Chapter Forty-Four

Axel

Come back. You can't go after them yourself.

Axel. Mark is dead. We need to get answers out of Delia.

Kerry is taking Aunt D back to her house to work on the bloodline.

Axel barreled in-between trees and branches, sweat clung to his fur, his adrenaline out of control. There were too many wolves trying to reach him, and his wolf shook his head to knock them out, which didn't work, but it calmed him down. Someone had Claire. Why would he wait? He couldn’t wait.

His wolf dug harder and faster the more he envisioned Claire in the arms of the lycan king, and the worst part was he had no idea where she was or who had her. The trail he followed led him miles and miles away. He figured he was well into the next town, or the middle of nowhere, all he sensed was woods and more woods.

Trees. No actual trail in sight.

The lengths he'd taken to grab her astonished Axel. If they knew what she had in her bloodline, they could determine the lycan king's next move. Why did he want sweet Claire? Axel didn't think he'd hurt her, but what if he … touched her? What was his plan? Axel had already marked her, which in the wolf world meant 'back off.' But in a king's world? He had no idea what he was capable of, or the connections he had in order to get what he wanted.

And Claire was in his crosshairs.

His wolf stalled, howling into the midnight air, which gave him time to hear the approaching wolves. He turned and barred his teeth, seeing his father standing close by with a couple of guard wolves beside him.

He shifted, holding his palms out as if Axel was a rabid dog, which was possibly what he looked like.

Axel closed his eyes and tried to calm his wolf enough to shift. "Axel," his dad said. "You need to come back. You can't run into the lycan kingdom alone. Without anyone to help you, son, it's a death sentence."

"I have to find Claire," he said.

"What are you going to do when you get there? Take on an entire kingdom alone—blindly? Come back to the pack house. Kerry took Demetria home to check on the bloodline—"

"I can't," he said, a sob stuck in his throat. Axel couldn't remember the last time he cried, but he felt like doing it now. The soon-to-be alpha crying like a pup.

His dad walked over and wrapped his arms around Axel. "I understand. I can't imagine if someone took your mother. We're going to figure this out. They want Claire; they won't hurt her. That gives us time to get prepared. We can't walk into an unknown situation—by ourselves—and get killed. We want both of you to return home, not just Claire."

Axel knew that made sense, but his wolf was outraged, begging to be released, begging for blood.

"Calm your wolf, Axel. We need to get to the pack house. Delia is our only inside source right now. Obviously, they aren't hunters. They're with the lycans."

Axel fought his wolf. Bracing his palms against a random tree, he let his head hang between his shoulder, taking deep breaths. It took longer than he wanted, but he pulled from his anger. "Let's go before I change my mind."

He ran with his father toward the pack house, the sun setting over the trees put him on edge because it meant she would be there at night with them. Alone. Scared. It was his job as her mate, her further alpha, to take care of her, and he'd failed.

The pack all stood outside in the back yard, mostly full of anxiety, while some—including his mother—looked worried. Axel jogged toward her, noticing the mark on her shoulder hadn't completely healed, which meant they'd really hurt her. He took her into his arms, his guilt suffocating him.

"It's okay, dear," she said, patting his cheek. "It's going to be fine. We're going to get our girl. Don't fret. Your mother is okay."

Axel forced a smile and turned to face his dad who stood at the head of the group. It seemed he was mind-linked with someone, and shortly after, Delia was dragged out into the field with everyone.

He didn't imagine Tibbs and Cash became any help since they'd never seen the lycan in human form, and Mark was most likely the one that had taken them both. Delia was their one and only hope at figuring out how to proceed.

Delia looked like a crazed dog with a smile that gave Axel the creeps. Her hair was matted on top of her hair like she'd been pulling on it.

Two of the guard wolves dropped Delia at Alpha Davers' feet. "Stand up, girl," he said.

Delia climbed to her feet, dusting off her clothes and glancing around at the eyes on her. They didn't seem to bother her. "You're all too late," she said with a laugh. "They took her. They got her."

Axel stepped forward, but his mother stopped him.

"You're not a hunter. Are you a lycan?" his dad asked.

She slowly shook her head. "No."

Axel's mind raced with thoughts on how she was involved.

"Your loyalties are to the lycan king," his dad said, making a circle around her. "Are you his breeder? His slave? Does he order you to come find another girl that he truly wants, one that isn't you? How does that make you feel?"

Delia's spine stiffened as if he'd struck a nerve. Was she in love with the lycan king? Obviously, he meant something to her. "He doesn't love you, Delia. He wants Claire. That can't make you feel good. He tossed you away and hasn't come to save you. He sent someone here, where you were, and didn't bother to take you—"

"He will come back for me," she said, shoving her sweaty hair from her face. 'He just needed to get Claire first because you were guarding her from him. He'll come. He will."

The desperation in her voice made her sound pathetic, and Axel almost pitied her—almost.

"Like he did for Mark?" my dad asked, stopping in front of her. "He's left you here to die. He's left you here for us to do what we please with you."

Delia swallowed, her gaze shifted around.

"How many lycans are there in the kingdom? Did you live there?"

Delia considered not talking, Axel saw it, but after several minutes, realization washed over her face. He wasn't coming for her.

"Three hundred," she mumbled. "Plus a handful of humans and several wolves being held hostage."

"How do you get there? Is it simple or is it hid?"

She frowned. "It's hidden within a hollowed mountain. The castle is built out of stone. They come from old money, but it's hidden from the public's eye."

"Why do they want Claire?"

Delia shrugged. "I don't know. He never came out and said, but I know he thinks she is special. I don't really see what's so special about her. She let him mark her, and she could have been marked by the lycan king."

Axel mentally fought the urge to lash out at her. She didn't understand marking like a wolf did. "Says the king's doormat," he bit out. "You do his bidding? Lust after him, and he brings someone else's girl home. You must be a real catch."

"Screw you!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself. "Claire will never come back here after she sees the castle. It's beautiful, and he'll treat her like a queen; in fact, he plans to make her that."

"And you don't know why he thinks she is special?" he asked.

Delia sighed. "No. Something about her bloodline being what he needed for something. He never spoke about it directly."

Grace cleared her throat. "We need to call Kerry and check on Demetria. She's checking her bloodline now."

Demetria seemed to be the only hope they had left.

"Grab Delia," he told two wolves. "While I call Kerry, you're going to draw a map of the lycan kingdom." He gestured toward the pack house and stopped in front of Axel. "Demetria will figure it out, and we'll know his game plan. Either way, we're heading out tomorrow morning to find Claire with Delia's map. Tomorrow afternoon, you'll have your mate, and we'll have the lycan king's head."