ALPHA QUEEN

ELEVEN.

"Tony, I love you." I took a huge bite of the muffin I had in my hand and my old friend chuckled at my words.

"I love you, too, Rosalina. Now, why did you call me up here, to your room? Your soundproof room?" I drank a little bit of the milk he brought me and set the glass on the tray that was on my bed. Then, I looked at him and wiped every sign of fake happiness from my face.

"What is the problem, little one?" He removed the tray and put it on my dressing table. Before he sat beside me, Toni looked at my face, waiting for an answer.

"Axel Thanos is the problem." I saw a smirk appear in the corner of his lips and hit him with a pillow. 

God, why does everyone smirk every bloody time I say his name?

"Did you two finally talk like normal people?"

"No."

"Did he kiss you?" What?

"N..."

"You kissed him!" He screamed in excitement. 

Damn, he's worse than Lily.

"To..."

"Do you have his baby in your uterus?"

"NO! God, no! Tony, are you serious? I met him a month ago!" I hid my face in my hands and heard him laugh. That old idiot.

"Sorry, I had to. I'm all for serious talk now, I swear on my kids."

"You don't have any kids, Tony! I really need your help because you give the best advice. Please?" I took his hands in mine and he smiled, nodding. He's always like this; first, he drives you nuts and then he helps you.

"You know I love you. Okay, what did Axel do?"

"Nothing, actually." I stood up from my bed and sat on my swing. The picture of his wounded body flashed in my mind and the smell of his blood appeared in my nose. Athena whined in my head and I hugged myself, trying to calm the both of us down.

"I saw him today, you know. When he was walking here with Lily." Tony spoke up and I tried to get rid of the picture that, once again, appeared before my eyes.

"Mmm." I had nothing to say on that. It was still fresh in my mind and it hurt.

"Did you fight Marcos..." Tony started but I gave him answers before he could finish his question.

"Yes, I fought Marcos because he did all that to Axel. Yes, it hurt me terribly to see him so vulnerable and in pain. Yes, I wanted to rush to him and be the one to tend his wounds. And yes, of course, it made me angry that Lily was helping him and not I. All that because no one can know that he's my mate. FML, Tony." He let out a long breath and thought about what I said. The silence was almost painful and I had to break it. So I said the first thing that came to my mind:

"Lily told me I should give Axel a chance." My eyes wandered around my room while the words were leaving my mouth, but I felt Tony looking straight at me, forcing me to face him.

"I think that is good advice." I set my gaze on him and he raised his finger, notifying me he had something else to add.

"Every time you two are in the same room, I feel like slitting my throat open." I laughed and he joined me.

"What? Why?"

"Just two days ago, I felt how much you are scared of him and how badly you want to wipe away the connection that binds you to him. You want to disappear when he's beside you because you think being close to him is enough to hurt you. You see Axel as a time bomb that will explode any moment and you think being with him will only bring you destruction, pain, heartbreak."

"I..."

"That is you. 

And then there is Axel. Oh, my Goddess. That boy wants to be there for you, to help you fight that fear. He accepted the connection you have, he really wants to be with you and make you happy. But, all he does is hold himself back - because of you, because he doesn't want you to freak out on him like the first time you spoke to him. Rose, I know how you feel about trust but, in my opinion, Axel deserves at least a tiny speck of it." He finished his advice-speech and I was left speechless.

What do I say on that?

He can read people really well and I trust him on everything, but hearing the truth

about me and my mate is...different.

And personal.

Too personal.

"You don't have to jump into his arms and mate with him right at this moment. Trust takes time, Rose and whenever you decide that he's worth it, he'll be there, waiting. Trust me." Tony stood up from my bed and pecked me on the forehead before taking the tray and leaving the room.

He is right.

Trust takes time.

But, to face your fears, you don't just need time.

You need courage.

And Axel is just that.

My biggest fear.