Chapter 21
Maya
“You promise to come visit?” I asked Jordan, feeling a surge of concern that this would be the last time I would see her.
I knew that was ridiculous—after all, it had been a relatively quick flight to Seattle.
Alright, maybe not quick, but it seemed to go by fast, and I was now standing in the driveway of her house… but I was still worried.
“When my mates,” she drew out the word and shook her head, smiling in disbelief, “come back from their mission, we will come and visit. They will only be gone a day or two. They wanted me to go with them, but Alaska didn’t sound appealing to me.”
I smiled because despite the sarcastic lilt to her words, it was obvious that Jordan not only missed them—evidenced by how much she talked about them—but that she was extremely happy.
Her red hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and she was wearing a sweatshirt that didn’t have a familiar scent to it.
Her skin was glowing, and she looked the happiest I’d seen her to date.
The only time her expression had changed was when I told her everything that had happened—then her face had been tinged with disbelief, anger, and awe.
I think the part she was still caught up on was me dying, but I didn’t really know how to normalize that for everyone since it wasn’t exactly a ‘normal’ thing to do.
“Okay, good.” I nodded happily before looking back at the three sizeable SUVs that were already on, packed to the brim and ready to go.
Marco stood outside one of them talking to Alpha Creed, but everyone else was inside and ready for the drive to our old home.
Between the younger flight traveling with us, the two boys, and my mates, there were a lot of large individuals, and there had been no possible way to make it with just one car.
And now we needed to pack them with the stuff I wanted to personally bring to our new house.
I knew movers were packing most of the stuff up, but I didn’t want to wait for my painting supplies, especially now that I was feeling more like myself than I had in…
well, forever. The weight of not worrying about any large-scale threats was making me feel like I was floating, and I absolutely loved it.
There were things we would have to figure out, of course, but overall I felt sure of what came next, and that was what was important.
“I should go.” I looked back at Jordan, her eyes filled with emotion as she suddenly tugged me into a hug. I made a surprised happy noise, Jordan never having been a super touchy person, as I squeezed her back.
“I love you, and I can’t wait to come visit,” she whispered before pulling back with teary eyes. “Now don’t die again or I’ll be pissed.”
“I promise.” I grinned before squeezing her hand and stepping back. “I love you too.”
I did love Jordan. She was my first female friendship—ever. It was an amazing thing that I didn’t want to lose, so I didn’t care what I had to do to make sure we stayed in contact. I would do whatever it took. She was like a sister to me, or at least what I imagined a sister being like.
“Baby girl,” Marco called out. I turned and walked towards him, waving again to Jordan as her father joined her on the steps of their large house. When Marco opened the door to the car and I stepped in, I sighed happily at the light kiss he laid on my lips.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I just don’t want to lose my friend.”
Marco examined my face and spoke honestly. “Whatever you need to do to stay close to Jordan, we can make it happen. As with anything, Maya, all you need to do is ask.”
Something I was gathering was the honest-to-God truth. I just had to figure out what I wanted to ask for.
When he buckled me in and closed the door, I turned to make sure everyone was settled. Atlas and Croy were driving the two other cars, and my mates were split within each, along with the young flight. Marco and the twins were in the car with me, along with the two young boys.
Faxon and Kace.
I wasn’t positive where those particular names had originated or had been inspired from, but when going through the list of names on this neat little website that gave lists of baby names, they stood out to me and the boys had taken an immediate liking to them.
Faxon, the older dark-haired boy, already seemed a bit more lighthearted, and Kace, despite being slightly sullen and moody, was starting to offer me small smiles at the dorky jokes I’d offered throughout the flight and the car ride to the backlands.
Bella of course helped, sitting between them like a little silent guardian, offering them affectionate licks and rubbing against them, trying to shower them with love.
I could tell they were starting to trust us, but I was also being careful to be mindful of how they felt.
For example, when we reached the pack lands, I noticed they got freaked out by the change in shifter energy, so instead of trying to go inside, we had just talked outside.
Jordan had more than understood, and after introducing her as well as the Alpha and the younger flight, the boys seemed to relax a bit.
