CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Lexi
"I don’t understand," I said, my voice trembling as I slid off the table he had placed me on earlier.
Axle’s face hardened. His eyes turned cold—almost lifeless. It was like he’d shut something off inside himself, and I was standing in front of a locked door with no key.
"Because you’re not Mina. I’m with Mina now. When will you get it?"
"Get what? Because I don’t understand," I snapped, my voice rising. Whatever he wanted to say, he would have to say it directly to me. No riddles. No games. No more dodging.
"That what happened between us meant nothing to me. You mean nothing to me."
And just like that, my heart fell.
No warning. No cushion. Just a free fall into pain.
I stared at him, waiting for him to take it back. Waiting for a flicker of regret. Waiting for anything.
But he just stood there.
Stone-faced.
Without much thought—though I guess I hadn’t been doing many things with thought lately—my hand flew up and connected with his face in a heavy slap.
The sound echoed in the tiny supply closet.
I didn’t wait for his reaction.
I turned and ran.
Straight to the bathroom.
I locked the door and collapsed against the sink, my chest heaving. I was going to cry blood. I could feel it. The pain was too sharp, too deep, too raw.
I couldn’t believe how much of a bastard Axle was.
And I had fallen for him.
This was it for me.
The landslide. The earthquake. The end.
I stayed in the bathroom for what felt like hours, staring at my reflection. My eyes were red, my lips swollen, my heart shattered. I didn’t cry—not properly. I just sat there, numb, letting the ache settle into my bones.
When I finally emerged, the hallway was quiet. I walked past people who didn’t notice me, who didn’t know that I had just lost something I never really had.
I made it through the rest of the day in a daze. I didn’t speak to Eric. I didn’t speak to Lex. I didn’t speak to anyone.
I just wanted to disappear.
I wanted to rewind time.
To unkiss him.
To unfeel everything.
But I couldn’t.
And that was the worst part.
But this time I was totally done with Axle, no more pinning over someone who didn't want me and no more playing games.
★ ★ ★
Axle
I knew school was going to be hard today.
But nothing compared to what I actually experienced.
Lexi was with Eric—just to piss me off. I knew it. Everyone knew it. But that didn’t stop me from feeling jealous. From feeling like I wanted to rip his arms off every time I saw them around her.
But somehow, I kept my cool.
I kept up the façade of my relationship with Mina.
I was waiting for her to turn eighteen before I marked her. But deep down, I knew—if I did that, Hans would probably never forgive me. My wolf would hate me for it.
But what could I do?
I hadn’t found my mate. And I couldn’t exactly mate with Lexi. It was just not allowed.
Except in rare cases—when the human was your true mate.
But Lexi wasn’t my true mate.
There was nothing I could do about the attraction I felt toward her other than ignore it.
And it had been working.
All day.
Until she got the idea to corner me and pull me into a supply closet.
I mean, you’d think it would be romantic if the genders were reversed. But in all honesty—it was fucking hot.
The moment she pulled me in, I recognized her scent. My body reacted instantly. I got hard before I even saw her face.
The power this girl has over me—she’ll never know it.
The supply closet wasn’t exactly the most romantic place on earth, but I didn’t mind. I tried teasing her about Eric, but she made it clear—she didn’t give two shits about him. Not in so many words, but I got the message.
I was shocked the moment her lips touched mine.
She wasn’t terribly experienced, so I knew she wasn’t playing games. She was taking what she wanted—and giving just as much.
I had missed the taste of her lips. The nearness of her body. And that caused a temporary lapse in judgment.
I took control of the kiss and nearly lost myself in the moment. If I hadn’t pulled away when I did, I would’ve been tempted to take her right there in the supply closet.
And that was something I couldn’t do.
She was so responsive. She would’ve allowed me to do anything to her. And then she would’ve probably regretted it later.
I couldn’t do that to her.
She wasn’t that type of girl.
She didn’t deserve that.
I had to do something to keep her away from me. Because it was the best thing for both of us.
And that’s why I said what I said.
The moment she left, I felt a ringing in my ears. My nose started bleeding. It had never happened to me before.
I felt terrible for how I treated her.
Hans vowed to separate himself from me. He said he was ashamed to be a part of me.
Ouch.
Yeah. Ouch. That really hurt.
I wished things were different.
But they weren’t.
I couldn’t string her along and give her false hopes of something that would never happen.
I could never mate her—no matter how much I wanted to.
I would have to learn to bear her around other guys. Particularly Eric. Because I had a feeling the next relationship status to be announced would be hers and Eric’s.
And I would have to stand there and pretend it didn’t kill me.
Pretend I hadn’t already imagined a thousand futures with her.
Pretend I hadn’t already memorized the way her lips felt against mine.
Pretend I hadn’t already ruined everything.