"Maya!!" Someone is shaking my arm, intent on getting me to wake up. My body is aching all over the place, and my eyes flutter as I try to peel them open. My eyes pop open, and I take in my surroundings. I'm no longer in the alleyway; instead, I'm laying down on a bed in a room that slightly resembles the hospital room I was in yesterday, but not quite. Dr. Alvarez is staring down at me with a look of awe on her face.
"What happened," I croak out. My voice feels as though it hasn't been used in years. I sit up on the bed and dangle my legs off the edge. My muscles are sore and aching, something I haven't felt since Coach made us run nonstop for the remainder of practice because we showed up late.
Dr. Alvarez replies while furiously writing in her notebook. "I put those patches you see on the counter over there on your head. It created the illusion that you were actually in the alleyway, able to smell, hear, touch, and feel the pain that you would actually feel if it were real."
"How did you know I was in the alleyway?" I question skeptically.
"I was able to watch your actions from the monitor over there," she points to a computer that rests at the end of the bed. I glance at her again, and her eyebrows are drawn in and she's biting her lip.
"Were you the one that controlled everything in that...illusion?" I ask, remembering Asher's hands on my hips. Chills travel down my spine.
"No, I'm not able to do that. I can only remove and add people to the illusion. Anyone that you came across in the illusion carried their own traits, and those who have used these patches before depict their real selves even more so."
I think back to Harry's actions in the club, at Harry's fist raining down on Asher's face over and over again. "Why did Harry act like that, then?"
"I assume you are asking why he was being protective of you like it. I wasn't expecting it either. Based on your interaction with him yesterday, I thought he detested you, so I didn't worry about him affecting the results. I was supposed to get your reaction to Asher, but before you could do anything, Harry was there, so instead, I had to add the vampire."
"Wow, thanks for that," I mumble. I'm pretty sure I could've dealt with Asher more easily than Niall. I heave out a sigh. Even when Harry's not here, he still finds a way to make my life harder. "Please tell me you got some results. I'm never going back in there again."
"Well, you don't belong in any sector, that's for certain. You ran away from Niall, even though you should've known it only makes him more excited to chase you, and even when you did run, you were not quick at all. And when he caught you, there was no power in your arms or legs whatsoever when you tried to fight him off." Ouch. That kinda hurt. Did she have to be so blunt about it?
"Okay... I thought Robin said I would know my sector after I took this test; what am I?"
She looks from my face to her notepad anxiously. "I can't be 100% sure because I don't think one has been seen for a century, but according to what you just did to Niall in the illusion and based on Harry's healed bite, I would say that you were a Druid healer." She looks at me like I'm a unicorn that has just come prancing into the room. "I called Robin over here; he should be here soon."
On cue, Robin steps into the room with Harry in tow.
"I came as quickly as I could could. Is it true Elena? Have we found another one again? No wonder Niall wants her so badly." Robin looks at me in awe and Harry has no expression on his face as he looks at me.
"I'm sure," Dr. Alvarez nods her head furiously. She tells Robin and Harry about my illusion, leaving the part out about Harry beating up Asher, and when she's done, both Robin and Harry look at me like I've grown another head or something.
"Amazing...she'll need someone to protect her at all times though. Niall cannot get anywhere near at all costs. You all know what can happen if he catches her."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, intrigued.
"If a vampire takes all the blood of a Druid healer, they will become immortal. That's the reason why the Druid race became extinct in the first place. Vampires attacked their various villages around the world, and soon, there were none left. We'll need someone to protect you, Maya."
"I'll do it." Harry steps forward and looks at his father with determination. Robin looks at his son skeptically.
"Are you sure, Harry? Not only do you have to protect her from the vampires, but you know that all the males here at the Alliance will want to choose her at the Choosing Ceremony for themselves. And I thought you didn't like her? Anyway, it's up to Maya, so if she doesn't want you protecting her, we'll have to find somebody else. What do you say, Maya?"
I turn my head to look at Harry's pleading face. Why does he want to protect me? I don't know anyone else here at the Alliance yet, and I guess I feel the safest with Harry. "I don't mind." I say with a small voice.
"Great, that's settled. You'll have to sleep in the room next to Harry's in the Runners' building. Because you don't belong to any particular sector, you'll take the core classes that everyone takes, and you can join Rose for your other classes, as I suspect you'll be the most comfortable with her. Three times a week, you'll go see the Healers' and learn more about your abilities. We are privileged to have you here, Maya. We haven't had a Druid healer appear in my lifetime, and I'll be honest with you, Maya, people are going to want to know more about you, and although it might seem overwhelming, keep your head up and trust that Harry will protect you. Harry, if you don't prove capable of caring for her, do not doubt that I wouldn't assign another person to guard her. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir," says Harry.
My mind is processing everything that Robin just told me. I thought that I would come here to start a new life without being the center of attention, but I guess not. I'm still confused as to why Harry wants to protect me. He had a fierce determination in his eyes, and in that moment, I knew that no one would be able to protect me as well as he would, even though he's just about the rudest person I know. I look down at my phone to check the time and see more than 20 texts and calls from my mom. Oh shit.
"Um...Robin? What am I supposed to tell my mom?" I glance at his face and then back down to my phone again.
