Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Eight

Axel

He sensed him first. That sensation that climbed his spine, forming pricks of fear and raising his hair on end. Axel felt they were being watched, so he turned in a circle, noticing nothing at first.

Claire's heartbeat raced, and he felt it in his own body. The mate bond strengthened the more time they spent together. The moonlight cast down over the willowy branches of the trees in the courtyard, making shadows that danced in the swaying wind.

Axel glanced around again, this time hearing Claire gasp and cover her mouth. There he stood. Cash stared at them from underneath one of the many trees, his form tight and unnerving. He hadn't made one move, which told Axel that something wasn't right.

And from the distance, he noticed the red gleam in his eyes, striking the stake into the coffin. Cash was a lycan.

"He's a lycan," he whispered so low he wasn't even sure it'd left his mouth. It'd always been a possibility that the missing students were being turned, but to see it in front of him felt unreal.

He didn't like Cash at all, but he hadn't wanted him to turn into a lycan. He didn't wish anyone that fate.

"Axel," Claire whispered. "What are we going to do?" she asked into the silence.

The fear in her voice was evident, and he knew any shifter could sense fear. "Stay calm," he whispered. "Here are my keys. I want you to go—"

"No," she whispered, turning to face him. "Don't leave me here, please."

Axel snaked his arm around her waist, keeping a close eye on Cash. Never looking away, he said, "Claire. I need you to go get into the truck. When you're there, honk the horn once, so I know you're in it. If I look away, he'll dash, and lycans are fast. Please. I promise to make sure you are safe before I go after him."

Claire sniffled. "Okay."

Axel dug the keys from his pants and handed them over, listening to her erratic heartbeat as she slowly backtracked toward his truck. Cash's eyes shifted toward Claire, but he didn't move; he watched her like prey.

Axel's wolf began to pace, waiting for the go to shift, so he could chase him down.

Claire honked the horn, and Axel broke loose, shifting in the shadow of the sidewalk, racing toward Cash who turned and ran. Axel dashed between buildings, catching a glimpse of Cash as he made a sudden turn.

When they broke from the heart of campus and neared the softball field in the far corner, Axel watched Cash shift. His clothes flew into pieces, and he sped into the woods in a black blur of matted fur.

Axel paced himself, battling with his wolf on their next move.

Kill him, his wolf snarled.

I need him, Axel answered back. I need to know who changed him.

Kill him first, his wolf said.

Axel ignored him because all his wolf could focus on was red and the fact that he was a threat to the campus and, most importantly, Claire.

The further he chased him from campus, the stranger his trail became. It was chaotic. It almost seemed like somewhere he'd never been before, which struck him as odd.

A tall, barbed wire fence stopped him cold, separating the end of campus from unknown land, and Cash turned to face him, his canines dripping with saliva, and his eyes gleamed red in the moonlight. He seemed trapped, and it furthered Axel's suspicion.

Why did he lead him here?

Why did he look so lost?

Axel glanced around the woods, realizing they were miles from the campus, miles from Claire.

A diversion, his wolf growled. Go back to Claire.

Axel didn't give Cash any time to consider attacking him before turning and running back the way he'd come. He didn't sense Cash chasing him, and he didn't really care. He'd been stupid to leave her alone in the parking lot at night.

Cash wasn't the main threat by any means. Whoever changed Cash was the threat, and he'd left Claire there to deal with it.

He'd made it almost to the softball field when he felt the fear. It was Claire's fear, and it was bone-chilling. The lycan was near her. Axel could taste the terror in her voice as she said something to it.

He rushed quicker, digging his paws into the woodsy earth, pressing himself as hard as he could. The lycan stood on top of his truck when Axel barreled through the courtyard.

He struck the top, the sound of his claws gnawing at the metal sent the hairs on his neck upright. The lycan was transfixed on getting Claire, who was curled into a ball on the far corner of the truck, her eyes closed, mumbling something to herself.

The lycan didn't even realize Axel neared, so he jumped and knocked him from the hood, hearing his bones crack as they met the pavement.

Axel landed on the hood, noticing the dents he'd have to fix later, and the lycan jump to his feet, red eyes gleaming. The lycan reached out, striking Axel in the chest, grazing the meat enough that he knew he'd bleed.

Axel fought back the urge to howl, leapt forward, and took a bite out of his neck. The taste of his blood fueled his wolf's adrenaline, every canine urge in him flared red.

