Maverik's Ashes

by Sandra R Neeley

  “Ms. Sadie, could I have a towel? I think my toes are almost wrinkled off I’ve been in this water so long,” Maia said.

  “Oh, my! Of course, dear. I forgot all about you soaking your feet,” Sadie told her as she went to the bathroom to get a towel.

  Bam waited until Sadie came back with the towel and took it from her before she could hand it to Maia, then dropped to his knees beside Maia, lifted her feet and placed them on the towel. He took the plastic tub she’d had them soaking in and took it to the bathroom to pour it out and put it away.

  When he came back to the kitchen, she was yawning and Kaid and Bane were talking about where she’d sleep.

  “She can just stay with us, Kaid. We’ve got the extra room. She can’t bunk with Maverik on his little single bed. Bam’s in his room with us, and she don’t need to be alone at Bam’s place. Just let her stay with me and Janie,” Bane explained.

  “I don’t want to be any bother; I can just sleep on a couch somewhere,” Maia said.

  “That’s ridiculous, we got plenty of room,” Bane said.

  “You sure?” Kaid asked.

  “Absolutely,” Bane said. “Four bedrooms, but we do have Daisy; will the crying bother you?” Bane asked her.

  “Of course not! I love babies. I’d like to help with her if ya’ll don’t mind,” Maia said.

  “Janie never ventures too far, but I’m sure she’d let you help. And she’s a happy baby; she don’t cry much,” Bane explained.

  “Well, if you’re sure, I’d appreciate the bedroom,” Maia finally agreed around another yawn.

  “Come on, let’s get you settled, so you can shower and get some rest,” Bane said as he stood to go.

  Maia stood and didn't get two steps before Bam picked her up, “I’ll carry you, Maia.”

  “Uncle Bam, I’m fine. Just a little sore.”

  “I know, but it’s a ways from here, and we just got your feet feeling a little better. When we get there, I’ll put you down. Besides, I’m staying there anyway; Bane and Janie built a room just for me,” Bam answered, grinning proudly.

  So it was settled; Maia was staying with Bane and Janie.

  Chapter 9

  Maverik roared his bike down the road, mind focused on Valerie. He pulled into the parking lot, just as darkness fell, screeching to a stop, gravel flying. He parked at the front door, didn’t give a fuck who liked it. Shoved the door open and stomped across the threshold, stopping long enough to glance around the room, looking for… well, he didn’t know who he was looking for, but once he figured it out, he was kicking somebody’s fucking ass!

  He looked around again, didn’t see her, so he decided to go for the obvious, threw his head back and yelled, “Vaaaaaallllllleeeeerrrrrrrie!!!!!!! Everything went silent except the music coming from the jukebox in the corner.

  Standing behind the bar when the door flew open and Maverik stomped inside, Vince sighed deep, Well, fuck. The quiet was nice while it lasted, he thought to himself. His Lion agreed, Kaid just now calm, now Maverik wild.

  Vince warned his Lion to stay cool and greeted his newest patron. “Maverik. How’re you?” Vince called out.

  Maverik jerked his eyes to Vince’s, but didn’t respond. Instead he threw his head back and called his Mate again, louder this time. “Vaaaaaaalllllllllleeeeeeerrrrrrrerie!!!!!!!!!”

  He was so loud and so frightening in his tone and stance that a table of patrons got up and left, quickly. And yes, they were human.

  Vince's Lion rumbled to him about losing business, and Vince sighed again, “She’s not going to answer you, Maverik. She’s not here.”

  Maverik looked at him again, “Where?” he demanded.

  “Why the hell would I tell you? You broke her heart and damn near her spirit. You denied her for years. Why the fuck would I tell you where my sister is?” Vince asked him.

  “Because she can’t marry anyone but me. You know she’s mine. Where is she?”

  “Yeah, I do know that. And I know you hurt her, bad. She’s trying to heal, leave her alone,” Vince told him.

  Maverik thought he detected a bit of disdain in Vince's scent when he said trying to heal. Hmm, that was interesting. He decided to be honest.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just had nothing to offer her. She was better off without me,” Mav answered truthfully.

