Jaguar Sun (9 page)

“Really? Well, I guess that’s no surprise. Your Grandma Rosa is one. That’s great, My! I’m proud of you.”

“Could, could you just let me finish?” I stammered. My hands were shaking, so I tucked them underneath my thighs. “Usually two shifters find each other and they mate for life. It’s almost
always
two shifters. But, but I’m an Elder and I phased, so you phased too.” I looked into his eyes and waited, waited for the moment that they showed understanding.

Yep, there it was.

“So you’re saying that you phased and because I was meant to be your mate, I phased, too?”

“Yes.” That was all I could think of to say. I looked down at my lap. The tears that had started to run down my cheeks said the rest. But instead of flying into a rage or walking out, he wiped a tear away with his thumb.

“Did you think I would leave you?”

“Uh huh,” I said, nodding like an idiot. By now, I was just about ready for full-on snot-a-thon.

“Maya, look at me,” he said tilting my chin up. “Maybe this is true, maybe it’s not, but if it is, it just means that we’re meant to be together.”

“But everything you’re going through might be because of me.”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t you see? My heart wanted you. And it did whatever it had to do to be with you. I love you, My.”

“I love you, too.” I sniffled again.

And then he kissed me. He kissed me in a way he never had before. In a way no one had ever kissed me before. It was hard and deep, hungry. I felt a rush of pleasure that was different from anything I’d ever felt. I reached up to the back of his neck to make sure he didn’t stop. He put his arms around me and lifted me up, then laid me down on the couch. I could feel electricity everywhere our skin touched. I slid my hand down the back of his jeans trying to pull him against me. He moaned. It was like we were channeling the animal spirits within us. We broke away for a moment, panting, looking into each other’s eyes. And I could see that the Wolf was there, but there was love there, too. So much love. I knew then that I would do anything for him. Anything.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A few minutes later, I saw Dad’s headlights in our driveway as he pulled in. Matt and I walked out into the cool November evening. He took my hand, and I followed him to his car. I felt a sudden pain in my chest with the realization he was leaving. I didn’t want him to go, even though in my head I knew he was just going home.
This is what it’s like to be mated,
I thought.

“Maya,” he said, “you have to promise me something. If we ever find out that what you said is true … If we learn that I phased so I that could be with you, promise me that you’ll never ever feel guilty. I would have done anything to be with you. And I still would.”

“And being Gray Wolf’s not so bad?”

“I gotta be honest with you, My,” he said with a laugh. “It totally sucks.”

“Matt, do you feel sort of funny, I mean, about leaving?”

“You mean here?” He touched the left side of his chest. “Yeah, I felt it the first time the other night, after we first phased together and then we left to go home.”

“I think it’s because we’re mated, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s like....”

“It hurts to just think about being apart.”

“Yep.”

I touched the side of his face. Instantly, the electricity surged through me. I pulled his neck down and kissed him. It got hotter when he suddenly pulled away. Shocked, I looked up into his face.

“We’d better not go down that road again,” he smiled.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just....”

“I know. I feel it, too. It’s not like a normal, human thing. I’ve always wanted it with you, My, believe me, but this is...I dunno….”

“It’s primal,” I said, finally realizing what was happening. Sure, we were mates in the sense that we were meant to be together for life. Like all shifters. But there was more to it than that. There was a sexual part that seemed so overpowering. It seemed like since we both had phased, I could hardly get near him without needing to touch him. And the pull was getting stronger, I was sure of it. I had no idea how to deal with it. I mean, animals don’t have to hold back. What the hell was I supposed to do, though? Ask Victrixa about it?
Hey, Victrixa, why am I, like, beyond horny?
Yeah, right. Talk about your embarrassing conversations.

“Well,” I said after a minute, “we’re definitely going to have to do something about this.”

“I second the hell outta that!” He laughed and got into his car.

~ ~ ~

Next morning before school, I met the twins in the parking lot. I knew I had to tell them about the vision I’d had, but, honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it. The more I talked about it, the more it seemed real. But I didn’t want it to be real. I swallowed hard (not that I had any spit to swallow).

“Hey, guys,” I said, “thanks for meeting me early.”

“No problem.” Lyssa smiled as Matt walked up.

“What’s up?” Damian asked.

“Well, I needed to talk to you about a couple things and I didn’t want to be overheard. Remember how weird it got at lunch when I thought something was wrong with Matt? Well, I haven’t said anything to you because I wanted to talk to my grandma first. Anyway, the reason I knew that Matt was in trouble is because I had a premonition.”

“What did your grandma say?” Lyssa asked.

Damian answered for me. “She had a vision.”

“Does that happen a lot with shifters or with Tribal Elders?” Matt asked.

“How’s that?” Lyssa asked. “You’re a freakin’ Elder?”

“Yep. My grandma told me last night that she thinks I might be a Tribal Elder.”

“No shit! Maya, that is so cool!”

“Anyway,” Damian said, looking directly at his twin, “I was wondering about the vision myself, so I did a little research.”

“There’s a surprise,” Lyssa smirked.

“What’d you find out?” Matt asked.

“There is no known record of any shifter having visions unless they were also a Native American using ritual. And, actually, your vision was neither premonition nor precognition because those are always of the future. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a vision.”

Sunday could not come fast enough. I was beginning to feel kind of desperate. What if Victrixa couldn’t help me figure out what was going on? Or worse, what if she thought I was some kind of freak?

