Chapter 36

******Axel's POV*****

"I couldn't get it done last night... I'll have to wait until things settle down with the arrival of her friend. The plans may be postponed by a day or two but I will let you all know soon - be prepared to set out at anytime!" I pace around the meeting room with my Dad, Grey, Nolan and a few of my other higher title pack members sitting before me.

"Will we be speaking to Mr Magician Bastard Face today by any chance? I'd love to get my hands around his scrawny neck!" Nolan grits out suddenly, a new rage ripping through his body as he taps a pencil annoyingly on the table.

"Will you quit it with the fucking pencil! Did you take the meds they gave you? They are meant to calm you down!" Grey argues with him, receiving a harsh glare in return.

"I don't agree with these circumstances!" Nolan groans in evident frustration.

I get it...

"Go away and go for a fucking run or something!" Grey states, as Nolan shoves his chair back instantly before exiting the room - stomping his feet like a child in the process.

He really was just a big baby I couldn’t help but laugh.

******Dani's POV******

"How do you feel?" I question Lily softly, as she eats her bowl of cereal on our balcony.

She slept in my room last night and Axel took it surprisingly well. I was worried he would protest since I hadn't actually seen him alone for two whole nights now.

It wasn't fair I guess, especially after our mate ceremony thing - but he understood that the circumstances were different now.

"I feel... better... I can't believe you live here though!" She offers me a small smile, admiring the view in awe - just like I had done when I first arrived.

"It's like a fairytale... well I mean a fairytale with a few jump scares I must admit!" I joke, as she smiles again before pushing a strand of her (now clean) hair behind her ear.

She looked normal again after a long hot bath in our amazing tub and with some fresh clothes. However, there was a deep sadness lurking behind her eyes. I could tell something was wrong - well I mean of course something had to be wrong if she had ended up here in the first place!

What has she been through…

"Do you want to talk about it?" I question gently next, watching as she sighs and places the bowl onto the white table mat.

"I want to tell you everything Dani... I just don't know where to even start!" She throws her head back on the chair, pulling her feet up to hug her knees.

"Take your time... why don't we start with how you got here in the first place?" I offer as she nods.

I begin to play with the ring on my hand that Axel had bought me, awaiting her answers nervously.

I still couldn't believe she was currently sat opposite me. I missed her so much that I wished every day she was here with me... but now I felt guilty that I found her in such a state - she was too good for that.

"When you first went missing and didn't turn up to school for two days I knew he had done something terrible to you Dani... I begged and begged for my Mom to call the cops on him and at first she was too afraid..." She begins to tell me slowly, looking around as if scared someone would hear us.

"She eventually felt awful for not reporting you missing and picked up the phone... she told them basically everything we knew and they said they would check out your home to see if you were there." She continues as I listen intently - seeing her eyes water slightly.

"The police didn't keep to their word and one of them accidentally ratted us out to your father for reporting him. They mentioned to him that it was a 'friends Mom' who called in and I guess your father knew that I was your only friend at school so he figured it out." She shrugged as my hands began to tremble.

That man terrified me...

"The third day came and there was a knock at our door... I was the only one home since my Mom was at work and luckily I checked the spy hole before opening it because you can probably guess who was at the other side... rifle in hand might I add." She concludes with a gulp, as my mouth falls open in shock.

He did that to her!

"I am... so so sorry Lily! It's all my fault that he came to your home in the first place!" I rush out, before she holds up a finger to silence me.

"No not at all! Don't you dare apologise for that deranged man! You are not him and he is not you Dani!" She states, as I sit back in my seat again to breathe.

"So after seeing him at the door, I ran straight to the phone to call the police. They told me they could get a car round in twenty minutes which wasn't any bloody help! So I had no choice but to lock myself in my room and to hide... I didn't call my Mom either since I knew she would have tried to come back from work to help me... I didn't want her to get hurt." A single tear escapes from her eye as my heart aches for her.

They must have been petrified. He was a literal psychopath!

"When I was hiding, I could hear the downstairs window smash so I knew I didn't have long before he found me and blew my brains out... I thought I was counting down the minutes until my death Dani... I can't even begin to imagine what he's put you through for years!" She rubs her eyes furiously, trying to hold herself together as best as possible.

"So what happened?!" I question, praying that her Mom was still ok too...

"Well I could hear him downstairs, whistling and looking around the house for me. I remained hidden and just sobbed thinking it was all going to be over soon enough... but then... the strangest thing happened... and a weird man appeared." She furrows her eyebrows together, remembering the memory.

Oh I know how this goes all too well...

"Let me guess! He promised to take it all away if you went with him right?" I ask, as her eyes widen and she nods.

"Yes! He said he knew where my friend was too so I took his hand... what did I have to lose in that moment right?!" She concludes, as I nod in understanding.

"Same thing happened to me! My father tried to kill me in the woods and a man appeared and brought me here!" I tell her, sounding ridiculous saying it aloud.

"I’m so sorry Dani! You seem to have done alright here though! I mean I'm just glad you're actually alive Dani I was so scared!" She breathes out.

"I've missed you so much and I've only been here for a short time! I can't complain though, when the demon guy brought me here he tried to sell me at an auction for money... something about this world facing struggles and he needed his family to have a good life and apparently us humans go for a lot here." I chuckle at how ridiculous the last part was, as Lily smiles and rolls her eyes too.

"Yeah well I was basically in the same boat... I got sold to that lame magician guy who..." She stops mid sentence, turning with wide eyes.

I turn in my seat to see what the problem was before meeting a straight faced Axel leaning on the balcony door.

I get why others find him so intimidating. He was huge and stern! But he was always kind and caring to me so I felt safe with him - it was actually weird how quickly my life had been flipped here.

"Oh don't worry Lily! This is my um... well basically my husband." I pull at the neck of my t-shirt awkwardly, suddenly feeling the heat rush to my cheeks at the word 'husband'.

I mean that was basically what happened wasn't it?

"WHAT?!" She gawks at me as if I've grown two heads before glancing back and forth between us both - Axel now looking amused as he smirks.

"Well yeah kind of... they don't call it a husband here... they call it a mate." I look to Axel for confirmation on my explanation as he nods in approval.

"He looks scary Lily but he's really just a big teddy bear don't worry!" I add in, attempting to put her at ease slightly as she stares up at him with her mouth hanging open.

I watch Axel roll his eyes at my word choice but he chooses to stay quiet.

"Well I mean... sure Dani... he's a hot one so I absolutely will not complain that you've met him... but I'm slightly gutted I missed your wedding thing! Do they still have weddings here yeah?" She asks curiously, as I smile.

"Yeah but it's just called a ceremony! Do you kind of know about demons and wolves already?" I ask next, testing the waters on how much she knows.

I would hate to overwhelm her.

"Um yeah... I do sort of... it took me a couple of days to get used to it though I'm still sort of unsure. That lunatic who bought me as his show pony sort of filled me in." She shrugs, slightly uncomfortable at mentioning the magician guy again.

"So... Axel here is a Lycan thing... the scariest thing around here apparently... and Lycan just means he's a mix of both a wolf and a demon! He sounds scarier than he is though don't worry! But anyway... I think they all have what's called a 'mate' and it's basically like a soulmate who you are destined to be with forever!" I attempt to explain it all briefly, as her eyebrows knit together again.

"Well I mean... that sounds kinda cute I guess!" She offers me a smile again, seeming to be relaxed in my presence.

"Well since we are on the subject of mates ladies... I believe your little friend here has found hers too." Axel throws in, as both of us gasp at the same time.

Wait what?!