Jax had been bothered from the moment he took her in. He has been trying to solve this confusing and irritating riddle in his head about her, and yet he couldn't find the answer.
Every breath of hers, every word, every movement made his muscles clench involuntarily and his legs shift uncomfortably. His body was reacting against his consent, and the confusing part was that...there was no mate bond between them.
The only thing between them...was a one-night stand, and he was still trying his best to forget that night ever happened.
He's had zero Progress.
Jax knew exactly what a mate bond felt like, after all, he's been rejected in the past. But this...this was very different, and it couldn't just be mere attraction.
Right now, as he stared into her big, beautiful eyes, every part of him yelled to pin her against the car and kiss those defiant and tempting lips of hers. Every cell in him was itching to taste those daring lips again.
But they had bigger issues right now.
"Your Grandmother is in trouble. Are you getting in or not?!"
He watched her expression go from calm to panic in a blink, "What do you mean by that?" The tiredness vanished from her eyes, replaced by fear and worry, "And why would I believe you?"
"Because I'm not the one after you. If I were, I would have ended you a long time ago. The earlier we get moving, the quicker we get to where you live!"
"Why would anyone be after me?" Maya turned away from him, breathing hard. She was thinking about how she could escape on her own right now, but with the pounding headache and extreme weakness, she wouldn't make it five steps before her legs gave out on her.
Jax almost groaned, stupefied at her level of stubbornness, "Get in right now or I'm throwing you in and tying your hands and legs again!" His voice was commanding, and his eyes held the promise of his threat.
He could see the contemplation in her eyes, torrents of thoughts and emotions flicking back and forth in them before she finally gave in and stepped into the car. He kept his arm on her shoulders till she was seated, before closing the door.
Soon after, they were on their way to Los Angeles.
It was a one-hour drive, with Aiden, Jax's beta, driving down the road as quickly as he could. Jax had placed a scout in Los Angeles to keep an eye on Maya's house, reporting back everything that happened every hour.
The last they had heard from him was a low, barely audible voice through the telepathic link they shared, before he went silent.
Jax glanced at the woman on the other end of the car, pressed against the door. She looked like she was about to pass out, but Jax wasn't the type to care about humans.
And Yet...
"You need food," He ground out.
"I need to see my Nana and make sure she's doing ok," She retorted instantly, and Jax folded his arms, regretting why he had even spoken up in the first place.
They soon arrived and stopped in front of the house, and Maya had already jumped out even before the car came to a complete halt. She dragged her weak body up to the front porch and turned the doorknob, a bit surprised to find it already open.
Normally, her Nana would lock it from the inside whenever she was home alone.
"Granny?!" Maya called as she walked in.
Dread suddenly washed over her, and a bad feeling crept up her nerves. Something seemed amiss, and the further she went into the house, the more her nerves spiked.
"Nana? I'm home. Where are you?" She tried again, swallowing hard.
Then, she saw a pair of legs peeking from behind the couch. They were old and familiar, making her gasp as she rushed to see the full picture of it.
Teresa was lying there on the ground in a pool of crimson liquid. There was a ragged opening in her head, the source of the metallic stench of blood hanging in the air, and she was unnaturally still.
"Granny!" Maya cried in horror, rushing over to kneel next to her, "Oh my God, what happened?" As panic and fear crashed through her, her next thought was to dial 911.
Jax was next to her the next second, and was already scooping up Teresa in his arms, "Let's go, now!"
"What are you doing? Where are you taking her?"
He glanced at her as a tear fell down her pretty cheeks, "Right now, you have no choice but to trust me and do exactly as I say. Your safety has been compromised, as you can see. I'll be in the car doing everything I can to keep your grandmother alive, and you have just five minutes to get whatever you need and come with me. You're safe with me, I promise you!"
Maya's head was spinning, and she was flabbergasted by everything. She was nodding and running toward her bedroom before she knew it, leaving her grandmother in the care of the mysterious man who had kidnapped her.
Carrying a small bag, Maya began shoving everything she deemed important into it. She took her drugs, her certificates, and a few clothes.
Just as she was about to run out, she recalled one last important thing and quickly pulled it out from behind her drawer, shoving it inside the bag before running out of the house.
When she stepped out, the car they arrived in was gone, and there was a van instead. The green-eyed man stood in front of it and ushered her in as soon as she walked out.
Then, the engines started, and they were off.
.
.
.
The Pack Doctor, Ryan, had made it just in time with the Van and was currently attending to Teresa inside. Jax sat next to Maya, assessing the situation while Maya had clasped both hands around her grandmother's, unshed tears behind her eyes.
No words were exchanged between the three parties, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft beep of the monitor and the occasional strangled sob of the conscious human in the car.
"Will she be ok?" Maya broke out softly.
