Nightmares ~ Teen Wolf [Book 3]

Metomorphosis

The waves lapped at every inch of exposed skin, bathing it in its frigid embrace. Goosebumps trailing up tanned arms that gently swayed in the water. Despite the cold temperature of the cavern, it was nice and soothing. Or at least for one of them it was.

"God, you're so tense, I can practically feel your stress from over here."

Maya cracked open an eye to glare at her companion. "Shut up, I can't help it."

Noah huffed, trying to return to the feeling of being at one with the water again. "It's hard to meditate when you get like this. It's annoying."

The brunette gave up on the exercise. Instead of closing her eyes and finding peace in the water, she let herself get distracted mapping the cracks spread out like spiderwebs across the rock walls of the cavern. She tried to keep quiet; Noah always got easily annoyed with her when she took breaks. It was just that her mind was too busy buzzing with thoughts for her to relax right now.

A small splash shocked her out of silent contemplation. A startled Maya brushed back the wet strands of hair plastered to her face to glare over at the merman beside her.

Noah smugly flicked his tail back and forth, smirking over at Maya. "You're supposed to be meditating, Williams."

"I know," She sighed. It was clear that they were taking a break now so she drifted over and rested her arms on the edge of the pool. "I'm just distracted...two more days and then I'm back in Beacon Hills."

She could feel the ripples in the water as Noah moved to join her. His arms coming up to rest beside hers, his right just barely grazing her left one as they floated next to each other. When she didn't turn to look at him, Noah leaned over to rest his chin on the mermaid's shoulder, his tail ever so gently bumping in to hers as they floated in silence.

"You gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Noah finally asked after more quiet moments passed between them. "Or are we just going to float here all night until Rowan comes looking for us?"

"If I'm being honest, I'm terrified to go home, Noah." Maya admitted. "After all this time away, how am I going to be able to go back there?"

The merman leaned back so he could fully look at the mermaid beside him. Her brown eyes were clouded and looked far away, reminiscing about the horrors of her past. On the skin that stretched across her collar bone were the raised white lines of a scar he had seen quite often. He lifted a finger, lightly tracing the pale mark, making Maya shiver slightly at the unexpected touch.

"You are strong, Maya." Noah told her, his hand coming up to rest gently on her neck, urging her to look at him. "This life, you weren't born into it like the rest of the pod, but you certainly don't act like it. If no one had told me that this wasn't forced upon you, I would have never guessed that you were turned from a bite. You're one of the strongest mermaids I have ever met. You, Maya Williams, were born for this."

Maya finally turned to look at her companion, worry easy to see in her haunted gaze. "What if I lose control again?"

"You won't."

"I might."

"No, you won't." Noah insisted. "Rowan has spent all summer teaching you how to control yourself, Maya. You are in control of your powers, not the darkness in you."

"But, what if-" Maya started to protest.

"Hey, what does Rowan tell you to say when you start to doubt yourself?"

Maya sighed, letting the tension fall from her shoulders. She sucked in a calm breath. "Focus on your light, not the shadows it creates."

"There is good in you Maya." Noah promised her, "And once you stop fixating on the bad, you'll be able to appreciate the beauty of that good as much as I do."

"Has anyone ever told you that your a gigantic flirt?"

He chuckled, "This pretty brunette I hang out with has mentioned it once or twice."

Maya felt herself smile, "She sounds smart."

"Oh trust me, she is."

This time it Maya who leaned her head on Noah's shoulder. Stress from earlier finally melting away and the tension leaving her as the two fell back into a comfortable silence. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear Noah's words, but now that it was out there in the open, she felt much more at peace.

Over the summer, Michigan had felt more like home than Beacon Hills had felt like in a while. Maybe it was just the fact that there were others like her; people who understood what she was going through. Here she was a part of a pod. Rowan has made her feel like she'd been a member just as long as the others had been. In the few months of her stay, they'd become a family to her. But as much as she enjoyed staying with Rowan, Noah, and everyone else- eventually she had to go back to her pack. After all, they were her family too.

"Alright," Maya flicked her tail, bumping it in to Noah's. "we should probably head back. I don't think I'm gonna be able to meditate with how stressed I am. Not even after one of your famous pep talks."

A flirtatious smile slid onto the merman's face as he glanced over at his friend. "I could think of a few ways to help you with that..."

"Hm," She hummed out as she leaned in slightly more. "sounds rather tempting."

They drifted closer together, like magnets being draw in to each other. It wouldn't be the first time sparks had flown between the mermaid and the merman. At first Maya had felt guilty about it, after all she loved Jackson. But that was the problem.

At some point love and heartbreak became synonymous to the girl. With her first love shipped off to London, and no expected return, she wasn't sure she was ready to get close to someone again. Getting close meant setting yourself up to get hurt. And Maya was done getting hurt.

But, that was the nice thing about Noah. There was no getting hurt or getting caught up in emotions because for them, this was just a fling- no strings attached. It was a quick way to ease the tension and forget about their broken hearts for a while. A few stolen moments where they could feel close to someone again and not have to worry about if it meant something. And then Maya would get on a plane and fly off to California and he would just be a distant memory that might occasionally text her to check in.

This summer was all about moving on for Maya Williams. Moving on from her darkness; moving on from her heartbreak; moving on from her pain. When she finally did step foot back in Beacon Hills, she wasn't going to be the weak little mermaid that she'd been when she left. This was her metamorphosis and she was coming back better than ever.