Axel's Flower (Discontinued)

Chapter Six

Dedicated to @-SourBoy for her support and wonderful comments!

Song: i hate u, i love u by gnash ft Olivia O'brien

After getting dressed Axel and I head downstairs for breakfast. I've changed into a navy blue skirt with daisies printed on it, a grey cropped halter top and black boots. The smell of coffee and breakfast food hits my nose. There are a bunch of people gathered in the kitchen, laughing and conversating. When their eyes land on us the room becomes hushed and everybody stares. Not liking the attention I clutch on to Axel and use his body to shield mine.

"Maebry!" I hear someone call. I see Faye and Elliot making their way up to me.

"You didn't tell me you were abducted to a freaking mansion! This place is cool!" Elliot tells me. I roll my eyes because only Elliot can find the bright side of being kidnapped.

"Sorry about the stares. They're curious about their Luna. And I'm not gonna lie, not all of the stares are out of curiosity. Some of us aren't very welcoming to outsiders," Faye informs me. I look around and people are obviously giving me the stink eye. Even Axel is getting looks, most of them people rudely and openly staring at his scars.

"Well, that sucks," I mutter.

"Well, get used to it. There are also the jellies, who would love to have the Luna status and are not happy that you stole it from them," Faye says. I decide to ignore the looks and get some breakfast. I grab granola and some yogurt and we sit down at the large dining table. Axel gets a plate and then leaves to do work.

"This is Milo and this is Rachel," Faye introduces her friends to me. Milo is a short girl, about 4'11, with cinnamon-colored skin, sprinkles of freckles about her cheeks, cornflower blue eyes, and short black curls. Rachel is about 5'4 with bone straight shiny black hair, honey-colored skin, and deep brown eyes.

"Hey, girl," Rachel greets me. Milo shyly waves at me.

"Are you guys human too?" I ask.

"I'm a werewolf but Milo is a half-blood," Rachel says.

"Half-blood?" Elliot asks.

"My father was a werewolf and my mother was human. That's why I'm not as strong as the others," Milo looks sad when she says the last part and I wonder if the pack treats her as a pariah as much as they do me.

We talk for a while and then finish eating. When we are done I put my plate away and leave to go upstairs. Just as I am walking up the stairs I crash into a body. I lose my balance and land flat on my behind.

"I am so sorry!" A slender hand reaches for mine and helps me up.

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention," I say, embarrassed. The girl is quite pretty, with sapphire eyes, mahogany hair, and plump pink lips.

"Hey, you're Maebry! Welcome to the pack. I'm an old girlfriend of Axel's." A sharp sting of jealousy runs through me. How can Axel ever want me if he had a girl this beautiful? I quickly shake the negative thoughts from my head. Just because she used to date my mate doesn't make her a bad person.

"Thanks. Not that many people are inviting hear," I admit.

"They'll warm up to you, trust me. Anyway, we should hang out sometime. I'm Callie," she says.

"I'd like that," I say truthfully. We go our separate ways and I go up to my room. An hour later I'm scrolling through Instagram when there is a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I call out, thinking It's Axel. The door opened and Lee stands at the threshold.

"What are you doing! You were supposed to be down for training an hour ago!" He yells.

"Whoops, I forgot," I lie.

"Well remember next time. Change into something suitable and be outside in ten minutes. If you're late again you can take pleasure in doing one fifty sit-ups," He leaves with that and I stare at the door in shock. How am I supposed to get ready with that short amount of time? I quickly get up and throw on some athletic tights, a cropped hoodie, and some running shoes. I run outside and am already out of breath when I reach Lee.

"You're a minute late. Drop down and give me fifty sit-ups," He tells me.

"But that's not fair!" I yell.

"Life's not fair. And just for that, you can run around this whole property." I angrily get down and start to do the sit-ups. By the time I'm at twenty, my lower stomach is on fire but I want to prove him wrong so I push through. When I get to fifty I'm a sweaty pile of flesh on the ground.

"That was great. Now go run around the property one time." I get up with a growl and start my jog. Lee jogs next to me, not even a little tired. I wonder how Faye deals with him. Before we are halfway around the property I collapse into a heap of agony on the ground.

"Well, you didn't finish but it was good for your first time. Now that the warm-up is done we can get to training."

"Warm-up! That was the warm-up," I screech in disbelief.

"Yep. Now if you want to be able to defend yourself, get your lazy behind off of the ground and get working." It takes enormous effort, but I pull myself off of the ground and wait for Lee's instruction.

"I'm going to pose as an attacker and you're going to try and take me down. Remember that the nose, eyes, and groin are the most effective body parts to hit." I perk up at the thought of hitting Lee where the sun don't shine. I hope Faye didn't plan on having any kids with him.

He strikes out to hit me and I aim my knee to his groin. Before I can even let out a scream, Lee grabs my leg and I'm flat on my back. This goes on for what seems like forever. I'm frustratedly trying to get one hit in on Lee and he ruthlessly pushes me down. Soon I'm a heap on the floor for the hundredth time this day.

"Need...snacks," I gasp from the floor.

"I guess that's enough for today," He says looking down at me in pity. I get up with much effort and my way to the house. I grab some pop tarts and Oreo cookies and plop down on the couch and exhaustedly shove them in my mouth as the pain ebbs away. Fiona runs up and curls next to me and I hear Elliot and Faye come in.

"Jeez, was he that hard on you," Faye says. Elliot and her plop down next to me and help themselves to my snacks.

"You're mated to a monster," I tell her.

"Don't worry. I'll withhold my affection as payback on your behalf. Us girls have to stick together."