"She was barely alive when she was brought in, but I'll make sure to do everything I can till we get to a proper place with better equipments,"
When he said that, it finally hit Maya to ask about their whereabouts. She turned to Jax, "Where are we headed?"
"Somewhere safe,"
"What happened to my Nana? Who did this to her?" She questioned with a deep stare.
He stared back with an empty look. Jax has been suspicious about this ever since he kidnapped her. Her daring words and actions, and the hint of carelessness she mounted too, suggested his suspicions.
It also made him want to believe her. It was convincing him that she wasn't Marguerite, that they had gotten the wrong person.
But then, what was this strange energy that surrounded her? Even though she was human, her aura was different from others, and it was only because he was a werewolf that he could see it clearly.
"Hart," His eyes glimmered with something hidden, "What exactly do you know about the world we live in?"
"I know you are crazy," She replied and turned back to her grandmother. Maya knew his question meant something deep, but she wasn't thinking straight right now. Her grandmother had been brutally attacked, and all she wanted was for her to be fine.
In an hour, they were back in the weird town with the odd vibe. Maya made sure her grandmother was now resting in the hospital with proper equipments just as the doctor had promised, and sat next to her gently stroking her hand in hers.
In a few minutes, Jax walked into the room. Maya tried as much as she could not to stare at his handsome figure leaning by the door, or get captivated by those Green eyes of his, "You need to eat and rest. Come with me," He stated.
"What exactly is going on?" She asked, "You seem to know a lot more than I do, and I deserve an explanation at the very least. You knew my grandmother had been attacked, so you know who is responsible. Who is it?"
Did she not listen to what he had just said? Or is she planning to follow her grandmother into a coma, too? She looked extremely pale and exhausted, "You need to eat and rest, Princess. I cannot have another patient, and you need to understand that I am protecting you,"
"I don't even know who you are. I don't trust you," She shrieked, grabbing a handful of her hair, "You kidnap me and you demand things that I don't have...and then all of a sudden it's my grandmother who's hurt and you bring us back here to this...shady town. Nothing makes sense."
She finally turned to look at him, and he saw the look in her eyes. There were hundreds, but frustration and anger were at the top. Her lips were dried out, and there were dark circles under her tired eyes.
"You need to trust me," He replied nonchalantly, "And until you trust me and open up to me about the shard, which, unless you do quickly, if you do not want all our efforts to go to waste, then I'll protect you and your grandmother. I can assure you of that, Princess. You want to understand what's going on, but I would rather you get fed right now than pass out halfway through the story."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, a physical manifestation of the words she was biting back. Her eyes were already retorting, but her lips remained quivering. But reality struck her, reminding her just how powerless she was in the ongoing situation.
She had no choice but to trust her captor.
But only for the meantime.
"Where is the food?" She asked through gritted teeth.
A few minutes walk through town with Maya literally dragging her body and stumbling every now and then, they arrived at a small house. It was a bungalow, and Jax walked up and opened the door, letting both of them in.
The aroma of different meals swept into Maya's lungs, and she forgot all about her problems for a second. She forgot to be cautious of her new environment and forgot she had an aching body. Letting her nostrils lead the way, she stormed into the kitchen ready to fist on anything close by, online halting when she met a young woman adding final touches to the feast sitting there in the kitchen.
Maya's lips watered.
"Hi there," The woman greeted with a soft smile, her brown eyes welcoming.
"Hi," Maya waved back awkwardly.
"You're Maya, right?" She asked.
Maya glanced at the food, then back to the woman and nodded.
"I'm Sophie. It's nice to meet you. The Alph...The boss said you were very hungry, so I made quick lunch for you. What do you think?"
"It's mine?"
"Yes, all yours,"
Maya had to hold herself back as Sophie took the lunch to the dining area. They were about six different dishes in front of Maya as she took her seat. The next second, she was eating like her life depended on it, because it did.
Maya stuffed her mouth with everything, gobbling it up quickly. She's gone two days without food and water, so it had really taken a toil on her.
When she finished, she gulped down two cups of water and sighed in satisfaction. She was definitely stuffed.
It was then she remembered she wasn't alone in the room, and her shameful eyes slowly moved to the two figures standing there.
Sophie had a big smile on her face, while Jax was, of course, nonchalant.
"Thank you for the meal," Maya said softly, her gaze locking in with Jax's for a moment, and there went another hiccup.
"You're absolutely welcome," Sophie said excitedly, "Jax here told me you were very hungry, so I thought I'd make it so you were stuffed to the brim so right now I'm sure if I brought out another six plates, you'd finish it too!"
Maya's face coloured with embarrassment, but then a weird sensation washed through her.
The Green eyed guy's name was... Jax?
Slowly, she peeked up at him and of course those intense eyes caught hers, letting her know he has never stopped staring at her.
For some reason, it made her feel...wild.