6. Maia
6
MAIA
“ H ere you go,” Ben says, handing me the hot chocolate that Seb made, with only the pride a younger brother stealing an accomplishment could have. I take it, sniffing the drink, and smile as the chocolatey fumes tease my nose. A warmth fills me, and not from the heat of the cup in my hands, but because I have a drink, and I didn’t have to make it for myself.
It’s been so long since someone truly took the time to do something like this just because he can.
Christopher regained control of himself after our hug and herded us all into my living room, maintaining a solid five foot distance between me and him. I don’t think he’s even made eye contact with me since, which is very disappointing. I absolutely loved the small meeting I had with Orion, and I’m disheartened that it wasn’t longer.
It’s strange, considering they’re the same person, but Orion was much, much nicer.
Seb made me a sandwich, whispering a silent promise of something more once everything is handled. When I mentioned being cold, he even made me my hot chocolate without even a hint of complaint .
The five of us are now spread around the living room, Phoebe passed out blissfully in her Moses’s basket, and I’m avoiding looking at the men surrounding me because I don’t know what I’ll see.
I can feel the tension in the air, though, and it’s not comfortable at all.
“We’ve not really been introduced to each other,” Alexander says, inching forward on the sofa. He gives me a polite smile and nods his head. “So, I’m Alexander, I’m the second-born, and I much prefer to be called Alex. As already mentioned, my wolf is called Max, but I have no doubt he’ll make your acquaintance himself soon.”
“I’m Ben—Benjamin if you’re my mum—and my favourite colour is orange. Sometimes green, sometimes brown, but never purple,” Ben says, ticking them off on his finger.
The serious look in his eyes when he mentions purple makes me hesitant to admit that’s my favourite colour.
“I like most food and am the nicest of the four of us. I also have the biggest—” Alex, Christopher, and Seb growl here, and Ben makes a big show of winking at me. “Heart. The biggest heart .” He smirks, and the blue flecks in his eyes shine brighter. “Honestly, Maia, these dirty minds. How ever will we cope?”
“Ben’s had his turn,” I say with a small teasing tone to my voice. Mostly, I’m overwhelmed and want to get this over and done with.
Alex sighs, looking between his two brothers, but when neither of them speak, he takes over and does it for them. “Seb is quiet but loyal, and Topher is a dick but even more loyal. All four of us prefer our nicknames because, for some reason, my mum thought four very long names would be best so that we’d match .” He gives me a wry smile, but I’m hesitant to return it. “We’re all twenty-six, so a little older than you are, and obviously, we’re werewolves.”
We fall to silence, and I can feel Alex’s stare on the side of my face as he waits for me to say something. But what does he want to know that I haven’t already shared during the grilling that took place at his mum and dad’s place?
My nickname? I don’t have one of those.
My favourite colour? I’d much rather not be crucified by Ben.
“Well let’s move on, then,” Alex says with another sigh. I feel slightly guilty since he’s putting the effort in and trying, but it’s not getting us very far when I still know nothing of true value about them.
“I’m not sorry I took your choice away back at my parent’s house,” Christopher says. My head snaps up, and I know I’m glaring at the prick. He’s so unashamed, so fucking rigid, and still avoiding looking at me. “We needed to get out of there and not cause another scene like you did and deter the entire night further.”
He crosses his arms in front of his chest, kicking his leg up over his knee.
“I am so sorry my child shifting into a wolf ruined your evening,” I hiss. “Don’t you think that was terrifying to me? Don’t you think it ruined my day— my life ?”
He shrugs. “A wolf is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to her. Phoebe is a very lucky girl.”
“Enough, Topher,” Alex says, giving his brother a piercing look, but the dickhead, of course, refuses to acknowledge it. Alex shakes his head, his frustration clear to see. “Maia, look at me. Ignore the others, just for a minute.”
It’s hard to do that. Christopher incites my anger, and Ben makes me cautious. He’s very overeager, extremely excitable, and has very little boundaries or understanding of social norms.
Seb’s hard to ignore because he’s so focused on my daughter that I can barely glance at her without catching sight of him, too. It’s almost like he’s on guard, patiently waiting for a threat to emerge before he shows me his dangerous side.
“We are in a very precarious state right now as a quad,” Alex says. “And whilst finding you is the absolute ultimate blessing, we wish we were more secure so that we can protect you—to protect you both.”
“I don’t understand. I’m not… I’m not a blessing.”
“You’re the ultimate blessing, Maia,” Alex replies, and his eyes are bright silver when he says this. There’s no voice change, like when Orion took over before, so I can’t tell whether the words come from him or his wolf… but they’re nice to hear, either way.