That was when I broke the news to her that I wouldn’t be staying in Washington. She hadn’t been surprised in the least.
Instead she’d gotten a huge smile on her face and said that she now had every reason in the world to travel to Europe once she was out of school for the year.
Instead of it being a sad moment, her excitement for all the fun places we could travel together with our mates had turned the moment into one of anticipation.
It also made me realize how much I’d missed her.
We needed some girl time soon. Maybe we could even get dressed up and go out, just so our mates could find us and get all growly. I wasn’t sure about her, but to me that sounded like a freakin’ blast.
“What are you thinking about that’s making you smile so much?” Marco’s fingers intertwined with mine over the console, drawing my attention back to him.
“Traveling with Jordan this summer. I was also hoping she could maybe come visit for the holidays,” I suggested.
“We can make that happen.” Marco smiled. “Although, we are going to have our own travel plans for wintertime. I want to make sure we go somewhere, even for a few days, where it snows.”
Snow. I smiled, absolutely loving that idea.
“I really want to do everything we can for the holidays,” I murmured.
“We will,” Marco promised.
Suddenly my attention was drawn to the property we were approaching.
I let out a slow exhale, sinking back into my seat, feeling so weird to be back here even though it hadn’t been long at all.
Despite it only lasting a few days, it felt like everything had changed during my mating heat.
Now there was a deep sense of contentment running through me and anticipation for our future.
Something big and wonderful was coming for our family, and this place represented the start of it all.
“This is where you lived before?” Kace asked in awe as I looked over the ultra-modern home in a new light. I nodded to him and slowly got out, a sense of nostalgia brushing through me. This house…it represented so much. So many wonderful and even slightly darker elements of my life.
More than anything, though? It represented hope.
This home had been where I had first felt hope. Where my mates had shown me that life didn’t have to be all darkness. That they could protect, shelter, and love me, simply for being me. Because of that, this house would always hold an important place in my heart.
It wasn’t our home, though. Not anymore.
As I walked through the doors with Marco and Henry coming in after me, everyone else staying in the car for the short stop, I looked around the massive space, noticing that the movers were already in the process of packing up all my baking and cooking supplies.
I offered a wave of greeting as Marco went to talk to them, and Henry followed me up the stairs, a comfortable silence surrounding us.
It was like he knew I was somewhere else in my head.
Then something amazing happened.
Suddenly, my body began to hum with a warm energy, as if in response to the overwhelming sense of joy and emotion I was feeling, a heat emanating from my chest and abdomen.
I inhaled sharply and came to a stop at the top of the stairs, my eyes closing.
I swallowed as I felt the warmth grow more intense in my abdomen, my hand moving to it, almost feeling the heat brush over my fingers. A sense of magic sparked in the air.
A flash of an image brushed through my mind. The boy from my dream. I closed my eyes, squeezing them tight, as the image became more cemented in my mind. Tears of happiness began to well in my eyes as I realized what, exactly, I was feeling.
“Maya?” Henry’s voice was worried as I was put down on the soft surface of my bed, making me realize he had picked me up and placed me there.
My eyes opened and went over his shoulder to the massive windows of my bedroom that showcased the beautiful Washingtonian landscape—one that I had to admit I would miss.
In the background of my moment, I noticed one of the movers taking my art supplies. He was clearly set on bringing it downstairs to the car, probably on Marco’s orders.
“Are you okay?” Henry’s voice was pitched in panic.
“More than okay,” I murmured. He was crouched in front of me, his brow pinched in confusion. “Just feeling…a lot.”
As much as I wanted to tell him our news, I needed to be sure…more so, I wanted to tell them together. I let my hand drift from my abdomen to his face as he blinked, frowning at the warm heat emanating from it. His gaze moved down to my abdomen and back up at me in confusion.
“Sweetheart…”
“Let’s go home,” I said, smiling softly at him. His eyes filled with emotion as he gently helped me up from the bed, tucking me underneath his arm.
Without looking around the room, we walked back out. Despite knowing this wasn’t our home anymore, it would always be important to me.
This was where it all started.
Where I realized that I wasn’t alone.
Where I met all of my mates.
This is where I’d been truly reborn.