by Destiny, Sam
“You want to have Maya eat popcorn and hope that this will relax her?” his twin asked in utter disbelief and Jaden growled.
“No, I want to watch a movie with her, just do something normal. You, me, and her.” He seriously sucked at this, he realized.
“Maya doesn’t eat popcorn, Jay. She loves ice-cream though and I know we still have some of that here,” Kaden remarked and suddenly Jaden thought of something else he knew Maya liked and that he actually hadn’t brought her in a while.
“Can you…?” he started, throwing his hands up in a way of saying that he sucked at this.
Kaden rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, blowing out a heavy breath.
“I’ll prepare everything and you just make sure you’re there on time,” he announced and that was all Jaden needed to hear, leaving the room to make his Origin happy with something small. He actually looked forward to the night, even if he guessed that Kaden wouldn’t show up with a horror movie. Sometimes love asked for sacrifices and he was willing to sacrifice three hours of bad movie watching as long as Maya would end up a little happier and a little less Queenly just for a night.
Maya was almost late to her own date. Frankly, Cany had stopped her before going to her own room, having thrown sweatpants and a camisole at her, telling her to change and let her hair lose.
Maya had followed that instruction simply because she didn’t feel like a discussion. Stepping through the door of her bedroom, she wasn’t sure anymore she had the right place. A few candles were burning and a TV was mounted to the wall. She hadn’t even realized she needed one, or that someone had been drilling holes into the wall, but then, she had been busy talking a few things over with Matt. The twins wore sweatpants as well, covering their beautiful chests with simple black tees. They looked so handsome to her, she wanted to weep because they were hers only.
“You look so young,” Kaden mumbled after turning to her. She had realized that, too, while looking into Cany’s mirror just a few minutes earlier.
“Is that good or bad?” she asked, trying to ignore the mouth-watering aroma of her favorite drink in the whole wide world hanging in the air. Her stomach actually jumped in appreciation of the scent.
Kaden looked over his shoulder at Jaden, smiling. “I think she actually smells your treat,” he teased and Jaden stepped aside. There was a Chai Latte from her favorite coffee house and a cinnamon roll, probably slightly heated so the icing would melt on her tongue while the cinnamon ran its way down her throat. She could almost taste the whole thing just while thinking about it.
“I thought you’d maybe like this,” Jaden whispered, looking strangely insecure. “I want you … we want you to calm down and take off for a while. Don’t be Queen tonight, just be our Origin. We’ll watch a movie,” he explained, pointing his thumb at the TV and a DVD-casing that lay there. It was something colorful, but Maya didn’t look at it long enough to figure out what it was. She didn’t know any movies anyway.
“We want you to smile and be normal and we thought we’d watch one of the movies Cany loves. She said you’d appreciate feeling like a normal … this is stupid,” Kaden cursed and Maya noticed that both twins were tied up in knots.
“What did Cany say?” she probed and then walked closer until she could lean into Kaden’s arms, carefully reaching around him to sneak a piece of the cinnamon roll into her mouth. She wasn’t as subtle as she thought, feeling how Jaden snatched it from her.
“Oh man,” she pouted, stepping away. Kaden stared at her, feigning hurt.
“And here I thought you wanted to be close to me,” he almost sobbed and she pulled out her puppy dog eye-move.
“This was about me, right? And I really, really want this roll. Pretty please,” she begged and Jaden was the first to cave, holding the snack out to her. She didn’t bother taking it into her own hands. Instead, she wrapped her finger around his wrist, holding his gaze while she bit into it. An almost ecstatic feeling took her over as she chewed slowly, the warm roll was soft on her tongue, sweetness exploding across her taste buds until she hummed unwillingly in appreciation. She seriously loved those things. It had been months ago that Lex had tipped off Jaden on how to do her a favor and it was way too long ago.
“You weren’t lying when you said she loved those little things,” Kaden said in awe and Maya saw Jaden grin. He drew her in until her lips were pressed against his and he licked over them, his body instantly jumping with lust. To her dismay he smothered the feeling down instantly.