I take a small sip of my drink to avoid replying. This situation isn’t what I expected. Not at all.
“Our female birth population is low,” Alex continues. “Every single year as a species, we have fewer females being born, and whilst, to some, it’s not majorly problematic, it has become a status thing. The more born female wolves a pack has, the better its overall ranking.”
“I’m not keyed up on the politics of werewolves,” I snark. “So, you’ll need to dumb this down further for me. Why do we care about the ranking of a pack?”
“It determines everything,” Christopher says, looking straight over the top of my head. His perfect jaw is clenched, and I can feel his tenseness. “If my fathers were challenged tomorrow by an outside alpha, and they drew, the determining factor would be the ranking of our pack. If we were low ranking, we could lose our homes, our status as the future alphas, and even lose our pack completely, all because we’re not strong enough to care for our born females.”
“And whilst we’re not in the middle ages anymore, where that was a common occurrence, it does still come into play today. It affects our tradings, our democracy, and our wealth. We’ve got a modest sized pack—312 wolves—and of those wolves, we have nineteen born females.”
“Is that a good number?”
“Yes,” Alex says with a nod. “But that’s the reason that you’re in danger—that we need to protect Phoebe . ”
My eyes widen as a chill runs down my spine. “She’s a born female wolf.”
“She is. There’s a current… movement in our world that we strongly oppose.”
“Strongly,” Seb adds with a deep growl. His eyes lock with mine like he’s telling me something. I just don’t understand what.
The spell between us is broken when Alex starts speaking again. “The movement is for all female wolves to be mated at sixteen to the most… virile members of the pack in an effort to take advantage of their most fertile times and try to boost our numbers.”
Panic fills me, and my eyes dart to Phoebe, who is sleeping so peacefully. Every so often she makes a little grunting sound as she adjusts herself, and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
How could… how could that be her future?
She’d still be a child— my child.
“At sixteen they’re still children .” I’m mortified, and I can’t believe this is something parents need to worry about.
Fuck, I can’t believe this is something parents are considering .
“We know,” Alex says softly. “And we’re very opposed to the idea. However, there are other packs who are strong advocates for it, Maia. That is why you being with us is so imperative. It’s why we need to know about Ryan, so we can identify his pack and see if there’s a danger there.”
I frown and turn to Christopher, wondering if this is why he wanted us out of there so badly. “Your parents? Where do they stand on this issue?”
“Undetermined,” Alex says, and Christopher clenches his jaw. “There are quite a few… risky plans that are being floated around to try and raise our numbers, but none of the others are quite this illegal.”
“Why is the low birth numbers even an issue?” I ask, burrowing further into the warmth of my sofa. I’m clutching my hot chocolate but can’t calm my anxious stomach enough to take another sip.
“I, personally, didn’t think it was an issue,” Alex replies.
“Until?”
“Until a lot of babies born from a human and wolf match were unable to shift, and that trend has been increasing,” Christopher says. “Female numbers have been on a decline for the last fifty or so years, but it’s only been this last decade where they’ve been at an all-time low.”
“And if females are being born but aren’t turning into wolves…”
“We risk our entire species dying out,” Christopher says. Well, fuck.
“But you can turn people into werewolves, yes?”
Christopher sighs as if me having questions about a world I know literally nothing about is so inconvenient. I swear, if I was able to run, I’d punch that look off his face. “My mum is weaker than Phoebe will be—likely even by Phoebe’s teenage years. My sisters are weaker than a natural born female. My mum gave birth to twin human girls, and the likelihood is that my sisters will also only give birth to human girls. Each new generation will be weaker and weaker until, eventually, no babies will be born as werewolves.”
“But we cannot—and will not—force our female wolves into becoming breeding machines in the hopes that it would undo this phenomenon,” Alex says, and some relief fills me when each of the men nod. “And that’s a firm stance we’re taking, and will take, no matter what happens externally.”
“This all still feels very…” I trail off, not speaking above a murmur. I’m not sure how to put into words my feelings on this topic.
It feels like something out of a fantasy movie, where nothing is real. Surely, werewolves are held to the same laws as humans? Surely, these people are not considering forcing their children to be bred at sixteen ?
Girls are most fertile from late teens… men are most virile in their late twenties. Surely, surely , people can see the issue with this.
My stomach churns, and I choke back bile. My eyes sting, but I refuse to allow the tears to fall. “I’m not sure I want to be part of this world,” I whisper.
“You don’t have a choice,” Ben says cheerfully.
“My brother lacks tact,” Alex hisses as Seb kicks Ben in the shin. “But he’s not wrong. Phoebe’s shift brought you into this world, and unless you will give her up?—”
“No!” I snarl louder than any of them could, and I don’t understand why they all smile. Well, everyone except Christopher.