"That's right," Elliot says. Though not a girl, I'm pretty sure he's an exception the rule.

"Are there any unmated guys here that swing this way. After seeing all the eye-candy hotties here, I'm thinking about having a possessive werewolf in my bed too," Elliot says. I roll my eyes. He's always on the prowl.

"It's not worth it. Trust me. Lee is going to give me a stroke one of these days."

"How are things with Axel," Elliot asks.

"I can't help but like him but I wonder how he would feel about me if we didn't have a mate bond. I met his ex, Callie, and she's gorgeous. I don't want to be one of those jealous, insecure girlfriends but I can't help but feel inadequate," I confide.

"Mae, Axel is smitten with you. You have nothing to worry about. As for Callie, I wouldn't get too close. It's never a good Idea to befriend your guy's ex. It always ends badly," Faye warns.

"I'll judge her for myself. I don't want to be rude to her just because they dated. I don't think anyone would try to get in between mates,"

"Okay, I trust your judgment but if she tries something don't say I didn't warn you," Faye says.

We talk for a while before I go upstairs and to Axel's office. I haven't seen him all day and I'm a little restless. To tell the truth I've been anticipating seeing him all day. I knock on his door before coming in. He looks up from some papers on his desk and smiles at me. My heart does a little flip-flop in my chest.

"Hey," Hey says.

"Hey," I say with a smile. I sit in front of him at his desk.

"What brings you here?" He asks.

"I'm not allowed to check on my mate," I joke.

"Last time I let you in here you slipped some sleeping pills in my drink," He chides jokingly.

"Oh...well sorry about that. But I was a little shaken up, getting kidnapped by werewolves and all."

"All is forgiven, love."

"So...what do you do all day in here all day. You sure do seem busy all the time." He puts down his papers and gives me his full attention.

"Did you miss me," He asks seriously.

"Maybe," I admit a little shy.

"Come here," He commanded. I sit there shocked for a second before getting up and walking around the desk. When I'm within arms reach, he grabs me by his waist and pulls me into his lap. My body immediately sinks into his, comforted by his closeness.

"You can always come in here. Anytime you need me, Mae," He whispers with his head buried in my neck.

"Okay," I breath out shakily. I feel his lips curve against my skin.

"I've been so busy lately because another pack reached out about an alliance. We're on bad terms with this pack so I don't really trust them. I've been going over some correspondences and trying to decide if we should go through with it. There have also been a lot of rogue sightings lately, so I'm implementing new training for pack warriors,"

"That sounds like a lot. Do you have help with all this?" I ask.

"I'm the Alpha. It's my job to take care of all this," He states.

"I can help if you want," I offer. This get's a soft chuckle from him.

"You don't need to worry about all of that. Just keeping me company, like you are now, is enough."

"Okay. What's on the schedule next?" I ask.

"I have to talk to Lee about the new training,"

"About Lee - Can I take you up on your offer from before. My legs are still hurting from his torture session," I inform him.

"Hmm...that's not good. I can't have my mate sore unless It's by my doing, I'll have to talk to him." He Jokes with a smirk. I catch his innuendo and my eyes go wide and my heart skips a beat. He chuckles at my response, then his body gets tight all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" I ask, thinking It was something I did.

"Lee just linked me. Rogues are on our territory. Stay here," He orders. That's all he says before rushing out the door.

"Axel!" I call out, worried. He keeps going out the door. Fear rushes through me when he's out of my sight. What if something happens to him and he's hurt? I pace his office, waiting for his return. Later when the door opens I look up hopefully but It's only Faye.

"What's happening. Axel left a-and he said something about rogues!" I cry out.

"He'll be okay. Some rogues must have come onto our land, looking for trouble. He has training in this and he's the best out there. Don't worry," Faye says, pulling me into her embrace.

"How do you deal with this. Them being in danger all the time?" I ask.

"Just have faith that he will be okay. Axel has been doing this for years and he hasn't been injured once." Faye tells me.

I try to follow her advice and wait in our room for Axel to come back. Minutes turn into hours and no one has any word from Axel. By this time I'm a mess of tears and worry. Elliot, Faye, Rachel, and Milo each visit and comfort me but it does no good. My mate is in danger and has been gone for hours, there is no consoling me. It gets later and later and still no sign of Axel. I skip dinner, too much of a wreck to have even the slightest appetite. Soon, most of the pack has gone to bed because it's so late. Eliot has forced me to stop pacing and take a shower and change into something more comfortable. I give up on waiting for Axel and fall into a restless sleep filled with dreams of rogues tearing apart my mate.

Much later I hear the bedroom door open and the sound of Axel's boots on the floor. I wake up instantly, jump out of bed and run across the room and into his arms.

"I've been so worried! I didn't know if you were hurt or worse! What happened?!" I bawled into his chest.

"They weren't rogues, they were sent from an enemy pack to get information from us. We had to interrogate them and find out who sent them and what they want to know," He fills me in.

"Don't scare me like that again," I chide with my voice muffled against his chest.

"Sorry, love," He apologizes. I notice that he has bags under his eyes and realize how tired he must be.

"Get dressed and come to bed. You look dead on your feet," I order. He obeys without protest. He undresses down to his boxers and get's into bed. He pulls me against his warm body and we meld into each other.

"What if you get hurt one day?" I ask in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry about that tonight. Just get some sleep, love." He mutters drowsily. Soon his body goes slack against mine. I stay up with terrifying thoughts until the early hours, when my body forces me to go to sleep. Still, Axel's presence is the only thing that wards off the nightmares.

A/N: I decided to put out an extra update! I hope you guys enjoyed!