Unbound: The Call of Power

Chapter 05

Maya looked at the notes scattered all around, as she finally completed the Scheme of Work for the upcoming lessons. It had been two weeks since she had been in the school, and since her incident with Sam and Ellie.

It’s no joke, she muttered as she looked at the pile of research and reading that had to be completed to create a proper lesson structure for the students. The lesson plans took time and effort, and Maya was grateful she didn’t have to start by doing all of it alone.

No wonder the school has a training period. Their standards are high, Maya mused as she ran through the completed work once more.

She had started following Sam to his classes and she couldn’t help but be impressed. He was a completely different person when he was teaching -  confident, smart with a no-nonsense air about him.

She shook her head, knowing that this was the same guy who would goof around and c***k lame jokes just to annoy everyone.

Maya recalled the first day she had followed him to class. The female students had looked at him with dreamy eyes the entire time, and she had never seen a class more involved in the lesson. The girls were ready to answer any questions Sam asked. She had chuckled out loud at the absurdity of it. Needless to say, that had earned her a glare from Sam.

She studied the man sitting next to her, currently poring over a textbook in a bid to answer a complex question one of the students had raised in the class. His brows were furrowed in concentration and he kept pushing up his glasses as he read. His thick hair was messy, from having run his fingers through it multiple times in the 2 hours they had been there.

The colour of his hair almost matched his eyes, she realised. He had a strong jawline, and he was always clean shaven. Was his nose always that sharp? Maya tilted her head, still looking at him. I guess he is a handsome Indian man, Maya conceded, not that I would ever admit that to him.

“Are you going to keep staring at me?”

Maya blinked. Sam turned to look at her, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Am I really that handsome, that you cannot stop staring at me?” he started making duck faces, pretending to take selfies.

Maya rolled her eyes at him.

“Please! I was just trying to figure out why the girls in your class crush on you so hard,” Maya looked him up and down, “though for the life of me, I can’t see why”.

She crossed her arms, indignant.

Sam chuckled as he closed his book and started gathering up his notes.

“They are just kids, and they like me coz I’m generally a nice teacher,” he ran his fingers through his hair again. “Nothing to do with crushes”.

Maya gave him a knowing smile. She had seen the look on their faces, and she knew crushes when she saw them.

“Will you stop doing that?” Maya stood up to help him tame his hair. “You are heading for a meeting, and you do not want to look like you just woke up”.

Sam brushed her hands away.

“I got it, I got it! I’ll go to the washroom and comb before I meet Dean Chinh for the review”.

Maya looked at him, tensing a little, as he carried his bag. The Dean had wanted to meet Sam to review how the mentoring had been going with her. Sam caught her expression and gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’ll be fine, I promise!” he gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before heading off. “See ya later”.

“Bye”, Maya called out as her phone vibrated on the table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She looked down and saw that it was a text from Ellie.

OMW! See u in a bit…

Maya smiled as she sat back down to re-arrange the completed lesson plans to be submitted for approval.

Ellie loved to text, and she loved her abbreviations. Maya couldn’t help but feel fondness for her.

After their weird encounter, Maya had thought it was the last she would see of her. That same night, however, Ellie had come over with pizza and cake to apologise.

Maya was surprised when Ellie had shown up at her door, but she quickly recovered, knowing that the telepath had her ways of getting information.

Over dinner that night, she had shared with Maya about her precognitive powers as well as the vision she had seen. Seeing Maya right after her vision had been too much for Ellie to process, and she had to leave abruptly to try and understand everything that had happened. It hadn’t helped that she had also been late for the extra tutorial classes with her weaker students.

Maya was hesitant at first. Clairvoyance and telepathy, she could handle but Ellie’s precognition was something Ellie herself couldn’t control.

What if she saw something more about her? It bothered her that Ellie had seen the bracelet, as it was.

But then, as the night progressed, Ellie had started sharing about how she had been bullied and ostracised when she was younger by the very people, she had called friends; and how she kept to herself now as an adult to protect herself from being disappointed again.

She had opened up about how lonely she felt now, knowing that everyone mostly avoided her and how she was convincing herself that is for the best anyway.

Maya felt her shoulders droop in resignation. She already knew, somehow, that she would do anything for this woman she had just met.

She could understand what Ellie was going through, and she couldn’t bring herself to avoid her. Even if that meant that someday, she might need to explain to Ellie about the bracelet and about herself.

Ellie had declared that night, on a sugar high, that they were drawn to each other because they were long lost best friends in another lifetime who have found each other now.

She chuckled as she looked at the name Ellie had saved herself as in her phone.

