Chapter 89

“So, let me make sure I understand this right. Your mom was actually pregnant with twins when she ran away and to keep you safe, she separated you and had a witch wipe all your memories. Is that right?” Tommy asks rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah.” Maya says glancing at Freddie.

“Our mother sent me to stay with a friend of hers, but the woman I lived with got really sick and she said she didn’t want to die without telling me the truth. I had no memory of any of my family, so she told me to visit a witch that lived in our town and have my memories restored. She died a few days later and I met with the witch soon after. I had been young and there was a lot I didn’t know before my memory was wiped. I remembered my mother and father’s names though and I immediately started looking for them. That’s how I found out that they had been killed, and that Maya was no longer even in the same state. Finding her was a lot more difficult, but I was able to find the lawyer who helped her and when he learned who I was he told me where to find her.” Freddie explains.

“So why did it take so long for you to come to her then?” Tommy asks firmly.

“Well, I knew what city she was in but not where she was. I tried contacting the lawyer when I got here but I couldn’t reach him. So, I was kind of stuck with throwing out a wide net and seeing if I could find any clues of where she could be. I saw an article in the state news saying a body was found killed by a suspicious animal attack. Then the following weeks a lot of strange things were being reported around the same area. It piqued my interest, and I decided to travel here. I met Will not long after arriving here. He recognized me as a wolf pretty much straight away and offered to introduce me to the pack. I subtly asked about Maya and was told that she was gone. So, I stayed and waited, and I ended up telling Annie and Will everything.” Freddie continued.

“Do you remember everything now too Maya?” Noah asks softly.

Maya shakes her head. “Not exactly. My memories are there but none of them included Freddie, but when I asked him things about our parents, he knew everything. From what he told me; it wasn’t hard to believe he was telling the truth. Plus, he reminded me a lot of our mom.” She says offering her brother a soft smile.

Tommy sighs loudly. “This is crazy. I swear there is nothing at this point that would surprise me.”

“I am sorry about all this, but there is more.” Maya says swallowing hard.

“What do you mean?” Eli asks looking toward her.

She could see they all looked tired, they had been sent through a mess since she walked into their lives. It would be so much easier to walk away and let them go on without her. Maybe they could find a way some day to break what the Fae had done to them, and Maya was ready to make that happen if it meant the boys could be happy.

“Freddie had been contacted by a man to do some work for him, and he found out that the man was actually our mother’s brother. Freddie didn’t reveal himself though, so as far as our uncle knows we are strangers. My uncle blames the Fae for taking my mother away and giving her to a dangerous alpha eventually leading to her death. He wants the whole Fae council to fall as justice for what happened to our mother.” Maya starts, and Freddie picks up the story after she pauses.

“He had planned to get Maya alone and convince her to help him.” Freddie looks to Maya for a moment unsure if he should reveal the plan.
Maya speaks instead. “He wants to temporary remove all of my abilities. Without them he thinks the Fae will give up on whatever they have planned for me if I were to join them. The confusion will offer him and his men a chance to move for the council’s removal.”

“And hopefully we can find a way to revers what our mother did, and Maya can be free.” Freddie adds.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” Tommy asks with noticeable anger.

“I mean that this bond between the five of you was done by the Fae for selfish reasons, it was never supposed to be like this for any of you.” Freddie says.

“So, if this whole thing can be reversed, we won’t be bound to Maya anymore?” Eli asks.

“Exactly. All of you would be free.” Freddie says plainly.

“You guys never asked for this, maybe it would be for the best.” Maya says feeling her heart clench at the idea of the bond between them being broken.
She felt guilty that she had singlehandedly ruined their peaceful lives, and that was enough motivation to do right by them. She didn’t care if that meant she would lose everything; she was ready to make that sacrifice. The room fell silent after that.

“Maya?” Thomas says breaking the silence. “Is that what you want?”

Maya wants to say no, of course she doesn’t want to lose them but how could she ask them to stay when this was their chance to be free of all of this.

