Blessed By The Moon

Chapter 7

My mind spun as I stared at him, trying to reconcile the impossible. Alex stood before me, flesh and bone, my own shock was mirrored in his face. But it couldn't be real. Last time I saw him, he'd been bloodied, lifeless, his face bruised and beaten beyond recognition, his wrists slashed and handless.

The haunting image of him lying there had tormented me, followed me to my nightmares, forced me to flee the scene as if I'd been running from a ghost, from the consequences of a murder I did not commit. Yet here he was, standing tall and alive, handsome, power radiating off him in waves that seemed to pulse through the room.

"Alex?" I breathlessly whispered, my own voice betraying me. 

"Skye?!" His hand stretched towards my face, almost touching me, like he couldn't believe that I was here as if he's not the one who's supposed to be dead. Then, just before his skin made contact with mine, he pulled back, as if he was about to touch fire.

As if I was a flame and merely touching me was going to set him ablaze.

He took a deep breath, "It's Alpha Axe now," he said, his voice suddenly as steady as iron.

His voice held a command that shook me, a raw power that was impossible to deny. My lips parted to retort, but nothing came out. I took a shaky breath, fighting to control my voice. This isn't possible, I - , he...

"You have no idea what you put me through," I screamed at him, each word dripping with the anger I'd kept bottled up for so long. "I had to flee a damn crime scene. Your face was—God, you were unrecognizable, and Alison and Howell, the way they broke down, what they accused me of .. And now, here you are, standing in front of me like nothing happened. How?"

He shrugged, barely sparing me a glance as if this entire thing was no more than a minor inconvenience. "That body you saw? A rogue I used. Came in handy to leave some... lasting impressions."

"A rogue?" I repeated, my voice catching between disbelief and fury. "That's your excuse?... Do you think that erases what you did, Alex?" Faceless so he wouldn't be recognized, no hands so no prints could be lifted, as long as the body and height matched his, it was a perfect cover-up but why?

"It's Alpha Axe, make sure you remember that." He corrected

"So what you change your name? Erase your life? How the fuck are you even an Alpha? You're human?" I screamed at him, bewildered, losing control of my emotions.

A flicker of something—maybe regret, maybe just annoyance—flashed across his face, but it was gone in an instant. "I didn't change my name, I earned it. And I was never human.. let's just say whatever you went through wasn't personal," he replied, his tone unyielding. "I did what needed to be done. You'd understand if you weren't so busy with your emotions."

I clenched my fists, feeling a surge of heat prickle down my spine. "Busy with my emotions? I survived, Alpha Axe." I spit out his name mockingly like it was an insult. "I fought to stay alive. I did things... I stole your dumb fucking car to run away, I got kidnapped because of you." I took a step closer, refusing to let him intimidate me despite the sheer power rolling off him. "And now you're an Alpha? Just like that? That doesn't even make sense." I suddenly felt light headed, am I hallucinating? Was there something in the food they gave us?

He arched a brow, smirking as though he found my outrage and accusations entertaining, offering no reply, no explanation. I let out a sharp, humorless laugh, trying to control the tempest inside me. "You don't even care, do you?"

He didn't flinch, only shrugged, that maddening smile lingering on his lips. "You're here, aren't you? I think I did you a favor, really, Alison and Howell are not the guardian angels you think they are; so stop being melodramatic."