Axel's Flower (Discontinued)

Chapter Eight

Axel left before I woke to handle pack business so I walk downstairs by myself. I grab a granola bar and plop myself down in a seat. Ten seconds later the granola bar is snatched from my hand.

"Hey!" I hiss, annoyed.

"We have training to do." Lee orders, towering over my chair.

"Do we have to do this in the morning?" I groan.

"Yes. You have to develop some discipline. Now let's go before you wear down my patients." Lee leaves before I can respond. I have to run to catch up with his long strides. This time he takes me to where the pack warriors are, in a clearing behind the property.

"Your training with them today and you'll have to keep up. Due to the recent events, I'm going to be a lot harsher today," Lee informs me. Just great.

We train out there for hours until the sun begins to beat down on us. Most of it is sparing with the pack warriors, which leaves me frustrated because they win every time. Finally, Lee takes me aside to teach me some moves. He does seem to be in a better mood than the last time he trained me. He teaches me how to have more force in my hits and how to block. Soon, I'm still losing but I'm able to put up a bit of a fight. After hours, Lee lets us leave and I walk back to the pack house on sore legs.


"I have really good news!" Faye squeals when I cross the threshold of the door.

"What is it?" I ask.

"You have to come with me! I don't want anyone overhearing." Fay grabs my hand and drags me to an empty room where she slams the door.

"I think Lee is going to propose!" She squeaks, jumping up and down.

"That's amazing! What happened?" I ask, happy for her.

"One of the pack members saw him looking at rings at a local jeweler. A couple of months ago he asked what my ring size is."

"I'm so happy for you. Maybe if he's busy planning a wedding, he'll get off my case," I joke.

"You can't tell anybody! I don't want to ruin his surprise." She warns

"This will be our secret. Pinky swear," I promise. We go on with our day, the whole time Faye is in a happy daze. Elliot notices this and gives me a couple of quizzical looks which I blow off. When Lee is done with work the two love birds go to their room and do god knows what.

"What was that about?" Elliot asks.

"I've been sworn to silence." I shrug.

We hang out for a while before I go upstairs to Axel's office. I knock before opening the door. Axel is sitting at his desk taking a phone call. I sit and patiently wait for him to finish up.

"Good news. Another pack reached out for an alliance. That gives us the upper hand with Ashton," He tells me.

"That's a relief," I say with an exhale.

"I was thinking about it and I've never taken you on a proper date. I'm all finished here so why don't you get dressed and we go out," He suggests.

"You're taking me on a date?" I ask excitedly.

"Yeah. I kind of feel bad about ruining your day out yesterday. I want to make it up to you." I nearly hopped out of my seat in excitement.

"I've never been on a date," I admit.

"You'll look beautiful in anything. I'm glad I'm your first. I want to be your first everything." He reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze and my cheeks warm.

"I'll go get ready," I say rising from my seat.

"Meet me at the door in an hour and a half," He tells me.

Once I close the door I do a happy dance and run to Elliot's room.

"Axel is taking me on my first date," I screech when I bust open the door.

"Jeez, Maebug. Knock please," He chides.

"I need your fashion advice. I don't know if I should dress casually or fancy. He didn't tell me where we are going," I stress.

"Hmmm. Take me to your closet and I'll see what I can do." We go up to my room and Elliot scrutinizes my wardrobe.

"Here, put this on," He hands me a stack of clothes. I get dressed in the bathroom and when I emerge he hands me a pair of heels. After putting them on I gaze into the mirror. I'm wearing a white, silk long sleeved blouse with a plunging neckline that exposes my cleavage. Elliot paired this with a high waisted skintight cream-colored skirt that accentuates my curves and white heels with a delicate diamond strap around the ankle.

"You're a miracle worker, Elliot." I breathe out.

"Don't forget your accessories." Elliot places a diamond choker around my neck.

"I texted Faye and she's going to do your makeup and hair," Elliot tells me.

"You're the best friend a girl can have," I say wrapping my arms around Elliot.

