Chapter Thirty-Three

Claire

So, the cat was out of the bag …or the wolf, so to speak.

Aunt Demetria didn't seem phased by the fact Axel was a wolf at all. But after really looking at her belongings, she realized all the herbs and weirdo cookbooks weren't exactly normal.

In Claire's defense, she didn't know supernaturals existed until a beast tried to kill her a few weeks before. Claire turned around to see Axel staring at Kerry and her aunt's interaction. It was … strange.

She'd never witnessed Aunt Demetria so quiet before, or dare she say, taken by a man? That's what Claire assumed her look meant. But as soon as it landed on her face, it was gone, and she locked the door behind her.

"I hate your dad's impromptu visits, but I'm super glad to have you both over." She walked toward Claire, pushed back her golden locks, and looked at her neck. "Mark free," she said, turning to pat Axel's cheek. "Good boy. You wait until she's ready."

Axel's face flamed red as Claire felt someone cover her in flames. "Seriously?" Claire asked. "Can we not talk about mating and marks?"

Aunt Demetria chuckled while walking over toward the dining room table where she had a tray of appetizers and began to unload the plates. "Come on now, sit down, so we can chat before your dad shows up with his attitude."

Claire walked over and sat down, watching Axel take the seat next to her, but Kerry continued to stare at Aunt Demetria. When he didn't budge from his spot, she glanced over and gave him a look.

"Can we talk outside for a moment?" he asked, politely.

Claire noticed she looked frazzled, unsure of what to do, and it struck Claire as strange. Aunt Demetria was strong, independent, and never rattled. This was—bizarre. Did they know each other from somewhere?

She tapped her fingers against the back of her chair and gave him a clipped nod. "I'll be back momentarily. You two can help yourselves."

Claire watched as she stalked toward the door with Kerry right on her heels. The door slammed behind them, and Axel let out a breath. "Wow," he mumbled. "That's intense. Things just got interesting."

Claire took a bite of the mozzarella bite on the table. "What do you mean? What's that all about?"

Axel popped one into his mouth. "She is Kerry's second chance mate."

Claire choked on her food, and Axel patted her back to help it down. "Second chance mate?"

Axel nodded, taking a drink of his cup. He choked and pointed toward it. "What is this?"

"I dunno, some kind of organic stuff she makes. Stay on topic, please."

He swallowed. "Sometimes when a wolf loses their mate, if they die or choose someone else, they will be blessed with a new mate. Aunt Demetria is Kerry's."

Claire cringed. "That's not going to go over well."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

Claire twirled a piece of hair around her finger and pursed her lips. "She doesn't really do relationships. She doesn't like to be tied down or bossed around."

Axel lifted a brow and grinned. "This will be very interesting then because Kerry can't just ignore their bond. He'll act on it. In fact, if I were to walk toward that window and look outside, I bet he's kissing her brains out right now."

Claire laughed. "Doubtful. I bet they're arguing. She isn't kissing Kerry."

"Oh yeah?" he asked. Resting his elbow on the table, he turned to look at her. "Yeah," she said. "Winner buys ice cream after dinner?"

"Deal," he laughed.

Axel and Claire raced over toward the living room window, and Axel pulled down the window blind. Aunt Demetria and Kerry stood in the front yard, and Claire burst into laughter when she spotted them.

Demetria was pointing her finger at Kerry's face as he curled his fingers into fists at his sides. She couldn’t hear their conversation with her lack of super hearing, but she imagined that it would not end in a kiss.

Axel cursed beneath his breath. "Poor Kerry."

"You didn’t even like him two days ago," Claire said, giving him a side-glance.

Axel pulled back. "It's not that I didn't like him. I don't like people flirting with my mate."

Claire watched Aunt Demetria turn a huge circle dramatically and put her arms out wide before she felt like a creep and walked back to the table. The oven went off, and Claire pulled out dinner, so it wouldn't burn.

Axel grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator to avoid drinking the organic juice on the table and sat back down. It felt like a century before the front door opened, and Aunt Demetria walked back inside, a smile plastered on her face.

Kerry, on the other hand, looked pissed.

"How did you like the cheese bites?" she asked, sitting down and gesturing toward the opposite end for Kerry.

He dragged the chair roughly against the wooden floor and sat down.

"They were good. I took the casserole out of the oven for you. I didn't want it to burn."

She hopped up and grabbed it from the counter, placing it in the center of the table. "We don’t have long before your dad shows up. You better eat, Kerry."

He eyed her, his jaw locked tight. It was odd to see him without a smile on his face.

Claire glanced at him before asking, "What do you want to talk about before dad gets here—"

She interlaced her fingers on the table. "I want to know about the lycan terrorizing the campus and what you all know."

Claire guessed she wasn't surprised to know her aunt knew about the lycan. Axel nudged Claire's leg underneath the table, a silent question on whether to tell her the truth or not.

Claire nodded at him.

Axel leaned forward and cleared his throat. "We know he's turned the quarterback that went missing because he used him as a decoy the other day to get to Claire."

Aunt Demetria looked surprised. "Why Claire?"

"At first we thought it was because she'd escaped him twice, but now, we've captured the quarterback, and he says the lycan king wants to make her his queen."

"Claire?" Aunt Demetria asked. "Wow. Do we know why?"

"We were hoping you could help us," Claire said. "Do you know anything about our family tree? Is there anything other than witches in there?"

She lifted a brow. "Who's a witch?"

Claire gave her a deadpanned look. "Seriously?"

She chuckled. "Just joking. Um, not that I know of, but that doesn’t mean anything. I could do some digging and see what I can find. If you'll leave a strand of your hair, it will help."

Claire cringed but reluctantly nodded.

"So that explains why you're staying at the pack house for safety," she said. "Any idea on who the other lycan is?"

"Cash says he's never shifted to his human form in front of him."

She sat back and pursed her lips. "I'm assuming you've tried to track him."

"Dad is staking out a lead right now," Axel said. "But nothing yet."

Aunt Demetria sat up straight, her attention turned toward the door. "Your dad just hit the barrier."

Kerry stood up and strolled past Aunt Demetria. Bending down, he whispered something into her ear that made her spine stiffen. He left her speechless before slipping through the back door and disappearing.

Two seconds later, Claire's dad knocked on the door and let himself in. He must have picked up on Axel's presence by his truck in the driveway because he looked pissed the second he walked into the door.

"Hey, Dad—"

"Where is your car?" he asked out of nowhere, stopping at the empty seat at the table, his gaze shifting to Axel.

Claire froze, never being the greatest liar. Her mouth opened, but Axel answered.

"We had to get her tire fixed. I gave her a ride, so she wouldn't have to wait and miss dinner. I'll take her back to campus after dinner to pick it up, so she'll have a way back."

Claire waited for her dad to call Axel out, but he didn't. He pulled out his chair and took a seat.

Aunt Demetria started distributing the casserole around the table. Claire noticed the distant look in her eye but didn't think it was appropriate to mention it. "So, how was work, Dad—"

Her dad clutched his fingers into a fist on the table and glared at Axel. "I knew you looked familiar. You bullied Claire in high school, didn't you?"

Oh no …