Unbound: The Call of Power

Chapter 04

Maya stared at Ellie; head tilted to one side as she tried to make sense of what was happening with her. She reminded Maya of the actress who played Mulan in the live action movie. She had run into Ellie at the bus stop, where she had accidentally startled her by loudly declaring in frustration that she finally found the library.

They had walked over together, and had a pretty decent conversation Maya thought, until Ellie had realised that she couldn’t read her. Maya had then shown her charmed bracelet that blocked her reading which pretty much, in her opinion, caused Ellie to malfunction.

The teacher with the beautiful Asian features and jet-black shoulder length hair was staring at her in utter shock, her hand covering her mouth.

Maya mentally kicked herself. She usually wasn’t this receptive to anyone, but for some reason; she had felt drawn to Ellie from the moment she met her. It was as if they had been best friends, separated and at long last, found each other.

Maya had felt like she could tell her anything and in that unguarded moment, she had held up her wrist and showed her the charm.

She felt foolish for not being more careful about what she was saying and now she had no idea why Ellie was reacting the way she was. Maya fought down the nausea that was rising, as she wondered what could have caused Ellie to be so utterly shocked.

A loud shrill interrupted the moment and Maya started at the sound. Ellie’s phone was ringing in her hands, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her gazed was still fixed upon Maya.

Damn, that ringtone is loud, Maya cringed. They were right at the entrance of the library. The phone was going off in her hands, and Ellie was completely oblivious to it.

Maya cleared her throat, “You going to get that?”.

Ellie looked at Maya, her expression shifting into confusion, as Maya gestured at the phone in her hands.

Finally, Ellie looked down at her call, only to curse out loud once she saw the screen.

“s**t! Maya look, I must go now. I promise you we will catch up later, but I have to go now,” with a pat on her shoulder, Ellie rushed off back the way they had walked down from.

She was surprised at the wave of disappointment that washed over her as she realised Ellie hadn’t gotten her number. 

How will she even contact me?

Maybe it’s best that I interact with as little people as possible. Damn this weird vibe I got from meeting her. She shook her head, trying to shake the feeling off.

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Maya looked down at her watch and let out an involuntary gasp. Amid everything that had happened, she had forgotten about why she had come to the library. It was already 10:00 am, and she only had 30 minutes to get the books on her mandatory reading list before meeting her mentor.

She hurriedly push through the large doors, only to be stopped in her tracks by the sheer size and beauty of the library. It was four stories high and looked like it was built right out of a fairy-tale.

The books on the first floor were all arranged in aisles on the left and in the middle, and there were glass discussion rooms lined up on the right side of the building. Maya slowly walked in, looking in awe at all the books and the interior.

She knew her mouth was open from awe, but she couldn’t care less. The library was perfect for her to hide away from the world, and she only needed to go out when she needed to be seen. It was going to be her escape from the world.

Maya was still taking everything in as she walked down the aisles, looking for her books when she got the feeling that she was being watched. The back of her neck felt prickly and she was beginning to feel unsettled. 

Was someone following her?

The library was quiet and there wasn’t much movement around. The feeling got stronger as she walked closer to the side where the discussion rooms were located. She looked around her, trying to pinpoint the source that was causing this discomfort when she felt this sudden urge to look into one of the occupied rooms.

From a distance, she spotted what seemed to be a group of teachers having a meeting of sorts. There were 5 people in the room, and as she looked closely at them; she realised that one of them was staring right at her. He was seated facing the aisles, and he made no move to look away.

Maya felt her heart start to beat faster as she looked directly at the man. Most people would realise they had been caught and look away. Not him, though. He didn’t move or even blink as she maintained eye contact with him.

He was tall and lean with dark brown hair and a stern face. She couldn’t make out the colour of his eyes, but she could feel the intensity of his stare from where she was standing. She could tell that he was handsome, but his eyes seemed very cold. Maya shuddered a little, as she realised all she could do was focus on him, and all she could hear was her heart beating loudly in her ear.

It’s like he has me under a spell, she thought.

That’s impossible, I have my charm on.

I’m drawn to him, like a moth to flame.

Yes, that’s it except that I get the feeling I will be burnt if I get too close.

I want to be burnt.

Wait, where did that come from?

That’s two times too many, she thought to herself, to be drawn to people. She frowned, as she fought the urge to walk closer to him, just so she could get a good look at him. She grit her teeth as she resisted the strong attraction.

What is happening?

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Just then, strong arms grabbed her from behind and she let out a yelp as she felt herself get swung around. 

Did I hear growling? 

Maya thought she heard a soft growl in the background, as the library whizzed by.

As soon as she landed on her feet and the arms let her go; she turned around, ready to punch whoever it was.

She froze mid swing, in shock, staring at the man standing before her. She was looking up into a familiar smiling face, a face she hadn’t seen in 5 years.

“Hey Maya!” he grinned, opening his arms wide for a hug.

“Sam!” Her body reacted before she could, and Maya leaped into his embrace; her punch forgotten. “Sam, oh my god!”

Sam laughed, as he held her tightly. “I’ve missed you, you know”.

He set her down gently.

Maya looked up at him, smiling, in spite of herself. Sam had been her brother’s best friend and a close friend of hers, until 5 years ago, when she left and stopped contacting him.

Everything changed back then.

“I missed you too, Sam”, Maya stepped back. “Wait a minute! You are teaching here?”

Maya could not believe her luck. Of all the places to run into Sam, it had to be at ISAN.

