52. Unexpected Guest

**MAEVE**

Ever since I had stepped into the territory of werewolves and had been installed by Xander’s side, there was not a single vision that had plagued my mind. And I had grown so much to the comfort that I almost forgot that I had a psychic mind of my own.
Either from the side-effect of the werewolf mark or any other event, my visions were back and haunting. That was the only explanation Xander could soothe into my mind as I was about to slip into palpitation. For the flashes, I saw, were not for the weak-hearted. There was a vast stretch of land, and as far as my eyes went, it was a pool of blood. And beside me was the heap of dead werewolves.
It can’t be right. Most of my visions were related to the past. So, there was no way a tragedy was coming for us.
“Let me take you to the room. You must rest, Maeve. Maybe, it’s just due to anxiety,” Xander reasoned.
“I am okay now,” I assured. “But you should go. Blaize has been calling you for an hour. It has to be something important. Why don’t you go to the Chamber of the Alpha and I will take a catnap?”
“Okay,” he said, placing a kiss on my lips that was more of a bite.
Our conflicted lives aside, I was again reminded that I would never get enough of this man.
****
As I made my way back to the room, a sudden sight halted my steps. But I was not the only one who was startled because the person coming out of my room was equally surprised.
“Sedona. What are you doing here?” I asked incredulously. No one was supposed to enter the private chamber of the alpha. While I was not highly peeved about the werewolf protocols, the small invasion of privacy irked me.
“I came here looking for you,” was her quickest, shortest, and most obvious reply.
I quirked a brow. “For me?” And then looked between the half-closed door and her.
Sedona quickly shook her and apologized. “I am sorry for entering your room without permission. It’s just that the door was open, but when I knocked, I did not catch a sound.”
Plausible, but untrue. Because I clearly remember the soft thud of the door before Xander and I had gone out to meet Esmeralda. The question was: what was Sedona doing in our room? And why would she even risk such an act, given she was already paying the price?
“Xander must have forgotten to lock,” I lied, flashing a warm smile. “Come, let’s have the chat you came in for.”
As I was about to enter, she stopped me. “It’s alright if you wish to rest, Maeve. I can come visit any other time.”
“As you can see, I am well-rested,” I reasoned. “Please, come inside. I insist.”
A brief look of uncertainty crossed her face as she quickly masked it with a small smile and stepped into the room with me. Her steps were hesitating, but it has nothing to do with her inelegance.
“Thank you.” She faced once again, overcompensating with a smile. “They told me that you are recovering quite well.”
I gestured an extended arm at the couch as she took a seat while I sat across from her. “I am. But you sound unusually curious, Sedona. Is there something you want to ask me?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she conceded. “In the history of shifters, we have never seen a wolf marking a…” she groped for a better word. “…non-shifter.”
“It’s okay. You can say that I am human. It’s not a bad thing to say.”
Sedona mirrored the same courteous smile as mine and slowly turned grim and quiet. “The Asas said that you almost went dead. It must have been a dreadful experience.”
“Clearly, I survived - no suspense there.” I sighed, wondering if only she knew half the things I had seen or was forced to encounter. And the battle that was coming for me was another story. “And yes, it was physically devastating for sometime. I believe the Goddess has been kind to me, after all.”
“Yes, she has been kind.” Sedona nodded slowly as the red hairs framing her face, grazed her cheeks. “Speaking of, I also wanted to thank you for your kindness and generosity. You had convinced Xander to allow me to join the Halloween celebration with the pack mates. I am truly grateful for that.”
Since when was that public knowledge? Even if a handful of people knew, they would not detail Sedona about it, for sure. But her words held a substantial weight of conclusiveness.
“It wasn’t me, but Xander,” I corrected—technically. “He is the alpha and it was his decision at the end of the day. You should thank him, not me.”
Sedona did not disagree but smiled big. And her smile told me that she clearly stood dissented. Of all the she-wolves I have met so far, I have to say that she is the most intriguing of them all. Most because of the aura of mystery, she carried like a halo.
“Forgive me for being so bold,” she said politely, casually tucking the story bunch of red tresses behind her ears. “But Xander would have never taken the decreed if you had not convinced him to do so. Rogues are not welcomed into the pack without serving their penance, and if I was allowed, it meant that someone advocated for me.”
“You seem convinced. May I know why?”
Sedona tore her gaze from mine and looked down at her hands for a moment. She was a wise woman who does everything with caution and care, until a moment ago, when I caught her red-handed.
“Xander is a good alpha and was born to rule this pack. But he is also old-school,” she said with fearless criticism. “His words are always set in stone and seldom challenged or changed. He would have never agreed to let me join unless the word came for you.”
“You don’t seem to agree much with the old-school rules,” I pried, naturally curious. “Isn’t that what kept the wolves safe from the dangers - the discipline that bound them together as a unity?”
“Yes, it does,” she acquiesced but did not fail to vocalize her arguments, too. “But rules cannot define every step of our way. If you keep them in water-tight compartments, we will never grow and evolve. Our species has been living with humans for so long, and yet we failed to grow liberal.”
Sedona was, axiomatically, correct. But my knowledge of the political, cultural, and social nuances of the werewolves was highly sparse, even after living with them for so many months.
“So are you suggesting that the pack adapts to be democratic? I thought they already were. The position of an alpha can be challenged and as long as someone the deserving one wins, he rises to the position.”
Sedona scoffed a soft laugh. “Easier said than done.”
“Then why did you come back?” I asked. Clearly, she had her own justification and grounds to stand upon, but the werewolf community was still far from it. “You knew that you’d have to pay the price anyway. How could you agree to the very things you detested in the first place?”
Her gaze returned to her hands, bunched in her lap once again, and it felt like she was deliberately avoiding the eye contact. “The Goddess brought me here. It was Her will that I should return to my mate - to the place where I belong. That’s why I came back,” she answered softly.
It was challenging to say if she was telling the truth or not.
“Is that the only reason?” I probed.
Dragging in a long, shuddering breath, she nodded. “The Goddess’s will is the only reason. That’s the reason I could survive every speck of pain and humiliation thrown at my way.” Her eyes turned glassy as if the deep, bottomless pool of orbs held more histories than I ever wanted to know. “I lived because she gave me the strength.”
Every word she uttered was wrapped in a puzzle I badly wanted to decipher. It felt like she was trying to convey something for a long time.
“You lived on her strength?” I asked with a tinge of incredulity. “What happened when you went rogue, Sedona?”
She instantly stiffened and snapped her gaze at me. Whatever look of easiness she masked went down out of the window in a flash. Sedona rose, making her way toward her in her lightning wolf-speed. “I am sorry, Maeve. I have stayed far too long outside my room. I have to go back.”
And before I could get a word out, she was gone.
*What happened during her days as a rogue wolf?*

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