Chapter 6 : Maya's Dark Secret

In the lush forest, she held back tears as she clung to Maya's shoulder while the she-wolf raced through the trees with her on Maya's back. Every now and then, however, a small hiss escaped Karen's lips. The sound was so low that no creature would be able to hear it, but Maya was a full-grown she-wolf with a high degree of sensitivity, and she was able to detect such small and infrequent sounds.

She had just told Karen through their mind-link that she could hear the sounds of a fight not far to their right. However, Maya decided to keep her distance so as not to get involved in another confrontation while Karen rested to recover her tired body. However, all of Maya's good intentions seemed to be in vain when a few minutes later they realized that an aura was following them.

She increased her speed and tried to break away from the pursuit, but her movements were too rough, reopening the wounds on Karen's body so that blood filled the air like a signal, leaving a trail that was easy to follow. They were forced to stop and prepare for another fight.

She set her down beside a tree as she turned to face the young girl.

"Karen, stay hidden here while I confront and eliminate this threat," Maya said.

Stepping away from the tree to stand on her own, Karen replied, "No, it wouldn't feel right to let you fight alone. We face this together."

A soft smile appeared on the beautiful she-wolf's lips as she looked at her.

"That won't be necessary," Maya told her.

"I can help," Karen persisted.

Maya's smile faded, but she didn't look angry as she grabbed Karen's shoulder. Before she realized what was happening, Maya grabbed the injured shoulder, making her scream softly and push back against the tree, barely able to control herself.

Her hand was covered in Karen's blood as she brought it to her lips to lick it clean without breaking her gaze on Karen. "Your wounds are open again. You're only holding yourself back."

Karen knew she was probably right, but she persisted. "Auras are powerful. You may still need my help."

Smiling again, she said, "I can handle it." But when Karen opened her mouth to reply, she raised her finger and pressed it against Karen's lips. "Let me protect you," she whispered softly.

Karen nodded, too preoccupied with the danger her new partner was in to notice the change in her voice. She watched as Maya lowered her hand, and with one last look, Maya took off at top speed to deal with the threat. Karen sat down to rest, trying to focus on her and her enemy's auras, which grew closer as they argued. In fact, she could hear the faint sounds of battle, which only increased her concern for Maya.

She felt so useless and ungrateful for not being able to help the wolf who had done so much for her. She did not understand why Maya would want to help her at all. If all this blood and death was because Xavier was looking for a mate, why would she help her, who must have seen her as competition to be present in that place when she was only a half-wolf, a female hybrid even younger than she was? But from the beginning, before she even knew that Karen had no intention of fighting to become Luna of the Westwood, the woman had shown no violence toward her.

Why was that? She never even mentioned Xavier's name, except to answer her questions and help her find him to remind her.

She was so confused! She had just decided to wait to ask her about it when she suddenly heard a female scream, though faint to her human ears. Karen wasn't sure who was screaming because the auras and scents of Maya and her opponent were weaker than ever.

Standing up heavily, she turned and ran as fast as she could through the forest, trying to reach Maya, worried that her best friend was in danger. She would not let her die, not while there was still breath in her little body. She had gone alone to protect her—Karen couldn't do anything less to return the favor if necessary.

She knew she had almost reached them by the sound of their approach. She had just circled the tree to see Maya and was moving toward her when she froze, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape as she took in the scene before her.

****

Maya rushed away from the little hybrid girl and turned to face the other she-wolf who had dared to challenge her.

"So you abandoned the hybrid girl, she-wolf," the woman said sternly in front of her.

Black hair tied with a red ribbon fluttered in the wind that pulsed with their merged auras. Her opponent wore a beautiful red dress, decorated with pink flowers on top of the red lining, with purple fabric above and below that looked like petals. The dress hung loosely around her legs so as not to interfere with her movements.

She did not respond to her opponent's statement with words, but instead said, "I am Maya. I think you should know the name of the last person you will meet."

"Elena, remember that when you draw your last breath," her opponent replied, pulling her sword from its scabbard and assuming a fighting stance.

"You seem to have lost your weapon," Elena continued. "After I kill you, I will quickly finish off your little girl. It is truly pathetic for a mature, high-ranking she-wolf to associate with a hybrid girl who is still young and whose power level has not even reached maturity."

