Chapter 6: Friction and Fire
1324 Words
Maya’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she turned into the dusty driveway of the small community centre in Linton, one of the more underserved suburbs in Azura’s sprawl. Children played with flat soccer balls in the adjacent field while volunteers unloaded boxes of donated clothes. Her heart swelled with pride; this place was the heartbeat of her work.
She stepped out of her car, waving to Nia who stood at the entrance, clipboard in hand.
“Hey, Nia,” Maya greeted, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
Nia raised an eyebrow. “You’re late. Everything okay?”
Maya hesitated, the image of the man at the petrol station flashing through her mind. “Yeah. Just got held up.” She shook her head as if to dismiss the memory, though her heart still hummed from it.
But the centre’s calm energy didn’t last long.
As Maya approached the office inside, she spotted a figure leaning against the doorframe; tall, lean, and infuriatingly familiar. Dressed in a tailored shirt with sunglasses perched on his head like he owned the air around him, Zion Nare turned to her with a smirk that instantly raised her guard.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped before she could think better of it.
“Hello to you too, sunshine,” Zion said smoothly. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t think we do,” Maya replied, brushing past him.
Zion caught her elbow -not roughly, but firm enough that Maya stiffened. “It’s about Amina.”
Maya froze. “She’s our daughter, not your bargaining chip.”
“I’m not here to fight.” His voice lowered, touched with something like regret. “I’m here because I want to be part of her life again.”
Maya laughed, bitter and sharp. “You walked out when she was four months old. Now, what -your conscience finally kicked in?”
“Things were complicated,” he said, expression tightening.
“They were messy because you made them messy. And I won’t let you walk in and destabilize everything.”
Zion stepped back, his smooth facade cracking. “You’re still angry.”
“No,” Maya said. “I’m protective. There’s a difference.”
He looked like he wanted to say more, but something in her glare made him think better of it. “Let’s have coffee. Talk. For real this time.”
“I’ll think about it,” Maya said curtly, then stepped into the office and closed the door.
Her hands trembled slightly as she leaned against the desk. The past always found a way to claw back. Zion’s sudden reappearance wasn’t just a storm; he was the storm. And she needed to weather it without letting it derail her.
Across the city, Kael strode through his penthouse apartment, Amari walking beside him as he reviewed reports on his tablet.
“She looked rattled,” Amari said. “Some guy showed up at the centre today. Tall, clean-cut, but pushy. Her body language changed the second she saw him.”
“Name?” Kael asked sharply.
“Zion Nare. Her ex and the father of her daughter.”
Kael’s wolf bristled beneath his skin. Ours. She’s ours. He is a threat.
He closed his eyes briefly, grounding himself before his temper slipped.
“Keep watching. I need to approach her soon, but this complicates things.”
“You still want to meet her in person again?” Amari asked.
“Yes. Tonight.”
Amari blinked. “That soon?”
“She’s in danger of being pulled back into something toxic. I can feel it. I need her to see what’s possible beyond what she’s used to. Even if she doesn’t understand it all yet.”
Amari tilted her head. “You sure your wolf isn’t pushing too hard?”
Kael smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “He’s just reminding me of what’s at stake.”
That evening, as dusk blanketed Windhaven, Maya sat curled up on her couch, her laptop forgotten as she watched Amina play on the floor with coloured pencils and storybooks.
Her daughter’s laughter was everything. It soothed wounds, past and present. And yet, her thoughts kept circling back to that man at the petrol station. There was something more than magnetic about him; something that reached through her rather than just at her.
A chime pulled her from her thoughts. Her phone. A message.
Unknown Number: Ms. Adebayo. My name is Kael Storm. We met briefly last week. I’d like to speak with you, if you’re open to it. Just a conversation. Nothing more.
Maya’s heartbeat stuttered. Kael Storm. So, he’d felt it too, that jolt. That shift. She hesitated only a moment before typing back.
Maya: I remember. Where and when?
His reply was instant.
Kael: There’s a rooftop café downtown. Eight p.m. Private. You’ll be safe.
Maya looked at the time. She had just over an hour.
Her stomach twisted with nerves and something that felt a lot like anticipation.
She turned to Amina. “You’re going to Aunt Nia’s for a sleepover, munchkin.”
“Yay!” Amina squealed.
As Maya packed a small bag for her daughter, she tried not to overthink it. She was just going to meet a stranger. A handsome, dangerously intense stranger who had looked at her like she was the centre of his universe.
Just a conversation. Nothing more.
And yet, a quiet voice in her chest whispered: Everything is about to change.
Later that week, Maya agreed to meet Kael again at a small coffee shop in a tucked-away part of downtown Windhaven, not far from her office but far enough from prying eyes.
Kael was already seated at a secluded table near the window, dressed in dark jeans and a button-down shirt that only accentuated the quiet power he carried. His eyes -those molten steel eyes -lit up the moment he saw her. Maya felt her steps falter, her chest tightening from something that had no name.
“You came,” he said, standing politely.
“I am curious about you,” she replied, slipping into the seat opposite him. “And maybe a little reckless.”
Kael chuckled, the sound low and warm. “Reckless is usually a good place to start.”
Their conversation was light at first; her work at the centre, his vague mentions of managing “international operations.” But as time passed, their words deepened, the space between them growing more electric with each moment.
Unbeknownst to them, Zion sat in a sleek sedan parked across the street, watching.
He hadn’t planned on following Maya, but he convinced himself it was a coincidence. But when he saw her walk into the café with a man he didn’t recognize, something cold and primal coiled in his gut.
Zion lowered his sunglasses, watching as Kael leaned in, a hand brushing lightly over Maya’s fingers as he passed her a napkin. She laughed. Open. Free. The kind of laugh Zion hadn’t heard from her in years.
And the man; tall, confident, almost predatory in the way he moved, was looking at Maya like she was oxygen.
Zion’s jaw tightened.
He hated that look.
He hated how natural it seemed.
He hated that someone else was sitting across from Maya like he belonged there.
His phone buzzed, an incoming call from an unknown number. Zion ignored it, his gaze locked on the window.
As Maya and Kael stood to leave, Zion ducked down in his seat, watching them walk side by side to the parking lot. Maya was saying something, her hands animated, Kael’s posture easy but attentive.
Then the man -Kael- opened her car door for her.
Zion felt his fist clench around the steering wheel.
“She doesn’t know what you are,” he muttered.
He didn’t know who Kael Storm was. But he intended to find out.
- Writer