Faye comes to my room with all of her makeup since I don't really own any. She smoothes my hair into a high bun and lets a few curls hang down my face. Then she does my makeup, a soft smokey eye, rose blush, and highlight. When It's time to meet Axel downstairs I feel gorgeous. I rush downstairs, anticipating seeing Axel. When my eyes hit him my heart does a backflip in my chest. He's wearing boots, black jeans, and a black sweater that is rolled up exposing his veined forearms.

"You look...beautiful." Axel breathes in amazement.

"Thank you. You look good too." I compliment.

Evening has just struck and the sky is alight with a collage of orange and soft pinks. He walks me out the door with his hand on my lower back and we enter his car. The drive is filled with comfortable silence and the soft sounds of music drifting from the radio. We arrive at an Italian restaurant in the fancy part of town. Axel comes around and opens my door, taking my hand and leading me into the restaurant. The inside is beautifully decorated, with fairy lights hanging from the walls.

"Reservation for Axel Cain," He tells the hostess.

"Right this way, sir."

We are seated at a secluded table in the back of the restaurant and given menus.

"This place is amazing," I tell him.

"Well, my mate only deserves the absolute best."

"Tell me more about this whole mate thing. Does everyone have a mate?" I ask.

"All werewolves have a mate and rarely does a human get mated to a werewolf. Once you find your mate you have to complete the mating process."

"The mating process?"

"First, a werewolf claims their mate by marking them. Then they consummate the bond." I can guess what consummating the bond is and my cheeks warm.

"How do you mark your mate?"

"You bite their neck. After that, all the other unmated males will know they are taken."

"Will it hurt...when you mark me?" I ask.

"I'll make it worth your while," Axel says with a smirk. Again, I'm left blushing when the waiter comes and takes our orders.

"Tell me about yourself, Mae. What was your childhood like?" Axel asks me when the waiter leaves.

"I grew up in a pretty happy family but my parents died in a car accident when I was three. From then on I was raised by my grandmother who I was really close with. Sadly, she passed away when I was twelve, which was really hard on me. I went from foster home to foster home and along the way, I met my best friend and partner in crime, Elliot." I end with a smile.

"I'm sorry about your parents and your grandmother," Axel says seriously.

"It's fine. That was a long time ago and it made me who I am today." I assure.

"What are your biggest dreams," Axel asks. I can tell that he really is interested in what I have to say and not just filling the silence.

"I can't tell you. It's really stupid," I say looking away. He reaches over and lifts my chin.

"If its something you really want, then it's not stupid, Mae," Axel assures me.

"I've always wanted to publish a poetry book. I have this journal filled with poetry I write whenever I have time. I always wondered if people would want to see it," I say, embarrassed.

"That's not stupid. That's a wonderful dream. I know you can do it, you have a beautiful way with words," Axel commends.

"You really think so," I ask with a smile.

"Absolutely."

"Enough about me. What was your childhood like? And how did you become Alpha?" I ask.

"Growing up my father was very harsh on me. I was born from an affair my mother had and he resented me. Ashton was always favored over me and my father wanted him to be Alpha when he stepped down. Ashton became Alpha after my father died and he was a cruel leader to our pack. He would imprison people just for talking ill of him. I decided to challenge him for the Alpha title. He was confident he would win but that wasn't the case. He lost and I became Alpha."

"Why did you want to align your packs if there's so much bad blood between you two?"

"Bad blood aside, his pack desperately needed our assistance. Their warriors are not equipped to handle rogues. I may have an issue with Ashton but his pack members are innocent and I wanted to help them."

"It's nice that you stood up for your pack . They couldn't have asked for a better Alpha," I say gently. Axel's eyes get soft before the waiter brings our food. We talk about random things as we eat our food. When our plates are empty Axel pays the bill and leads me out of the restaurant. We ride home, enjoying the music. Axel leads me out of the car. When we get inside, he goes off to talk to Lee and I'm attacked by Elliot and Faye.

"Spill the tea, girl," Elliot commands. I tell them all about the date and they demand to know all the little details, like the way he looked at me what he ordered.