  “And how is that any different now?” Vince asked. “And you left! Just fucking left! She didn’t think you were coming back!”

  “I had to take care of some things, set some things to rest. I left it all there, man. I’m a different male now, a better male. A good male.”

  Vince said nothing, just looked at Maverik, scenting for a lie. There was none. He continued to look at Maverik, giving no response.

  Maverik dropped to his knees, “Please!” he begged.

  Vince regarded Maverik for only a few moments longer, “Fine. Anything is better than the puss she’s with now,” he pointed his finger at Maverik, “Don’t you fucking tell her I said where she was!”

  Maverik jumped up off his knees, shaking his head no, a huge smile of hope on his face, “She’s around back and up the stairs; her apartment is to the right, mine is to the left. If you kick a door in, it better be the right one.”

  Maverik took off running; he heard Vince yell after him, “Do not let her mate that fucktard she’s with!”

  If Maverik could manage it, he sure as hell didn’t plan on allowing her to mate anyone but him.

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  Valerie was lying on her couch, her boyfriend, Marcus, on top of her, in the middle of a pretty steamy make out session when she thought she heard someone calling her name. Well, it would have been steamy, if it were Maverik laying atop her and not Marcus. But that was something she’d just have to get used to. He was gone. And even before he was gone, he didn't want her. Marcus did. He was always aroused around her, and he was interested in her work and the bar and wanted to help her invest her money, too. That way she’d always be taken care of, even if he wasn't around to do it. At least that’s what she’d told herself. Her Lioness told her he was an opportunist that saw a lonely female that had saved a good bit of money to invest and wanted to sink his claws into it. Yeah, he did work at the bank; he’d seen her balances. But he was also very attracted to her. A male couldn't fake that.

  Off in the distance, she thought she heard it again, ‘Valerie!,’ long and drawn out. She sat up, dislodging Marcus who was too clueless to figure out that she was not as lost in him as he thought she was. “What’s wrong, Val?” he asked her.

  She huffed; she hated when he called her Val and had told him more times than she could count. She shook her head in an irritated fashion, “I thought I heard someone calling me.”

  “There’s nobody here but us, and I’m the only one calling to you, baby. You gonna give me some tonight? You’ve had me waiting a while now, Val. It’s getting old.”

  “I told you, I’m not doing anything until I’m married,” Valerie told him again.

  “Oh, come on, you and I both know you are not a virgin, so do not even try to play the V card with me!” he said.

  She didn’t even have a chance to answer; the door flew open, busted off its hinges, and an angry, pissed-off Maverik stood in the doorway.

  “The fuck did you say?” Maverik raged at Marcus.

  “Who the hell are you?” Marcus asked, feigning a bravado he most certainly did not feel. It did not escape Maverik’s or Valerie’s notice that he stood and moved to stand a bit behind Valerie, leaving her vulnerable to the intruder.

  Maverik looked at the male in disgust, “You see that?” he asked Valerie, gesturing to the male who’d left her vulnerable. Then just as quickly he returned his attention to Marcus, “I think the more accurate question, fucktard, that is your name, right? I mean that’s what Vince called you. Anyway, I think the more accurate question is who the fuck are you, and why the fuck are you here all rubbing up on my woman????” he screamed the rest as his voice r
ose with each word.

  “She’s my fiancée!” Marcus yelled at Maverik.

  “I’m not your woman!” Valerie yelled at Maverik at the same time.

  Maverik’s Wolf chose that moment to make his presence known. He snarled, eyes glowing bright blue, and was across the room with his hand around Marcus’s throat before anyone knew he’d moved. In a snarly voice he said, “This woman is mine. She knows it, I know it. You touched my woman, you’re gonna hurt. You fucked my woman? You’re gonna die.”

  Valerie screeched at him, “I am not your woman, and who I fuck is none of your business, Maverik!”

  Maverik’s Wolf turned his head toward Valerie, his head tilting slightly to the side, “Did you, Valerie?”

