With purposeful strides...
Maxwell carried Lydia through the building's corridors, balancing her in his strong arms protectively.
And despite her confusion about everything happening and her eyes covered, Lydia felt an odd sense of security in this man's arms.
Her breathing was steady as all she could feel was just peace in her mind. It was as if Maxwell was somehow emitting peace.
After a few minutes of walking, Maxwell reached his Maybach that was parked at one corner outside the building. He bent slightly as he maneuvered them both into the vehicle.
"Here we are, love." He said softly as he removed the scarf from her face, after helping her settle on the plush backseat.
"This is a car?" Lydia couldn't help but marvel inwardly as her eyes took in the interior of the Maybach.
It was so spacious that it felt more like a private lounge than the backseat of a car.
The moment Maxwell settled beside her, his hands immediately found her cheeks, cupping them with a tenderness that contradicted his earlier display of violence.
The instant their skin made contact, Lydia felt a strange warmth spread through her body - not just from his touch, but something deeper, as if her very pulse was syncing to his.
He leaned forward, his face so close to hers that she could count every dark lash framing his intense eyes. The spacious backseat suddenly felt intimate, suffocating in the best possible way.
She could feel his emotions washing over her - relief at having her close, burning protectiveness, and something darker, more possessive.
"Now tell me, who attempted murder on you?" Maxwell's voice was soft but carried an underlying steel that made her pulse quicken.
Lydia's eyes widened in surprise. She had expected him to move on from the topic, maybe ask her about dinner or something else. The fact that he was still this invested, still burning with the need to know, caught her completely off guard.
"You're still thinking about that?" She asked in a whisper.
"I haven't stopped thinking about it since I heard your press conference." His thumbs traced gentle circles on her cheekbones, but his eyes were blazing with barely contained fury.
"Someone tried to kill you, love. That's not something I can just forget."
"Do you suspect anyone around you? There has to be someone. An enemy, a rival, someone who wanted you gone." His voice was deadly calm now, which somehow made it more terrifying than his earlier fury.
Despite the overwhelming intensity of his presence, despite the way his touch made her thoughts scatter like leaves in the wind, Lydia found herself wanting to tell him everything.
But she also felt the need to protect herself from this stranger who seemed to know her better than she knew herself.
"A paper was found at the accident scene... carrying a death threat." She divulged hesitantly.
Maxwell's hands stilled on her face, his entire body going rigid. Lydia felt his fury as if it were her own - a wave of ice-cold rage that made her shiver despite the car's warmth.
"But I have no idea who sent it or why." She added.
The temperature in the car seemed to drop several degrees as Maxwell's expression darkened. She could see him fighting to control his rage, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he processed this information.
Lydia found herself holding her breath, as if his emotional state was somehow affecting her ability to breathe normally.
Knowing what he would likely ask, Lydia shook her head, pulling back slightly from his touch and added;
"I lost my memory from the accident. I can't remember anything. Not who might want to hurt me, not why someone would send that threat. Nothing." She said quickly, not wanting to share everything with this man she barely knew.
How would she even begin to tell him that she was reborn as Allison Lowell and was from the past?
"What did the paper say?" This question wasn't only asked by Maxwell, another voice that wasn't from the car, had joined his, asking the same question at the same time.
Maxwell wasn't shocked, he could already feel the presence of a supposed rival.
But before Lydia could show her shock, the car rocked slightly, making the duo inside dance awkwardly in their seats as they swayed from the unexpected movement. Maxwell's arms instinctively tightened around her, pulling her closer.
Then the left door by Maxwell's side opened, Jason Cruz making an appearance like a thief in the night. Only that it was still daytime.
He had also been at the press conference, listening to everything but before he could get to her, Maxwell was bringing her to his car.
Lydia's heart skipped a beat as her eyes met Jason's. Her eyes blinked as she wondered why. She instantly felt a sudden pull toward him, a warmth that was different from what she felt with Maxwell but equally intense, her eyes rebelliously wanting to stay on his face longer.
She could notice his golden eyes blazing with the same protective fury she had seen in Maxwell's dark gaze.
