Chapter Forty-Two

Axel

Axel's wolf pawed and spun circles as Claire pushed the last of her clothes from her legs, and kicked them over to the pile beside her. It'd been a whirlwind of a night, but Axel couldn’t think of anything better to calm himself down.

He'd heard rumors of mates being able to calm their mate's wolf, and he knew now that they weren't rumors, because peace settled over him at the sight of her. Her soft curves, flawless pale skin, and the blonde locks cascading down her shoulders made his fingers twitch.

She'd been in the arms of the enemy only minutes before, her fear had strangled him as he began to cook their dinner that had been long forgotten. He'd wanted to shift and rip him to shreds for thinking about taking her. It all seemed like a ploy, or an ill attempt to see if they could get away with it.

Either way, it'd put Axel on edge, and now Claire was going to walk him back, and bring him to the present with her sweet scent. He couldn't fathom why he treated her the way he did, or how she forgave him, but he was thankful.

Axel opened the shower door, turned on the warm stream, stepped in, and offered her his hand. The blush on her skin made him smile. She'd been nervous before, but now, in the light of the bathroom, her heart hammered like the purr of an engine. "You're nervous?" he asked, brushing his fingertips against her neck and down to her shoulders.

She curled her arms around her stomach, hiding herself from him, but Axel didn't like it. He caught her wrist in his palm, braced her against the shower wall and brought them over her head, rendering her helpless against him.

"Don't hide, Claire," he whispered, skimming his mouth against her neck, licking the shell of her ear. "There is nothing on you that doesn't turn me on."

A shiver raced over her skin when he kissed a hot path down her throat, biting and licking her like candy. Nothing tasted as sweet as Claire. He'd swim her taste for hours, never getting enough. Releasing one wrist, he slid his fingers down the side of her breast, and the curve of her ass, helping her up to his hips.

Every place they touched lit fire.

Claire's mouth opened in a soft sigh, and she smiled down at him, her gaze briefly lifted and a scream ripped from her mouth. Axel placed her down, and swung around to see nothing but a foggy bathroom. "What is it?" he asked.

"I saw something," she whispered, pointing toward the mirror. "In the mirror. It was a lycan, it was huge, and it looked different than the one from before." She braced the heels of her palms against her eyes and pressed. "What is the matter with me?"

Axel reached over and turned off the water, helping Claire out he gave her a towel, and wrapped one around his waist.

Someone knocked on the door seconds later. "It's me," Grace said. "Can I come in? We heard yelling."

Axel opened the bathroom door to Kerry and Grace standing in the bedroom. "I meant for you two to have some fun, Axel, not make her scream like a madman is after her—,"

"I'm sorry. I saw something in the mirror," Claire said. "It was a lycan, a different one, and I screamed. I guess it was just my imagination."

Grace frowned. "You two need some sleep. You're both exhausted, and I'm sure it's hallucinations from being tired and because of what just happened."

"Did Dad call Mark?"

"He's on his way," Kerry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'll get dressed—," Axel started.

"No," Grace said. "You stay with Claire. They have it under control, Axel."

Axel huffed. "I'm the next in line to become Alpha, Mom. I need to be there. Plus, Mark knows of me. It'll make it easier."

"I'll stay with Claire," Grace said. "She doesn't need to be alone right now, Axel."

"Actually," Claire asked. "Could you all call my Aunt D over for me? I have some questions for her about my bloodline."

Axel wanted to stay, wanted to ask her what she needed to know, but he knew as an alpha he would have to make tough decisions in the future. Even though Claire needed him, so did the pack, and this was for the greater good. Getting one-step closer to finding the lycan would make Claire safe, and that was what he needed.

He stepped forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back. Have mother call me if you need me."

Claire nodded, and took a seat on the bed, holding her towel closely to her chest. Axel reluctantly walked out of the room and down the stairs toward the conference room.

His dad stood at the table with several wolves that had been on duty when the breech happened. "How did he get inside?" Axel demanded. "If I hadn't of marked her and sensed her fear, he could have slipped out with her—,"

Dad put his hand on Axel's shoulder. "A new guard, Chance, thought he was park of the pack. He knew enough about you to talk him into it. I've taken care of it."

Axel's gaze swept over the room, and landed on the pup. He wanted to lash out, but didn't. He cracked his neck and braced his hands on the back of his chair. "How far out is Mark?"

"Should be here any second. What do you know about this guy? He's a professor at the school, and what else?"

Axel shrugged. "I don't know anything other than that to be honest. I've only been around him once, maybe twice. I do know he's dating Claire's boss, Sydney from the coffee shop."

Dad swiped his palm down his face as headlights hit the window. "Show time," he said, making his way toward the front door.

Axel stepped outside onto the front porch behind his father, seeing Mark's hulking figure grow close. Something about the situation didn't sit right with him. The way Mark was dressed, still in a suit and tie at this time of night, felt wrong. Not to mention if he was a hunter, why would he openly walk into a pack house with no weapons?

Axel eyed the tree line, searching for any sign of an intruder. The protection spell had to be taken down to allow him through—

"Where is Delia?" he asked, stopping in front of Axel's father. "Where is she?"

"She's safe in the cell. She said you know where the lycan is taking the kids?" he asked. "Tell us and we'll lead you to her."

Mark's dark set of eyes shifted toward the infirmary, which told Axel he knew where Delia was being kept. He'd only know that if he could smell her.

Axel grabbed his father's shoulder, and pulled him back. "Something isn't right," he whispered.

Axel's dad stiffened at Axel's accusation and sent out an alert with his mind-link. Before any wolves could respond, Mark shifted in the middle of the yard, his clothes flew into shards, and when he landed, he was a lycan.

The lycan that tried to grab Claire.

None of it made sense to Axel. How did Delia know about Mark being a lycan? Why would a hunter lead a lycan here? Was her being caught a set-up?

Either way, they'd screwed up letting him through the protection spell, because now the entire pack house was coming to fight this lycan, and Claire was unprotected.

Axel turned to run up the stairs when he heard his father shift, and the snarls of the pack coming to fight. Axel shoved through the pack members barreling out of the house form the conference room as he raced up the stairs.

His heartbeat was too loud to hear Claire or feel her. He couldn't sense anything other than the array of fear swarming him. Axel made it to his room, finding his mother gasping for breath in front of the bathroom, holding her shoulder where blood oozed from in-between her fingers.

She pointed toward the opened window, and Axel's body grew numb. They'd created a diversion that the pack fell for it hook, line and sinker. The lycan downstairs was only a ploy, a pawn, and not the lycan king, because Axel felt the moment the pact killed him.

Claire was being taken to the lycan king, and Axel felt his heart rip into thousands of pieces. He wasted no time running toward the window and shifting into the humid air.

Diversion. They took Claire, his wolf shouted through the mind link.

In only a few seconds, Axel made it to the trees, picking up a new scent, he chased it. Axel's wolf howled into the night, giving the pack a signal to follow him, and in-between the heartbreak of losing Claire, he felt rage.

A vengeful hate that would wreck anyone that stood in his way.