CHAPTER FIVE

It didn't take long for Embry to make his way to his former home once the news about Maya's parents wanting her back reached him. As soon as he heard, a fire ignited in his chest. His anger was raw, fierce, and uncontrollable. If they had still been able to phase, he knew they would both have lost themselves in their rage, something that terrified him. Luckily, neither he nor Seth had phased in years, but that didn't make his anger any less potent. It only made him more dangerous because he could now fully channel that fury into words.

"Maya's parents think they can just waltz back into her life and demand she come with them?" Embry's voice cracked as he slammed his hands on the kitchen counter, the force of it making the wooden surface groan under the pressure. His eyes burned with frustration and disbelief as he turned to look at Maya, who was sitting quietly with the letter in her hands. Her gaze was fixed on the paper, but her expression was distant as if she were trapped in her own thoughts, unsure of how to process the reality of it all.

Maya's silence only fueled Embry's anger. It was hard to see her this way—so vulnerable and uncertain. He wanted to shout, to take her in his arms and protect her from whatever this situation was, but the words were coming too fast, and he couldn't stop himself.

"They've abandoned her, Mom! How can you even think that sending her back is an option?!" Embry's voice grew louder with every word, his fists clenched at his sides. "For God's sake, they're not her parents, not anymore, as far as I'm concerned!"

Tiffany, always the calm one in their family, tried to interject, but there was a quiet sorrow in her voice as she spoke. "Embry, Maya is still a minor. We don't have a choice in this, not really."

But Embry wouldn't hear it. He couldn't just sit by and accept it. His mind raced with the injustice of it all. How could they even think of taking Maya away from La Push, away from the only place where she had finally found peace? Away from the people who loved her, who cared for her, and had helped her build the life she deserved? How could her parents be so callous?

Seth, sitting quietly next to Maya, didn't add anything to the argument. He knew better. He understood that Maya needed someone who would just be there, quietly supporting her, rather than adding fuel to the fire. Seth was a quiet presence beside her, offering her comfort without words. He was always there for her in this way, always the rock she could lean on when the world became too overwhelming.

But Embry wasn't going to let it go. His anger was too consuming. "They practically abandoned her, Mom!" he shouted. "They sent her away without a second thought, and now they want to take her back like she's some kind of... of object! She's not their toy to play with when it's convenient for them!"

"Embry, stop!" Tiffany's voice cut through his rant, her tone a strained warning. She had never raised her voice like this before, but she was doing it now, out of desperation, hoping it would break through to him. "There's nothing we can do. We can't fight this, not the way we want to."

"Yes, there is!" Embry's response was immediate, his voice firm with resolve. He turned to Maya, desperation and hope in his eyes. "Tell her, Maya. Tell her that you want to stay here. This is your home, this is where you belong, right?"

Maya opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come. Her chest tightened as her emotions swirled within her. She had never wanted anything more than to stay in La Push, to stay with the people who loved her, to be free from the suffocating expectations of her parents. This was where she had found herself, where she had become the person she was always meant to be. But as much as she wanted to agree with Embry, as much as she knew this was home, there was still a small part of her that couldn't let go of the longing for her parents' acceptance.

"Maybe..." Maya started, her voice barely above a whisper, but Embry cut her off, his voice sharp with disbelief.

"Don't you dare," he warned, his eyes locking with hers. "Don't even try and think of a 'maybe' or a 'what if.' You know they abandoned you, Maya! They sent you here like you were nothing to them, and now they want you back because they think they can make you into something you were never meant to be! They just want a trophy, someone to show off, someone to prove that they can mould into whatever they want!"

His words hit her like a ton of bricks, and Maya flinched, but it wasn't because of the anger in Embry's voice. It wasn't because of his frustration. It was because he was right. He was absolutely right. Deep down, Maya had always known that her parents didn't want her—not the real her. They wanted someone who could fit into their perfect, idealized world, someone who could be a picture-perfect child. And she had never been that person. Not for them. She had always been the disappointment, the "deviant" who refused to meet their standards. And now, it felt like everything was falling into place like a twisted plan they had set in motion from the start.

It felt as though her entire life had been orchestrated, that her parents had always known they would send her away, that they would always have an opportunity to "correct" her and make her into the daughter they had envisioned. The realization was terrifying. It was as if they had been grooming her for this moment all along, waiting for the right time to pull her back into their control.

Her stomach churned at the thought, and for a moment, she felt completely unmoored, like everything she had built here, everything she had fought for, was slipping through her fingers.

"Embry!!!" Tiffany's voice cut through the storm, and for the first time, Maya saw her aunt truly lose control. "That's enough from you!" Tiffany's eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and anger, but also with a deep sense of worry. She had never expected this outburst from Embry, and it hurt her to see him so upset. But it wasn't just the anger—it was the truth in his words that had hit Maya like a wave.

Maya wanted to scream, wanted to push everything away. She wanted to tell Embry that she knew what he was saying was true, but the pain in her chest was too overwhelming. It wasn't just about her parents, about their cruelty and neglect. It was about her own fear—the fear that they might take her back and make her into something she didn't want to be.

She had always dreamed of being accepted by them, of hearing the words she'd never gotten—words that said they loved her, that they were proud of her. But now, as she sat there, surrounded by the people who truly cared for her, she realized that maybe, just maybe, her parents were the real monsters in her life. They had created this perfect illusion of family and love, but it had always been fake. And the idea that she could be their puppet, moulded into whatever they wanted her to be, was too much for her to bear.

Maya buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she let the realization sink in. It wasn't just the anger that tore at her—it was the heartbreaking truth that her parents had never loved her the way she had hoped. They never would.