  “Did I what?” Valerie asked, nervous, not because she feared Maverik, he’d never hurt her, but because she was watching Marcus steadily turn a darker shade of blue.

  “Did you let him touch what’s mine?”

  She didn't think, she just answered, outraged that he’d even think she’d do such a thing, “Of course, not! I’d never do that.”

  Maverik smiled at her, “Good girl.” Then he turned his attention back to Marcus.

  “Hmm, you’re almost purple,” he said. He released the pressure on the human’s throat, allowing him to gasp for air. Then he pushed his face up close to Marcus’s ear, “You're lucky, fucktard, you get to live another day. But if you come back here, if you speak to my woman ever a-fucking-gain, I will come for you. I will rip your balls off your body and strangle you with the tubes that take whatever pitiful spermers you got from your balls to your dick, then I will shove those balls down your throat and watch as you slowly suffocate.” Maverik shrugged, “Or bleed out, whichever happens first.”

  “You have no right!” Valerie yelled at him from her place, still sitting on the couch. It had not ever occurred to her to get up and move or help Marcus.

  He turned to look at her, and his voice dropped even deeper, snarlier, “I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!”

  He still had his hand on fucktard’s throat, though loose enough that he could breathe now. He faced him again, “Do you understand the conditions I laid out? You understand what will keep you alive and what will get you killed?” Maverik asked him.

  Marcus started nodding his head frantically.

  Maverik shoved him away toward the door, “Gooooo!” he yelled.

  Marcus regained his balance just as he reached the door, “Valerie, he’s fucking nuts! You have an insane psycho ex, and I have no room in my life for that! He’s got a mohawk for Christ’s sake!”

  Maverik moved toward him, fury in his eyes, “You fucking die!!!!! I told you not to speak to my woman!!!”

  Marcus screamed like a girl and hit the stairs running, leaving a trail of piss behind himself. The man actually pissed himself.

  Maverik turned back to Valerie, chuckling, “What a puss, he pissed himself.”

  Valerie was beyond furious, “Of course he did! He’s got a crazy fucking tattooed shifter with a mohawk threatening to fucking kill him if he even speaks to his fiancée again and damn near strangling him after he kicked my door in. If I was fucktard,” she realized her slip up, and Maverik busted out laughing, “Marcus!” Valerie corrected, “If I was Marcus!” she put emphasis on his name, “I’d be a little scared, too!”

  “Oh, yeah? And would you leave your fiancée here to face said psycho ex alone? No! You wouldn’t, not much of a male there Valerie. Why’d you pick him?”

  “Because he’s nice to me! And because he thinks I’m pretty, and he makes me feel wanted, and…” and then she realized that she was answering Maverik. Maverik! Who had busted into her apartment like he had every right to, after ignoring her for almost four years, and disappearing without any word at all. “You know what?!” she shrieked. “It’s none of your fucking business! I pick whoever the hell I want!”

  “You will pick me,” he told her calmly.

  “I will never pick you!” she yelled at him.

  “You will, you want to know why?” Maverik still spoke to her in a calm tone even though she was close to losing control.

  “Never! You ripped my heart out! You made me feel like I wasn't good enough! Like I’m not one of those skinny pretty model types you run around with, I’m curvy, so I’m not good enough! You made me question if I’m good enough or not! And you know what?! I’m better than good enough! It’s you who’s not enough!” she screamed at him on a sob.

  He knew that his denial of her had hurt her, but until that moment he had no idea just how much damage he’d done. He didn’t yell back at her. He stood there watching her. She leaned over and placed her face in her hands, sobbing, fighting it, trying to get her emotions back in check.

  Very softly, he started to explain, “Valerie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was never you. I was broken. So fucking broken that I had nothing but bitterness and mistrust to offer you. You are beautiful, so fucking beautiful, and so sweet and so kind. You are everything. And I just had nothing. I was nothing. I disappeared, so I could go back, face the ashes of my past. Lay it all to rest. Let it all go so I could move on, so I could come back here, tell you that I want you, I’ve always wanted you. I just wasn't a good male then, Valerie.”

