A Deal with the Devil

Drawn

Maya couldn’t get Cillian out of her mind for some reason. Sure, a handsome stranger showing up at your apartment was cause for some thought, but there was something else about the man. She felt some type of connection to him even though she knew barely anything about him. She chalked it up to the grief. She knew that pain. She had experienced it...was still experiencing it. She was on the fence most days about that. She figured it was natural to feel connected to someone who was feeling a similar way. Didn’t she lecture about this topic to her patients? She told them to be careful who they chose for companionship after a trauma because usually they were sublimating. That’s what she was doing.

“Chloe, I’m doing my weekend hike at the park. If I’m not back by Monday, send a search team,” Maya joked as she left the office for the weekend.

“You say that every time, but one of these days,” Chloe replied with a laugh.

“Don’t waste money on a funeral,” Maya said with a laugh. “Just burn me in private.”

“I think that’s illegal,” Chloe retorted.

“Do it anyway,” Maya called out as the door shut. She had already packed her bag, and only stopped at her apartment to change and grabbed the bag before heading to the national park. Every so often, Maya needed to escape the city, and she did that by spending a weekend camping in the national park. Ever since meeting Cillian and talking about Chris, Maya felt the need to go to the woods and get away.

Maya parked in the visitor lot and stared at the trail board. She knew there were plenty of places to camp along the main trails, but she didn’t feel like encountering people or seeing the same scenes as always. Something inside her said to go further, go deeper. There was something in these woods calling her. She made camp around seven, having walked about ten miles already. She’d go further tomorrow. She had a small tent that was easy to set up, and as dark set in, she watched the stars appear from the opening of the tent.

*********************

“You’re going back to the human world again?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly.

“I am,” Cillian answered shortly.

“Look, I understand you wanted to see Maddy’s place and get closure, and you did. She’s not there, Cillian,” Liam said gently. “The pack needs you here. We need you here.”

“I spent an entire year in the human world and you all managed,” Cillian pointed out. “There’s something out there that I need to figure out still.”

“Humans,” Liam stated. “Humans are out there. I think you like being around them because they remind you of Maddy.”

Cillian didn’t bother telling Liam that being near Maya made him stop thinking of the pain of losing Maddy. Liam wouldn’t understand. No one would. That pain would only disappear if he found his second chance mate, and second chance mates were rare.

Boston was busy, as usually. It was a brisk Saturday, and Cillian was hoping to find Maya at her apartment. Her scent was faint, however. He knocked nonetheless. No answer. Well, she could have gone out. Maybe a chance meeting was better than going back to her apartment anyway. Better than showing up at her place for a second time with no reason except to see her again.

Cillian followed Maya’s scent to the street. She must have driven somewhere. There was no way to track her now. He lingered on the street for a few minutes before going back upstairs. He knew his actions were that of a stalker, but for some reason he was drawn to this woman and he needed to know where she was. He tested the door. Locked. Madison had once taught him how to pick a lock, something she had learned goddess knows where. The thought made him smile briefly as he quickly picked the lock to what used to be Madison’s apartment.

The apartment was clean, just as it had been last time Cillian was in it. Cillian quietly walked around the living room trying to find anything that would give him some indication of what Maya did in her free time or where she might be. Did she play tennis? Or was she more of a gym goer? Nothing in the main spaces indicated anything. Cillian didn’t want to invade her privacy too much by going into her bedroom, so instead he opened a small photo album that sat on the mantle. There were pictures of nature and woodland creatures. They seemed to be taken by Maya given the format of the photos and the albums. She liked nature. Maybe she was in the woods somewhere. Cillian took out his phone and searched for the nearest forest or park. There were plenty of smaller parks in the area, but judging by the photos, this had to be a denser forested area. There was a national park. He would check there and see if he could catch a scent. If nothing else, he could go for a run.

The second Cillian got out of the car he could smell Maya. She had been here. Not today, but yesterday. She’d be easy to track if he shifted. To do that, however, he’d need to get into the woods a bit. Cillian hadn’t been in his wolf form in the human world since Madison was a teenager. It was a different experience entirely. Humans had such strong scents that the moment he shifted, Cillian had to stop and focus on just Maya’s. He could tell exactly how many people were within a fifty mile radius based on scent alone. He honed in on Maya’s scent. It was faint still. She was deep in the woods. He took off towards her scent at a quick pace.

Maya was snapping some photos from her vantage point atop a large boulder. She had used a slightly smaller rock next to the boulder to climb up there. From her spot, she could see down the slope for miles. It was beautiful. She was admiring the viewing after taking her photos, when a sound from behind her startled her. Maya turned suddenly and lost her footing, falling from the rocks and lodging her foot between them in the process. She cried out in pain as her body hit the ground and her camera followed with a loud c***k.

Maya! Cillian hadn’t meant to sneak up on her and startle her. He could hardly have approached in his human form though. What excuse would he have had to be out in the woods so deep? Now, however, he had caused the poor human to injure herself. Damn. He’d just wait until she called for help and someone came for her, then he’d leave her.

“Ow,” Maya groaned. She tried to pull her leg out, but it was jammed between the rocks. She’d need to lift it out, and right now, she couldn’t. She unzipped a pocket in her shirt and took out her cell phone. The screen was cracked and it wouldn’t turn on. “Damn it. No,” Maya said with a cry.

“Help!” Maya called out. She hadn’t seen anyone since she had started her hike yesterday, so the likelihood that someone was this far into the woods was slim. “Someone, please! Help!”