Maya raised both hands, palms facing her opponent as her claws grew a foot long, not as long as Elena's sword, but no less deadly.

"As you said, she is mine. You will not touch her." Maya leapt to attack, her claws aimed at her opponent with deadly purpose.

With a swift movement, her opponent grabbed the hilt of her sword with her right hand, pulling it from its scabbard with a sure motion and deflecting Maya's attack with a steady swing. Undaunted, she whirled around and lashed out with the claw of her other hand, only to be met again by her opponent's sword, the collision rumbling around them.

Elena was sure she would win. She had to win. Only she could be Alpha Xavier's mate, only she was truly worthy. With this thought in her mind, she slashed and swung her sword with ease, constantly putting Maya on the defensive.

Her sword skills clearly gave her opponent an advantage that Maya could not reach to hurt, no matter what angle she came from or how fierce her attacks were. Elena could only slice her repeatedly with superficial wounds, while Maya managed to avoid more serious injuries. But how long would it be before a more serious blow came before she could get past Elena's defenses?

Stepping up to try and turn the fight to her advantage, Maya's aura smoldered as power radiated from her as she gathered energy in her clenched fists. She unleashed a blast of energy in the direction of her opponent, continuing to launch attacks even as her opponent jumped and dodged her attacks, slamming into the ground and the surrounding foliage, raining down dust and debris on both of them.

As her opponent jumped back to dodge another energy ball, she felt a foot hit her in the stomach before she could finish her move. The force of the blow sent her flying as the pain took her breath away. She took a hard blow to the face before she could raise her sword in defense.

Quickly regaining her balance, Elena thought to retaliate with flaming fire. She swung her sword in an arc in front of her and a wall of red fire, hotter than anything else, raced toward her. However, Maya sensed the rise in her opponent's aura and jumped out of the way in time, landing on her opponent's sword as she raised it in defense, thinking it was her claws she was trying to dodge.

Instead, Maya sunk her half-foot claws into her opponent's chest, ruining the beauty of the beautiful red gown as it mixed with the other red colors spilling over the fabric. She could feel her claws tearing through tissue and flesh before ripping away bone.

Wincing in pain, her opponent did not panic or try to escape her deadly claws as they dug into her flesh. Instead, she raised a hand to grab Maya's wrist, locking her movement in place. Maya tried to back away as she felt the blade move beneath her, but she was trapped.

She raised her other hand, intending to open Elena's throat to end their fight before she felt another sword thrust, but she never touched her opponent as Elena slid toward her. Her feet lost their footing when the sword was no longer under her, and she fell backwards as sharp teeth pierced her vulnerable neck.

Before they hit the ground, Maya knew she only had a moment before her throat was ripped out and she bled out, so she wrapped her free arm around her opponent and used the new power he had given her.

Elena's growls stopped as she felt her body clinging to Maya wherever she made contact with her. Then she felt herself begin to merge with the she-wolf beneath her, including her mouth wrapped around Maya's neck. She could do nothing but feel terror and horror as her strength was drained from her as her body slowly sank into Maya.

Maya smiled as the pain from the sharp teeth faded as her opponent was completely absorbed and their powers merged, knowing that her opponent's consciousness would die, leaving her as the stronger being after the merger.

Then she rose to a sitting position as her opponent was fully absorbed, almost standing when she felt she was not alone. She turned her head as she stood, ready for a fight as her wounds healed from the merge. She froze as she saw Karen looking at her with fear and disgust.

Startled by the expression on her face, Maya felt confused. With slow steps, she approached the pale girl, who looked shocked, as if paralyzed and unable to move.

"Karen, aren't you feeling well?" she asked worriedly, holding out her hand to Karen without her claws, now that they had returned to normal. But she dodged and moved out of reach.

As she put her hand down, feeling hurt by her reaction, she asked again, "What's wrong, little girl? Karen?"

Still stunned by what she had just witnessed, Karen stood up, trying to contemplate and understand what she had seen and felt. Maya's aura as well as the scent of her body had changed, and it wasn't just because she had absorbed another werewolf's body. The feeling was very scary and familiar at the same time. But how could this demonic aura appear and then disappear? Karen was sure that she felt his evil aura coming from her after what the woman had done to her opponent.