"You finally decided to show your face!" Maxwell scoffed with deadly calm, though he made no move to release Lydia from his protective embrace.
If anything, he seemed to be basking in her warmth, savoring every moment of the contact as if to scream she belonged to him alone.
She could feel his possessiveness spike, like a wave of heat washing through her chest but her human mind couldn't process what it meant. And at the same time, Jason's own hit her, making her chest tighten as if the heat would consume her.
"Angel, Let me have the paper... I need to see if there's any way it can be useful to track down whoever dared hurt my mate." Jason's voice was urgent as he talked to Lydia, his eyes fixed on hers, as if Maxwell wasn't there at all.
*My mate.* There was that phrase again, spoken with such possessive certainty that it made Lydia's pulse race.
"As in soulmate or what?" Lydia tried to figure out the meaning of the term 'mate'. She didn't know this term was far more intense in its meaning.
Maxwell let out a cold short laugh as he turned his attention to the werewolf.
"She's mine, not yours, pup. And a child like you doesn't need to concern himself with finishing her enemies for her. I'm more than capable of handling that task myself." He snapped.
Jason's body went rigid at the insult, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"Child? Well, this child knows way better than an oldie like you... At least I don't terrorize her with threats of murder and violence." He retorted.
That was all it took for Maxwell's legendary temper to snap. In one motion, he was sliding out of the car, his hand reaching for Jason's throat with predatory speed.
"What are..." Lydia was about to protest but Maxwell had already closed the door behind him.
She watched in alarm as Maxwell grabbed Jason by the throat with inhuman speed. Jason's response was equally swift and unnaturally powerful, his grip on Maxwell's wrist strong enough that she could see the veins bulging in both men's arms from the strain.
There was something wrong with the way they moved - too fast, too fluid, too predatory.
And their eyes... Though, it was daytime, both men's eyes seemed to reflect light in a way that made her stomach twist with unease.
*This isn't normal,* her mind screamed. *Something is very wrong here.*
Yet, her fear was mixed with concern as she watched the two men she was inexplicably drawn to prepare to tear each other apart over her.
Without thinking, she threw open the car door and stepped out.
"Both of you, stop it right now!" She yelled.
Maxwell and Jason froze, their supernatural features immediately retracting as they turned to look at her.
She stood there like an avenging angel, her hair flowing around her shoulders and her eyes spitting anger.
"I don't know what's wrong with you two, but you're acting like children fighting over a toy! And I am not a toy!" She yelled again, this time like a mother scolding two stubborn children.
Both men quickly retreated, their heads dropping in what could only be described as shame. Even the light in their eyes had somehow dimmed.
"You both want to know about the paper? Well, I'm not showing either of you." Lydia scoffed before continuing, her anger building with each word;
"It's my problem. This is my fight, and I will fight it by myself!"
That was like shooting bullets through the men's hearts, at the same time, they both took a step forward instinctively, wanting to reach for her.
"Love, I won't let you face any threat when I can easily..." Maxwell began desperately.
"Angel, I only want to protect..." Jason started at the same time.
"I don't want to hear it!" Lydia cut them both off with a sharp raise of her hand.
"I'm not giving either of you the paper. And I'm ordering both of you—don't you dare follow me."
The authority in her voice was absolute, and both incredibly dangerous men had their lips pressed together like properly chastened children.
Without another word, Lydia turned on her heel and walked away.
As she disappeared around the corner, a realization dawned on her;
The way those two dangerous men had responded to her scolding was unbelievably comical. Only her stern voice reduced the men who could certainly destroy cities with their bare hands, to sulking children.
"This is certainly something extraordinary. Me, that no man ever wanted to even look at twice is now controlling two incredibly dangerous hot men? What have I become in this life?" Her confusion slowly gave way to excitement and a small smile crept onto her lips as she wondered, not knowing the kind of serious effect she had on them.
At that moment, her mind couldn't focus on the problem on her hands, she could feel butterflies in her stomach and joy radiating all over her heart.
"What is this feeling?" One part of her mind that wasn't completely blindfolded by the sweet sensation wondered.