Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen

Claire

Claire's heartbeat hammered against her chest as Axel slid his fingers into hers and pulled her even closer, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her close.

His breath was heavy and fanned across her face in a spearmint wave. Everyone groaned when the lights went off, some laughed, while most of them shoved against her, sending nerves up her spine.

A lycan was near, and it made her feel like a live target. As if someone held a neon sign above her head, making her a flashing prey.

Axel began to tug her from the room. She guessed he had great eyesight because she couldn’t see anything, only black and a random silhouette from the glow of someone's cell phone. Once they broke from the room, Axel led her into the unknown until they were in a smaller room with Axel's flashlight on his phone brightening what looked like a bathroom.

She sighed in relief at the sight of his face.

"What does it smell like?"

He gave her a quizzical look and made sure the door was locked. "What does what smell like?"

She hopped onto the counter. "The lycan."

The corner of his mouth pulled into a smile, and he scratched his nape. "I dunno how to explain it to you. Animals have a completely different sense of smell than humans."

She thought about how it would feel to have heightened senses. "You can see in the dark, too?"

He nodded.

"Are you ever scared?" she asked.

Axel leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the bathroom. "Sometimes."

"Like what? That a bigger wolf is going to fight you?"

Axel shook his head. "No. I'm going to be the alpha of the pack. I'm not scared of a rogue wolf. It's more … sentimental things I worry about."

It felt weird hearing him admit that. He didn't seem the type, but she wasn't shocked to hear it. It seems Axel was a lot different than she thought after all. "Like what? Not finding your mate?"

Axel's gaze dropped to her mouth, and a shiver raced down her spine. "Yes."

"What happens if you don’t? Can you date someone else?"

"Why are you asking? Are you interested in filling the position?"

After that dance, … she hated to admit it, but she could see herself giving into him. And she hated herself for it. She'd hated Axel's guts a few weeks ago, and now she was considering him in a romantic way. Maybe when he saved her from the lycan she was knocked in the head and bumped a screw loose.

On the other hand, he saved her life and turned his attitude around.

But how terrible would it be if she did fall for Axel and then he finds his mate? She bit her bottom lip and swung her legs. "Just a question."

Axel sighed and stepped closer to her, lifting her chin. "I have something to tell you, Claire."

She searched his face for a clue when someone screamed.

Claire's body turned ice cold.

The stampede of footsteps in the living room and the deadly aftermath of silence caused her stomach to sink. "What happened?"

Axel helped her from the counter and pressed his ear against the bathroom door. "What do you hear?" she asked.

Axel looped his arm around her waist and opened the door quietly, revealing a quiet and eerie hallway. There was no sign of people, only the distant sound of the soft music and the air conditioner.

He tugged her through the hallway, into the empty living room and toward the stairs. "Wait," Claire whispered. "Haven't you ever watched a scary movie? You can't go upstairs. You always die upstairs."

Axel looked over his shoulder, his cell phone light brightened him enough to see a golden hue travel over his eyes. "Claire, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, okay? I'm one of the monsters in this story."

Claire nodded, knowing he wasn't a monster, but none of this wasn't normal. Going after the killer wasn't something she wanted to put on her résumé. She followed closely behind Axel, mimicking his steps on the stairs, trying not to make any unnecessary sounds.

She figured a lycan could hear well like a wolf.

They made it to the top platform of the stairs, and the hallway looked like a tornado had come through it. The décor and small furniture was toppled over, the rug bunched at the opposite end of the hallway like someone raced down the length of it, taking everything down as they went.

The door on the opposite end of the hallway stood opened, no noise or light coming from the crack, making it even scarier. "I don't want to go in there," she whispered. "This is one white girl that doesn't like to go where the killer is."

Axel turned and stared at her, bracing one palm on her shoulder and the other on the nape of her neck. "Claire," he said softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you, okay?"

She believed him.

