“Mam, you can’t go inside. How did you even come here?”
Maya, Levi, and Rish looked at the two guys standing on the pack’s territory they needed to enter.
Priya’s face was filled with questions. Why had they stopped? Wasn’t this Maya’s hometown, as she had said? So why weren’t they being allowed in?
What was going on? She scanned her surroundings.
It was as confusing as hell, even more confusing than Priyank.
“I wanted to talk to the security head. Do you think you can stop me? Just call Jackson. He will identify me,” Maya growled, losing her patience – her patience running on thin lines.
She just hated this interrogation. She knew this would happen. Coming back after so many years, things would have changed.
Still, she couldn’t deny that she found it disrespectful, no matter what. She couldn’t just accept it.
She was the sister of the queen. She was a doctor who had treated so many people. She felt proud of her identity. She never wanted to lose it.
Staying away from the pack didn’t mean she didn’t have roots. She was still the same, and would always be the same, until she died like her sister, who had once been the queen of this pack.
“How do you know about Beta Jackson? He’s not working now; he’s retired,” the man standing tall asked.
“So who’s in charge now? Call that person,” Rish came forward and stood in front of the guys, being protective towards his mother.
“Do you hear yourself, kid? This place is off-limits. Go away, all of you,” another guy angrily grumbled.
“We’re not going back. If my mom says she needs to meet Jackson, even if he’s retired, how about calling him?” Rish stated, not backing down at all.
“You prick,” the man raised his hand and punched Rish in the face, making him stumble back. Maya immediately supported his back.
Priya and Levi both gasped as Rish’s nose started bleeding.
“Go away, all of you, if you don’t want to die.”
“You just punched my son, you fools,” Maya shouted, her eyes glowing. Even though she couldn’t use her powers, being on pack territory made her feel active again, like it was before 18 years.
Her anger radiated, her voice changed. She was high on her wolf instincts, ready to fight, ready to let her wolf out.
Her motherly instinct brought everything out from her.
“Mom,” Levi came towards her mother, not wanting everyone to see Maya losing her temper. She could feel her mother’s wolf coming out, which was terrifying.
Since leaving the pack, her mother hadn’t been able to use her wolf. Seeing this was tough, and it was the first time Levi and Rish had seen something like this since their childhood, so it was more terrifying.
She didn’t want her mother to get hurt because her mother was already old, and it had been 18 years since she had used her wolf powers, so fighting these two big guys wasn’t a good idea.
Levi’s blood was boiling too, seeing her brother hurt, but she knew it was better to stay reasonable.
Levi took a deep breath, trying to keep a level head amidst the chaos.
“Mom, calm down. We can handle this calmly,” she said, her voice firm but soothing.
Maya looked at Levi, her eyes still glowing with fury, but the warmth of Levi’s words seemed to penetrate the rage. Slowly, the intensity in her eyes softened, and she took a deep breath, trying to rein in her wolf instincts.
“Okay,” Maya said, her voice still trembling with emotion. “Let’s… let’s try to sort this out peacefully.”
Rish, holding a tissue to his bleeding nose, nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Mom. We don’t need more trouble.”
Maya nodded, her hands trembling slightly as she held onto Rish’s shoulder for support. She turned to the men blocking their way.
“We just want to speak to Beta Jackson, please,” she said, her voice more composed now. “We’re not here to cause trouble.”
The men exchanged uneasy glances, clearly taken aback by Maya’s sudden shift in demeanour.
“We… we’ll go and find someone,” one of them said hesitantly. “Just wait here.”
With that, the two men hurried off, leaving Maya and her children standing in the entrance of the pack territory. Maya let out a shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Are you okay, Rish?” Levi asked, concern evident in her voice.
Rish nodded, his nose still bleeding but the bleeding had slowed down. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just a little sore.”
Levi reached into her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues, handing them to Rish. “Here, use these.”
As Rish cleaned himself up, Maya looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings of her pack. Despite the tension and the altercation, there was a sense of belonging that washed over her.
Priya remained frozen in fear, her mind racing as she watched Maya’s eyes glowing like a monster’s. Was this the same kind of monster Mary read about in books? The ones who take people and eat them? Priya’s mind was a jumble of panicked thoughts; she didn’t know what to do.
She wanted to run, to flee like she did from Priyank, but she couldn’t. They were in a forest, filled with wild animals. But how could Maya’s eyes glow like that?
Maya glanced at Priya, realizing she had forgotten about her presence and had lost control. “Fuck,” she silently cursed to herself.
Levi noticed her mom’s gaze towards Priya and understood how strange and unsettling it must be for Priya, which was evident from the expression on her face.
“Priya?” Levi tapped on Priya’s shoulder.
Startled, Priya jerked back, overwhelmed by the sudden touch and her racing thoughts.
“Priya, are you okay?” Levi asked, concern evident in her voice.
Priya took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She wasn’t sure what to say because, of course, she wasn’t okay. She was beyond that word; she had just witnessed human eyes glowing like light.
What was she feeling? She was terrified, scared for her life.
“Are you okay, Priya? You don’t have to be scared. Things will make sense soon, just be patient, trust us. We mean no harm, I assure you,” Maya reassured her, trying to calm her down.