The lycan shoved Axel with his hind legs. He flew onto the pavement and scurried to all fours, watching as the beast stalked him. His relentlessness to get to Claire scared him, but he tried his best to hide his fear. They fed off it.

Claire moved inside the truck, causing the lycan's attention to waver, giving Axel enough time to leap once more. This time his teeth sunk into his shoulder, and he tugged it hard, hearing the tear of his tendons.

The lycan howled, and it pierced Axel's ears, most definitely drawing attention from any students in their dorm rooms. Axel sensed someone near and heard Kerry speak to him.

Watch out.

He ducked as Kerry flew over him and knocked the lycan onto his back. They fought for seconds before the sound of a vehicle approached. The lycan kicked Kerry in the same way and scurried between the buildings, disappearing before anyone could blink. Axel shifted, crawled toward his truck, and shimmed underneath the bed as the vehicle approached. Kerry slid in beside him in time for the security guard's light to shine a line over the parked vehicles.

Claire's heartbeat raced above him, and he assumed she hid in the floorboard when the guard left without stopping.

"My God," Kerry whispered. "That lycan is strong. He's old," he whispered.

Axel swallowed the slew of curses on his tongue and slid out and into the driver's seat of his truck. Claire launched herself at him and hugged him tight; burying her head into his shoulder, she sniffled. "That was so scary. I was afraid you weren't going to make it back in time."

"I could feel you," he whispered into her ear. "Our bond is growing stronger."

She pulled back and pressed her mouth against his. It surprised him, but he delved into the taste, loving that she grew more trusting and comfortable with him. When she pulled back, her eyes widened. "Uh … you're naked again."

He chuckled and glanced down, nodding his head. "That I am. I have clothes underneath my seat. Hold on."

He reached under and dug them out, noticing the way she failed miserably at keeping her gaze to herself. Kerry knocked his knuckles against Axel's window as he slid on his t-shirt and rolled it down.

"Did the lycan just come and attack you?"

"No, we saw Cash. He's been turned. He drew me away, and then I realized when he didn't have a plan that he was a diversion. I came back here to find the lycan trying to get Claire."

Kerry glanced over at Claire. "Why does he want her so badly? I know she's escaped, but so have you, and he seems hell-bent on getting her."

Axel shrugged and rubbed his palms down the steering wheel. "That's the question of the century. I'm thinking I need to look into Claire's bloodline. I think her Aunt is a witch, and maybe there is something he wants from her that she doesn't know about."

Kerry swallowed. "Did you notice anything about the lycan?"

"No, my adrenaline was pumping so hard I couldn’t focus on anything other than saving Claire."

He nodded. "I understand. I noticed a scar along his chest. It looked deep, which tells me he probably has it in his human form, too."

"Of course, it wouldn't be somewhere visible."

Kerry sighed. "I need to go. I was halfway to the pack house when I felt you needed help. I'll meet you back there. Call your dad. He is freaking out."

Kerry walked out of sight, leaving Axel with Claire. "Are you okay?" Axel asked.

"A little scared, surprised I didn't pee in my pants, but I'm okay. I'm definitely ready to go to bed now."

Axel chuckled. "I need that late-night cuddle session more than ever now."

She agreed and began to fiddle with her fingers as they drove from the campus. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'm just curious as to what you think you'll find in my family tree?"

Axel shrugged. "I'm not sure. You could be a descendant of a lycan, a wolf, a powerful witch. The options are endless, but if that's the reason, we'll know how to protect you from him."

She nodded. "I think I know who we should talk to."

Axel turned onto the highway. "I'm pretty sure your Aunt Demetria will have the answers."

"We could ask her, but I was thinking more along the lines of my dad. He has a huge book underneath his bed that spans over the last five hundred years of our family. I'm sure he wouldn’t mind if we looked at it."

"I doubt that it'll have werewolf or lycan next to it," he said. "Maybe we can get the book and take it to your Aunt Demetria. You're supposedly living with her anyway."

"Sure," Claire said. "What if it says lycan," she whispered. "Would that make you hate me?"

Axel chuckled. "There is nothing in that book or your family tree that would make me hate you, pretty girl. I'm far over my adolescent days where I bullied you out of jealousy. You're mine. Nothing will stop me from marking my future Luna. Trust me when I say you're mine … forever."