  He paused, waiting to see if there was any response to his confession. She wasn’t sobbing anymore, but other than that, there was no change. She still held her face in her hands.

  He knew there was no getting through to her tonight. Just because he was ready, didn’t mean she was. He’d pushed her away for too long, and now she needed time.

  He turned to go, “I’ll go, Valerie. But I want you to know, I never slept with a single one of those girls. I didn’t do anything at all with them. We’d laugh and joke and make everyone think that we did, but nothing happened. They’re friends. That’s all. I wanted it to look like we were screwing around, so my clan would think I was, and yeah, so you would think I was. I was still in denial that you were my Mate. I’d already found her, I thought, and she ripped me apart. I was terrified; I didn’t want another.”

  Valerie lifted her head at his admission and looked him in the eye.

  He smiled sadly at her, “But I was wrong. You are my Mate. I want you. I need you. And when you’re ready, come find me. Until then, I won’t bother you again.”

  Valerie said nothing, so he made his way over to her door, “I’ll send someone to fix this.”

  Still she said nothing.

  He started to go, but paused in the doorway, “I belong to you, Valerie. I’ll wait as long as it takes.” He took one step and stopped again, “If you allow fucktard back in here, anyone in here, they will be in danger. I’m not trying to intimidate you. My Wolf knows you’re his, and he’s tired of me fucking it up. I’m just saying.”

  Still she looked at him, no response.

  “I’ll wait, Mate,” was all he said, and then he was gone.

  Valerie sat back on the couch, numb from all that had happened. Her mind swirling, her heart pounding. Her eyes filling with tears as she curled herself into a fetal position and cried herself to sleep.

  Maverik passed Vince at the bottom of the stairs.

  “No need to send anyone to fix the door, I got it,” Vince told him.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to break it. I just flipped out when I heard fucktard with her.”

  Vince patted him on the back, “No problem. I got it.” Vince looked at him closely, “You meant what you said up there.”

  “Every fucking word,” Maverik answered.

  “I hope it’s not too late, Mav,” Vince told him sincerely.

  “Yeah, you and me both. Keep an eye on her for me?” Maverik asked, knowing there was no reason to, her brother always watched over her, but feeling the need to anyway.

  “Always,” Vince told him as he patted him on the back again, stepping past him on the way up the stairs to check on his sister.

  Chapter 10

  Maia had taken a shower in the guest bath d
own the hall from her bedroom, and Janie loaned her a pair of shorts and a tank top to sleep in. She curled up in bed and was out in a few minutes. She only had a bit of time to reflect on the people that her dad now called family. They were his family, and they’d taken her in no questions asked. They were good people. She was very grateful that her life had taken the turns that it had to bring her here to them, to him. And she sent up a quick prayer that he would be able to convince his Valerie to give him another chance. He so deserved happiness.

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  Maverik slowly drove back home. He parked his bike out front and quietly entered the house. Kaid and Delilah sat up watching TV in the living room. Kaid took one look at him and knew.

  “I’m sorry, Maverik. I’m so damn sorry. Maybe she’ll change her mind,” Kaid told him.

  Maverik just stood there, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stared unseeing at the TV screen.

  “She will think of you, Maverik-Ass, on her wedding day, and she will not say I do,” Delilah told him.

  “Yeah, well, there won’t be a wedding. I told fucktard I’d strangle him with his own balls if he spoke to her again.”

  Kaid barked out a laugh, “Dayum, that even makes me cringe! Think you could have been a little less threatening?” Kaid asked.

  Maverik shrugged, “I was making a point.”

  “Well, I think you were successful.”

  “He pissed himself, so yeah, I was probably successful,” Maverik answered, smiling sadly.

  “She will come around, Maverik-Ass,” Delilah told him confidently.

  “I hope so, Lilah,” he looked at Delilah then, “I really love her. And I fucked up so bad with her. I hope she can see I’m different now.”

  “She will see it. You are a good male, even when you were the broken ass, you were good. Now you are better. She will see,” Delilah told him, meaning every word.