Chapter Fifty-Four

Axel

Axel parked in the parking lot adjacent to the football field, and jogged toward practice. The chilly morning breeze brought in the fall weather that Axel loved. He ran hot being a werewolf, and he enjoyed any extra chill whenever he could get it.

Most of the football players were in the midst of changing when Axel walked inside. Tibbs stood amongst his group of friends without a second glance at Axel.

Which was fine with him. He was glad Demetria was able to swipe his memory, and get him back on the team. Cash on the other hand was still at the pack house. Axel's father was working with him on controlling his wolf. Lycans were more unpredictable, and could be more blood crazed than an average wolf.

They wanted to be safe before letting him loose around campus.

Delia on the other hand was the easiest to let go. She wasn't a threat without a team of lycans behind her, and frankly, they used her to get information from the beginning. Tristan was gone, and Delia was deflated when she found out. Even knowing he didn't care about her, she had rooted herself amongst them as his gofer.

Claire found out Delia had been lured into their kingdom by Tristan when she was sixteen and groomed to do his bidding. She had an entire family that had no idea where she was several cities away.

Axel didn't feel bad letting her go, since she had people that cared about her.

Coach Bear walked into the locker room, the same grim look on his face. "You boys ready?"

They all gathered their helmets and gloves, making a line out onto the field. Axel slid on his gloves, feeling a tingle of nerves skate down his spine. It was from Claire. Her mind linking skills were superb to be so new, and the lengths she could travel was impressive.

Aunt D is here, and it's not good news. Meet you at the fountain before class to explain, she said.

Axel mentally rolled his eyes. He didn't want to hear any more drama about Kerry and Aunt D. Axel and Claire had just got to a place where they weren't stressed out, and being threatened every other day.

Aunt D's issues with commitment were getting old.

Claire … tell your Aunt to go see Kerry at the pack house and stop being stupid—

It's more than that. Meet me after practice, she said.

He groaned underneath his breath, but he sensed the urgency in her voice. Maybe it was semi-important and the dilemma wasn't about her mate bond.

Kerry was persistent with his advances toward Demetria, and Axel didn't figure it would stop. Axel wouldn't have stopped pursing Claire if she'd turned him down longer than she did.

"Davers! Come on. Are you deaf?" Coach Bear shouted. "Do you need some of my grandfather's hearing aids? I can call him, but I'm not sure he'll hear to answer."

"Coming Coach."

They practiced for well over an hour, Coach Bear pushed them all until they were dripping with sweat, and one of the linebackers threw up. Coach blew his whistle. "I'm calling it. Go shower. I can smell you all from over here."

Axel pulled his helmet off, pushing his fingers into his sweaty hair, and out of his eyes. They made their way toward the locker room when a loud noise thundered into the air, clouds of dust and debris lifted from the courtyard across campus.

"What in the hell?" Coach said.

Axel dropped his helmet, his wolf begging to be let out. Something wasn't right. He tried to mind link Claire, but he couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t get through.

He started to run toward the courtyard, hearing Coach Bear screaming his name in the distance.

He didn't stop. He pushed harder over the sidewalks, in-between buildings toward the settling cloud of smoke. Something deep inside of him screamed.

What happened?

Had someone come for Claire? This soon?

Did she shift in front of students? Did Demetria save them? Why wasn't she answering the mind link?

Get to mate, his wolf howled.

Axel raced over the last island in the parking lot closest to the courtyard, and stopped. The puff of smoke consumed the entire fountain and clock tower, thinning as Axel began to walk into it.

Some students yelled at him to stop, but he didn't listen. He eased himself into the midst, his eyesight picking up movement on the opposite side. Voices traveled close from students coming to check out the commotion.

The campus police was near, along with a few professors making their way from the nearest building. "Claire?" Axel asked into the smoke.

"Here," she said, her voice small, defeated.

Axel sighed in relief at her voice. "Where are you?"

Claire reached out and touched his forearm, bringing him into a tight hug. Axel nuzzled his mouth against her neck, and hugged her tightly to his chest. "Dear God, what was that? What happened?"

The fog thinned, and Claire's face came into view. A long scar traveled along her forehead, through her eyebrow and toward the top of her lip. "Baby, what happened?" he whispered.

Claire swallowed harshly, and eyed something over Axel's shoulder. "They're coming. We need to get out of here before they see us."

Axel wrapped his arm around her waist and ushered her out of the fog, and toward an alleyway between buildings. Once they were out of sight, he leaned Claire against the brick wall, and examined her.

Besides the scar on her face, she looked fine.

"What happened?" he asked, cupping her chin. "Where is Demetria?"

Claire sighed and closed her eyes. "He took her, Axel."

"He who? What am I missing?"

"The warlock. She came over today to tell me that the reason she can't be with Kerry is that this warlock is coming to collect her soul. It was him. He showed up just now, the smoke, I tried to fight him, but he sucked her into some kind of portal. She said she's felt like he was following her for a while, and then she received this letter or something—we have to find her."

"Where is the letter?"

"Back at the apartment," she said. "I ran here. Do you have your truck?"

"Yeah," he said, helping her toward the opposite end of the alley and toward the parking lot.

"Looks like we're going after a warlock. Did you see what he looked like?"

Claire shook her head, but opened her palm. "No, but I got one better."

Axel glanced down at a pendant hanging from her palm. "I swiped it from his chest in the midst of trying to fight him off. He'll be back for this. He called me every name under the sun when I grabbed it, but the portal sucked him back before he could get it."

They reached the truck when one lone wolf howled in the distance. Kerry knew Demetria was missing, and in that howl was a promise Axel felt in their pack bond.

He'd stop at nothing to get his mate back.