Chapter 7
Maya
The oven pings and I take out the pizzas. I cut them into slices, dig out some plates and put them all on the little table.
When Forge comes back in, he looks pleased. “Meat supreme and BBQ chicken. Wasn’t sure which one you’d like best,” he says.
I love the way he’s thoughtful like this. Looking at him, most people wouldn’t guess that about him. I get a little thrill, feeling like it’s something secret I know about him.
We sit down to eat right away. Forge demolishes his slices in minutes, but I only get halfway through mine.
“While you were asleep, I was looking up some old contacts,” he says, wiping his lips on a napkin. “But I wanted to ask you about your brother, get an idea of what kind of guy he is.”
I sigh, prop my elbows on the table. “He’s a hothead, basically.
He was like that ever since he was a little kid.
His dad was killed when he was three, and it’s like he became a saint in Demetrius’s mind.
Demetrius couldn’t wait until he was old enough to go looking for vengeance.
My mum begged him not to. Begged him to focus on his studies instead.
On his human side. But he didn’t want any of that.
Everything was about avenging his father’s death.
I used to wonder what he’d do if he got what he wanted.
It’s gonna leave a hell of an empty spot in his life. ”
Forge nods thoughtfully. “Does you mom know anything?”
I shake my head. “She promised me that she doesn’t know who killed my stepdad. Being a human, she wasn’t privy to werewolf business, and she didn’t want anything to do with the pack.”
“Did your brother have any other leads at all?”
I shake my head. “Don’t think so. And he’s not one to think things through in a logical way. He has two close buddies, and I get the impression he convinced them to go with him and they all roared off into the sunset together. Who knows what they’ve been doing.”
Forge looks dumbfounded, his eyebrows dropping lower and lower. “So, what was your strategy for finding Demetrius?”
“Oh, I took a map and marked out all the werewolf territories in the state. I knew it would be too dangerous to visit them by myself, so I stopped at the nearest towns and showed Demetrius’s photo around, trying to find out if anyone had seen him.
Then I got a lead, and then another one, and then someone sent me to Perdue Town.
To be honest, I think they sent me off on the wrong trail.
It didn’t really sound like the kind of place my brother would hang out.
But I felt like I just had to check it out.
I just had this sense that if I didn’t go there, I’d miss out on something real important—” I break off and stare at Forge.
Because something—which has nothing to do with my brother—just occurred to me.
Forge’s eyes have a laser beam intensity as they lock onto mine.
Is he thinking the same thing? Is he thinking that something stronger than my will drove me to Perdue, so the two of us could meet today?
It seems incredible. But ever since I crossed the threshold of his tattoo shop, I’ve felt like I’m in the presence of a powerful force.
That’s there’s some kind of pattern sketched out in the heavens, and I’m being drawn right into it.
“With your permission, I’ll send that photo of your brother to my contacts, see if anyone recognizes him. Would that be okay?”
I think for a moment. “Can’t see any harm in it, I guess. Sounds a lot more efficient than me traipsing around in my little car,” I say, with a dry laugh.
Forge looks serious again. “Maya, listen to me. What you’ve done for your brother is amazing. Don’t undermine your efforts. They go well beyond the call of duty. You put yourself in so much danger for him. I just hope he’s worthy of it.”
From his frown, I get the impression he thinks my hothead brother isn’t worth such a sacrifice.
“It’s about my mom,” I remind him. “She’s the one I really want to help.”
His eyes soften, and he reaches across the table for my hand. “Tell me about her,” he says.
And I do. I tell him what I remember of her when I was real small.
“A couple of years after Demetrius’s father was killed, she had a short-lived relationship with a human guy, which is how I came into the world.
I think she really loved him. Seemed like he was a lot kinder than my stepfather.
But when I was four, he met someone else, and he left her. That really broke her heart.”
Pain flashes in Forge’s eyes. I don’t understand at first, but then my heart flips, as I realize—he feels bad for me.
