40. Those Green Eyes

**MAEVE**

For the longest second, Xander fixed me a wary look and left. I had seen so many shades of this man, mostly consisting of power, pride and fury that the flitting glance of sadness pierced me. It was not my intention to hurt him, but I only acted on self-preservation. It might have been a thoughtless act but surely not a selfish one.
Sometime later, my eyelids were starting to feel heavy and in no time, I was lulled back to sleep having my stomach full of warm soup and my body tucked into the comfort of the room. The only thing missing was the presence of the man in my bed.
Sense of time got lost into the deep sleep, where certain images of dark forest and scenes from Prescott inhabited my mind. The flashes of the night in the park - the night I saw Xander explode out of his skin into a ferocious beast - flickered again and again. Although it was not a memory worth storing, the nightmare started to plague too many times. So much so that I woke up with a start, drenched in cold sweat.
“Not again,” I whined to myself.
It has been months since I had a bad dream or a vision, and it almost made me forget that I even had one. I was under the impression that my visions would not work on the supernaturals, given their difference with the humans. Numerous possibilities rambled inside my head as I tried to make sense.
I stayed in my room for a good part of the day and evening, lost in my own grief, confusion and restlessness. It was clear that Xander would not exactly want me wandering around, especially not in my condition. And the last thing I wanted to do was irk his temper.
Suddenly, a knock on the door stole my attention and snapped me out of my musings.
Xander would not, obviously, knock on our door.
Hastily rubbing an arm over my eyes, I hobbled over to pen the door and found Blaize. And a woman I have only come to know through my hidden exploration.
Sedona.
Unlike last night, she wore a plain dusty pink tank top and a pair of ripped jeans. Her hair cut short around her chin in a chic look and looked nothing like it was hacked away in utter brutality.
Her brows raised slightly when I stood staring at her with a dumbstruck expression and quickly snapped out of the daze.
“Umm…yeah…please, come in,” I invited, opening the door wide for her accommodation.
Sedona offered a soft smile but turned around to look at Blaize. Only when he nodded his assent, did she step inside.
He stood tall at the threshold, with his eyes trained over Sedona as a hawk. I knew it would be completely futile to invite him in, so softly requested, “Is it too much to ask if I want to speak to her in private?”
His eyes flitted between us, contemplating the decision and finally nodded. “Okay.”
“Thank you.”
I slowly shut the door as he left and turned to face Sedona. Her eyes inspected the dimmed bed room, Xander’s side of the bed which was completely neat, given he had hardly stayed in the room and finally landed on me.
“If I am summoned in here, that means you already know my name?” she hinted and seemed completely at ease. Sedona did not look anything like last night, save otherwise her physical attributes.
“I do.” I limped over to the bed, plopping myself down on the edge while Sedona sat on the chaise. “And I did not summon you, I simply wanted to meet you. From what I can tell, you know my name as well.”
Sedona smiled briefly. “Your name as well as your place. Although I am not if I am allowed to take your name without the rightful title.”
“I have no title,” I pointed out.
“Well, not yet, but soon you will.”
“Until then my name still belongs to me, Sedona,” I said, uttering her name for the first time. “So, yes, you can call me by my name.”
“Thank you, Maeve. It is an honour, indeed.” She smiled. “One that is often unseen and unheard in the pack.”
Something sparked in her eyes, other than the fact that she was a wolf. It was only then I noticed, the bold green on her orbs that flashed beautifully and complimented her red hair. But there was something else too, and I just could not figure out what.
I quickly averted my eyes and slowly shook my head. “Strangely, I am still learning the protocols and culture of the wolves.”
“So I have been told.” She nodded. “Xander…I mean the Alpha said that you wanted to talk to me. What could the future-luna of the pack possibly have anything with a branded rogue?”
The mere mention of her past slipped the mask of normalcy she had put on, and for the first time, true emotions surfaced. And it was that of regret.
“If words were to believe, you have already paid your penance,” I said carefully, not to reveal anymore that what I had intended. “From where I come, penance is the exoneration of the sins.”
Sedona smiled, without humour or relief. “Where I live, you pay the price with blood - no matter what your sins are. And the only one who can absolve you, is the Divine Moon Goddess. So, you see, I am yet to atone many of my sins.”
“They told me that you willingly…chose to be penalised. Is that true?” It was still beyond me to believe my eyes that a woman was ready to make amends to such extremes. “I can understand that you wanted to return, but how could you have possibly agreed without hitting a breath?”
“Did I have a choice?” She put out in plain sadness and heaved a long sigh. “I knew the consequences when I left the pack and Dylan. I knew that if I have to come back, I’d have to pay the price with shame and honour. Every wolf who pledged their loyalty and life to their pack knows of the consequence in breaking the vows. And I just broke the biggest vow of them all.”
Her green eyes were no more sad but glossing in tears, threatening to fall.
"Which is?” I dared.
“My mate,” Sedona whispered and that dam just broke. Fat tears rolled on her cheeks that she quickly wiped away and hung her head. “I broke our connection without a respectful rejection and disobeyed the Goddess.”
“I have met people who have done worse than you have and gotten away with life.”
The visions were the proof, now that I knew the dark secrets of the humans who did far worse than leaving their partners.
“Yes, people,” Sedona agreed. “But not wolves.”
*Right. Not wolves*.
The pack house had been so warming that I almost forgot how it was not to live among humans.
My emotions must have reflected a little too vividly as Sedona quickly apologised. “I am so sorry, Maeve, I did not want to sound like that. Please don’t be offended.”
“I am not.” I shook my head, easing in and smiled. “The truth is, I am still wrapping my mind around the whole…shifter thing. It’s a bit overwhelming for a…human, you know.”
There was something strange about the way she smiled every time, like she had known me for much longer. I have met the other wolves, and never did I feel anything odd.
*Maybe, it is just a rogue thing* - I justified it in my head.
“You must be a magnificent one, given the Goddess chose you for an alpha,” she praised with a hint of edginess in her voice. Like she was trying to tell me something. And just like all her words, it held some latent explanation.
“Only the Goddess knows.” I shrugged and finally braved a chance. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Go ahead, I’ll try to answer if I can.”
“Have we met before?” I blurted out, noting in the way her eyes looked so familiar. “Why does it feel like I have seen you…and I have known you.”
Sedona laughed a little, dismissing my notion. “I don’t think so. I would have surely remembered you if we had ever crossed paths. Even among the humans, you stand out. Maybe that’s the reason you have the heart of an alpha wolf.”
I stared at her for a long moment before finally setting aside my concerns. Clearly, it was eccentric.
“Thank you, Sedona.”
Her eyes roamed around the room before settling over mine. “May I ask who was bold enough to hurt you in this manner? Xander must have been furious.”
Given no one had knowledge of my escapade, other than Xander and Blaize, I was all too assured that Sedona had no air of it. But she was no fool either.
And clearly, she suspected something more than she was letting on.
I quickly chuckled under my breath, waving off her concerns. “He was, only it was not anyone’s fault,” I lied. “I was exploring the woods, encountered something wild and just lost my way.”
The green of her eyes twinkled a bit.
“A beauty, as precious as you are, should stay away from the wild.”
My brows pulled together in confusion, and right before I could retort, she got up. “I should leave. Dylan is waiting for me.”