Surprised, by the sudden pressure from Anala's punch on his right cheek, Jake stepped back instinctively, dodging any more damaging blows to his face. Even though only one punch hit its target, Jake knew that later on, it would not be a pretty sight to behold, and explaining this to his children would not be easy.
However, Jake couldn't worry about that now as he needed to deal with a very disoriented and angry navi currently throwing her fists mindlessly. Without a second thought, he made a move to take her both wrists captive to stop her from further trying to fight him and pressed it and her back against the tree closest to them to stabilize his hold on her.
Anala screamed in fright and tried to kick him where his crotch was, however with the many years of fighting experiences, Jake diverted that by quickly taking both wrists in one hand while holding down her legs preventing her from escaping.
"Stop it, let go of me, Ak'tari. I said I would never tell anyone what you did, please stop!" She turned her head crying out, her heart rasping in her chest while trying not to look at the male she feared all these years.
Jake looked at her, taking note of the foreign name he heard earlier when she punched him. He further observed her by the way her eyes streamed, how her cheeks were unnaturally red, and he could clearly hear the rhythm Anala's heart, which was off beat and the way she was struggling to breath. It was also like she lost a grip of reality. Therefore, Jake didn't need to be a doctor to see that this was symptoms of a panic attack. It was one of many gifts that came with being a marine and witnessing so many deaths even now, Jake struggles with it.
"Look at me, Anala, it me, Jake, not Ak'tari his not here..." He said calmly so as not to scare her further.
"No..no, you're lying. Help me, someone!!" She screamed repeatedly on the top of her lungs, her movements becoming more violent trying to escape his hold.
"Dammit, look at me ok its Jake!" Losing his patience, he removed his hand holding down her legs and reached to turn her face to look towards him and crashed his forehead against hers hard enough knowing full well she would close her eyes to prevent herself from seeing him.
Her eyes opened, surprised by the pain, and zeroed in on his yellow eyes, which was a contrast to blue eyes of the male who sexually assaulted her back then, which pulled her out of her past and back to the present. When her movements stopped, Jake let go of her and backed up a little bit, trying to give her space. Without a hint of hesitation, she reached out and hugged Jake as tightly as if her life depended on it.
"Jake, you have to stop him. He tried to mate with me again. Please find him, please," Anala sobbed, very confused about what happened.
"It hurt the last time, please. I don't want it to hurt again...." More tears fell on his chest, leaving marks of anger and digust directed at that man who assaulted his mate.
Jake returned her hug as if promising to destroy the Na'vi named Ak'tari who did this to her. Questions stormed into his mind like when did this happen? Was this the brother of Tsahìk of the clan? If so, why was it that everyone blamed his mate for what happened? Jake blamed himself for not caring and not taking the time to get to know Anala because he was stubborn and refused to let go of Neytiri and move on.
He also shouldn't have touched her the way he did because she clearly thought he was going to force her to mate with him without her permission. However, if he hadn't, he would not have gotten answers from her, which was the only positive thing that came out of this interaction.
"It ok. I'm here. I'll deal with everything, don't worry..." He reassured her even though he knew that it could cost them their temporarily living place it would be worth it to protect his mate from being accused of something she never did that's the promise that he engraved in his heart.
In response, Anala tightened her hold on Jake's back, pressing herself further into his skin, trying to collect any warmth from his body because her body was cold and craved heat. She closed her eyes and instantly lost all consciousness. Jake lifted her up and carried her back to their marui.
While walking back, Jake promised to make up for all the years he had neglected her and wanted to genuinely be friends with her because he knows could not promise her his love, that part of him belongs to Neytiri but he can promise her friendship and devotion.
He promised this to his mate Neytiri and Eywa.
Eywa smiled mischievously watching the two, tilting her head, knowing full well friendship was not all that would come from this, but something else would burn between her children consuming both of them, and it definitely is not friendship.
Author note
This is for this reader Lolosaleh1998lulu thanks for commenting because it reminded me to post the chapter that was in my drafts. Also, from now on, I'll be posting every second Sunday starting from now and maybe sometimes before the scheduled time. Depending on how busy my week is.
Thank you, everyone, for voting because it encourages me to write.
Bye, see you guys!!!
أنت تقرأ
Love for granted - Jake Sully
أدب الهواةIt was the will of Eywa that united them,but will it be enough. That was something Jake and Anala had to find out.