"Just talk to her. She knows more than you think." He winks at me. "I'll be in my office if you need me. If you don't have any more questions, Harry will take you up to your new room." He walks out of his office. What does he mean? My mom knows more than I think? Harry follows his father out of the room, and with a wave goodbye to Dr. Alvarez, I follow Harry out.
---
"Why do you want to protect me?" I demand of Harry when we both get to my new room next to his. I called my mom while Harry and I walked to the Runners' building, and she didn't seem at all frantic. She told me she would see me soon and before I could start a conversation with her, she hung up.
"Is it so bad that I want to protect you?" He leans against the desk at the side of the wall and looks at me lying on the bed.
"I thought you wanted to stay away from me."
"I've tried, Maya, but I can't. I know I've been a dick to me lately, but I'm trying, really." His eyes plead for forgiveness.
"Alright, I guess I forgive you, but no more blaming me about all that Niall crap."
"Deal." I didn't notice that Harry's posture was tensed up until his shoulders relaxed as he came into an agreement with me. "On another note, Louis is throwing a party at his place after school today, and we're going. You have two hours to get ready."
"What if I don't want to go?" I'm exhausted, and all I want to do right now is take a shower and sleep.
"I'm supposed to protect you, so that means you're going to have to come with me." He pushes himself off the edge of the desk and walks through the door than joins our rooms together. "Oh, and wear something nice," he says without turning back around.
I take a one hour nap, and I'm surprised at how well it revitalized me. At the end of my bed, I find a black peplum dress and a pair of black platform wedges that look so high I'm sure I'll fall in if I didn't concentrate on walking properly. I put on the dress, and it rests a little above my mid-thigh. It's a little shorter than what I'm usually comfortable in, and it's so tight I can feel the material conforming to my body shape. I slide my feet into the wedges and stand up. They're a lot more comfortable than I thought they'd be, and when I look at myself in the mirror in the bathroom, I see a different Maya staring back at me.
The Maya that I was a year ago would have been all over this dress, and looking at myself right now, I'm reminded of the girl I used to be. A few months ago, I would have been disgusted by any reminders of that girl, but I've slowly began to accept what happened. I can't change the fact that it happened, and after Harry told me about Niall's kidnapping, I realized that if I held onto the past, it would stay with me, and it's my choice whether or not I wanted to let go of it or not. I still haven't completely let go of the incident, but I'm getting there. I take a deep breath and walk out of the bathroom.
Harry is sitting on my bed on his phone, and when he looks up, he does a double-take. His eyes grow wider, and he looks me up and down. I shiver as I feel Harry's gaze caress my body.
No. Harry can't get to me like this.
"Are we going?" I say in a dull tone, and Harry's eyes snap back up to my face. He clears his throat. "Yeah." He stands up from the bed and leads me out of the room with his hand on the small of my back.
When we arrive at Louis', Harry's hand moves from my back to my hand. He interlaces his fingers with mine and pulls me through the crowd. I look down at our intertwined hands in a panic but Harry looks back at me with reassurance in his eyes. We reach the couch and Harry plops me down on it.
"I'm going to get us drinks," he grumbled without looking at me. He hasn't even taken a glance at me since I walked out of the bathroom. What was his problem? He was the one forcing me to go, he should at least be civil towards me. My eyes scan the large room for Harry. I find him in the kitchen talking to some random girl. She's wearing a tight shirt that leaves very little to the imagination. I look away from them in disgust and my gaze lands on a guy walking toward me.
"Hey, beautiful, what are you doing all alone?" His eyes look at me up and down, but I don't feel the shiver that I did when Harry looked at me. "Dance with me." He holds a hand out to me and waits. I really have no desire to dance right now, but I didn't have the courage in me in reject him.
I look at his hand for another three seconds before I take it. He pulls me toward the large group of people pressed against each other. I haven't danced like this in about a year.
The guy moves us to the center of the crowd and turns me around by my hips. I close my eyes and let the music run through me. I sway my hips to the beat of the music, and I'm actually enjoying myself for a while before the hands on my hips turn me around. The guy uses his hold on my hips and pulls me so that his body is lined up with mine. When his hands move down to grip my butt, my mind flashes back to that day.
"Stop." I shake my head and try to step away from him. I should've never gone to this party with Harry. What was I thinking? That he wanted to spend time with me? The grip on my ass tightens and I whimper. This guy must be from the Brawny sector, he's too strong. His strong grip left as quickly as it came. I open my eyes and see Harry shoving the guy away from me.
"What the hell, dude?" The guy I was dancing with started towards Harry. Harry ran toward him and punched him square in the face before he even had the chance to comprehend what was going on. The guy stumbles back with a hand on his bloody nose. Dang, Harry's fast. Harry moves in front of the guy again at a safe distance.
"Don't touch her," Harry growled and his hands balled into fists.
"Woah, dude. I didn't know she was yours." He raised his hands in surrender and backed away. At this point, the whole room groaned as they were excited for the fight that was likely to happen. I waited for Harry to say that I wasn't his, but he never did.
Harry took a deep breath before turning to face me. "Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned frown.
"Yes, thank you." I mumbled.
"Let's go." Harry walked up to me in three strides and put his hand on my back again. I shivered under his touch and felt him tense in response. "I shouldn't have taken you here." Harry squeezes his eyes closed and leads me away from the party we didn't even spend an hour at.
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"Life if like a book. Each day is a new page. May your book be a bestseller with adventures to tell and good deeds to remember."
-Unknown