Chapter 2 - Charming Escapee ~ Part 1
Axel
'Why!?' The thought that continuously surged to the front of Axel’s mind.
He was sitting behind his new desk, alone in what had been his father’s office. It was his office now. There was paperwork neatly stacked on the desk and a bottle of amber coloured whiskey; the lid had been popped off it and he held a glass tumbler filled with the same whiskey. He had only taken a few sips, far too distracted by his own thoughts.
His dark hair was a mess; he continuously ran his hands through the dark locks in his frustration. Today was supposed to be the best day of his life, so far! How had it all gone to shit so quickly!?
His question was of course rhetorical, he knew exactly how it had gone to shit! And he knew who was to blame! She was! That stupid human! It was all her fault!
He could feel his hand shake with the very thought of her. The Moon Goddess must be having a joke! He put the tumbler down and took a slow deep breath, recalling what had happened earlier so vividly.
He had been so excited when he had returned home from university, ready to take his place as the head of the pack and officially begin is search for his mate, the enchanting creature who would bless his side as his Luna. His parents were so excited and glad that he was fully ready, is dad even muttered something about going to sow wild oats before Axel was committed. But Axel chose to ignore that statement.
When he got into the pack house he was so happy to see his younger sister Fidelia and she leapt into his arms for a bear hug. He only got a few minutes with her though, she was heading to her friend’s house to get ready for his ceremony later on that evening.
At first he was confused after she had left, Fidelia tended to not get along with the other she-wolfs in the pack. She once told him that she didn’t trust them as they had no real interest in being her friends and were all using her to aim for Axel and the coveted title as his Luna. She told him that she didn’t have time for fakes and wouldn’t put up with it just for the illusion of friendship.
He asked his mother who explained that Fidelia’s friend was a human whom father had an arrangement with, hence why she was living amongst the pack. She absolutely lit up as she spoke about the human and told him how close Fidelia had gotten to her and how it was nice to see her with an actual friend, and how lovely the human was; despite not being a wolf.
Personally, Axel had nothing against the humans, he had just spent four years among them in university and, though they weren’t the most intelligent species he had ever come across, some of them weren’t too bad. He’d even made a few human friends while he had been away, of course none of them knew what he was exactly and he had no intention of telling them otherwise.
He looked to his father after his mother had finished gushing about Fidelia’s human friend, but he only shook his head and gave Axel a look that said, ‘I’ll explain it all later.’
Axel was happy with that, he was far too excited about his ceremony and he wasn’t going to let the human sour his mood. Plus, if Fidelia loved her so much then he was sure he would get along with her just fine. He would discuss the special circumstances of her stay with his father after the ceremony and as long as those circumstances didn’t threaten his pack or, more importantly, his sister; then the human could stay.
The day flew by and before he knew it, his father was inviting him onto the make shift stage to hand over the title of Alpha. He gladly stepped up and had only taken a few steps when it hit him. The most amazing scent he had ever encountered, it was a mix of winter berries and blossoms. It made his mouth water and he was so distracted by the smell that he almost crashed into his father on the stage, but managed to stop in time and remember that the entire pack was watching him. But the smell wafted pleasantly around his nostrils, entrancing him on the spot.
‘Mate!’ Leon, his wolf, growled in his head.
‘What? Where?’ He gasped in his head, his eyes started frantically searching the crowd.
‘Near!’ Was Leon’s very unhelpful response.
He didn’t have to search for long before his eyes zoned in on her. She was sitting at the very back of the pack, doing her best to appear invisible. She was breath-taking. She was thin and well-toned, her skin was pale, and she had long ash blonde hair; that he wanted to desperately run his hands through. She was wearing a white dress that clung around her curves, making her look so innocent and mouth-wateringly gorgeous, he wanted nothing more than to rip it off of her and explore her beautiful body underneath.
She was the only one not looking at him, she was looking past him, at his sister he realised. She gave Fidelia an excited wave and he felt his stomach drop when he realised who she was.
His smile dropped and he felt his eyes narrow. She finally looked at him and in that look he confirmed it. She had gorgeous sapphire blue eyes, but there was no wolf in those eyes. She was the human. His mate was fucking human! This was impossible; it had to be a mistake! His mate couldn’t be such a useless and weak creature, there had to be a mistake!
She flinched at the way he was glaring at her and looked away from him, down at her hands. Axel growled angrily in response, not realising he had done so out loud. Luckily, no one pointed it out and they all chose to ignore him, but his father was giving him an alarming look as he continued his speech. She didn’t look at him for the rest of the ceremony and kept her head down. Axel made his speech short, readying himself to confront the little human!
The moment it was over, he got ready to go over to her and drag her away discreetly so he could confront her and demand to know what she had done to trick the Moon Goddess, because surely this was not meant to be! However, he was instantly besieged by the packs unmated she-wolves and they surrounded him, asking him stupid questions and attempting to display themselves to him. But he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her! She was still ignoring him! Trying to make herself look busy by struggling to lift a few simple chairs. She couldn’t even lift chairs she was that weak!
It was seeing her struggle with this simple task that made him snap. She was not good enough to be his mate! He was an Alpha and she wasn’t even fit enough to be considered an Omega let alone his Luna! He would never let her be his Luna! He pushed past the she-wolves and marched over to her retreating back, she must have sensed him for the moment he came to a halt she spun around and gasped at him, those sapphire blues gazing fearfully into his.
‘You’re scaring our Mate!’ Leon growled in his head, but Axel ignored him.
“Who are you!?” He demanded to know.
She was truly pathetic, her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, too afraid to even answer him. He asked again, adding more volume to the question.
“Nessa!” She whimpered, simply.
‘Nessa…’ Leon cooed dreamily in his head.
“Why are you here?” He demanded.
Again she looked around frantically for help. Axel was aware that the entire pack was watching, but he didn’t care. He had to know what had happened; she couldn’t possibly be his mate!
“What are you doing!?” He heard Fidelia screech as she appeared beside him, throwing her hands in the air. “Leave Nessa alone!”
This confirmed that she was Fidelia’s friend, Fidelia only stood up for the people she was most close with.
‘Don’t hurt Mate!’ Leon growled in Axel’s head and then did something he’d never done before. He tried to seize control from Axel, but Axel wouldn’t let him. He blocked Leon for the first time in his life and continued his interrogation alone.
Since he was struggling to get answers from the human, he decided to get them from his sister instead and she confirmed everything. It was human, it was the one that had an arrangement with their father; the now previous Alpha and, though he didn’t say it out loud, it was his Mate.
“No!” He growled, making both Fidelia and the human flinch. “I don’t accept this! It can’t be!”