"That's so dreamy. Reminds of the days when Lee and I had just started dating," Faye sighs dreamily.

"He's such a gentleman," Elliot remarks.

"I really like him," I admit.

"All this mate business is making me feel single," Elliot sighs.

"That's because you are single," Faye informs him.

"Stop rubbing it in my face! It's not my fault that no one likes me," Elliot pouts.

"You'll find someone, Elli," I reassure him.

"Well, go see to your mate. I'm sure he's missing you already," Fay tells me.

I leave them and go to see Axel. Just when I'm walking down the hallway, a hand grabs on to my arm and yanks me into a room. Before I can yell, they slam their hand on to my mouth.

"You think you can come into my pack and ruin everything," A voice sneers. I realize it's Sebastion, Lee's brother. "I don't care whose mate you are, your still as worthless as when you first wandered into our territory, little girl."

"I'm sorry! P-Please, let me go," I sputter when he removes his hand from my mouth."

"It's too late to beg now. I should beat you bloody for all the pain you caused this pack," He threatens.

"No, please-" I try to pull away but I am stopped by a hard slap to the face.

"Shut up, bitch! If you ever tell Axel about this they won't be able to identify your body when I'm through with you," He warns before harshly pushing me away from him. I fall down and he stomps out the door. I'm left there in shock before shakily pulling myself off of the ground. My cheek still stings from the slap and the shock of being attacked id still rushing through me. I walk to my bedroom on weak legs. Luckily, Axel is in his office, giving me time to compose my self before he sees me. I'm terrified that Sebastion will follow through with his threat if Axel finds out, so I do my night routine as usual. A light bruise has formed on my cheek from Sebastions slap but it's not that noticeable.

Later, when the bedroom door I'm sitting on the bed trying to act as natural as possible. I make sure my bruised cheek is facing away from Axel in case he notices.

"How are you?" Axel asks when enters.

"Fine. Elli and Faye just got through interrogating me about our date." I tell him.

"Hey, what's that?" Axel immediately notices the bruise and lifts my chin, putting my cheek to the light.

"Uh, I was trying to swat a fly and hit myself in cheek," I lie.

"That looks pretty bad," He says a little suspiciously.

"I hit myself really hard," I laugh nervously.

"I'll go get some ice for that," He says leaving. I panic while he's gone and try to compose myself when he returns.

"Are you sure your okay? You look a little off," He asks, pressing the ice pack to my cheek.

"I'm fine. Just tired, if anything."

"Well let's get some sleep," He switches off the light and returns to bed. I fall asleep first, cuddled into his chest.

***

I dream of Sebastions brown wolf chasing me through the woods. I run frantically, feeling him gaining speed behind me. When his jaw clamps around my back leg, I let out a terrified scream.

"Maebry! Love, wake up," Axel shakes me awake from the horrifying nightmare. I gasp for air as the panic still grips me.

"Calm down. Just breath. I'm right here," Axel says, taking me into his arms.

"What was that about," He asks when my breathing calms.

"I-It was just a nightmare," I stutter.

"You looked shaken up earlier. How did you get that bruise, Mae? That story was total bull," He calls me out

"It's nothing, Axel," I reflect.

"Mae, we're mates. We're not supposed to be hiding things from each other. If someone hurt you, you need to tell me so I can take care of it," He demands. I do feel bad for keeping things from him but I don't want to suffer Sebastions wrath.

"It's doesn't matter. I don't want to cause you any more trouble," I admit. He already has to deal with Ashton, I don't want him stressing over my safety any more than he already is.

"If you don't tell me what's going on, I'll interrogate every person in this pack until I find out who did this to you. Tell me," he commands

"I-It was Sebastion. He cornered me earlier and said he didn't like all the trouble I was causing the pack. He slapped me when I tried getting away and he threating to hurt me if I told you what happened," I told him, cracking under the pressure. Furry ignites in his face and the anger he had towards Ashton is nothing compared to this. With a growl vibrating in his chest, he jumps out of bed and storms out the door.

"Axel!" I call after him. He doesn't listen, intent on finding Sebastion and causing him a world of pain.