Chapter 17
Marco
Iknew what Maya would want to do following the information we were given, so I hadn’t even asked her.
My beautiful mate was one of the most compassionate and loving individuals I’d ever met, so when we found out that Malcolm did in fact have two captives, there was really only one option—prepare to keep her safe during the rescue mission.
Honestly, I wasn’t very concerned about the threat Malcolm posed, but did I like the idea of Maya being around him? Absolutely not.
Ever since our one argument, though, I’d learned that because Maya trusted me to take the reins so often, when she felt strongly about doing something herself, it was usually for a good reason. This time it wasn’t even a point I could argue.
I only hoped that she understood Malcolm would die tonight. I don’t think the concept would bother her in theory, but I also knew she would never directly ask us to do it.
She didn’t need to ask, though—I would take great pleasure in slitting his fucking throat for her. Or better yet, ripping it out with my dragon’s teeth.
I blinked away from that violent thought as I watched her get dressed and move around the room, the delicate ‘tink’ of her new necklace making me tilt my head in thought.
I nearly shook my head at the scene I’d walked in on moments ago, not out of anger, but out of…
frustration? No, I wasn’t frustrated—especially not at Maya.
Maybe worried was the best word. The idea of bringing someone else into our family caused me stress, even if it was someone that seemed to do fairly well on his own without any aid and was extremely helpful.
It still stressed me out. Despite any bravado we put on, my dragon would automatically consider Az someone who was part of our flight now, someone we needed to protect. I had no idea how I felt about that, so I was trying to go with the flow, hoping that this would work out how it was supposed to.
I may have been a possessive motherfucker, but I wasn’t blind, and it was clear to me how much Maya cared for Az.
It was obvious that they shared a special connection, and while my instinct was to initially be defensive, something had held me back following his rebirth, and not only because he’d sacrificed his life for my mate.
I’d known somehow, on a subconscious level, that he would be sticking around.
Running a hand over my face, I tried to not let my thoughts draw to Maya dying—or how much had changed in such a short amount of time.
My gaze darted to the place where Maya’s crown sat, and I smiled at the thought of how beautiful and nervous she had looked up there.
She hadn’t faltered once, and while she was still getting used to the concept, I could tell she believed in herself to an extent.
I just hoped I could convince her to believe in herself completely—I didn’t think the world was ready for Queen Maya, but I couldn’t wait.
It appeared Bella was excited about Maya being Queen as well, considering she had already decided that her crown was now her newest toy.
Maya’s crown sparkled throwing lights throughout the room, because of its vicinity to the lamp on the nightstand—something Bella was finding all too entertaining.
Between that and batting at the jewels on the crown, it was clear she was loving the new object.
“You’re quiet right now,” she noted softly, drawing my attention as she slid on a dark hoodie with her leggings and sneakers.
I know she didn’t plan on shifting, so I was glad she was dressed warm.
I also noticed she had packed a bag of clothing and supplies for our rescue mission.
I was hoping it would distract her enough that she wouldn’t see the brutal revenge I planned to enact on Malcolm.
“Thinking about everything that happened today,” I admitted.
Maya approached and slid a hand up my chest. “Your father?—”
“Was exactly as he always is.” I covered her hand in mine, not wanting her to think that was where my thoughts were.
That moment had been relatively inconsequential.
“He asked to be invited to our wedding, but that was it—nothing else. The man isn’t bad, he’s just obsessed with his own work and his own life.
Same as my mother. It was why it was so easy for me to leave.
They weren’t cruel, they were just nothing. ”
“Maybe it’ll get better,” Maya said. “Maybe if they spend more time with family… Well, unless you don’t want that.”
“Let’s take it slow,” I hedged. Even though she hadn’t said it directly, I knew Maya wanted a large family. I could tell it made her happy to be surrounded by those she loved, and I was damn well willing to give her anything she wanted.
“We will, of course, have to invite them over more once they have grandbabies to see,” I added.
Maya’s eyes shaded with a soft heat as she blushed. “Yeah? Well, if this freakin’ mating heat ever started?—”
I lifted her and pinned her to the wall, brushing her lips against mine as I tightened my hands underneath her legs, unable to help my reaction to her talking about her damn mating heat.
She wasn’t the only one impatient for it, especially now that the largest threat had been taken care of and the secondary would be finished by the end of the night. “Eager?”
“I’m slightly nervous,” she murmured. “But mostly eager. I just don’t like waiting—that’s the part that’s making me nervous. How will I know when it starts?”
Oh, she would fucking know.
“And then there is everything to consider that comes with the mating heat, like the entire pregnancy situation. I mean, that is a huge aspect to consider.”
“How do you feel about the idea of getting pregnant, baby girl? How does that possibility make you feel now that we’re drawing closer to it?
” As much as the primal part of me demanded we make it happen right the fuck now, I also wanted Maya to be comfortable with that.
She had spent so much of life locked away, and now that she was finally experiencing freedom and starting on a new journey, I wanted to support her in any way I could.
Even if every base instinct wanted to overflow her pussy with cum until there was no fucking way she wouldn’t get pregnant.
The idea of starting a flight of our own fledglings was so damn appealing, it made my cock pulse with eagerness, wanting to take her on this damn bed in hopes of instigating her heat.
Maya’s eyes filled with a warmth as her cheeks flushed. “I think I want that. I know we will be busy with so many other things going on, but I want to grow our family, Marco. I want to start living life and stop living in fear.”
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Then that’s what we'll do, Maya. I’ll always try to give you exactly what you want.”
A knock on the door had both of us looking to Henry, who offered me a low rumble but focused on Maya. “You ready to go?”
Maya shimmied down, her hot body rubbing against mine and causing me to grunt as she waltzed across the room, zipped up her bag, and pulled it over her shoulders. “Yes, totally good—let’s finish this.”
Violence flashed through my vision at her words, courtesy of my dragon, feeling like they were permission to truly finish this.
Henry and I followed her downstairs as she asked him questions about which way we were flying. I was caught up in watching her, though, noticing the subtle things that had changed in her since being reborn.
Maya had always been drop-dead gorgeous, but since being reborn, she seemed to have an ethereal glow surrounding her like a vibrant sun that you couldn’t help but be pulled to, the gravitational force of who she was and the power she held absolutely addicting.
I kept waiting for the calm to shatter, for her to have a breakdown about everything that had happened, but in some ways, this situation—the suffering she’d undergone—was something she was unfortunately accustomed to, coming from the background she had.
It was something I fucking hated, but I couldn’t deny that truth.
The way she had moved on and faced the overwhelming amount of things that had happened in the past few days was mind-boggling, motivating me to match that level of dedication.
Which is why I had finally found a use for all this damn money.
I’d been given a guarantee that Maya’s new kingdom would be ready within two months, and considering the contractors I hired were shifters, the best in the business, and had connections to the import and export industry, I trusted in their ability to get it done.
I would make sure that Maya spent her first Christmas with us here in her new home with the people that already were gaining a steadfast loyalty to her.
I may not have loved the idea of sharing Maya because I was a selfish bastard, but I couldn’t deny that she was already changing lives, already giving hope to those that had felt trapped for so long.
It was clear as day that this is what Maya was meant to do, and I would do anything I could to help and encourage her.
“So who am I riding?” Maya asked curiously. My lips twitched as she cast me a small teasing smile, amusement in her gaze. She absolutely knew what she was doing, and the groan that Henry let out had her eyes flashing with heat and victory.
“Me, baby girl. I need you close to me if we’re going close to this bastard again,” I said, unhappy that we only had a limited scope on what we were walking into. I had no doubt we could defeat him, but he had an element of surprise that I didn’t like in the least.