New Beginning: Life After Death?

Chapter 3

I stayed as quite as I could and prayed that the leafs would cover me and my smell would not be noticed. I didn't even dare to look down as I couldn't face looking into the guy's faces. I was a bit freaked out because I knew that I'd be in trouble if they found me.

“Where could she be?" Asks one of them. I'm not sure which as I haven't looked, and I haven't been around them long enough to know their voice differences. “I told you she was trouble. We should have tied her up the moment we saw her." Says another. Yeah, that had to be the black haired guy for sure. I bitterly thought.

“Have you even thought that maybe you talking about throwing her in the dungeons is what set her off? You know that that would frighten anyone. You are probably the reason for this whole mess. She was fine until you said that and then she was fighting for all she was worth. I ended up with the short stick with her groin shot so stop being a baby and start looking for her." Say an angry voice. Yep... definitely Dimitri. I think with laughter in my mind.

“She was poised to flee when we got there so don't go blaming me for this mess.” Says the second voice. “Maybe you should have warned us that she was skittish when you linked us," Says the first voice. “Maybe that wasn't all he should have warned us about. She is completely gorgeous and he failed to mention it." Says another voice, must be the blond as he can't seem to get past my looks at all.

“I'm sorry that I didn't give you guys that complete run down on her but seriously she is a mystery to me and I'm not sure how she got here. I mean come on, one minute I'm doing my watch rounds on the boarder and the next there she is. She was passed out and when she came to, she was mouthing off to me. The only thing I got from her was that she died in her world and woke up here. I'm not sure what the fates are trying to do but it's a messed up situation for sure." Says Dimitri.

“Well let's find her and talk to her. Find out what she knows, how she got here, and no talking about dungeons. We need to figure out what to do first before we make any plans or judgements. Do you really want to take this to the royals with no explanation? It could be something completely innocent and then they'd be upset with you for bothering them." Reasons the first voice.

“That makes perfect sense!” Stated the last voice. “Now to figure out where she is. She is good that's for sure. The different paths to confuse us, and now no sent or sight of her. Definitely is showing all of the different elements. We are going to have to all work together to find her."

“How can she have all of the elements?" Asks the angry voice. “Maybe it isn't uncommon for the people of her world to have all of the elements." Stated the voice I've figured out was Dimitri. “Well we aren't going to find her standing here. Let's get a move on. who knows where she is by now.”

“Wait a second. She is extremely intelligent, right?" Asks the first voice. “Yeah, so?" Asks the third voice. “Maybe she isn't far at all. Come on, think about it. She is small and in a place that she is unfamiliar with. The first thing I'd do is make a hasty get away, remove all evidence of the route I was taking and then hide until it was safe." stated the first voice.

I was suddenly very scared. How did he know what I did? I thought with panic. A gentle breeze caressed me and helped me to calm down. They said a hiding spot but they don't know where that is so I'm safe for the moment. I thought as I tried to come up with another plan since I couldn't stay up here if they were looking at all of the hiding spots.

“So what do we do now?" Asks Dimitri. “Simple, we look at all of her routes and look for hiding places." Says the first voice. “Right... how would you define that as simple?" Asks the angry voice. “Stop arguing and start looking." Stated the third voice.

I decide to chance a look to see if they have gone since it is quite and once again my luck is pathetic. As I look down the purple haired dude looks up. He looks at me and doesn't notify the rest of the guys. What is his game? I thought. The other guys I can't see, and I didn't hear them leave so I'm a bit confused as to where they went.

He motions for me to come down, but I'm not sure if I can trust him. I look at him and wish that I could tell if he is a good person, but I can't. I decide to to trust him for the moment.

Trust is hard for me to be sure, but I can't stay up here forever and if I stay too long he might call his friends and one is better to deal with than four. I climb down with ease which surprises me as I haven't climbed a tree since I was six years old.

As I land on the ground, the guy smiles at me and says, “Hi my name is Damion. Dimitri told us that your name is Maya. I'd like to apologize for Nathan's attitude and behavior."

“I appreciate it but if anyone should be apologizing it should be Nathan himself. He is the one who offended me and he should be the one to apologize." I state.

“So you are as forthright as Dimitri says." Damion says. “I like it!"

