Chapter 126

**Thomas**

The woman standing in front of us looks no older than thirty and yet she has revealed she is Freddie's mother. How is such a thing possible?

"How could you be Freddie's mother?" Tommy asks, vocalizing my question.

"I guess my appearance makes it hard to believe but many don't know that the use of magic helps us Mages remain youthful. the more we practice the longer we live. Now, we can go on discussing my age, or I can tell you the reason I'm here." She says with a raised brow.

"You said Maya sent for you," I say and she nods.

"Yes. I was able to communicate with her using a spell that allows me to step into someone's mind for a brief time." She explains.

"Why would Maya call for you?" I ask.

"She did not intend to since I am well aware she didn't know we existed. She is trapped inside her own mind and I think her fear was what called to me. See, I am the one who joined the four of you to her." She smiles proudly.

"What? I thought it was the Fae who did that." Tommy looks as confused as I am.

We had been told the Fae was responsible for our joining but it appears we know less about it than we thought.

"Yes the Fae had experimented with the idea, but they failed time and time again. Their magic is elemental, so they couldn't seem to get the joining of souls down. They called for our help and eventually we were successful, but then this world became too dangerous for us and we were forced to go into hiding." She explains.

"Why were you forced to go into hiding?" I ask.

"This world was becoming a battleground among the supernaturals. Each wanted to be more dominant and many humans were killed in the tug of war of power. We could not risk any more lives by fighting any longer. So the Fae went back to their world, the Blood Demons retreated into dark fortresses, and we hid in a pocket of the world completely isolated and shielded. That was until my son became unhappy with our current circumstances." I guess it is time to hear the real story about Freddie.

"He said he had been involved in the experiments." I needed to know exactly what we are up against with him.

She nods. "Yes. We tried to bond him with a young Fae girl when he was a child. She did not survive and he endured negative effects from the process. Fae and Mage souls are not compatible as we later found out. When the girl died a piece of her soul remained trapped in him causing his DNA to be corrupted."

"Poisoning him." I finish for her.

"Yes." That is all she says, and I can see a flash of guilt crossed her face. "As he got older his anger grew because he could never bond with another again. it was too dangerous. if he were to have a child there is no telling what will happen to the child. Loneliness and simply being different is enough to make anyone go mad."

"Don't make excuses for what he is doing," Tommy growls out stepping closer to her.

"I'm not, but there is a reason why he is so angry and it is my fault. I know it should be my responsibility to fix what I have done and that is why I have come. I am here to try and protect your people for as long as possible. My son is a very powerful Mage and his army is large and rabid." Her words are a stern warning of what we are up against.

"We need Maya. Freddie has already sent Blood Demons to test our defenses. We have called on the other packs but something tells me we still be greatly outnumbered." Tommy says and I can hear the defeat in his voice.

He is ready to take on the role of Alpha, but when there is a fight that seems impossible to win it is hard for anyone to remain optimistic.

"Your mate is indeed the most powerful supernatural to ever live, but she has been fighting a battle inside herself for too long. Her Fae side and wolf side have been at war and until she can learn to accept all of herself equally she will remain like this. But she is so much more than those two things and it will take a complete transformation to bring all those pieces inside her together. She needs to be reborn."

"A Pheonix," I say and she nods.

"What?" Tommy asks.

"The belief of burning and being reborn. There once was such a creature but they have been extinct for a long time, but the idea of transformation by fire remains. In Maya's case, she will be transformed by the power of pure light." The mage woman explains.

"The energy she creates around herself looks like intense light." Tommy points out.

"Yes, that pure light burns hotter than any fire, and if she has tapped into that power it is likely only a small fraction of her capabilities. She is too afraid to let that kind of power out and that is why she is trapped. All that power flows through her in fractures instead of harmoniously. It has become too much for her, and she will remain trapped for as long as she does not fully give in to that power and trust herself to use it correctly. To quote a human movie, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' That could not be even more true for Maya." She says and Tommy snorts at her pop culture reference.

I don't understand it, but he seems to.

"So what do we do now?" Tommy asks.

"I will create a force field around your pack lands and we will prepare the best we can. Freddie has turned the Blood Demons into ravenous monsters, and they will do anything for the hunger they feel. They no longer have free will. He has poisoned their minds as well as their bodies." She explains.

"He has been feeding them his own blood," I add.

"Yes and even convinced some of our community to follow and be used to feed his army as well. Mage blood is very potent, and should only be used sparingly but Freddie has turned an entire species to become addicted. They will do anything for their next fix and that makes them willing to kill to get it." Tommy and I nod and take in her words.

"I'll show you to the border," Tommy says before looking at me. "DO you want to stay with her?"

I look down at Maya's peaceful form and feel the pain of her silent mind. "Yes, I will stay behind."

Tommy nods and turns and directs the Mage out of the room leaving Maya and me alone.

I pull a chair next to her bed and let my eyes take in every one of her features. She looks as if she is simply sleeping, but I can see her eyes moving frantically under her closed eyes lids.

"Come back to us Maya. Stop fighting yourself and come back to us." Is say softly.





**Maya**

"Come back to us..."

Thomas.

I have heard their voices on and off in this room. The sound rattles the walls around the darkness but every time I try to reach out and hold on to anything that will help me escape this place it falls out of my grasps. The woman says I have to be reborn and that means accepting every part of me. It sounds so simple but I can feel the intense power that simmers under my skin and it burns to be set free. But how many could be hurt if I let that happen? Yes, it may help me save my people, but what happens after? Will I be able to pull that power back before it destroys everything?

There is no one to teach me though, so how do I figure this out? It feels like the answer is simple. I need to trust myself, but I never have. I have doubted myself at every turn and it's not easy to turn off the doubt I feel. It seems so impossible that so much depends on me. An orphaned science experiment.

The images of my mates and Isaiah flash through my mind as Thomas's voice keeps calling out to me. Am I being too selfish? What will happen to them if I don't pull this together? I won't think about that because....

I would never do anything to hurt them.

I would never hurt my people.

If someone threatened them I would fight to the death to defend them.

I am their leader. Their protector.

This isn't about me and my fear. This is about my family.

It's time to fight for what's mine.