“You still see a lot of your father?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Nope, he started a family with his second wife, and he doesn’t want anything to do with me. Guess I can’t blame him. He moved to the other side of the country and seems like he just wanted a clean break—”
I break off because now Forge looks so mad I expect smoke to pour out of his nostrils. He’s gnashing his teeth and the bones in his face broaden. I see his animal rising to the surface, and I give a little whimper of fear.
Right away, it recedes again.
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Forge grinds out.
“But—that fucking spineless prick.” He bangs his fist on the table.
“How could he just leave you like that? I bet you were an absolute little princess, and he just walked away from you. I’d like to hunt him down, knock some decency into him.
” His eyes are blazing so hard, I’m surprised he hasn’t burned some holes through the wall of the cabin.
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “Sure, it hurt at the time. I remember being sad, and asking when daddy was gonna come back. And my mom telling me I don’t have a daddy anymore. But I’m over it now. It was a long time ago.”
“No, Maya—” He bites off the end of the word, as if he realized he was talking too loud.
“This is a big part of why you’re so self-effacing.
Always feeling like you’re being overlooked.
” He shakes his head in disbelief. “Just look at you. You’re perfect.
You would’ve been a joy for any parent. But your parents were too wrapped up in themselves and their own problems to realize it. ”
I stare at him wordlessly. My heart is beating real fast, and I’m trembling all over.
“Come here, baby.” He sweeps me off the chair and into his arms, and holds me tenderly, rocking me.
He’s right. I’ve never wanted to admit these things to myself. I’ve spent my whole life pushing them away, because I knew if I ever acknowledged them, I’d fall apart. But now Forge has opened up that place in my heart, which I kept under lock and key, and I feel all raw and exposed.
“It really hurt,” I whimper. “First, my dad leaving me, and then my mom just never having any time for me.” I’m snuffling like a small animal, but I can’t stop myself.
I burrow my head into Forge’s big chest and give into it.
I’m scared he’ll laugh at me, or push me away, horrified that I’m acting like a baby.
But he doesn’t. He just holds me and rocks me and makes these growly, soothing noises.
“You’re never going to be overlooked again, Maya. Do you hear me?” he says. “You’re number one, always.”
Number one? My breath catches. It’s the second time he’s said that.
I don’t trust myself to reply. This can’t be real. I must’ve conjured up this big gruff wolf man in my lonely dreams. If I say anything I might wake up and find I imagine the whole thing and I’m just sleeping in my car in a backstreet of Perdue Town.
I lift my head. I have to tell him the truth. “My mom made me promise not to take a shifter as a mate,” I blurt out. “She said they’d break my heart.”
His thick eyebrows tug together. “And you agreed?”
I nod. “Yup. I put my hand on hers and made an oath.”
I expect him to look mad, or wounded, but he just nods thoughtfully.
Then he sets me down gently on the floor.
I stumble a little.
“You’re all wrung out, aren’t you, honey?” There’s that tenderness in his voice again.
I nod dumbly.
“Let’s get you to bed.” He leads me to the bathroom, brings my toiletries bag so I can brush my teeth.
When I emerge a few minutes later, he gets up from his laptop and guides me over to the bed. He’s remade it neatly, the comforter folded back, and the pillows plumped up. “Have a good long sleep, and we’ll talk some more in the morning,” he tells me. “Relax, and know you’re safe here.”
“Where will you be?” I demand as he plants a kiss on my cheek.
“Just outside.”
“No—” I exclaim, hearing the distress in my own voice. After everything I’ve been through today, I don’t want to be apart from him. I need to have him near me. “Please sleep here, with me.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
He sighs heavily. “It’s not always so easy for me to control my wolf at night, Maya. Especially if we’re in bed together—” He falls silent for a while. Then he seems to come to a decision.
“Okay,” he says at last. He climbs into the other side of the bed. Somehow, he manages to position his huge bulk far enough away that there’s a couple of feet of space between us.
He flicks off the lamp on the nightstand, and darkness envelops us.
And somehow I’m even more aware of his proximity. The sound of his breathing. His intoxicating scent.
Now I’m wondering how I’ll be able to sleep with him beside me.