Chapter#06

MAYA

“It’s not my fault!” I shouted. I was crying, and snot was running out of my nose. “I don’t know why I had to go to that dumb gala. It was your idea! Why blame me? If you were looking for an ideal representative for your ideal family, why didn’t you send your ideal daughter? Why force me to go?”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Three slaps rained down on my face, and I went blind.

“How dare you talk back?” my father growled. ”Did you forget your manners frolicking through the world of humans?”

I clenched my teeth and glared as best I could through the pain. “Yes! Father, what are you going to do? Hit me again? You may continue with what you began.”

For a moment, he paused. It was the first time I’d ever stood up for myself. I was the worthless daughter … may as well act like it.

But then his expression turned cold, and he pushed me back up to my feet and pushed me really hard. “Get out!” he bellowed. “You’re not worthy of this roof!”

“Yeah!” I laughed bitterly through the tears. “Go ahead... erase me from the family register while you’re at it!” I shouted over my shoulder as I shuffled off.

Just before they slammed the door in my face, my mother sneered, “Spend the night outside tonight, you scum. Perhaps you’ll learn some damn manners from the cold.”

I was out into the bitterness of night. The cold bit through my dress and into my skin, but the shivers had nothing to do with the night air.

I hugged myself tight and stumbled away from the house. Tears flowed as my cheeks grew moist, and I stumbled over rough ground, weeping without a thought, gazing through a mist that came from within, not from without.

I wasn’t going anywhere. I just knew I couldn’t stay.

I stopped when I got to the front gate. Finn lounged against the iron bars, arms crossed. His eyes met mine. “Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, Maya. I heard everything... their voices carried. You can stay over at my place tonight. My dad’s out, so…”

“No thanks,” I snapped, walking by him.

“Let’s go, Maya,” he encouraged, trailing after me. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. We’re friends. This shouldn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“Finn, we were friends as kids!” I snapped, whirling around to look at him. “That was a long time ago.”

I let him get on a roll, then interrupted. He started to open his mouth to reply, but I didn’t let him.

"Now," I snapped, "just keep away from me. Especially after tonight.”

The words tasted sour, yet I spat them out.

“I don’t need your help. Or anyone’s. I managed to get this far by myself.” My voice was trembling, but I continued. I had to finish. “Take your kindness and leave.”

Before he could respond, I spun on my heel and left him there.

The silence swallowed me again.

I wandered aimlessly. My mind was foggy, my body operating on little more than muscle memory than anything else. The night was cold and black, and merciless… much like my life, I suppose. Every once in a while, it felt as if the emptiness I felt is just reflected back at me by the world.

Trees clipped by as I faded into the woods, hoping the walk would exhaust me into sleep upon my return. But I didn’t return.

My feet took me further than I meant to travel.

When everything was done, the faint sound of rushing water met me. The river.

I dropped down to the cool, moist earth, too exhausted to notice the dirt or the cold. I drew my knees into my chest, covered my face with my arms, and allowed myself to cry.

I didn’t know how long I had sat there, but minutes felt like longer—then something changed in the air.

Footsteps.

My heart lurched. I tensed up and raised my head slowly, with dread, waiting to see my father or mother… perhaps coming to yank me back.

But there was no one. The forest around me was calm.

And yet...

The feeling of being watched clung to my skin like a second coat, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

I struggled to my feet as the dawn grew near. My limbs were sore from the cold and hours of sitting scrunched on the mud of the riverbank, but I sent them dragging me up and pacing back in the direction of the packhouse.

My entire body, inside and out, was bruised, and all I wanted was to get to shelter before anyone saw my bloody, battered form.

But something was wrong.

I could sense it.

Someone was behind me, but when I looked back, there was nobody there. The third time, I ran so fast that my lungs burned, and pushed it as hard as I could. I saw a white shape behind me, but I did not pause to look at it.

I burst out of the woods. I was panting as if out of breath, leaves matted around my hair, and dirt smeared across my arms and legs. The packhouse was directly in front of me, but I froze.

Standing proud at the foot of the steps were the soldiers of the Silvermere Mountain Pack. Lycan Leader's home was the Silvermere Mountain.

I saw them from the corner of my eye; my eyes swept over them and landed on my parents. They were still in their nightwear. As I looked toward the bottom of the stairs, I could see the soldiers. Their faces were tight with tension as they were talking to my parents. 

One of them was probably the commander, judging by my parents. And then they turned their heads towards me, probably because of my reeking heat. 

“Are you Maya Blackthorn?” one of them asked. 

And then the other came closer. I just nodded. 

“By the authority of the Lycan Leader, you’re under arrest. Anything you say or do will be used against you before the council of the Obsidian Throne.”