Chapter 31 - Siren Syndrome

Chapter 31 - Siren Syndrome
Axel

“He knows you’re the real deal now, sugar.” She winked at him. “Maria just confirmed it.”

“Wha…” Axel gasped still trying to slow his racing heart.

He felt like someone had just injected him with ten shots of adrenaline but at the same time he felt exhausted, as though he had run hundreds of miles in his human form and then also in wolf form.

Leon was no help at that moment either; his wolf was confused and nervously pacing back and forth within him whining.

“What the hell is going on!?” Axel growled, using his other hand to grip his aching head, which felt like he had just woken up to a killer hangover. It felt fuzzy and there was a pounding that just wouldn’t go away, as if there were a one man band just going nuts on his brain.

Flit just smirked down at him with that annoying glint of amusement flashing in her small eyes again.

“Sigmund will explain everything to you, but before that…” She started to say before Axel became even more irritated than before.

“No!” Axel growled. “I need to know now! What the hell just happened!? Who was that!? Why does she look like my Mate!? Tell me now!” He demanded.

He glared angrily up at her from his chair and waited for her to cower and ultimately answer all of his questions. What he wasn’t expecting was for her to snort in amusement.

“Yeah, you’re super terrifying, Mr Alpha.” Flit rolled her eyes at him, leaving Axel shell shocked. “Now if you’re finished with your little tantrum, I’ll start again.” She smirked down at him.

He was about to retort, when Leon finally decided to speak up again.

‘Stop! Let’s just listen and play along, we’ll get the answers we need faster if we do!’ Leon reasoned with him.

Axel had to admit his wolf had a good point, he would just have to be patient for a bit longer. So he held his tongue and decided to not argue with the Pixie.

“Good boy!” Flit clapped his shoulder and it took every ounce of self-control Axel had to not growl at her blatant disrespect. It was like she was doing her best to push his buttons. “As I was about to explain to you, Alpha.” She continued, raising a challenging eyebrow at him almost asking for him to say something back.

Axel clenched his jaw tight to prevent saying anything and instead just stared back up at her, careful not to glare. He didn’t miss the flash of disappointment that appeared in her eyes for a brief moment before she put on a bored expression.

She was trying to get a rise out of me! He thought furiously, but was careful to keep his face neutral.

“I’m to take you to Sigmund once you’re ready, so he can explain what just happened.” She continued in a dull tone, clearly having lost interest.

“I’m ready now.” He grunted, bracing his hands on his knees and attempting to rise but the moment he did the room began to spin and his head thumped even more than before. It was so bad he had no choice but to collapse back on to the chair.

He felt humiliated in that very moment and huge chunk of his pride definitely took the hit, but a quick glance around the room and he felt slightly better. It seemed he was not the only one with trouble getting up from his seat, every other customer seemed to be having issues, some looked pale and downright ill and each of them had a member of female staff attending to them.

It must be an after effect of her singing. He thought curiously, which just made the question of what had just happened swim around his thumping head even more.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a noise that irked him to no end, the Pixie was giggling at his attempt to get up. He whipped his head round to look at her again and wasn’t happy to see her cheeky smirk was back.

“Not so fast, Alpha!” She giggled at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and watched as she reached inside her apron pocket and pulled out the last thing he was expecting.

“Chocolate?” He asked her with a raised eyebrow. Now definitely did not seem like an appropriate time for her to take a snack break, especially when he was so close to finally getting some answers!

“Kinda.” She answered opening the wrapper. It was golden with a strange language he had never seen before on the front. “It’s more like dark chocolate, only it’s not technically chocolate.” She smirked, breaking off a huge chunk of the dark bar and offering it to him.

“What is it then?” Axel asked as he gingerly took it from her.

“You don’t wanna know.” She chuckled, putting the rest of the bar away again. She had that annoyingly amused look in her eyes again. Axel was about to ask why he should eat it when she wouldn’t even tell him what was in it, when she continued. “It will make you feel much better though. We use it to help treat shock and anxiety and it’s the best medicine to cure Siren Syndrome.”

“Siren Syndrome?” He asked still inspecting the chocolate like food in his hand.

“It’s what the after effects of her singing is called. Fatigue, adrenaline and migraines all in one and that’s just the most common symptoms.” She shivered. “Not everyone reacts the same, but Sigmund will explain that I’m sure. The faster you eat it the faster you’ll feel better and can speak with him.” She smiled and this smile had Axel taken aback for a moment. It wasn’t a smirk, there was no amusement or implied sarcasm, it looked genuine and kind.

So with a silent gulp, Axel shoved the entire block of 'not dark chocolate' into his mouth and waited to gag. To his surprise it had the exact same taste and texture as dark chocolate, in fact it was the best he had ever eaten. It melted deliciously in his mouth and was smooth against his tongue. It was so good that he had no time to properly savour just how much he enjoyed it, for he greedily chewed and swallowed and to his disappointment was gone before he knew it.

The moment he swallowed a strange warmth spread through him. It radiated from his throat and slowly travelled through his system, to his extremities and ended at the top his head and the tips of his fingertips and toes. Then, as though nothing had just occurred it washed away and he was left sitting in his chair wondering what the hell had just happened. He did notice however that he felt perfectly fine, his head was no longer aching or spinning, he didn’t feel nauseas and he no longer felt drained and exhausted. Axel felt perfectly fine.

He looked up at Flit who was grinning as she watched him.

“Better?” She asked.

“Much.” Axel answered with a nod, before he rose from his seat without fear of fainting this time.

“Good! The boss is waiting and he doesn’t like to have to wait too long.” She winked at him and then strode off towards the bar, clearly expecting Axel to follow her. Which he did.

He followed her to the bar where she greeted a dazed looking young woman with black hair who looked as though she had just woken up. Flit then lead him behind the bar and through a door that was cleverly designed to look like a part of the wall.

Beyond the door was a small and dark hallway. It was pretty bare, the carpet was red and the walls were black and the only decorations were photo frames hung on the walls. Axel glanced at a few of the frames as they passed and noticed how they appeared to be performers who worked in the club or had once worked in the club; some of them looked like old photos and were in black and white.

He paused for a moment when he noticed the photo of his beautiful Mate about halfway along the hallway. She was wearing a flattering green dress that went marvellously with her dark red hair, which flowed beautifully down her shoulders. He noticed how bright her smile was in the picture and couldn’t but marvel at her, she was perfect and he couldn’t wait to finally start proving to her how much he loved and needed her.

“Alright lover boy!” He flinched when Flit’s voice interrupted him and he turned to see her smirking at him with her arms crossed. “There will be plenty of time to perv out over her later.” She chuckled, earning a growl from him.

How dare she!? He was no perv, he was allowed to admire his beautiful Mate for as long as he wanted!

“Sigmund is waiting.” She gestured behind her.

At the other end of the long hallway was a black door. It had no indication of what lay beyond it, but Axel had a feeling that it was Sigmund’s office.

He took one last fleeting glance at the picture of his beautiful mate and then proceeded to follow Flit up the rest of the hallway until they reached the ominous black door at the end.

Axel barely had time to brace himself before Flit rapped her knuckles against the door and stood to the side for him to enter. He stepped forward and began to turn the shiny black handle and just as the door began to open Flit said something that made a shiver run down his spine.

“Good luck, you’re gonna need it!” She whispered in his ear before turning away from him and the door and striding away, back down the long hall, leaving Axel all alone.