“I didn’t think so. There’s more than just this negativity, Maia,” Alex says soothingly. “Our world can be beautiful. We’re passionate creatures—we love harder than a human male ever could. We will protect you, demand?—”
“Your pleasure,” Ben says, waggling his brows at me. I scoff, and he sighs. “I know I’m the runt, but I’m?—”
“The runt? You have runts ?” I ask, cutting him off the way he has been doing to everyone else. He tilts his head, an adorable puppy dog expression on his face.
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Christopher says, his lips quirked up when Ben pouts. “Oftentimes, there’s a weaker male in a multiple birth, and that’s been dubbed as the runt. It’s a colloquialism.”
I mean that was exactly what I thought the runt was. Why the hell are they smirking?
“So, you’re the weakest?” I ask, and Ben nods. He doesn’t seem put out by that, not even a little bit. “Is that because you’re the youngest?”
They all shake their heads.
“No, it just is,” Ben says with a shrug. “It makes no difference, though. None of the guys let me be bullied any more. ”
“You were bullied ?”
“Extensively.”
I’m not saying these bullies hit him a little too hard, but why is he smiling right now? Bullying is not a good thing.
“He might be an alpha’s son, but that only made the pressure to be perfect that much greater, and if you failed… well, people were willing to make their displeasure known,” Alex says quietly.
Once more, my heart lurches, and I look over at my daughter. Is this vicious life really something she has to be part of?
“Now, as exciting as this topic is, can we move on?” Alex asks. “You were upset because you don’t know us, right? We’ve told you some things about ourselves and the pack structure. I’ve even explained the danger. So, can we please take you to our home?”
I nod slowly. “It’s not just that we don’t know each other, though. You took away my choice.”
“You were going to make a terrible choice. I removed the need for that, and I won’t undo it,” Christopher says, leaning forward on his knees, with a penetrating gaze. His bored tone pisses me off, but after how sweet and caring his wolf was, I know that’s just part of him. I don’t understand why he keeps his sweetness hidden, but if I were given the choice, I’d absolutely choose his wolf over him.
“You will not be safe staying here, and I won’t budge on your safety—on either of your safety,” Christopher adds.
I think back to the missing piece of pie and nod slowly. “For how long?”
“Forever and ever,” Ben says, clapping his hands. “We’ll have more babies and?—”
“For now, let’s just trial it out on a month by month basis,” Alex says, growling low in his throat when both Ben and Christopher go to complain. “We’ll reassess at the end of the month, okay? ”
I nod slowly. “I suppose so.” It’s not like I have much choice.
But, honestly, I wouldn’t be staying in this house even if I did have the choice.
“Now, tell us what you need, and we’ll get it sorted for you,” Alex says, glancing around the room.
It can’t be that terrible of an idea to stay with them for a month, right?
I watch the four men around me arrange Sebastian’s bedroom so that it’s more accommodating for Phoebe and I. I sit in the armchair in the corner of the sage green room, and I’m doing my best to emit only positive feelings whilst I hold my daughter in my arms.
She doesn’t understand I’m annoyed because four random men brought me here without my permission and have since made it one of the most annoying decisions I have ever been forced to agree to.
She can’t grasp the idea that these men could be serial killers, or rapists, or even just your run of the mill drug dealer.
She doesn’t get that. Instead, she picks up on my feelings and how I carry myself, and I won’t upset her just because I’m angry.
And terrified.
“Do you prefer pink sheets or purple sheets?” Ben asks, holding up two brightly coloured bed sheets. “We got the pink sheets for?—”
“I don’t think she cares right now, Ben,” Alex says, nudging his brother away from me. At least one of the Wolfe brothers is self-aware. “We’ll do pink this time, and then buy her some fresh ones so we can rotate them out, okay?”
Smart move .
My anger builds the more and more they make this room comfortable and homey, for me.
It’s irrational, sure.
I should be grateful they’re being kind enough to at least make me comfortable.
But I’m not .
My hormones are all over the place, and I can’t decide whether I want to cry or scream. I do know my body is struggling to contain the upcoming tsunami, and when it does unleash, it’ll be brutal.
“All sorted, princess ,” Christopher says, and I grind my teeth together. “We’ll get?—”
“Out,” I say with a nod. “Sounds absolutely perfect.”
He frowns, but at Alex’s insistence, both he and Ben are shepherded out of the room. I don’t think any of them realised Seb didn’t leave.
But I did.
And just like earlier, when I met Orion, unexpectedly… I think it’s time for me to meet Sebastian’s alter ego.