~ ~ ~

“
In Lak’ ech
, Maya,” Victrixa said, greeting me on the porch.

“
Ala K’in
, Victrixa.”

“So how is everything going? Tell me about this mate of yours,” she said with a mischievous smile. We sat down on the leather sofa in the “artifacts” room.

“You’ve been talking to Grandma.”

She laughed. “Of course.”

“Well,” I said, “his name is Matt. He’s a senior at my school.”

She smiled again. “Well, that’s handy. Do you have any questions for me? Feel free to ask me anything, Maya. I’m here to help with all of the strange and wonderful things that come with being a shifter.”

“Well, I was wondering about something,” I began nervously, “I feel like there’s this pull between us. We hate to be apart physically and...uh....”

“Sexually?”

I nodded, feeling my face flush. God, this was embarrassing. It felt like we were having “the talk,” except I was sixteen and she was definitely not my loser-mom.

“That’s perfectly normal. Shifters have a bond with their mate that is different than a human bond. Your bond with your mate truly touches your soul. It’s incredibly powerful. Do you know the human expression ‘soul mate’? That term was originally used by shifters. In reality, we come much closer to it than humans ever could because of our strong
k’ul
. The expression just sort of caught on. We also feel the instinctual pull of our
naguales
to mate. So you see, Maya, what you’re going through is perfectly natural.”

“Oh.”

“You look like you could use a diet Coke. Let me get one from the kitchen. Are you hungry? I can fix a snack.”

“That would be great.”

When she went into the kitchen, I stood up and walked around the room, taking in all of the amazing pieces from Mayan history. I knew I probably shouldn’t touch, but I picked up the vase with
Balam
on it. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a chill run down my body followed by a crippling nausea. Then there came a flash in front of my eyes that made me suck in my breath.

...I’m sure that she’s more than a shifter
, I somehow heard a voice saying
. The grandmother trusts me. She has told me that Maya is having visions. But I need more time. If she is who we think she is, this has to be done right.
It was Victrixa’s voice. She was talking to a group of others who were hidden in the shadows.

Time is running out, Trixa,
said one of the obscured faces.

Don’t worry. She’s incredibly naïve. I’ll have her right where I want her very soon.

I was suddenly aware that I was panting so hard it was like I had forgotten to breathe for the last ten minutes. But it hadn’t been that long, nowhere near it. I looked around the room again. Victrixa was still in the kitchen. Damn—I had to get the hell out of there, but how? I put the vase down and practically ran back over to the couch.

That’s exactly when Victrixa walked back into the room. “Here we are,” she said. She was carrying my diet Coke, a glass of wine, and some kind of fancy cheese with crackers. She put the tray on a small table and turned to me. “So,” she paused, “Rosa tells me that your mate followed you into the phase.”

Huh?

“Oh, that’s just an expression shifters use to describe it when someone who would not normally have phased otherwise follows a Tribal Elder or another who possesses great
k’ul
.

Shit. I had no idea how to get out of there without answering more of her questions. “Oh, right,” I said, nodding. If I nodded again, I was sure my head would bounce off my neck. A thought arrived. “You know,” I said, talking fast, “I just got a text while you were in the kitchen. My math tutor needs to meet with me a little earlier than usual. I’m sorry,” I said, “but math is really tough for me.”

She looked slightly miffed. “That’s fine,” she said. “We’ll continue this next week then.”

She walked me to the porch and waved as I drove away. Oh, man, had that been believable? Did she know that I was onto her? And just
what
was I onto? Why was she so interested in finding out more about me? As soon as I was out of sight of her land, I slammed my foot onto the gas and bolted to the highway. As I drove, my head spun. Then my stomach gave me its usual poke, letting me know that my stress level was off the charts again. All I could think was that Victrixa was Grandma’s friend. Or, at least, she was pretending to be. But if not, then who was she? And what had she meant when she said I might be more than a shifter? It just didn’t make any sense.

Well, in a way it did. Everyone seemed pretty much in agreement about two things. Matt had followed me into the phase (or whatever the hell it was called) and it was not normal for your basic everyday shifter to have visions. And here I’d just had another one.
Crap.
One thing was for sure—Victrixa wasn’t who she said she was. End of story.

I was so busy trying to figure it all out that I almost missed my exit. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. At first I headed toward home, but instead I hung a quick left and headed for the twins’ house. I was feeling a twinge of guilt. What had I gotten my friends into? What had I gotten Matt into? Grandma? I saw the twins’ car in the driveway and pulled in and parked behind them. Then I took out my phone and texted Lyssa to find out if they were home alone. My answer came right away as she pulled open the front door and waved me in.

“Maya, what the—?”

“I need to talk to you guys!”

“Maya, what’s wrong, honey?” Damian asked. He looked worried.

“Something’s happened, and before I tell you about it, I need you to know that this could be bad. Very, very bad.” It was all I could say to warn them because I had absolutely no idea what I was warning them about.

“Is it about the vision?” Lyssa asked.

“
Visions
,” I clarified. “Plural.”

“What happened?” Damian asked.

“I was at Victrixa’s, and when she went to get me a diet Coke, I picked up this vase in her room. I don’t know. It triggered another vision somehow.” Suddenly I realized I had a whopping headache.

“Maya, you’re shaking,” Lyssa said, leading me to the sofa.

“The vision...well, what I heard...it was of Victrixa, and she was talking about me to a bunch of other people.”