Maya and Charlie decided that they would take a walk through the woods that were close to Maya's house after they've returned. "Mom missed you a lot, thank you for going with me to see her today." Charlie said as he smiled softly at Maya.
Maya nodded her head with a smile identical to Charlie's. The sky was filled with reds, yellows, and oranges as Maya sat down in the grass, leaning against a tree. A comfortable silence fell over the two. Maya looked up at the setting sun, taking in the beautiful scenery, and just enjoying the moment that she spent with Charlie.
Maya straightens her slouched back before looking at Charlie, face stern and full of determination. "Hey, Charlie, can we, I mean I." Maya said pausing, taking a deep breath. "Can I talk to you about something?"
Charlie looked at Maya before he placed his head softly against the tree trunk, closing his eyes and humming softly towards Maya. "Of course, what's on your mind?"
Maya closed her eyes and began silently talking to herself. "Char, I've wanted to talk about this for a while now, yet, I was trying to figure everything out myself, but I finally figured everything out. I wish I could have said something sooner. So.. Char, I a-"
The sound or a snarly growl caused Maya to snap her mouth shut with a small yelp. Charlie's eyes immediately opened looking around. Quickly getting to his feet Charlie grabbed Maya's hand hosting her up and onto her feet, pulling her close to him. "Stay close, okay?"
Maya nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak. Charlie gripped Maya's waist tightly as another deadly growl ripped through the air. A black silhouette stepped out from behind a thick tree trunk making Maya jump. Yet Maya could help the grunt of annoyance to escape her lips as her declaration speak was interrupted. "Really, dickhead?" Maya said out loud making Charlie look at her funny.
"Me?" He asked.
Maya quickly shook her head. "No, him." She said lifting her arm up to point at the black shadow standing about fifteen feet away from them. Charlie narrowed his eyes as he looked over at the shadow.
"Maya, you should go back to the house." Charlie stated.
Now it was Maya's turn to look at Charlie as if he were crazy, "As if. I'm staying right here beside you, and nothing you say is changing my mind, got it?" Maya said with a stern look on her face as she looked between Charlie and the mystery person who somehow managed to get closer to them.
A ray of orange light hit the side of their face, exposing their left eye, their high cheekbones and a part of their nose. Their nose ring shined, retracting light toward Maya and Charlie. Charlie's chest vibrated as he released an inhuman growl of his own. "Noah." The word left Charlie's mouth in a harsh whisper.
Maya's eyes widened as she stared at the figure. His honey eyes stared back at her as more of his body began to get exposed in the different color lights. "Stalker much." Maya said releasing an unamused laugh.
Charlie glared down at Maya as his hand came down on the back of her shoulder, slapping her. Maya simply rolled her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. "What do you want, Noah?" Charlie asked as he pushed Maya behind himself, but Maya could help herself as she peeked from behind Charlie.
"Charlie, you know that I tend to think of you as a brother. And you know that brothers aren't supposed to lie to each other, right?" Noah's right eyebrow arched as his smirk grew wider. An unpleasant shiver ran down Maya's spine as she grabbed a fist full of Charlie's shirt, holding on for dear life.
Charlie's body went stiff when hearing those words leave Noah's lips. "What are you talking about?" He asked trying his best to keep his voice from wavering, the last thing Charlie wanted was for Noah to know that Charlie had lied to him. He had to, in order to keep her safe.
Noah laughed bitterly with his head thrown back. "Yours and Ace's little plan to keep your mate safe."
Charlie's light brown eyes became a few shades darker, almost becoming black. Maya's face dropped as her heart began to pound against her ribcage as she let her hands fall back down to her sides, her body shaking slightly but it was still noticeable. Her palms grew sweaty as her nails cut through the soft flesh. "What? Nothing to say now?" Noah asked as he took a few steps towards Charlie and Maya so he was about five feet away.
"Charlie." Maya whimpered, trying her best to hide behind Charlie, as Noah eyed her.
Charlie growled before turning around and grabbing Maya's waist pushing her body flush against his. "Whatever happens, just know that this is for you. I love you." Charlie leaned down, quickly placing a kiss on Maya's lips. Slowly moving away from Maya by the smallest amount Charlie's bones began to snap and rearrange until he was on four paws. Noah snickered before mirroring his actions. The two wolves stood tall as they growled and snapped their jaws open and close. Their eyes never left the others as they were having some sort of argument within their heads.
Maya backed up to only trip over the root of the tree that she and Charlie were previously sitting at and fell backward. Noah's head turned in her direction before bearing his teeth. Noah's legs bent before leaping up, aiming for Maya. Charlie noticed what Noah's intentions were before he could actually do anything. Jumping up as well Charlie's teeth dug deeply into Noah's neck, tackling him down to the ground. Noah released a weak growl that turned into a half whimper.
Maya watched as Noah and Charlie took turned attacking one another. Noah took a blow to the head as Charlie slammed him into a tree. It took a couple of seconds for Noah to regain himself, but he was still too late. Charlie pounced on top of Noah. They rolled around in the grass biting each other. Noah used his back legs to kick Charlie off of him. Charlie landed harshly on his back, hurting himself.
Maya couldn't do anything other than sitting there and watch as one tried to kill the other. Maya released a series of tears at the thought of losing Charlie. She couldn't bare the thought, but seeing this only made everything worse. Noah claws ran across Charlie's side, tearing the skin completely open. Charlie whimpered but never backed down. They both took a few steps back before running towards each other at full speed.
The sound of leaves crunching made Maya snap her head in the direction. Hazel and Zachary were walking down a dirt path together, laughing and enjoying themselves. "Hazel!" Maya called outstanding up and running towards her best friend.
"Maya? What's wrong?" Hazel asked.
Maya released a hazy breath as she looked desperately into Hazel's eyes. "Charlie, he - he needs help. There is no way he'll win this fight by himself."
Zac peeked over at the scene that began to unfold. His heart aches for Maya, synthesizing with her pain. "Stay with Maya, don't move. Understood?" Zac asked as he turned to Hazel for an answer.
Hazel's eyes widened as she reached for Zachary's arm, stopping him from leaving. "Are you insane?!" Her face held a frantic expression. "Did you not hear what Maya just said? There is no way he'll win, what makes you think you'll win."
Zac smiled and kissed Hazel on the forehead sweetly, "Because I don't lose." He removed her hand from his wrist and ran off into the fight, transforming in the process. Hazel looked down at the shaking form in front of her.
Frowning, Hazel comfortably wrapped her arms around Maya's small figure as Zac rammed his head into Noah's side. Charlie's breathing was heavy as he was covered in bite marks and scratches. Zac had just joined the fight and already had some deep gauges and a bite around his right front leg.
Noah went to attack Charlie but Zac was faster and beat him there. A howl of pain filled the air as Zac's teeth tore through the flesh of Noah's lower abdominal area. Maya flinched just by hearing the sound, squeezing her eyes shut, tightly.
The woods fell quite. Maya peeled her eyes opened slowly drinking in the scene in front of her.
Noah was covered in blood, a bit of Charlie's and Zachary's, but most of it was his. A deep claw mark ran down Noah's side, dripping onto the grass. Noah transformed back into his human form holding, curled up into a tight ball crying out in pain.
Hazel was by Zac's side before he could even transform back. Hazel held his hand talking to him, her face red. Charlie shifted back and immediately went running towards Maya, only to get a rush of pain throughout his entire body. His body falls backward.
"Charlie!"