“But…you said you loved me.”
“My feelings are irrelevant.” Shane cocked his head and folded his hands in front of himself casually.
“What the fuck do you mean, your feelings are irrelevant?” The hallway started to spin and Maya thought for a moment she was going to pass out. “What are you saying?”
“I almost got you killed tonight, Maya.” Shane looked at her with something that resembled shame. “I was so distracted by you, so totally and completely enamored with you, that I didn’t detect the wolves. You could have been killed, and it would have been entirely my fault.” His features hardened and his eyes narrowed, silence stretching out between them. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“Can’t do what?” She folded her arms over her breasts and stared at him with utter disbelief, unwilling to accept what he was saying. “Tell me.”
“Love you,” he shouted. Maya stepped back because his words hit her almost as hard as a physical blow. “I can’t let myself love you, Maya. I am a sentry, a soldier, and I did what I was sent here to do.” His voice, edged with frustration, dropped to a whisper. “You are now more than capable of taking care of yourself and the members of your coven. You have your memories and are no longer wondering about your past or tormented by nightmares. You gained everything we hoped you would. Our mission has been accomplished, and my feelings are irrelevant.”
“Mission?” Maya could not believe what she was hearing. The sweet, tender, loving man he’d been was gone, replaced by a cold, unfeeling soldier with nothing but duty on his mind. “You fucking coward. I don’t need you to protect me, Shane. Wasn’t that the reason you taught me to stand up to that bastard in my dream? Why you’ve been showing me how to fight? Did it ever occur to you that instead of fighting for me, you could fight with me? I don’t need a protector, Shane. I need a partner.”
“I will call the czars tomorrow and inform them of what we’ve uncovered,” he continued, as though he hadn’t heard a word she said. “If all has gone as planned, then we should be able to return to the city shortly, and with any luck, we can give that necklace to the wolves without any more bloodshed. However, for now, I must sleep and so should you.”
He started to close the door, but Maya pushed her hand on the wooden surface, preventing him from shutting her out.
“I have one more question for you.” Maya inched closer and lowered her voice seductively. “What about the fact that you and I are bloodmates?”
“I was mistaken to have allowed the mystique and allure of the bloodmate legend to distract me from my sentry duties.” Shane stilled but kept his unwavering stare on hers. “Once we settle this business with the werewolves back in New York and give them the necklace, I will request that the czars transfer me to the Presidium’s European facility. I think it would be safer for everyone if you and I go our separate ways. Good night, Maya.”
The door closed, leaving Maya alone in the dark hallway with an aching void of loneliness filling her chest. Her hands flew to her mouth to muffle the sob that threatened to escape her lips. Stumbling into her bedroom, she shut the door tightly behind her. With her back pressed against the door, Maya hung her head and wept silently as the magnitude of losing Shane overwhelmed her.
She didn’t know why Shane was acting this way, but she was sick and tired of her life being in the hands of fate. Sadness was soon replaced by fury. She may not be able to control Shane or her past, but she could damn well take control of her future.
One hand fluttered to the heavy necklace, and her fingers curled around the stone. Maya glanced at the rumpled, unmade bed. Had it been just yesterday that she’d lain in those soft covers with his strong, gorgeous body curled perfectly around hers? With the cool stone whispering between her fingers, she scanned the room and her gaze stopped at the open bag of weapons that sat on the dresser. The sentry uniform, the one she’d been training in all week, was draped over the chair, looking like a ghost of her past.
“Time to face the past and the future.” Maya looked at the two daggers in her left hand. “No more running and no more hiding.”
The sterling-silver throwing weapons glinted at her like a beacon calling her home, and Maya knew what she had to do. She had to prove to Shane, and to herself, that she could indeed take care of herself.
She stripped her sundress off and tossed it aside before making quick work of pulling on the sentry uniform. Zipping it up over her necklace, Maya did exactly what Shane had shown her. She tugged on the gloves and lined the leather coat with a slew of weaponry before putting on the belt, heavy with two semiautomatic guns and the liquid silver ammunition from Xavier. The final touch was slipping the daggers into the compartments on the back of her sentry suit.
Maya pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and donned the weapon-laden coat. Glancing out the window, she saw that she had very little time until the sun would rise. It was just enough to get her where she needed to go.
Chapter 15
Maya landed silently in the alley next to Bayou Escape while an orange glow began to burn along the horizon. She rubbed absently at her chest. The dull ache throbbed, warning her of the impending sunrise. Peering around the corner of the building, she noted that the ache was weaker than it had been in the past.
A smile played at her lips. Perhaps that meant she and Shane would become daywalkers after all. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she glanced at the brightening horizon, knowing that being able to walk in the sun would be meaningless without Shane by her side.
He was pushing her away because he was scared of losing her. For a moment, Maya allowed herself to entertain one other possibility.
Perhaps Shane really wasn’t in love with her.
“That’s bullshit,” Maya growled with frustration.
She knew he loved her and that he was pushing her away because of some stupid macho notion. Maya decided that if she could fix this mess with the werewolves on her own, then she could show Shane, Olivia, and everyone else that she wasn’t just some silly, flirty airhead. Maybe if she could make it right, then Shane would see her as an equal and perhaps the idea of being her bloodmate wouldn’t seem so wrong.
Sebastian and Diego had been living in New Orleans for years, and she knew they would be able to direct her to the underground tunnels that led out of the city. She had to get a head start back to New York so she could deal with Horace herself. The last thing Maya wanted was for anyone else she loved to get hurt. Olivia and Doug would want to be involved, but they were parents now and that baby girl needed them.
The early morning streets of the Quarter were quiet, but she could still hear the subtle fluttering heartbeats of humans in the buildings nearby. Maya moved swiftly along the sidewalk, keeping her senses alert for any sign of wolves or other vampires, but so far she seemed to be alone. She trotted up the steps and grasped the doorknob to the club, letting out a sigh of relief when it turned easily in her hand.
Pushing the door open without a sound, Maya slipped inside and reached out with her senses. Eyes closed, she picked up the distinct vibration of movement toward the back of the club. Steeling her courage and with her hands clenched in tight fists at her sides, Maya strode down the long hallway toward the source. Before she could reach the end, Sebastian and Diego appeared in the hall so quickly that they seemed to have materialized out of thin air.
Fangs bared and eyes wild, they looked poised and ready to attack, but once they recognized Maya, they retracted their fangs and grinned. Sebastian stepped ahead of his brother and greeted Maya with a kiss on the cheek before leaning back and looking her up and down.