Regretted Rejection : Wrath of the Moon

"I can hear you.” Maya said excitedly in her mind. She felt a chuckle rumble through his chest. "When will I start feeling your emotions and thoughts?” Maya questioned, this time using normal communication.

"The bond is newly formed. It will take some getting used to before we are able to share everything with each other.” Xavier replied.

Sam excitedly ran near the two of them and sniffed their slightly changed scent curiously. Acquainting himself with the new scent, he gave both of their faces a long lick and snuggled down next to them.

The little family of three fell asleep in the meadow itself. Under the stars, the gentle wind blowing as if singing a lullaby, they settled down for a nap.

Xavier knew he was dreaming. He knew that he was surely dreaming but he couldn't understand how to get out of it. He saw that he was in a room with almost no light. It was cold and the place reeked of blood and other bodily fluids.

He witnessed a strange man taking a knife laced with silver and making small cuts on his skin. He tried to resist but his hands were tied up. He could only watch in horror as the man sneered at him and took up a variety of torture instruments laid on the table nearby.

He watched as the man made a deep cut and poured a little molten silver in his lower abdomen. The man leaned near and said, "Oops. It seems I tool away your ability to be a mother. Your mate had made explicit instructions to this end. Now even if you do escape this life, no one will ever want you again. So be obedient and accept me as your master. I promise that all torture will halt as soon as that word passes your lips my beloved little slave.”

It was those words that made Xavier understand that it was not his dream but Maya's dream. The mate bond was transmitting this nightmare that Maya was suffering from to him. This realisation gave him strength to leave the dream behind and wake up. It was dark in the night and he sat up completely disoriented.

He glanced at Maya who was sleeping by his side. Some time during the night she had shifted in her wolf form and low snarls were rumbling from her mouth. He saw that the snarls had woken Sam as well and he was whimpering and licking Maya's face.

Xavier lifted Sam in his hands and sat upright. He then closed his eyes and concentrated on the mate bond. Almost at once pain and fear overwhelmed him but pushing aside those feelings he focused on his love for Maya. He thought about the day he first saw her, how the majestic wolf form of hers had blown him away and then he focused on the day when he had realised how he lost her perhaps forever. The pain and sadness had filled him to the brim. He then thought of the day when he saw her again, her strength and courage had overwhelmed him and filled him with pride. He also thought of the pain that he had dealt on her and his thoughts of regret. He finally focused on how despite not consummating their relationship, they had marked each other and how much love he wanted to shower her with for the rest of their life.

Finally Maya's snarls quietened down and she shifted in her human form, though she still remained in deep sleep. Xavier set Sam down on his other side and curled around Maya's body as if protecting her. Sam also fell asleep, after a while, his body snuggling against Xavier's back.

When Xavier woke up again, it was morning and the sun was shining on the meadow. He looked down at the woman in his arms and was reminded of the nightmare he had at night.

He finally realized why Maya was so defensive and untrusting with him and her family. It was because they really took away everything from her including her future. He then had an epiphany, it was because Maya couldn't be a mother anymore, that Sam was given to Maya by the Moon Goddess herself. The natural dissolution was the Moon Goddess's way to correct a grave injustice and right everything that was wrong. He felt humbled at the reality that was a part of Maya's life and now his.

He couldn't help himself and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. He wished that he could take away her pain and shield her from the trauma she was still clearly suffering from

Maya roused from her sleep and stretched lazily. It was the best sleep she had in ages. She glanced around her and saw Xavier besides her. She blushed when she saw that Xavier had been staring at her.

"Good morning." Xavier drawled softly.

"Good morning”, Maya replied. "Where is Sam?" she asked glancing around. Xavier sat up and revealed the small ball of fur laying on the ground with his two legs up in the air. It was such a comical position that Maya couldn't help but smile.

"We will head back in the afternoon. Do you want to get breakfast?” Xavier asked her.

Maya nodded and shifted her attention to Sam trying to wake him up.

In the Council Headquarters, it was time for breakfast as well and Dylan was accompanying Bella to get her breakfast. As Bella still preferred human food instead of having blood loke other vampires, Dylan had brought her down to the mess hall of the trainees.

A few trainees glanced in their direction as Bella sat eating and couldn't help but be enamored by her beauty. Dylan and Bella were having an animated conversation discussing on the network security at the Council Headquarters when a trainee suddenly decided to approach them.

"Good morning Councilman Dylan.” he said respectfully

"Good morning Andrew. How is your training going on?" Dylan asked him.

"It is going fine. The trainer asked me to pass of the list of new equipment needed in the gym." he replied, putting down a thin file in front of Dylan. Turning to Bella, he said, "Good Morning Miss." "Bella. You can call me Bella. Good morning." she replied with a smile.

"Welcome to Council Headquarters. Is it your first time here Bella? Maybe I can show you around?" Andrew asked returning her smile.

"Thank you. It is not my first time here. But it was kind of you to offer. Maybe I will see you around the training grounds some time?" Bella replied

Andrew nodded and left them alone. It was a very simple and regular interaction but when Ryder saw it, it became a flirtatious interaction in his eyes. His mood dampened pretty quickly and he glowered at everyone around him.