Chapter 2. The Man in the Forest

MAIA'S POV

'What should I do? Should I run?' I asked myself.

The smell of blood filling the air made me scrunch my nose.

I peeked behind the tree as I scanned my surroundings. This could be a trap or could hurt someone seriously. I carefully walked behind the trees while trying to locate the blood.

'Turns out you are such a coward.' Avi commented.

I was about to reply to Avi when I heard the snapping of twigs again. I stopped in my tracks and looked around. The sound was getting closer, and I still hadn't located where it was coming from.

'A little help over here, Avi.' I said.

'I'm trying, Maia.' she replied.

I slowly inched backward as I expected for an incoming attack. I let out a scream when a deer ran through the bush, causing me to stumble upon a root.

Wait! The root isn't soft.

Chills crept all over my body as I slowly turned my head to the side.

'Holy Shit! It's a man!' I exclaimed in my head.

'Congratulations, Maia! You have found your death wish.' Avi remarked.

I carefully stood up, not wanting to find out if he was dead or still alive. I turned on my heel and was about to leave when I heard him groan. My heart was beating so fast as I stood there dead in my tracks. When I turned my head to see if he was moving, Avi screamed in my head, causing me to jump.

'It is not funny, Avi!' I said, scolding her.

'Focus, Maia!' She replied.

'I am focusing on trying not to get killed, Avi. You are the one who is not.' I spat.

'You really are stupid.' She insulted me.

I rolled my eyes and ignored her. With my eyes glued to the man and the ground, I carefully stepped away from him.

'Will you stop for a second, Maia, and just focus?' She asked.

'Focus on what, Avi?' I asked, irritated.

'The scent, you genius.' She replied.

I ignored her insult and sniffed the air. That's when the smell of mint hit my nose. Not that strong because of the bloody man hearing me.

The bloody man! Could it be possible that he was my mate? Or what if my mate was the one who did this? What if my mate was evil?

'Or it could be the bloody man beside you.' Avi suggested.

I slowly turned my head and looked at the bloody, unconscious man beside me.

'There's only one way to find out - touch him.' Avi implied.

Avi was right. I needed to touch him to know if he was my mate. Well, it was easier said than done.

'There has to be another way, Avi.' I said, almost begging.

What if this man was just pretending to be dead or unconscious? What if he was really alive and was just waiting for me to come closer so that he would attack me?

'What are you so scared of?' Avi asked.

I fought back the urge to roll my eyes and say something back to her.

I took a deep breath, instantly regretting it when the blood hit my nose again. With slow and steady hands, I stretched my hand to touch him.

l immediately removed my hand as if he had some kind of plague when I felt the sparks.

'Avi! You are right. He is our mate.' I exclaimed.

As fast as the excitement set in, doubt and fear took over quicker.

What if he rejects me? I won't be able to live with it. My heart has already suffered enough pain. I can't add more.

I closed my eyes as I willed myself to leave.

'You can't leave him here, Maia. What if he bleeds to death? Help him.' Avi objected.

'I can't risk him finding out about me. I need to run as far away as possible from here.' I muttered.

'Get your senses together, Maia! He is our mate. If he dies, WE die!' She pointed out.

My eyes were wide as reality hit. I was drowning with fear and worry. I had to decide fast.

The longer that I stayed in these woods, the higher the risk of getting killed would be. With the possibility of my mate bleeding to death, I took the risk and took him back to the lighthouse.

Getting him back to the lighthouse turned out to be harder than lifting weights. I had to drag him because he was too heavy for me to carry him. After an hour of pulling and navigating through the forest, I had finally found the way back to the lighthouse.

I removed some of the mess from the floor as I made my way up to the room. Once I had successfully brought him to the room, I ran back downstairs to get the first aid kit. Getting the first aid kit took longer than I intended. I still had to find it in the mountain of broken things and a lot of other things on the floor. This was all because of all the thrashing I did a week ago.

After successfully locating the kit, I went back to the room and cleaned his wounds. Cleaning the blood off his body proved to be a lot more difficult. Every time our skins would touch, my hormones would go wild. If only there was a way to turn off the mate bond, I would have done it an hour ago. When I saw the stab wound on his abdomen, my heart clenched.

Once his wound was clean, I bandaged it so that his wounds would heal faster. It didn't matter if we were werewolves. If our wounds got infected, it wouldn't heal properly.

I sat right next to him and stared at his sleeping face.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you see me like this. You deserve someone strong and beautiful. I am nothing but a weak and useless she-wolf." I said out loud.

I got up and went downstairs. I was going to go back to my apartment, but there was heavy rain outside. It would make it harder for me to get out of the no-man's-land safely.

'Is your decision already final?' Avi asked.

'Yes, Avi. I don't want to be around when he wakes up. I can't handle another breakup. Not from my mate. The less he knows, the better.' I replied.

'How are you so sure that he is going to reject us? We haven't even met him properly. What if he is not like Uriah?' She asked.

'I don't want to get my hopes high and then end up getting hurt. Yes, he may not be like Uriah. He can be the worst.' I replied.

I stood by the door and watched as the rain fell and the thunder roared. They were like music to my troubled heart. At least, even for a little while, all the pain would go. If only the rain could wash all my pain away.

Once the rain stopped, I would go back to my apartment and pack my bags. I would go as far away as possible from here. What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

For now, I was going to let the rain numb my pain away. That was, until he engulfed me in a hug.

"Mate." he groaned.