“Cany suggested we try to let you have a little bit of the childhood you might have missed, so she suggested Tangled. It’s a movie from fairytale and –”
“Oh!” Maya squealed. Cany had told her so much about her Disney movies, but so far the two girls hadn’t found the time to really sit down and watch. She did know though that most likely this wasn’t something for the males, especially not two warriors.
“I don’t think you want to watch that movie,” she remarked and the guys exchanged a glance, then, Jaden placed her on the bed while Kaden turned on the TV and then came over with her Chai and the rest of the roll. She devoured it before taking a sip from her tea. It was already getting cold, but she didn’t mind at all. It still tasted like heaven in a cup. They started and Maya felt absolutely relaxed, cuddled against both twins. She should make this a weekly thing, she decided. She just wanted some love and happiness and those two were the biggest part of what made her happy.
Maya laughed and as much as Kaden had worried about this movie, it probably was the best choice ever. Jaden’s idea had been nothing short of brilliant. Maya always was beautiful, but there was just something about the way she shone when not the slightest worry pulled her down.
“By the Creator, you are so damn beautiful,” he mumbled and she just winked at him over her shoulder after sitting up, almost ready to crawl into the TV. She had started on the ice-cream half way through the movie and each time she licked along the spoon, making sure she didn’t miss any of they gooey goodness. Looking behind her back at Jaden, he realized that his twin’s eyes were on their Origin only. It was seldom that Jaden’s expression was unguarded, free from their typical frown. That moment he funnily looked young, just like Maya. If they’d be normal, just some humans, they’d be in their prime, ready for children and small worries like bills to take care of. They’d be an exceptionally good-looking couple.
Jaden’s eyes flickered to him and Kaden noticed that Maya’s happy expression had faltered. Something akin to accusation was written all over his brother’s face and too late Kaden realized that incredibly longing and a feeling of misplacement had crossed the bond between him and Maya and therefore had caused Maya’s smile to vanish.
She was still focused on the TV and Jaden pulled up a brow in question, just barely shaking his head.
“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to make you think that you belong to us,” Maya said quietly, digging her spoon back into the melting ice cream, one knee pulled up against her body while her eyes didn’t leave the colorful imagines in front of her.
Kaden took the container of ice cream from her and put it on the nightstand before leaning against the headboard and pulling her with him. He made sure she rested her head on his chest and still could see the movie. “I just thought about how incredible you two would look if you weren’t a vampire Queen and he wasn’t a soldier hardened on the streets,” he explained. “You two looked so content just now. Nothing else,” he promised, kissing her hair. She just nodded, her silence speaking volumes.
He wondered what he could do to make her relax and the only thing that came to her mind was tickling her.
Letting his hand go over her side, he gently poked her ribs, feeling her flinch. He gently probed and poked some more until she was giggling. Jaden joined in and she was thrashing, trying to get away from them, but they wouldn’t let her. The sound of her laughter was clear as bells and Kaden had never felt so light or saw his brother’s face so happy.
“I give in.
Whatever it is, I give in,” she called, trying to keep them away from her ribs. Kaden leaned in and kissed her on her lips before grinning at her. Jaden didn’t lean in, but he still sat back with a satisfied expression.
“Is that what you had in mind?” Kaden asked and Jaden looked back at the beaming female on their bed. There was no denying that she was happy. It didn’t take a bond to notice that.
“It’s exactly what I had in mind,” he agreed and then took his position again, looking back at the TV. Maya crawled over to him, kissing his neck before she rested her head on Kaden’s chest again, letting her hand go under his shirt to place it over his heart. It made him smile since it was just a tiny gesture, but proving exactly how much she needed those little contacts. Jaden moved closer after turning everything off, pressing his stomach against Maya’s, kissing her shoulder. Kaden played with her hair, twisting the dark curls around his finger again and again. They were like silk and he never got tired of touching them.
