Chapter 48 - EFFECT OF THE WITCH'S POTION II: UNRECOGNIZED BY HER MATE

Maya closed her tightly, as she heard Derek's proclamation. She didn't know whether she should be angry that he had said it out in the open without her consent, or happy that he had known her well enough, even to the extent, of telling that his best pack warrior was her mate. It showed her that he still hadn't really forgotten about their closeness. It also gave her a hope that they could reconcile, maybe later, if her father didn't require anything selfish from her.

"Derek, what did you just say?" She heard her mate ask her cousin, and sighed. This was getting harder by the minute.

"You both are mates." Derek replied Leo, folding his arms.

"How come you don't know?" He queried his friend. "Or are you ignoring the mate bond because of me?" He asked further, voicing his wolf's opinion.

"No." Leo stated, his eyes widening at the information he had just heard. Although he had wished that the beauty in front of him was his mate, he knew she wasn't. He hadn't felt the mate pull, hadn't perceived her wolfery scent either.

"Then what's the problem?" Derek asked, ignoring the fact that they were now the object of spectacle. He wanted to get to the root of the matter, before letting his pack members leave. He also didn't want his cousin to be mateless, no matter how much he hated her. He knew it could be devastating, not talking of now that she had found a mate which was unresponsive to her. He had to find out why.

"I don't know. I just don't feel the mate pull." Leo replied, ignoring the flash of pain that crossed his heart, at the hurt he saw in the beauty's deep blue eyes.

'Was she really her mate?' He thought, trying to communicate with his wolf, who had chosen at that time to remain silent.

"Jaze." He called out inwardly to his wolf.

"She seems to be our mate. But why is the pull not there? Did she take anything to veil her scent or break the bond?" His wolf, Jaze, finally asked; in response to his call.

"I don't know." He muttered, deciding to ask her later.

"But how are you sure that she's my mate?" He asked his Alpha's son, who even seemed surer than his cousin.

"I know my cousin. I know too that you're her mate. Although I don't understand why you aren't clicking with her." Derek replied, already feeling a bit sorry for his cousin who looked dejected.

"Maya.." He called out to her.

"Do you have any idea why this is happening, why the mate bond isn't working? Did you take anything?" He asked, ruminating on what could have caused this. Nothing turned up, his wolf was silent too. He decided that he would have to ask his mother later. She might have an idea why.

"I don't know." Maya replied, crestfallen at the recent turn of events.

"I need some fresh air." She said, before turning around and walking out of the hall.

"Aren't you going after her?" Derek asked his friend, Leo.

"No, I'm not." He replied, not finding it necessary. He concluded that the girl wasn't his mate. It she was, he was meant to at least feel the mate pull, not a tender likeness that could banish at anytime.

"Okay then." Derek muttered, not wanting to push him further, if he didn't want to go after his cousin.

"So how would we get to your Uncle's pack?" Leo asked him, wanting to get moving already.

"Lead them to the Pack's conference room. My uncle is waiting outside it. He would take you guys to his pack." He said.

"Be vigilant and careful." He added, through the pack link, not wanting the new faces to hear that.

"Okay." Leo stated, before nodding his head towards his other pack warriors, signalling them to follow him as he walked steadily outside the hall, but not without shaking hands with his friends.

"Shane." Derek called out to his gamma, who seemed shaken a bit from the incidence ago.

"Take our visitors to the quarters that had been prepared for them."

"Okay." He replied, looking at the Wind Winders warriors, before walking out of the hall; the new faces following his steps too till they all left the hall, leaving Derek and his beta behind.

"Is it really true?" Clem asked, still finding it hard to believe that Leo was mated to their enemy, and moreso, couldn't feel the mate bond. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad about it.

"Yes, He's her mate." Derek replied, still thinking on the issue.

"Are you going to interfere?" Clem queried, knowing that although his best friend hated his cousin, he might not stand her being mateless or rejected by her mate.

"I don't know." Derek replied. "But I will ask my mother. She might be able to know the reason for the lack of the mate pull." He continued, turning around towards the entrance, to strottle away from the hall.

"Tell my father that I'm done with the pack meeting." He continued, taking steps already towards the Hall's entrance.

"Where are you going now?" Clem asked, walking after him.

"To find Maya." He replied, finally walking out of hall.

**

Derek walked towards the garden, after debating for a while with his wolf on where his cousin might have gone, to think and lick her wounds.

He sighed in relief as he saw his mother walking towards him from the garden, but he noticed that she was a bit frazzled.

"What's wrong Mother?" He asked, as he got closer to her.

"I just saw your cousin in the garden. She was crying bitterly. What happened?" Melvina queried, slightly suprised and disturbed at the issue. Her Maya hardly cried.

It was true that she had been displeased when she knew about her betrayal seven years ago, but she had understood later on, as the years went by, that the girl had just been a pawn in her father's hand. She had forgiven her ever since.

"She found her mate, but he didn't recognize her or the mate bond." Derek replied slowly, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"What! How is that possible?" Melvina asked, suprised at the information. It wasn't possible, unless the mate bond was veiled or broken; which although could be the only explanation, seemed unlikely. Why would someone tamper with the girl's mate bond.

"I don't know. I had decided to ask you, whenever you were back." Derek replied.

"We should ask her if she did take anything that could have suppressed the mate pull." He added, taking steps towards the garden.

Melvina nodded at her son's statement, before walking after him.

**

Maya dried her tears with Zoe's scarf as she heard footsteps heading towards her direction. She stood up immediately from the ground she had sat on some minutes ago, bemoaning her fate; before taking a look around the garden.

She sighed in relief, as she saw that it was just her cousin and his mother. She couldn't veil the smile that creeped out on her lips, when her aunt opened her arms wide, to her cousin's suprise, for a bear hug.

She had ran into them, without a second time, the tears spilling out again, uncontrollably.

"He didn't recognize me." She kept on saying, as the tears flowed in torrents from her eyes.

"It's okay." Her aunt, Melvina, muttered; patting her back softly.

She drew back after a while, and smiled at her aunt fully; ignoring the shocked look on Derek's face.

"Aunt, I've missed you." She said, dropping the facade, at last.

"I've missed you too, my dear." Melvina said, smiling whist patting her hair affectionately.

"Now can you tell why you are crying?" She asked.

"My mate…" Maya tried saying, before tearing up again.

Derek could feel the high walls he had built against his cousin, crushing down little by little. He hated to see her cry; she rarely cried even.

"Yes, I know. Derek has told me." Melvina stated.

"Did you take any strange thing recently?" She asked.

"Not really." Maya replied, as she tried to recall if she had indeed taken any strange substance. She balked as her wolf brought to her remembrance the bitter liquid her father had given some days go to veil her scent.

She wondered whether it could be the cause of it.

"Are you sure?" She heard her aunt ask, and shook her head.

"Yeah, execpt a bitter liquid my father had given me two days ago." She finally said, hoping that the liquid and her father wasn't the cause of her problem.

"Do you know the name?" Melvina asked, praying that it wasn't what she was thinking.

"Yeah. He called it the Panjyo potion.." Maya replied, confirming her Aunt's worst fears.