Chapter Forty-Six

Axel

When Kerry didn't answer the phone, Axel became impatient. He wasn't going to wait around for a phone call and for Delia to draw out a map. He left the conference room, stripping from his shirt in a mad dash toward the woods.

He needed to get to Demetria and find out what she knew.

"Son!" his dad called from the front porch. "Where are you going, Axel? You're not thinking clearly."

Axel turned back, looking at his father's worried face. "I have to find out, Dad. I'm going to Demetria's house. Call me when Delia gets the map drawn out. I'll be with Kerry and Demetria. Please, let me go. I can't sit around right now."

He leaned against the pillar of the pack house and placed his other fist on his hip. "Please let me know when you make it. You need to take a deep breath. You're going to get yourself hurt if you don't stop and think things through."

Axel was already hurt. His heart had broken into two pieces and shattered on the floor. The Lycan King had his mate, and Axel had no idea why and no idea what he would do with her.

He ran toward the woods, shifting in mid-air, and barreled into the trees. The hot night stuck to his fur, the moon drove him harder toward Demetria's house. His giant leaps didn’t feel fast enough, and he pushed himself harder, faster, until he grew numb.

Tree branches slapped his face, and rain began to coat his fur. But a tornado wouldn't have stopped him from getting there. Axel shifted once he saw the lights of Demetria's front porch and made his way inside, finding a pair of basketball shorts in the closet, and then he went looking for Kerry and Demetria.

He left wet footprints against her floor, circling every room when he followed Kerry's scent outside.

Demetria sat on her knees, in front of a burn pile, staring into the distance. Kerry was close by, worry written all over his face. No one had uttered a word, and he could sense the unease—the fear.

"What did you find out?" Axel asked. "Dad tried calling you. What's going on? What is she?"

Demetria glanced up at him. Her sleek bob unruly and her face dirty from hours of her witchy stuff. "I don't understand. She … she's both. Her bloodline is lycan and werewolf."

Axel's wolf howled in anger. Axel shifted on his feet and glanced at Kerry who hadn't said a word. "What does that mean? I don't understand. Werewolves and lycans don't mate."

Kerry ran his palm over his ponytail. "They don't normally, Axel. They haven't always been mortal enemies, and nothing is technically stopping them from it. Just most don't like each other."

"Why hasn't she shifted? Where is her wolf?"

Demetria palmed her face and let out a frustrated groan before standing up. "When Claire was little, after my sister died, her dad asked me to put a mask over her. I thought it was for protection. I never thought it was for anything else. But it's stopped her wolf from surfacing. He knew the entire time what he was doing. He doesn't—I'm not even sure if my sister died the way he said. I was states away when it happened." She began to pace. "I didn't get my powers until I was eighteen, but my sister was very reclusive and secretive when we were growing up. I had no idea she was a wolf."

"How are you a witch and she is a wolf?" Kerry asked.

"Our parents were human. I looked into it when I found out about my magic. This means it skipped generations, and we are the lucky winners. Way to go, genetics."

Axel stalled. "That means her dad is a lycan?"

Demetria glanced over and nodded. "Yeah. I can't believe he managed to hide all of this. I don't understand why. And what does this mean for Claire? Why does the Lycan King want her?"

Axel sat down on the ground and braced his elbows against his knees. Kerry walked over and bent down. "We need to go pay a visit to her father, Axel. Calm down."

He was tired of everyone telling him to calm down.

Axel shot up and stepped closer to Kerry. "Don't tell me to calm down. Some deranged lycan has my mate. I don't know what he wants with her. The only thing I know is that he has proven he will do anything to get her."

Demetria stepped up beside Axel and put her arm between the two of them, taking Kerry's place. "Get in the vehicle, Axel. We're going to Claire's house, and we're going to confront her dad. He'll know what the lycan wants."

Axel's chest heaved in heavy breaths, and he fought his wolf for dominance. His wolf clawed to be let free, to rip anyone into pieces that was near him.

Axel jerked away from them and stalked toward Kerry's truck. They all followed him, and Kerry took Demetria's directions to Claire's house. Being it was late, her father's truck sat in the driveway, and all the lights were off.

Demetria made her way over and knocked on the door. Axel sensed her unease, knowing that Mr. Summers was a lycan. Axel didn't know how he kept his scent from him, but he did a good job of it.

The door swung open seconds later, and Mr. Summers stepped underneath the porch light. Axel noticed his lack of a shirt and the muscular build he seemed to hide underneath his clothes.

Not to mention the battle scars all over his skin.

"What is this?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it—"

"Cut the crap," she snapped. "You have two seconds to tell us what's going on before I blow this place up. We know what you are, and we know you know what they are," she said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder.

His face-hardened. "Where is Claire?"

Demetria slammed her hands down on her waist. "The Lycan King has her. This could have been avoided if you were honest. Tell us what's going on, so her mate can save her life!"

Mr. Summer's dark eyes shifted toward Axel, and chills raced down his spine. The grumpy old protective dad seemed much more menacing than before. His hate for Axel stemmed for many other reasons than a boy dating his daughter.

Him knowing what mating consisted of and that Claire would be marked and linked to him forever.

He didn't answer at first but stepped back and opened the door. "Come inside," he said, glancing around the street as they filed in. When Axel stepped toward the entrance, Mr. Summers caught his bicep. "If you're her mate, why is she with the lycan?"

Axel snatched his arm away from him, lifting his chin in a defiant tilt. "He's been tracking her for a month. Don't put this on me. If you had been honest to her, we wouldn't be in this situation. We'd know what the Lycan King wants with her." He slammed the door behind them and turned to face Axel. "I know what he wants. Not all hybrid babies make it, but when they do, they have strong genes. Claire made it, and that's why he's chosen her to be his queen. He wants to mate with her—"

An angry growl ripped from Axel's throat, and he fought off his wolf's attempt to shift. Bracing his head against the wall, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down.

"We have a girl that he used as a spy drawing us a map of the kingdom—"

Mr. Summers walked toward his couch, sat down, and put on his boots before storming down the hallway. He came back with a t-shirt and a duffle bag over his shoulder. "I need you to lift the spell you put on her," he said to Demetria. "She'll need her wolf to get out of there alive."

Demetria blew out a frustrated breath. "Dammit, Summers. I can't believe that you did this. Isn't getting your wolf a shock? Won't it scare her?"

He riffled through a drawer in the living room and stuck something in his pocket. "Yes, but her wolf will sense danger and kill anything trying to hurt Claire. It's that or let him try to erase her mark with magic. We don't have long. I know how to get into the kingdom. Follow me."

He walked out the front door.

Demetria laughed humorlessly. "Wow. He took no responsibility for this. I should have known—he's a Virgo."