“Maya?”I barely registered the third time Henry called my name. As much as I thought the creep was deluded, I could not shake off the sense of foreboding that shrouded my consciousness. Why on Selene’s green earth would a random stranger go through the pain of sneaking into the well-guarded house to lie to my face?He was definitely deluded but still...“Henry?” By now, the astute Delta had lost interest in gaining my attention but instead circled me slowly with his nose flared.“What’s that?” He asked.He stopped circling and stood at the exact spot in front of me that the bounty hunter had been in minutes ago, sniffing the air with his brows creased in concentration.I knew he was trying to place the male’s scent but it was of no use. I had tried but it smelt like something and nothing at the same time, discerning it was impossible. I was surprised Henry could even pick up the faint scent, I had been with the male and had hardly perceived a thing.“What’s what?” I asked back innoce

“Maya?”I was awoken the next morning by a knock on my door followed by Chase's voice calling my name with undertones of worry. The bright sun rays streaming in through the windows gave me a pause.What time was it?Frowning, I walked in a daze to the door and let Chase in. I was a groggy mess because when I had finally given in to the resilient arms of sleep, it had been pitifully fitful but I guess I should be grateful that it was without any nightmares.Still, I was mentally exhausted.I turned to go back to bed but paused when extra sets of footsteps did not follow mine. Looking back, I spotted Chase standing rigidly by the door, his eyes fixed on a point above my head.“What are you doing?”“We need to talk, I told you so last night.”No sleep then.“Mhmm, so why are you trying to become a statue by my door?” I asked, my head cocked to the side.“Darling, are you serious right now? I can't focus like this.” He said, rubbing his face with one hand.Okay, I was officially confused.

Chase's POV“I saw them, they were right there! Those rascals shifted and ran off before I could get to them. I would have broken those gangly legs of theirs.”I shot a scorching look at the decrepit building she had pointed to then lifted my face to the sky begging for patience to deal with old Janine. Behind me, Ron snickered.'I'm going to kill you.' I told him over the link then turned to the female that had made us come all the way to the South side before the sun was fully out.“Janine, I asked you to let me know if you see any suspicious individual or if any hostile situation arises.” I explained slowly.She crossed her arms and with a stubborn frown said, “Yes, and those Oliver's boys are criminals in the making.” Then increasing her voice so that Oliver, her unfortunate neighbour, could hear, she shouted. “Criminals!”'I'm done, it's too early for this.' I said to Ron and stepped back.The ever-diplomatic Ron took my place and tried to reason with Janine with the patience of

Maya’s POVI heard Chase's footsteps and scrambled to shove the crumbled photo under my pillow before he ripped the door open.I had expected a knock but his sudden entrance threw me off-guard. Standing up, I flashed him a toothy smile that hid my inner turmoil.Did he know?The look in his eyes was hard to decipher as he studied me but when I stepped closer and reached out for him, he shifted away from my touch. My smile faltered, that small action affected me more than it should have.“I'll only ask this once.” He said finally, his voice like ice. “Where were you last night?”My heart leapt to my throat.'There was no way he knew,' I thought 'and if he did, how could I explain the truth to him?'A truth that I did not even fully know or understand yet, but I knew it would hurt him. This had to do with his late parents, after all.Lies bubble onto my tongue instinctively and I felt queasy as I let them out but I did so regardless, forcing an open expression onto my face.“I was dead

Maya's POVI had no doubts that I had woken her. The numbers on my bedside clock blinked harshly in the dim morning. It was 5:27 am but I could not wait.My hand trembled as I clung to my phone, my pulse still struggling to decelerate from the scary pace that my horrifying nightmare had pushed it to.There was silence then Freya's voice returned, this time filled with irritation.“What do you want? Why are you calling me by this time?” She snapped.“I cal—"“Then again, criminals like you don't exactly have manners. Say, Maya, you've always pretended to be good, did our Alpha's rejection hurt you so much that you had to throw your life to the wind for such a stupid revenge? Arson, really?”Her smug laugh suggested that she could not care less whether or not I had been hurt.'So Kylan had made our rejection publicly known but contorted the truth to make it look like it was him who rejected me.' I thought but could not summon any energy to care about that fact.I was too emotionally dra