Unleashing Maverick - COMPLETED

// Seventeen \\

A serene place equipped with the abundance of nature and illumination of the stars and fireflies is where he takes me to.

He leads me to 'his' place, where he goes to unleash himself. Releasing his true self with no distractions or worry of hurting others.

He has only taken me here to talk, but I want to run with my wolf and his out here. I want to feel my inner beast come out and enjoy herself with her mate. With how Maverick and his wolf are being held hostage by this inner demonic creature, there is no way we could...at least for now, anyways.

He leads me to a medium-sized pond where a couple stumps are placed along the edge. I sit down on one while Maverick sits down on the other. I can tell he is upset about something. His face holds a look of guilt and sorrow.

"Elora...you know I feel deeply for you, right?" I furrow my eyebrows at him, but he is looking across the water with longing.

"I guess."

What was I supposed to say? One minute he is hot with me and the other he is cold like ice. I feel like damn Katy Perry with his mood swings. Yes, I know this demon possesses over him, but he still is hard to read at times.

His head snaps to mine, his beautiful golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"You guess?" his voice is soft, hurt very evident. "I haven't made it clear to you, have I?"

I shrug hesitantly, watching his head hang lower in shame. "I mean, I haven't done a good job showing you how I feel about you either. I guess every time I want to, I get scared that-"

"That I'll attack you again. Goddess...Elora, you deserve better than me. You deserve a better life. You—"

"No! Maverick, stop it right now! We deserve each other. We are mates for a reason. Don't you dare say I deserve better because I don't. You're my soulmate, and I'm yours. We are going to get through whatever the hell is keeping you under its control. We're going to unleash you...together," I exclaim, standing up as I clench my fists.

I'm angry that he would even say any of that. We both deserve to live a happy life, and my goddess, I'm not going to just leave him like that. I can't leave someone who I care for and who I am falling in love with.

I'm falling in love with Maverick.

The realization hits me as I stare into his shining ember irises. Tears spill from his eyes, and he doesn't try to hide them. He lets them fall as he gets up and embraces me tenderly. One hand swings around my waist while the other tangles up in my hair. He dips down his nose to the crook of my neck as we stand there in the wilderness, in each other's arms.

"I love you," he whispers, so soft that I swear I imagined it for a second. He pulls away. He is looking at me as if I were the most precious thing in the world.

*beep beep beep*

It's the sound of Maverick's phone going off.

Sighing, he pulls out his phone, quirking an eyebrow at the number. He answers it, his face remaining stoic and passive. I pull away, taking a look at my phone while stealing glances at Maverick.

"Okay. Yep." A pause. "Yes, it would be best if you came here." He rolls his eyes. "Yes, it's locked up. Okay. See you later."

I peek up at his face. "Who was it?"

"Luna Opal. She wants to discuss matters about the Drac we captured. She and Reese will be coming in about two hours. She also wanted to see you, too," he says with a flat look. He obviously isn't too thrilled about her making an appearance here.