out the car jogging to the other side to help Maya out the car. Maya sniffled as she stepped out the car, twisting her ankle as soon as her foot meets the ground, Charlie was quick to catch her, lifting her up bridal style. Maya wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck, trying to support herself.
Maya breathing became heavy as she released a few loud and sharp hiccups causing her to place her hand over her chest in pain.
Maya's eyes fluttered shut as her lips parted and her breathing began to steady again. Charlie looked down at the girl that laid in her arms, his eyes softening as his eyes raked across her face.
Charlie slowly made his way up the steps and into her house, some way, somehow, not dropping Maya in the process. Charlie softly placed Maya's body on her bed, getting ready to take his leave. Maya's hand shot up wrapping her hand around his wrist, pulling him towards her. Charlie stumbled over his feet, falling on top of Maya making her release a grunt of pain. "I'm sorry." He apologized and stood up.
"Please, stay with me tonight. I don't want to be alone." Maya begged as her blue eyes put Charlie into a trance, as she has so many times before. Charlie harshly swallowed the lump that began to form in his throat before slowly and hesitantly nodding his head. Maya's lips tugged upwards, softly smiling at Charlie.
For the next couple of days, Maya wouldn't allow Charlie to leave unless she was with him. Charlie couldn't understand as to why Maya was acting like this but he wasn't complaining, far from it. He was enjoying this behavior from Maya, yet couldn't think of any reason for it.