LLBFF Ellie – Long Lost Best Friends Forever Ellie

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She had just finished filing the lessons in her clear folder when Ellie plopped down on the seat across her.

“I am tired bro,” she leaned into the seat and threw her head back. “Today’s lesson drained me”.

“Clairvoyance gone bad?” Maya shook her head at the image in front her. Ellie looked like a stuffed toy that had been left sprawled out on the seat, her lolling to one side.

“Eh! They keep wanting to force what they see, and I keep telling these kids that’s not how clairvoyance works,” Ellie groaned. “I need delish food, and a good movie to recover from this”.

Maya started gathering up the books around the table as Ellie peeked over at her before closing her eyes again. “I am going to stay like this until you finish packing”.

She was putting the last of her files into her bag, when a strong earthy smell tinged with vanilla hit her senses out of the blue. Maya could feel her heart start to beat erratically. She took in a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

He’s here!

It felt as if someone was pulling her along with strings. She started looking around involuntarily. He had just entered the library, and he was staring at her with a frown, as he always did. 

He walked into his usual meeting room and pulled up a chair, but instead of sitting down, he continued standing, still looking at her. Maya felt her heart twist a little as she noticed that he didn't look too pleased with her.

In the 2 weeks she had been there, she had run into him almost everywhere in the school - When she was heading to classes with Sam, during lunches with Ellie, when she was heading back to her apartment and almost always in the library. Some days, he looked at her with an expression that was almost longing but most days, he just looked angry. It made her heart ache, and Maya felt annoyed that her feelings towards this man was controlled by some invisible force she couldn't place.

Maya wanted to look away, she really did. She couldn’t understand how she knew that the smell was associated with him, but she knew that whenever he was around, she could make the whiff of earth and vanilla in the air. She always seemed to find him.

At first, Maya had thought she was being crazy. But then, she noticed that all she only felt this way around him. Maya wished she knew who he was, but she didn't dare say anything to Sam or Ellie, even though it was getting harder for her to get a hold of herself each time. As long as she expressed in any person, the both of them would immediately get curious and they wouldn't let it go. She was mortified at the thought of Sam knowing the kind of thoughts she was having about the stranger. He would never let her live it down.

The urge to go over to him was almost overpowering, and Maya had no intention of going anywhere near the guy. Especially right now, where she had the sudden urge to walk over and run her fingers through his hair and caress his chiseled face as she lost herself in those dark eyes. A random thought slipped itself into her head - I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.

Maya closed her eyes, equal parts annoyed and embarrassed. 

Fight it Maya, fight it! Stop being a p*****t and have some shame. He doesn't look like he wants you touching him. She hated the feeling of not being control, and this man made her go weak in her knees every time.

She had told herself she wouldn’t say anything to anyone, Maya bit her lip. She needed to get help, she thought, or she might risk getting into trouble for s****l harassment soon enough, if this keeps up. Maybe  Ellie could help her, she decided, maybe she might be able to fix whatever this is.

Just then, Ellie's worried voice cut into her thoughts.

“Hey Maya! What’s wrong?”

Maya heaved a sigh of relief as her internal struggle was interrupted. She opened her eyes to see Ellie peering anxiously at her.

“You okay bro? You look like you wanna punch someone”, she gestured to Maya's hands.

Maya looked down. She had clenched her hands so tight, her nails were biting into her skin. She looked up and inadvertently looked back at the meeting room. He was watching her now, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Who are you looking at?" Ellie looked behind her and stifled a gasp as she recognised the man in the room. She turned back to Maya in surprise.

"Uh Maya? Why are you having a staring contest with the Rowans Clan's Alpha?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Maya's turn to be surprised as she looked at Ellie.

"He's a werewolf?"

Ellie nodded; her expression still confused.

“Yeah, that’s Andrew Rowans, the Alpha of the Rowans Clan. He oversees the security of ISAN along with a few other buildings around the area. The land is one of their properties.” 

Given their territorial natures, werewolf clans often heavily invested in Real Estate. The lands they owned marked the boundaries between the clans. It was the modern approach to marking their territories.

Ellie turned around to look at him again. 

"Andrew Rowans," Maya repeated. So that was his name. It was an appropriate name for him, Andrew.

Catching herself, Maya shook her head. No! Stop finding his name attractive!

“What on earth is going on?” Ellie waved her hand in Maya's face, trying to her attention. “You guys haven’t even been introduced, have you?”.

Mustering up all the willpower she could manage, Maya forced herself to grab her bag.

"Let's get out of here first okay," she muttered and start walking briskly towards the exit. Ellie barely had any time to react, before she hurried along behind her.