“I think if even one of us wants to break the bond, then we should be given that choice. The choice isn’t mine alone and in truth my say doesn’t really matter. It is because of my mother that you have been forced into a bond with me. I cannot ask you to sacrifice your chance at a normal life.” Maya says trying to keep her voice steady and not give away that all she wanted to do right now is cry.

“You didn’t answer the question Maya. Is it what you want?” Tommy pushed.

Maya stammered for a moment, battling herself on the right way to answer.

“Just spit it out Maya! For once just say what you want!” Tommy yelled.

The thundering of his voice broke the dam in Maya that had been holding her together up until then, and tears freely fell from the corners of her eyes.

“You need to calm down.” Freddie says standing and giving Tommy a warning growl.

“I am the future alpha here, and that is MY mate. So, stay out of this!” tommy growls back standing and taking a step toward Freddie.

Noah stands and tries to keep Tommy back.

“Maya, please just tell us what you want. Do you not see that is all we care about?” Eli asks gently moving from his seat and kneeling in front of her and taking her hands.

“Everyone has plans and you have been pulled every which way trying to satisfy everyone’s wants and expectations. Even when you try to think for yourself, someone else steps in and takes that away from you. I agree that we need to find a way for you to be free, but does freedom to you mean a life without us? If it does, please just say so.”
Maya was crying harder now, and she leaned forward and rested her head on Eli’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to lose you guys.” She says softly into the fabric of his shirt. “But I don’t want to hurt you either.”

Eli moves his hands away from where they had been holding her hands and wrapped his arms around her. With a firm tug he pulls her into his lap, and she wraps her arms around his neck, letting the sobs she had been holding back fall from her lips freely.

“Look, I know this has all been a lot for all of you. That is why I mentioned the fact that when everything was over you could all go your separate ways if you wished to. But if you wished to stay together, then that is your choice. However, if one of you wants the break the bond it could affect all of you. In other words, it’s an all or nothing choice. So, you guys need to seriously consider this before we move forward. It’s late, so I will leave and let you guys talk. If our uncle contacts me, I will call you, ok Maya?”
Freddie asks looking to his sister.

Maya lifts her head and offers him a small nod, which he returned with a sympathetic smile.

“See you all later then.” Freddie says as his last goodbye before heading toward the front door and leaving the five of alone to talk.

“Maya, how long before your uncle wants to meet with you again?” Noah asks.
Eli stands but keeps his arms secured around Maya’s waist, and lead her to the couch to sit between him and Noah.

“A day or two at most.” She replies with an unsteady voice.

“Then we need to decide soon. Like your brother said, this is all or nothing. So, if one of us wants to break the bond now is the time to speak up.” Noah says calmly.
Maya keeps her head lowered and her eyes fixed on her hands, not wanting to see the men she had grown to love contemplate such a thing. The silence that followed only further ingrained the fear of losing everything into her thoughts.

“I never thought of taking a mate,” Thomas begins to say, “but I also can’t see myself going back to the life I had and being happier than I have been here with Maya. I’m staying.”

“Me too. I don’t know if we will ever have a time when all hell is not falling down on us, but I would rather fight to be with you than to be without you.” Eli says with a loving smile.

“I’m here to stay as well. I too never imagined taking a mate or even searching for one, but I was given a chance to feel true love for someone. Someone who has been through far more than anyone should and still is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for our freedom. It is no sacrifice on my part to stay by her side.” Noah says in his usual stoic way.

That left Tommy, and he was the one Maya was most nervous to hear from. He had been angry a lot lately, and it had been a while that Maya had seen the fun-loving side of him, she had known when they first met. He was hurting, and she blamed herself. So, she told herself that she wouldn’t blame him for being the one to decide he was done for good.

“Tommy? What is your choice?” Noah asks his friend firmly.

Maya glanced up to see Tommy’s head lowered and his eyes fixed on the ground below.

“Honestly, I am tired.” He says with a sigh.

Those words hit Maya instantly and she looks to her last mate with hope quickly slipping away.