C7 007: NO ONE, BUT HIM.

MAYA'S POV

He smooths my hips gently, and his teeth bite into my neck. "Are you ready to relive your past life?"

"What does that even mean?" I stare at him, but a rumbling from the bushes draws my attention. I look over Miles' shoulder, turning my neck in the direction of the noise.

Maddox walks out of the bush into the garden, his full lips moving as he says something. "Miles, where the hell are you—" he trails off when he looks up and spots Miles and me together. He clenches his fist. His cloak falls back, revealing beautiful hair and a more beautiful face; his eyes narrow as he stares at us. "Miles, we have sparring class." He says through gritted teeth, barely glancing at me.

"I'm right behind you." Miles brushes him off.

Maddox sprints quickly to our side, grabbing Miles' arm and pushing him away from me. "Come now." He shoves Miles in the chest. "Leave the girl alone." He's literally vibrating. Is he just mad? Or... jealous?

As he pushes Miles off, I'm thrown off balance a little with no one to support me. I stagger, but Maddox quickly catches me, hands wrapped around my waist as he steadies me to my feet. His eyes are stormy. I feel hot everywhere. "Why are you here? What evil agenda do you have?"

"You don't even know me; why the sudden hate?" I yell in his face.

"Easy." Miles steps between us, placing one hand on my waist and the other on Maddox's chest. He pushes us apart. He turns to me and flashes a teasing smile. "He bites and you don't want that."

I breathe through my mouth and wave my hands over my face. It's really hot over here.

He pulls Maddox to a corner, and they start whispering, but I can hear everything they're saying, loud and clear. "It's her." Miles whispers.

"Who?" Maddox asks, not hiding his confusion. He glances in my direction.

"Our queen," Miles says and pauses, possibly waiting for Maddox to say something more, but when he doesn't, Miles goes on. "I understand you still feel guilty over how it ended decades ago, but this is a new life, Vargis. Don't pretend you don't see her; don't let guilt eat you alive."

"What are you saying, Miles? I told you I don't remember anything from a thousand years ago; nobody in the academy does." Maddox says calmly, and it sounds odd, because he's been raging like a dog since we met.

"Try and remember, brother; you'll get fleeting pieces of memory back if you try." Miles sounds impatient but very certain of himself. "I remember, okay? And that's because I was bound to her throughout all my life."

What does Miles know about me that no one else remembers, not even me? But Jaden seemed to remember something at the grandmistress' office. The way the dragon shifter stared at me, does he remember too?

Maddox groans, clutching his head and reciting an enchantment in a foreign language. He lets go of his head and falls back slightly, resting against a branch to catch his breath. "I can't... I don't have any memory of her." He straightens. "The only thing my wolf tells me is danger. She's dangerous!" he snaps.

"Why are you so pissed? Cool off. Aren't we brothers?" Miles' voice is smooth. He holds Maddox's hands and gently rubs his back.

"Yes, yes, we are." Maddox sounds a little distracted. "It's just...my wolf, he's restless." He shifts his weight from one foot to another.

"I think it's because he may have found his mate," Miles says and throws his fist excitedly in the air.

"Fuck!" Maddox screams and glances at me.

I visibly tremble, turning my eyes to the opposite direction so they won't know I've been listening.

Maddox pushes himself away from Miles and heads toward the bushes, about to walk out when he stops. "We don't share girls, and you know that. I'd never even look in the direction of a girl you've kissed, much less one you're convinced is your mate. Sparring class is in session. You'd better come along and strengthen those sexy legs of yours," he says mockingly before stepping out.

Miles glances at me. "We should head back."

"What did you want to say before the werewolf interrupted?" I quicken my pace to catch up with him.

"If I tell you everything now, I'll break you." He stops moving and stares at me through incredibly sad eyes. "And if I delay, I may lose you."

"Jaden said something along that line," I whisper.

"Vampires are manipulative." Miles grabs my wrist, gently turning me to face him and holding my palm up to his lips as he kiss it. "It seems I'm the only one who remembers everything, so that makes me your only true ally."

I nod and follow him back to the class.

When we return to the class, the instructor has already assigned the students in pairs. Morien is practicing with a pink-haired fae. I glance around. I can't find Jaden; where is he? Maddox is the only one without a partner... or maybe that's me because Miles just ditched me for his friend. His already unbuttoning his shirt, rolling the sleeves, and turning it into fighting attire.

"No, no, not today," the instructor says, stopping Miles. "Let the academy's latest recruit try her hand at sparring." He looks at me, then at Maddox, tilting his head and signaling I should go over.

No, I feel it in my bones that's a bad idea.

Maddox looks around. "Well, that certainly won't be with me. It looks like she and Miles are a good pairing. Why don't they train against each other?"

"Maddox Vargis!" The instructor screams. "Miles is unable to compete, but you're sound to do so, and Maya Carter must train against the best. If you want to argue further, you can say bye-bye to blood combat, and you know that's your only ticket to continue the elite training."

Maddox clenches his fist, his eyes glittering in bright amber. He looks really mad. "Moonshit." He mutters, biting his lips as he sizes me up...but if we were not about to fight, I'd say he's checking me out, because his eyes linger too much on my boobs and hips region.

I fold my sleeves and wrap my hair. I have no idea how I'm going to fight a raging dog in a shirt and skirt, but it's all just training, right?

I step onto the battlefield, and the pair beside us are Morien and the pink-haired girl. My hands slightly brush Morien's back, and he turns and glares at me, the scales on his neck catching the light. "Gho...st!" He stutters, and he's unable to meet my eyes. "Don't ever touch me again." He says and storms out of the training ground.

I'm still watching him leave when I feel a sharp chop on my ankle, causing me to jump, but I miss my balance and fall to the ground. I whine and look up to find Maddox hovering over me with a sneer on his lips. "Focus!"

I help myself up, and he resumes throwing jabs and punches at me. He is really aggressive; it seems his vicious wolf has taken over, and is set to destroy me. I just try to dodge as many hits as I can.

He trips me the second time, and I fall, but this time I hook my legs around his ankle and throw him on the ground too. He tries to get up, but I quickly turn over and sit on him, pinning him down with our arching bodies pressed against each other. "Gotcha!" I mindlink. I don't know how, but I mindlink him. Earlier on, I was able to sense thoughts that weren't mine. Maybe that's how I unlocked the ability to mind-link. Our hearts beat unevenly, and our breaths come out in ragged beats.

"You were supposed to stay gone." He responds through the mindlink, but the voice sounds different...more coercive.

I don't respond, but something...or someone inside of me answers. "Yet you claim you don't know me?"

"He doesn't, but I do." The voice inside him resounds in my head again. He lifts his hands, and the first thing I notice is the cracked glass in his fingers. My sigil burns as I keep staring at it...

Everything around me vanishes, and instead of Maddox on the floor, it's me in a ripped ball dress, lying on the floor—in this exact spot—but the surrounding things look older and archaic. Broken limbs and skulls are scattered around; dust rises to my face as feet cross over and around me to safety; loud cries fill my ears.

Blood drips from my body, as a man presses me down with a weapon in his raised hands.