His Cat, Her Major ~ Jasper Hale

Meeting the Wolves

It had been a few months since the Cullens had left and Maya was doing about as well as she could. Ever since Jasper and the rest had left an almost painful pull had settled over her chest and refused to leave. No matter what she did or tried it was still there. It was especially bad when she wasn't busy it would flare up and feel like something was physically tugging at her, trying to convince her to follow it and not stop until she found whatever it was leading her towards. She knew it was the bond trying to lead her to Jasper, but she respected his wish for time.

She had been angry at him for a time, asking herself how he could have possibly thought leaving was in any way a good idea. But one day as she cleaned up the mess of glass from the cup she had crushed in anger she had realized that while she may not agree with his reasons, had she been in his place she probably would have done the same thing. The broken pieces of the glass had dug into her hand and as she dug them out and watched the cuts bleed and then heel, images of what might have happened at the party flashed through her head.

While she may not believe that Jasper could ever lose his control so badly that he would actually hurt her, she could acknowledge that even the possibility of hurting her by accident must terrify him. A fear that was probably only made worse by his past. She knew he had come a long way towards accepting what he had done and not allowing it to drag him down but she knew he still thought of himself as a monster sometimes. Which was probably why he was so quick to believe that he could hurt her. So while she couldn't fully understand how he felt, she knew that had she been in his shoes, where she might accidentally hurt Jasper she was pretty sure that she would also run away as far as she could and not return unless she felt she wasn't a danger to him.

But Jasper would return, of that she was absolutely sure. No one in the world would be able to resist the pull of the mate bond forever. Which meant that all she had to do was find ways to distract herself until he mastered his fear and came back to her. However, some days that was easier than others. The pull she felt was always especially bad after each time she attempted to call or text Jasper and they went unanswered. Apparently, leaving for training included not talking to her. Probably because Maya was just so amazing that any sign of her would be far too distracting for him to focus. Or at least that was Maya's theory and she was going to stick to it for as long as she could because the alternatives were just too depressing.

So Maya stayed busy and did everything in her power to outrun the pull of the bond, not to mention the feelings that invaded her any time thoughts of Jasper's family entered her head. It had honestly hurt worse than she could have predicted when the family had left without even saying goodbye. It had reminded her too much of Renee and how the woman had seemingly just written her off as less important. At her worst she honestly believed that if she stopped for even a moment, then it all would catch up with her and she would break down like she had spent the first week doing. She had promised herself that she wouldn't do that again. Not only because she thought it ridiculous (Jasper was coming back after all) but also because she could see how it worried her father. Given that he already had Bella to worry about, she didn't want to add to his stress.

And so, after a week of almost constant crying as she adjusted to the strained bond and being abandoned by her friends, she had spent her free time shifting and running through the woods. She pushed herself as hard as she could, running until her legs trembled and she couldn't catch her breath. By the time she would manage to stumble home, she would be too tired to do anything besides crawl into bed and fall into a deep dreamless sleep of exhaustion.

Eventually though she had to find other ways to cope as Bella's catatonic state meant that she was needed at home more. Which led her to stress cleaning and baking. Or rather cooking. Needless to say, they would not be running out of ready-made meals anytime soon if their overflowing freezer was anything to go by. She was also doing better in school than ever before. In an attempt to distract herself from thoughts of the Cullens, she had thrown herself into her school work. She would stay up all night completing any and all projects she could so that hopefully by the next night she would be tired enough to find that dreamless rest she craved. Only to wake up and begin the cycle again.