“I believe that Dimitri said that I was “sarcastic and snarky." I'm not seeing anything in that comment to say that I'm forthright. Although, I will tell it how it is so maybe that is what you are picking up on." I muttered. Quite frankly I'm fed up with being the entertainment for these guys. I mean come on have they never seen a girl before? I'm quite normal. I think this with a disgruntled mind.

“Normal is a relative term and, yes, we have seen girls before but one, you are a woman and not a girl. I'm guessing around twenty years old. Two, you are gorgeous, and three, there is a pull that we all feel to you and everyone is reacting in different ways to that pull. I quietly think things through and then act, Nathan gets angry at anything he can't control, Dimitri is nurturing and caring, and well Jacob is a flirt." Damion says all of this while looking into my eyes.

I definitely feel the pull. Damion is about 6'2" and has sharp features. His brown eyes are gorgeous. Wait a minute... how did he know what I was thinking? I frantically thought. “How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked. “I can read minds." He says as he is looking at me.

Wait what? How could he? It's not possible to be able to do that. I think to myself. “You are right it's not possible, but I'd like to know your reasoning for believing that it's not possible." He says in a curious voice. “I'll tell you if you tell me how you know what I'm thinking." I counter.

“Ok, I can do that." He says as he suddenly sits on the ground and makes himself comfortable. “My reasoning for you not being able to read minds is that if you could have you would have found me sooner. I was literally right above you guys while you were having this long conversation. If you could read minds then you would have known that I was up there or close by and if you did know either of these things, the guys would have asked if you could hear me, but they didn't. Also you wouldn't have been able to not look around or straight at me if you could have heard my thoughts. Since none of these things happened then I know that it was impossible for you to have mind reading as a capability. Now your turn, how did you know what I was thinking?" I asked after full filling my end of the bargain.

“When you are either deep in thought or are stressed you seem to mutters what you're thinking out loud. This being said, I'm going to go with the stressed option as it has been a trying day for you. Also, I have to applaud your reasoning. Not many would be able to come to that conclusion with those thoughts. They'd either brush it off or state a more simple reasoning." He said all of this while giving me a proud smile.

“Would it be ok if I call the others to come and chat with us? I promise that they will be on their best behavior." He asks this, and I'm thankful that he is willing to ask me and get my opinion first unlike Dimitri who called them and didn't even let me know.

“I appreciate you asking me and, yes, you can call them. Also, don't make promises for others. You never know if they will keep them and then you'll feel like you're on the line when it is them that is the issue. I'd like to know how you call them though." I said with an earnest voice.

I'm eagerly waiting for the response as I'd love to know and there are many aspects that fascinate me about the guys now that I'm not freaking out. Now don't think that I've suddenly started to trust these guys and everything is rainbows and lollipops because it's not. I have just decided to learn as much as I can because if I do need to escape then I need as much knowledge as possible.

“It's kind of a long explanation. The guys and I are a group. We are called a pack. Every pack has four people in it and there has to be one of each of the four elements to create a pack. While we are at the academy we get to know each other and form our packs according to our temperaments. Once a pack is formed then they have the ability to mind link within that pack. Not everyone is able to be in a pack due to different issues so they go back to their realm and find jobs or their mates and continue to live their lives. Packs are a high honor due to the fact that we are able to keep the peace and fight wars for the four realms that we represent. There are two other realms that we are constantly at war with, so packs are a must. Does that answer your question?"

He has explained everything very well but for some reason, when I heard that there are only four in a pack, my heart dropped. “So there are only four? Never five? Also don't you guys all have mates? What happens when you find them?" I ask with avid interest.

He looks at me with interest. I don't think he was expecting my questions at all. “We don't have mates. That was one of the issues that I was talking about. If the person trying to be in a pack has a mate that they have either found or haven't found yet, then they aren't allowed to be in a pack. The professors at the academy have an orb that tells them if the person touching it has a mate. If not then they can form a pack with others that also don't have a mate. To answer your other question, there has only ever been packs with four. They do this so that no element has more power than the others in a pack. There is however a prophecy about a five member pack that will be powerful and bring peace to our lands. This prophecy is extremely important but hasn't come to pass yet." He states.

I have so many questions and I'm not sure if I should ask them or not. Do I ask and end up being friends with this guy or do I leave it as it is and remain distant from him.