“I love you, Kaden,” she whispered into the silence of the room and he squeezed her tighter. “I know, Maya. I never doubted that,” he promised and she only nodded.
“He knows he belongs to us. It’s just hard wrapping your mind around things that you always learned to be one way and that then turn out to be totally different. I struggle with the concept sometimes, but then I see you looking at us or how you reach out subconsciously, trying to just get a second’s worth of contact and I know that you need us both. It reminds me why I think this is okay and why I’m not worried. You make sure that we still feel as if we are the only. Each one of us,” Jaden promised and Kaden nodded. It was true. Maya had a way of acting as if they were the only one for her. It was easy to forget that there was a third party involved in this and Kaden thought that this was probably exactly what they needed in order for that to work.
“I’m so sorry,” was all that Maya replied.
“We aren’t,” Kaden reassured her, wondering how he was supposed to let her go soon. He had hardly seen her for six months and felt the need to catch up. The last nights and days had been soothing his soul, making him feel complete again. He no longer had black outs, or moments where he hated the world and that was all he really wanted.
“You saved us, Maya,” he whispered and heard how Jaden agreed. They’d make it, there was not a doubt in his mind. What he did worry about was letting her leave alone and no matter how many times he had said it before, he needed to say it one more time. “If you are not back within a week, Jaden and I will be there, playing with the wolves.”
“She knows,” Jaden whispered softly as Maya didn’t react. Kaden hadn’t even realized her how breathing had evened out. “She didn’t have enough sleep in a while.” Kaden knew why she hadn’t slept enough the night before and he knew Maya wouldn’t sleep much the nights after. Even though he’d probably feel stiff in the neck the moment evening came, he didn’t mind staying in exactly that position as long as Maya slept.
“You think her taking this mission on by herself is a good idea?” he asked and Jaden shifted, sighing.
“I think she’ll go either way. Caging her in will only cause heartache for her and us and in the end she will go anyways. That’s the one thing I learned the last time we tried to lock her up.” Kaden winced, remembering that this could have killed her. “If we let her go,” Jaden went on, “we’ll at least hear from her regularly and Matt promised he’ll keep us updated. This is scary shit, but it probably comes with the territory. Others mate a female and she’ll be nice, staying home and cooking. We mated a Queen, and a fighter on top of that. I can tell you that I’ll be on my knees every damn second I have, praying that the Creator will bring her back to us in one piece.”
“How did you manage to leave her every night and return to the cabin?” Kaden asked. It was something he had wondered ever since seeing Jaden and her together.
“Let’s say our first months weren’t easy. Every time I walked away, I knew it was what she wanted. I did everything wrong in the beginning and now seem to do everything right. You did everything right in the beginning and then messed up along the way. There’ll be trials, a lot of them, where Maya will have to defend her decision. There’ll be times we fight, maybe just one of us and her, maybe she with us, but I think all that matters at the end of the night is that we support her and let her know that she can always count on us,” his twin explained thoughtfully and Kaden had to grin.
“You are ready to tie her up and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, aren’t you?” he asked and Jaden laughed quietly.
“Hell yeah, wrap her in bubble wrap and never let her out of my sight. That wolf-thing will be the death of me,” Jaden admitted.
“Won’t happen.”
Jaden stayed silent for a long moment. “I know,” he groaned and then Kaden felt him shift, hugging Maya tighter.
Bubble wrap sounded like the best plan ever, but Kaden knew that for now they could be happy they were wrapped in a bubble for the day.
Leaving was harder than Maya had anticipated. Despite the fact that the twins would always know where she was, and that she was alive and well, she feared that she was out on a mission doomed to fail. She and Lara had talked a lot about how Lara saw the wolves and what she thought would be the best approach, yet she couldn’t guess how things would go once she got down to the Clarity Pack.
