Chapter 21
Sai
I really was a fairly anti-social person.
That came with the fighting lifestyle in the human world though. I wasn’t a fan of the celebrity status or crowds of people surrounding me. I wasn’t able to push it off like Marco did or enjoy it like the twins did. Well, like Anani did. It just felt manufactured for me.
What I did enjoy?
Watching Maya walk down these damn stairs as if she not only owned the place, but didn’t care that four of the most important people in dragon society were watching her. Just the way Marco liked it, for the record. I swallowed hard, trying to not get caught up on how fucking perfect she looked, her dark hair pulled up and her curvy little body dressed in a pale yellow sundress that tied with a bow at the top of her neck. Other than that, she had bare feet and a big excited smile. I tried to contain my growl at every other fucking dragon male looking at her.
“Sai!” She grinned approaching me as I pulled her into my arms.
I’d always been ignored in my real family. As the youngest of seven, I’d gotten everything second best and it hadn’t bothered me. I hadn’t expected to feel the level of joy that I did when Maya asked me to be her first kiss.
There were so many things I loved about Maya and one of them was her curiosity. I also loved her strength, and her ability to keep positive despite not having a reason to be. Sure, she was naive, but she was smart as a whip and able to catch onto things extremely fast. I was just crazy about the woman and that wasn’t even including the mating bond.
“You look handsome,” she chirped and the word sounded foreign on her tongue, like it was her first time using it out loud. But fuck if it didn’t feel good to hear a compliment coming out of her lips.
“And you look beautiful,” I murmured as a pink blush filled her cheeks.
The twins then approached and her grin grew. I knew she was excited to see them perform and I could practically see the fuckers’ egos growing. I had zoned out for a bit, running a hand through her long ponytail, but quickly snapped to it as two very familiar women approached.
Anani’s eyes went wide and I shook my head, this was going to be a mess.
“Ledger,” Ainsely chimed behind him and sliding an arm around his chest, making him still. Maya seemed to freeze as Mercy also approached Anani and tossed him a grin.
“Hello,” Anani stepped back slightly as Ledger removed her hand with a frown.
“Who is this?” Ainsely asked, “she’s so cute!”
Maya’s jaw clenched and I saw a true, nearly frightening, expression crossed her face. I rubbed her back but she stayed still, not even leaning back into it. Despite the pastel dresses and bows I had a feeling that when Maya finally came into power, she was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
“My name is Maya,” she voiced, her eyes narrowing.
Mercy cooed, “so pretty, is she your little cousin or something?”
Now we were not suppose to announce we had a mate yet. Marco had said that it was important that we try to keep it low key because then the council would ask what she was, and Henry, Croy, and Marco weren’t around to fix this shit. I couldn’t even think about freakin’ Croy right now. The point? We had no idea what to say in reference to Maya. Well, I did but you could tell the twins didn’t.
“No,” Ledger scowled and rounded to stand near Maya.
“So who is she?”Ainsely asked.
Maya was uncharacteristically quiet and I could almost feel her magic taking stock of the situation and evaluating the twin’s response.
Anani hissed out the words, “a friend.”
I wasn’t sure Maya knew what Marco had instructured from us and the way her eyes flashed slightly made me think she hadn’t. My mouth opened to stop her as she turned on her heel and walked toward the stone pavilion, Ledger muttering out a curse.
“Sai…” Anani spoke in a strangled tone.
“Fucking fix this,” I snarled and nearly caught up to her.
Croy was there then his eyes fixated on her expression and as I rounded to where she’d stopped, I could see her eyes were dark and a bit glassy. “Maya,” I mumbled, “they didn’t mean…”
“What is going on?” Croy demanded as I grunted.
I think Marco and maybe Henry were the only two that were above him in rank. In the food chain you could say. Atlas and he were about at the same level, so as much as I wanted to punch the asshole, I couldn’t.