Cillian watched Maya and could sense her distress and pain before she even called out for help. He waited a while after she called out before venturing a bit closer. He remembered Madison saying that werewolves were terrifying, but he couldn’t just leave Maya out here. He had to help her. He cautiously approached the human, keeping his head down in a pose of submission.

A noise alerted Maya to something near her. She had been in the woods enough and photographed enough animals to know what it sounded like when an animal was stalking through the woods. This one wasn’t trying to be quiet though. It wanted Maya to know it was nearby. That was odd behavior for a wild animal. Maya shifted slightly, groaning in pain, so she could see behind her. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat. A wolf, easily larger than anything Maya had ever seen, was slowly approaching her, its head hung low.

Maya closed her eyes tight, hoping this was some delusion brought on by a concussion or something. The last thing she wanted was to be mauled by a wolf while stuck between some rocks. Maya was certain there weren’t even wolves in Massachusetts. This was definitely a figment of her injured head. She opened her eyes again only to see the massive black wolf even closer.

“Please don’t eat me,” Maya whispered more to herself than the wolf. The wolf did pause, however. It went toward the rocks where Maya’s leg and foot were lodged. Maya tried to move away from the wolf, but she couldn’t. “No, no, no,” she said quickly as the wolf approached her leg. She groaned in pain and had to lay back down.

Cillian knew he could help Maya if he were in his human form. She needed to be lifted up to where the rocks were far enough apart that her leg would come free. Cillian couldn’t do that in wolf form, but if he shifted now it would make things worse. How could he explain werewolves to a human? No, he needed to get Maya human help. With that in mind, Cillian took off toward the nearest human scent.

Wolves weren’t native to Massachusetts, so Cillian figured he could incite a bit of a panic and cause some park rangers to come out to the area if he howled a bit near the humans. After making a bit of noise, he went back to Maya. She was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily after obviously having tried to free herself again. As he approached, however, she turned her head slowly toward him. She didn’t speak, just eyed him warily. It was a smart move. Most wild animals were intimidated by direct eye-contact. Maya would know that since she hiked the woods often. I’m not going to hurt you, Cillian thought, wishing Maya could understand him.

“You’re not attacking,” Maya said lowly. “Why aren’t you attacking?”

Cillian tilted his head to one side like we used to do when questioning Madison in his wold form.

“A tame wolf would make more sense in this area, but damn you’re big,” Maya remarked. It was odd to see a wolf in these woods, but a tame of exotic animal could have gotten loose. Why was she talking to it though? And why did it seem like a normal thing to do?

“Don’t suppose your owners are anywhere nearby?” Maya asked.

Instinctively Cillian bared his teeth slightly at the word owners.

“Ok, no,” Maya said. “Wait, can you understand me? Of course you can’t. I’m crazy. I think I have a concussion.” She checked her watch. It was three in the afternoon. She needed to get loose and make camp. No one was going to find her tonight. She shifted slightly, keeping her eyes on the wolf. He didn’t react to it. She took that as a good sign and continued to move until she could get her backpack off. She took out her fire starting kit first.

Humans needed warmth, Cillian thought. He could bring some firewood over. Maya flinched ever so slightly when Cillian dropped the piece of wood near her. She looked at it with shock for a moment.

“You knew I was making fire,” she said slowly. “Something is off about you.”

If only you knew, Cillian thought with a smirk. He almost wanted to show himself to Maya, but only Madison knew the truth, and she had grown up with it.

As darkness crept in, Maya carefully built a small fire. It wasn’t enough for much heat, but it would keep the animals away. As she was working her stomach grumbled. She had some food in her bag, but she was wary of bringing it out while the wolf was still near her. It had made no attempt to come near her again, and it didn’t seem threatening, but Maya didn’t want to push her luck. Another rumble of her stomach, however, caused her resolve to waver. Even the wolf tilted his head to the side quizzically.

“Fine, okay, I’m hungry,” Maya said aloud.

The wolf turned and wandered off into the dense forest. Maya waited a moment before quickly pulling one of her bagged meals out. She had taken a few bites when the wolf returned with a rabbit in its mouth. It paused for a moment before setting the rabbit down and nudging it toward Maya.

“Um, no thanks?” Maya said uncertainly.

Of course she had brought food, Cillian thought. She didn’t want to take out food in front of a wild animal. He had to give her credit for knowing how to respond to what she deemed to be a wild animal in the woods. He was reminded of Madison and the way she responded with little fear when encountering wolves, even those she didn’t know. She was a fearless woman, and Maya, while different in many ways, reminded him so much of his lost mate.

As the darkness crept in so did the cold. Maya knew the fire and even her sleeping bag would be no match for the open air. She couldn’t even fully cover up with the sleeping bag due to the way her leg was lodged between the rocks. She tried not to shiver and she focused on what little warmth the small fire did provide. She seemed reluctant to turn her back fully to Cillian. He decided that made sense as well. Maya was cautious around animals. She was clearly used to being in the wilderness though, as demonstrated by her ease at making a fire even in her condition.

 The night was cold, and the fire burned to embers as Maya tried to sleep. Cillian gave up trying staring at the small human, and moved closer to her. He laid down next to her and used his large wolf body to cover her and offer some warmth. At first, Maya jumped and tried to inch away, but finally she sighed and gave in. She leaned back into him, thankful for the warmth. With any luck, Maya thought, she’d make it until morning. Everything would look better then.