Maya was half running by the time she came out of the library, and she didn't stop until she was sure she couldn't feel the pull anymore. As long as there was distance, and he wasn't physically around; she was fine.

“Wait, wait!”

Ellie caught up with her, doubling over; trying to catch her breath.

“What… on… blazing… earth… just… happened?’ she wheezed out.

“Wow, you are in terrible shape”, Maya attempted weakly, hoping she could avoid talking about it immediately. She still wasn't sure how she should explain whatever this was.

Ellie held up her hand while she was still bent over, “Just... start… talking!”

Maya pursed her lips, trying to form a sentence that didn’t sound ridiculous.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?” Ellie straightened up so suddenly, she lost her balance and nearly fell backwards. Maya caught her to steady her, but she just swatted her hands away.

“Dude, you literally just had a staring match with an Alpha, you looked like you wanted to punch him, he was staring intensely at you and then you literally ran out of there like there was no tomorrow”.

Ellie looked at Maya expectantly. “There is something. What is it? Come on, you know I can’t read you and I had my shield up earlier so I couldn't read him either”.

Maya closed her eyes, before looking down in resignation. There was just no getting out of this, and she really needed Ellie's help to figure it out.

“Look, I really don't know what that was, okay? I saw him for the first time at the library, the same day I met you. In fact, it was right after."

“Okay…?” Ellie prompted.

“I kept seeing him everywhere I went after that. Before class, after class, during lunch, when I was going home - everywhere” Maya started walking.

“Okay… But most of those times, you were either with me or Sam or the both of us. So how did a staring contest transpire out of it today?” Ellie fell into step with her.

“It's always been a staring contest, Ellie. It's just that I have tried my best to make it as discreet as possible," Maya held out her arms in exasperation. "I always know when he is around and every time, we see each other, we have done nothing else".

"Wait, how do you know he is always around?"

Maya glanced at Ellie sideways, "Don't think I am crazy okay?"

Ellie raised an eyebrow, "I won't, you know that."

"Well... Thing is... I know he is around because I keep smelling something you know, like whiff of like earth and vanilla every time he is physically nearby and…” Maya trailed off as Ellie abruptly stopped in her tracks.

“You smell his scent, even before you see him?” Maya couldn’t decipher the look Ellie had on her face.

“Yeah, and I start looking for him. It's like, I am drawn to him in a way that I have no control over”.

Ellie’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands. “No way!”

“What?” Maya looked at Ellie questioningly, but she just waved at her to continue.

“My heart beats faster when he is around, and I cannot stop staring at him,” Maya looked down at the ground, wishing for it to swallow her up whole.

"It's like I want to keep looking at him, and... well..." Maya hesitated.

"And?" Ellie looked at her intently, her eyes wide as saucers.

“And I keep wanting to make out with him every time I see him,” she let it all out in one breath. 

"I need you to help me before I get into any trouble, Ellie. It's really frustrating and I think I am going crazy", Maya's voice had gotten louder with each word and she looked around fervently, making sure no one was within earshot. 

The last thing she needed was anyone else hearing about this.

Ellie squealed right in the middle of the walkway. She ran up to Maya and grabbed her by her arms.

“Oh my goddess! Maya, I don't think I can help you with this," Maya thought she looked really happy for someone who just found out her friend might be a p*****t.

“What? Why not?”

Ellie was still holding on to her, bounding in excitement. "Because..."

“What, Ellie?" Maya grabbed her arms to snap her out of it. Ellie started to grin. "What?”

“Maya, don’t you get it?” 

She shook her head, unsure of what she was supposed to get.

“The smell, the force of attraction, the searching for him, the wanting him - you don’t get it?”

Maya shook her head. She had no idea what Ellie was going on about.

“You literally grew up with werewolves, Maya,” Ellie gave her a knowing look. "You know this, I am sure of it".

Maya started running through the different possibilities in her mind, trying to figure out what it all meant. What is it about werewolves?

And then something clicked in her head.

Maya felt her face drain as realisation dawned on her, and she took a step back; letting her arms fall to her side.

It cannot be.

“No”, she whispered in disbelief.

Ellie gave her a small smile, “I think it is”.

“That’s impossible,” Maya took another step back, out of Ellie’s grasp.

"And that's why I can't help you. I don't think anyone, but Andrew, can".

She started shaking her head, denying it.

“No”

“It all makes sense, if you think about,” Ellie shrugged.

Maya buried her face in her hands.

No, no, no! This cannot be happening.

Maya looked back up at Ellie, and they both said it at the same time.

“The soulmate bond.”