Clarity was a little town that once lived off the fact that they were set on a crossroad well traveled with merchants. It was the reason why the wolves had settled there, too. Now it was a lush green forest area stretching over thousands of square miles and barely anyone around. Maya’s research had brought up that a Morningstar Coven was somewhere around there, too, and even though it as weird that the pack and the Coven should get along well, she didn’t think about that fact closer. She planned on seeing the vampires though, even if it only meant introducing herself. She wanted the vampires to know that they had a Queen they could always count on.
“They changed a lot,” Lara suddenly said from the backseat. Matt was driving, the low hum of the SUV almost lulling, while the headlights of the cars passing them highlighting his blond hair until it looked almost white. There were deep creases on his forehead and Maya realized that he most likely had gotten hell from about every warrior in the mansion. After all, he was the youngest and carried precious load where it concerned the rest.
“They did. They all are so much more serious. I can’t remember the last time all warriors hung out in a game room and just shot some pool,” he gave back and Maya raised a brow. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that things had changed so much for all warriors.
“We need to get better organized,” she mumbled, wishing she had thought more about the rest of them. “There need to be plans and –”
“Maya, it’s not your fault things got busy. First, the Hellraise came for you and we had all hands full, then you needed to get out and prove that you are the Queen we deserve, and then the storm that hit us… there’ll be times we all will be bored,” Matt said gently and she took a deep breath. She had missed talking to him.
“How have you been?” she asked and he shrugged, giving her a smirk before focusing back on the street.
“Better if you hadn’t been mad at me for being in on getting you out of the compound and over to the mansion,” he admitted and she felt guilty. Maybe she should have mentioned months earlier that she wasn’t mad at him anymore. There just had been so much going on, the problem had slipped her mind, especially since for her it hadn’t been a problem anymore.
“I don’t think she was mad at anyone but Colbin and me,” Lara commented and Maya saw Matt threw a glance at Lara in the rearview mirror. It was unreadable and yet, she could hear Lara’s smile when she spoke again. “We all were wrong at some point, but I’d like to emphasize what Matt said. You did great. Jaden picked up Colbin’s role without hesitation.
“He tried proving himself to our little Queen,” Matt whispered and Maya rolled her eyes.
> “He never had to prove himself. He was there when I needed it, even if he tried to cover it up. He took a little longer until he decided that he not only could have me, but wanted me as well, and that was okay. After that, it was just as much me, wondering if I was cheating on him secretly because I wanted to see Kaden’s face just once.”
“Are you scared, Maya?” Lara asked and Maya turned in her seat to look at Colbin’s Origin.
There was so much she could say she was scared of, but she figured it was better keeping that under wraps. “Scared?” she inquired and Lara shrugged.
“Of this mission. Do you think this will end okay?”
Maya faced the front again, staring out into the night as she thought about how best to answer that. “I have to be honest, I’m terrified that we won’t be able to help the little wolf. That’s the only thing I’m worried about. Everything else? Nope, not at all.” That was a lie. She worried they’d be too late. She worried the wolves wouldn’t even let get them close. She worried that if things happened, no one was around to help them. She was afraid that Colbin would never get to see Lara again. She was scared she wouldn’t get to feel the twins again. There was nothing she was sure about and that was probably the worst thing of all.
Ryder was pulled aside by Cany, and he eyed her while she wrung her hands.
“Cany, I’m not in a mood to play games. Your anxiousness is coming loud and clear through the bond. I don’t know what to do or tell you, but maybe you should –”
“Check on the twins. You’re Maya’s brother. You owe it to her to make them act rather normal.” He did a double take, staring at his Origin. It eased his mind to know that she belonged to him and a little of the tension straining his shoulders left.
“There’s a way for the twins to act normal?” he wanted to know, only half teasing.
Cany opened the door to the kitchen and Ryder caught a glance at Jaden gritting his teeth, hands rested on the table top while Kaden pushed a coffee mug from one hand to the other. Okay, that really wasn’t normal behavior for the two. He already worried enough about Maya, he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if it was Cany in that car for them. He drew his Origin into his side, kissing her head softly.