Regretted Rejection : Wrath of the Moon

Before Bella arrived at Council Headquarters, Maya was pacing up and down while waiting for Xander to load up the car with camping gear.

"Good Morning Maya... are you guys all set for your trip?" Dylan asked, pulling Maya off her thoughts.

"Yes. Xavier is bringing down the bags to the car." Maya gestured towards the entrance.

"So, where are you guys going?" Dylan asked.

"There is a private forest area located about a couple hours from here. It is kind of a reservation for were creatures. We thought that it would be perfect for Sam. He could experience the life of being a wolf thoroughly. He could also meet different were creatures and get some exposure to their culture.” Maya replied.

"That seems like a good plan." Dylan nodded.

"Hey guys... how about giving me a hand here?" Xander was standing with a bunch of bags in his hands and staring at the door of the car trunk.

Maya glanced at him in confusion, before hastily mumbling, "Sorry! I was distracted.” Maya apologized when she realised that she had been too absorbed in her thoughts and had left all of the work to Xander.

"Are you still thinking about Ryder and Bella?" Xander asked noticing the frown on her face.

"Yes. I don't want them to hurt each other. They have already been through a lot. There is no need for added trauma.” Bella said softly.

"Don't worry Maya. I will keep an eye on them and make sure that they behave.” Dylan assured Maya.

Xander looked at her sad face and felt that her words also suited their situation. Maya had been through a lot and that trauma sometimes made itself known in form of nightmares. He wondered if his presence was adding onto her trauma. As her mate, he wanted to take away her pain but he didn't know how to take away the pain that he himself had caused her. Perhaps there was no need for him in her life...

Before Xander could start thinking deeply on the matter, a pair of little arms wrapped around his leg. He looked down to see Sam hugging him, looking all excited. Maya had put away few bags in the trunk when he was caught up in his thoughts.

Xander shook his head and squatted down to Sam's level. "Someone is looking very excited for the trip.” Xavier said in a teasing tone.

"Yes. Yes. Let's go. We are going camping. Stop being so slow.” Sam rushed both Xander and Maya. Laughing they climbed in the car and set off to drive to the camping ground.

When they arrived at the camping site, they could see a few were creatures roaming about in their animal form already. There were wolves, tigers, panthers, bears and so on. Sam couldn't stop his eyes from wandering everywhere. His sense of smell was overwhelmed by the scent of so many were creatures.

Sam could feel the wolf inside of him wanting desperately to get out and he couldn't stop his transformation in time. The clothes ripped off his body and fur sprouted all over him. In a blink of an eye, a wolf pup was standing where Sam originally was. He yipped lightly and ran towards Maya to rub his body on her legs and sniff her wonderful scent.

Xander alighted to see Sam sniffing around Maya's ankles. Maya was looking at the pup indulgently. "He recognises you as his family.” Xander said softly.

Maya looked at him and nodded in agreement. "I am glad. I was worried about him and whether he would be able to adjust in the new environment.” she replied in the similar soft tone. Kneeling down she gently patted his head and brushed his coat with her fingers. All were werewolf pups loved getting pets.

Sam yipped again and ran towards Xander. He pulled Xander by the jeans that his little teeth were able to bite. Xander laughed at Sam's antics and walked with him to find an appropriate camping place for themselves. Maya followed behind holding a basket of food and her small bag.

As soon as the tent was set up, Xander and Maya took turns to change out of their human skin and take the wolf form. The family of three then set about exploring the area. They walked around sniffing at the new scents and familiarising themselves with the environment. They came across a few were panthers who were frolicking in the river nearby.

A small panther cub came up to their group and stared at them curiously. Sam too moved forward cautiously and sniffed slightly before drawing back. After a moment or so he repeated the actions till his nose bumped against the panthers nose and the little cub jumped back in surprise. Sam lightly chuffed at her.

The other panthers also came up one by one from the water and stood in front of Maya and Xander. Maya and Xander both sniffed them and noted down their scent in the mind. The groups greeted each other and watched the two kids playing with each other. Maya and Xander were happy that Sam was displaying his pup tendencies without any issues. Xander was worried that Sam might have an issue with his wolf side as an effect of the natural dissolution of the pack. But it seemed that his worries were unfounded.

Maya got up after a few minutes and went in the water to enjoy a dip in her wolf form. She swam in the shallow part of the river and as the force of river wasn't strong she had no issues in her swim. She suddenly thought of a way for the two little children to increase their bond of friendship. Maya knew that were panthers are fond of fishes and she dipped her head in river to catch a fish for the little cub and Sam to eat.

Xander's eyes followed her movements and he was a bit worried when Maya's head dipped inside the water. Maya soon raised the head and shook herself. She came to the shore. Sam and the panther cub ran to her, there was a big fish in her mouth. As she placed the fish on the shore, it flopped around twice, hitting Sam's face with the tail. Sam jumped back a let out a bark.

The panther cub swished his tail and stood at a distance. Sam glanced back at Maya as if asking permission. When she nodded her head, Sam carried the fish to his panther friend and shared the fish with him. Watching the two boys enjoy the fish, the panther female also went to the river to catch another fish. Soon enough a small pile of fishes was built on the shore. The panther female then signalled Maya and Xander to join them in this impromptu meal. Both of them joined gladly and had a nice time with the were panther family.