He slunk against the wall, with Claire in tow, and pushed the door opened with the tip of his shoe. Claire's heart hammered against her chest, and she pressed her eyes closed in case the lycan was actually in the room. She listened to the sound of her breathing, her fingers wrapped tightly around Axel's palm.

Several minutes went by when Axel let out a sigh. "It's okay," he chuckled. Claire opened her eyes and saw the relief on his face. "It was here," he said, pointing toward the disarray in the room. "But …"

Claire watched the color drain from Axel's face and stiffened when she noticed his line of sight went behind her shoulder. In one solid movement, Axel hauled her behind him and shifted.

She fell backward and scurried out of the way, her eyes wide as the two of them collided in a swirl of fur and teeth. She slid into the opened closet door and watched from underneath the hanging clothes.

The lycan was taller than Axel, more upright like a man but more beast in his tactics. Axel leapt into the air, grabbed a hold of his neck, and began to shake it. The lycan roared, and Claire knew at any minute that someone from outside of the house would come up to check on them.

Claire watched in horror as they fought, one taking a chunk out of the other, and then the sound of Axel's bone snapped. He whimpered and fell back onto his side, hurrying to see the lycan staring at him from the opened window. He jumped before Axel took his first step.

Axel shifted as Claire crawled from the closet and over to him. She didn't even care that he was naked, but that his ribs were bruised and looked broken. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said, standing up and running over to the window. Claire followed him, seeing the shadow of the lycan watching them from the woods a football field away from the house. "Are you okay?" he asked when the lycan’s red eyes disappeared into the darkness.

Claire laughed. "Right, because I just finished fighting a lycan. Are you okay?"

"I heal quickly," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, and looking around. He grabbed a pair of basketball shorts from one of the drawers, and his head snapped to the door. "Someone is coming. Come on," he said, walking to the window and climbing through it.

He stood with his arm out, giving her Aladdin vibes, and waiting. "I'm not jumping off the roof. I don't have powers—"

"There are three football players on their way up here. Unless you want to explain what happened, then I suggest you come on."

She swallowed but hurried when she heard the thundering footsteps. Axel helped her onto the roof and pulled her out of sight from the window, luring her to the top of the roof.

The house was huge, and the pool glistened in the moonlight below. Claire's heart fluttered when she glanced down at the long fall.

"Are you afraid of heights?" he asked into the darkness.

"Yes."

"Come here," he said softly, pulling her into his arms.

"How are we going to get down?" she asked, her fingernails digging into his forearms. He hauled her into an infant's cradle and jumped before she could protest. Her scream went silent from the wind, her body jolted when he landed on his feet, and gently put her down.

She held her head and sat down on her butt. "Oh. My. God. I'm not cut out for this life, Axel."

He looked around, making sure no one was around before sitting down beside her. "It will take some getting used to, that's for sure."

Claire laid back and stared up at the sky. "Well, whenever you catch this lycan, or your pack kills him, it'll be over, right?"

She listened to the silence of the night, the cicadas singing and the humid wind against her face. "Will what be over?" he finally asked.

Claire wanted to tell him how she felt but bit her tongue. She'd never had a boy truly like her and didn't know how to maneuver around a relationship … or feelings. Was it lame to say she'd had fun with him and didn't want him to disappear or go back to the way things were before?

She didn't know and didn't want to push him away. Apparently, he was right when he said she needed protection. This lycan was fearless and attacking whoever he could get his claws on.

Which led her to wonder who he got this time?

"My bodyguard protection?" she asked.

Axel turned his head to face her, and she stared back at him. "Do you want it to be over, Claire?"

No, she didn't.

Claire opened her mouth to be brave when someone raced around the side of the house. "There you are!" Cat said. "The cops are on their way! Let's go."

Axel stood up and offered Claire his hand. She took it and raced toward the vehicle with them both. All the other kids scurried toward their cars, scared to get caught drinking underage, while Claire wondered if anyone else had seen the lycan.

And how he could hide in plain sight.