Chapter16
1155 Words
Axel’s pov
She walked into the room like she’d known these walls all her life, counting her steps slowly like the princess she didn’t even know she was.
I hated how innocent she looked. I hated how dolled up she was. How she wore our clothes like she belonged in them. How comfortable she seemed, like she had already settled in, as if this place was hers.
I despised it.
I despised the danger she was.
The danger she could cause all of us.
And I hated everyone for not seeing it..especially Kael.
Maybe it was because I was the Beta, the one who always worried, who always prepared for the worst. Maybe it was because I cared so much about this pack that I couldn't ignore what she represented.
But Kael…
He cared for the pack more than anyone I knew. He’d fought harder than all of us, made sacrifices even when he was alone without a mate, without comfort. He bled for this place. Protected it like a fortress. He always put the pack first, even before himself.
So what was this now?
What had changed?
Why was he blind to the threat standing in front of us in a purple dress and soft eyes?
That girl was our enemy. She had no place here, and yet here she was, living with us, walking our lands, breathing our air, taking up our peace like it belonged to her.
Kaida… she had always been the gentle one. I expected this sort of thing from her. She always found the good in people, always gave second chances. That was what made me fall in love with her.
Her heart.
She found the good in me. Loved me. And through her eyes, I learned how to love myself. She reminded me of who I could be.
But Kael?
Kael was fire and discipline. Iron and storm. He wasn’t soft. He didn’t bend easily. He didn’t look at people and see hope, he saw threat, strategy, and responsibility.
So why was he looking at her like she was anything other than danger?
If her powers hadn’t been bound, I would’ve sworn she cast a spell on him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she still had. Something about her didn't sit right.
I battled these thoughts as Kaida leaned in to kiss me, smiling with that look she always wore when she wanted to distract me. The memory of the night we’d just shared flared in my head, as did the heat that came with it.
“Did you miss me?” she asked, voice low and teasing. “I can’t wait for bedtime.”
My pants tightened instantly, my body responding to her touch. She ran her fingers along the side of my face, lingering by my ear… always teasing, always playful. She sat close, curling into my side like I was her safe place. And I was. I would always be.
She had that power over me.
I was a chick in the rain when she touched me.
But even as my body responded to her, my mind was elsewhere. On the girl. On the threat. On Kael’s silence. On the way our Alpha looked at her like she was already his.
I glanced toward them, toward Kael and the enemy sitting across the table. The way they looked at each other, like they belonged to one another.. it unsettled me.
I’d thought it was one-sided. That Kael might be drawn to her, despite his denial. But now… now I wasn’t so sure. The way she looked back at him?
She dared to feel something for him.
She dared to feel something for my Alpha.
Everything was falling apart, and I couldn’t say a damn word because Kael had forbidden it. He said he wasn’t in love with her, that I should trust him but then why the hell did he save her? Why erase her memories? Why let her walk our lands like she wasn’t the daughter of our greatest enemy?
She should be in chains. In a prison cell. Bound and interrogated, not eating meals with us like she was one of our own.
“Lylah, meet my mate, Axel. Axel, meet Lylah,” Kaida said, smiling as if this was a normal day.
And she dared to say my name like that.
Soft, Friendly. Open.
“Uh… hi Axel,” the girl said.
I didn’t respond.
I didn’t trust what would come out of my mouth.
I didn’t want to start something in front of Kael..not yet. So I just stared at her. Cold. Hard. Letting my eyes speak for me.
She needed to know exactly how I felt about her presence here. That I despised her guts, I despised her innocent look.
“Axel…” Kaida called gently beside me, trying to ease the tension, but there was nothing she could do. I wasn’t going to pretend. I wasn’t going to lie to myself or to this girl by pretending I was okay with any of this.
She was a witch.
An enemy.
I wouldn’t pretend we didn’t destroy her kingdom. I wouldn’t pretend her family hadn’t spilled our blood and taken our warriors, I wouldn't pretend it was just weeks ago we ambushed Verneville
I wouldn’t play this game of smiles and silence.
“Let’s eat,” Kael said, cutting through the tension as Kaida reached beneath the table to stroke my thigh, trying to ground me. It worked partially. My wolf stirred, responding to her touch, his desire rising.
But I had more pressing concerns than burying myself in my mate tonight and the pleasures that came with it
Kaida must have thought I was fine now. That everything was settled between us. That our make-up meant the storm had passed.
But I wasn’t fine.
Not even close.
I turned to look at her, and she met my eyes with a knowing expression like she could see all the thoughts crowding my head. She didn’t say anything, but I knew what she wanted, which was for me to be kind, to try, to give this girl a chance.
But I couldn’t.
I thought about the future. About the pack. About Aetheria.
And all I saw was destruction.
All I saw was fire and war and betrayal.
We had worked too hard to build this place. To grow it. To protect it. We had buried too many bodies, fought too many battles, bled too many times to let it all come crumbling down because one girl looked good in a dress and made Kael forget his damn purpose.
She wasn’t supposed to be alive.
She wasn’t supposed to be here.
And if it came down to it, if I had to choose between protecting my Alpha or standing against him to protect Aetheria…
I would fight.
Even if it meant hurting the ones I loved.
Even if it meant losing everything.
- Writer