“Yeah, and guess what else is a surprise?”, Sam looked down at Maya, before he continued.

“I was informed of a new trainee teacher I was supposed to mentor. Take a wild guess on who that might be”, he looked at her expectantly.

Maya was in disbelief. “You are my new mentor?”

Sam nodded.

“No way!” Maya couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She hadn’t been expecting that. It would mean that most of her time will be spent with Sam.

 “I need to sit down”.

Sam held Maya’s arms for support and led her over to a row of reading tables. She sat down and stared at the handsome man sitting across her.

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Sam Nair. He was her adoptive brother, Damien’s, best friend and the Beta of the Matthews Clan of werewolves. Damien was the Alpha, having taken over from their father and Sam had been his unfailing Beta.

They had grown up together, ever since she had been adopted by the Matthews when she was 5 years old. Damien and Sam were 2 years older than her, but from the time she could recall; they always included her in all of their little escapades as children, and as they grew up, the bond only got stronger.

She recalled all the times they scared anyone who had dared to bully her. She couldn’t help but smile at the memories.

“What are you smiling about?”

“What?” Maya’s reminiscing was interrupted.

“You sat down, you stared at me and then you started smiling,” Sam looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Are you sick?”

Maya rolled her eyes at him.

“I was smiling because I got reminded of us, younger. Who the hell smiles when they are sick?”

Sam grinned at her. “It’s really so easy to rile you up, even now”.

Maya frowned at him, annoyed. He knew how to get to her, all the time.

“Aw! Aren’t you excited that you are going to be under my tutelage, Maya?” Sam teased, his voice high and sickly sweet.

That had always been his style of teasing, Maya recalled, when he was angry with someone and was trying not to show it.

She was happy to see him, and she knew he was truly happy to see her. But she also knew he was going to make her pay for having disappeared on him.

“You are not going to make this easy, are you?”, Maya looked at him, pensive.

“You’re angry”.

Sam stared at her, surprised, before turning serious. He looked around him. The library was almost empty.

“You want to do this here?”

Maya nodded. She knew she needed to get this sorted out, if they were going to be seeing each other frequently. She hadn’t expected that Sam would be her mentor. As much as every fibre of her being wanted to avoid it, she knew this was one she couldn’t run away from.

Sam had been her closest friend, and she had left him without a word.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Maya could sense his anger, but his tone was composed and gentle. Classic Sam, always kind no matter how upset he was.

“Look, Damien and your parents not wanting to tell me where you went – I didn’t like it, I didn’t get it, but I could try and understand it. No one knew what was happening. All of a sudden, one day you just upped and left,” Sam paused, running his hands through his hair.

“Something was happening, and your family was trying to protect you. I get all of that. But we were friends Maya, childhood friends. You didn’t contact me, not once,” Sam sighed, frustrated.

“Do you know how worried I have been these past 5 years? Sure, Damien lets me know you are fine every time I bring it up. But he tells me he cannot say anything more, because he promised you. Same thing with your parents. Then he calls me 2 days ago, to tell me you are hired here”.

Maya felt her stomach churn at the sadness in his dark brown eyes. She didn’t know he would be this affected by her leaving. It had seemed like the only way to protect the people around at that time.

“I didn’t even know how to process that. I was so angry with you, I promised myself I wasn’t going to talk to you. Then I found out you were my trainee, and I promised myself I was going to keep it professional,” Sam paused, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

“Then I see you here, and all I can think of is thank goodness she is safe, and I am just happy to see you. I hate you for this, Maya,” Sam looked down at his hands, clasped tightly.

Without looking up, he continued.

“I am still really happy you are here now, and I won’t ask you why you did what you did. If you ever feel like you could tell me what happened back then, I will be happy to listen. But if you can’t tell me, that’s fine too. Seeing you today, right now, I realised that I would much rather know that you are okay”.

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Sam looked up Maya, his eyes unreadable. Maya looked at him as he reached out. She took his hand and he held it tightly.

“Just promise me one thing,” his eyes never leaving her face, “Never leave, don’t run away and just tell me if something is wrong. Now that you are here again, I don’t think I can lose you a second time”.

Maya looked down at his hand, holding hers tightly. He was looking at her so earnestly, she couldn’t help but feel her resolve weaken a little.

Her plan had been to stay under the radar, and not get too close to anyone. It was best she thought, for the safety of everyone else. So far, the plan had seemed to be failing, with her having met Ellie and now, Sam. She wasn’t sure about Ellie, but she knew Sam and she knew he wasn’t likely to let her go easily this time.

Would there be a need to do it again? I will just have to work this out.

Maya reached out and placed her free hand over Sam’s.

“Fine! I promise you, I won’t leave,” she smiled at Sam. “Okay?”

Sam looked at Maya, hesitant. 

How badly did she hurt him, that he couldn't trust her again. 

At that moment, she hated what she had done to him.

“Hmmm?” Maya put on her best apologetic look possible.

 “Ugh! I’ll take your word for it. Just don’t make that face,” Sam gave in. 

Maya nodded at him, as he let her hands go and stood up. He pointed at her, “I’m holding you to this”.

He started walking back to the aisles.

“Come on, we still need to get your books so that you can be prepped for assistant duties next week”.

“You know it’s teaching assistant, right? I am not your assistant; I am your trainee”.

Sam broke into a grin, as he looked back.

“Maya, I forgive you; but I will still need to make you suffer a little for the 5 years I went through”.

Groaning, Maya got up and followed behind him. She was not looking forward to this.