CHAPTER TWENTY
Axle
My concentration had been shot to hell ever since Lexi stepped into the gymnasium.
There was something about her—something magnetic, something maddening—that kept pulling me toward her. And though I’d really tried to fight it, I had lost every single time.
So I decided not to fight it anymore.
Whatever attraction was brewing between us would fizzle out eventually. Once I found my mate. Once I became a true Alpha. That’s what I kept telling myself. But it was becoming terribly hard to fight my attraction toward her.
Like how I had attacked Eric like a complete Neanderthal. Like how I felt every time he was close to her. I was fucking possessive about her.
How could I explain that?
She wasn’t even my mate.
I couldn’t concentrate at all throughout practice. Eric kept provoking me, throwing jabs and smirks like candy, but somehow I managed to ignore him. His comments didn’t seem to bother me—not when I had something more important on my mind.
Lexi.
Her face. Her voice. Her scent. Her presence.
It was like she’d crawled under my skin and made a home there.
"Hey man, what’s up with you?" Cam, one of my teammates, asked when I missed a shot. I was the best shooter on our team. I never missed.
"Nothing, man. I’m just tired. Gonna head out early," I said, ruffling my hair. I had to go and make things straight with Lexi. I couldn’t bear to see the hurt and anger in her eyes anymore. Besides, I knew she was just as miserable as I was.
We were in this together.
"What?" Cam asked, surprised. "You ain’t going to Gen’s party tonight? It’s the beginning-of-school party—the best of all the… Man, why do I gotta explain this to you? You know, right? All the booze and women. Come on, man."
Yeah, I did know. I was going to miss a lot. But I wasn’t in the mood for that now. Besides, Hans would give me a hard time if I had sex with anyone this close to my eighteenth. He didn’t want us covered in another’s scent when we found our mate.
"Nah, bro. I’m just not in the mood," I said, and Cam stared at me open-mouthed.
I picked up my shirt and made my way to the locker room. I needed a shower.
"Eric's going," Cam yelled behind me.
His statement would’ve gotten me to concede before. But now? I didn’t even care.
I flipped him my middle finger without turning back, and I heard him chuckle behind me.
Everybody was aware of my beef with Eric. It was practically school legend.
I was glad the shower stalls were empty. I didn’t like waiting in line or rushing my bath for someone else. I needed space. I needed silence.
"Man, we have to talk about Lexi." A hand on my shoulder stopped me from stripping the remainder of my clothes.
"There’s nothing to talk about," I said, continuing to undress. "You don’t see me telling you what you can and can’t do with Mina."
"I know," Lex sighed. "It’s just that she’s really sensitive. She’s been through a lot, and it’s taken a lot of work to piece her back together. I just don’t want you breaking her again."
I turned sharply to him and frowned. I didn’t like the idea that she’d been hurt—by anyone or anything. It made me want to choke the life out of whoever had done it.
"What happened to her?" I asked, voice low.
"I can’t tell you, man. She’ll probably tell you if she ever trusts you enough. But I need you to promise never to hurt her. Or else I swear I’ll forget that you’re Mina’s brother."
"Stepbrother," I coughed. If it turned out that Mina was my mate—or if I had to mate her—it would shock a lot of people around here.
"I’ll never hurt her. You have my word," I said, and Lex nodded.
He walked out just as quietly as he came in.
I bathed quickly and hitched a ride home since Mina had taken the car. Elric had promised I could start riding a bike as soon as I turned eighteen.
This weekend couldn’t come soon enough.
I rushed up the steps just like I had the first time I came here and knocked on the door. In record time, it opened to reveal a very sexy-looking Lexi in cutoff shorts and a crop hoodie.
Her hair was slightly tousled, her cheeks flushed, and her lips parted in surprise. She looked like a dream I hadn’t dared to have.
"Hi," I said and pushed my way in when she stood stunned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sharp.
I resisted the urge to frown. "I told you we needed to talk. Well, I’m here for that," I said, impatient.
"Talk about what?" she snapped, probably angry at my tone.
"I don’t understand it myself. And I know you feel the same way too," I said. There was no other way to say what had to be said.
We were both feeling something we couldn’t explain. We weren’t mates. But there was a strong attraction between us.
A pull. A tether. A spark.
"W-what are you talking about?" she asked, swallowing nervously.
I moved closer to her.
"This," I smirked and snaked my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me.
Her breathing changed instantly. Her cheeks flushed with color. I could even start to smell her scent.
She was aroused.
And I was losing control.
Her body fit perfectly against mine, like it had been made to be there. Her hands hovered awkwardly at her sides, unsure whether to push me away or pull me closer.
I leaned in slightly, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"You feel it too, don’t you?" I whispered.
She didn’t answer. But her silence spoke volumes.
Her heartbeat was erratic. Her breath hitched. Her fingers curled slightly into my shirt.
I pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. They were wide-eyed and confused but not afraid.
"I don’t know what this is," I said, my voice low. "But I know I don’t want to ignore it anymore."
She blinked, her lips parting like she wanted to speak. But no words came out.
I could feel Hans stirring inside me, restless and curious. He didn’t understand this either. But he wasn’t fighting it.
Not this time.
I brushed a strand of hair from her face, my fingers lingering on her cheek.
"You drive me crazy," I said. "And I don’t even know why."
She laughed softly, nervously. "You’re not exactly easy to deal with either."
I smiled. "Fair enough."
We stood there, wrapped in silence, wrapped in tension, wrapped in something neither of us could name.
And for the first time in days, I felt calm.