Three Mates & A Tribrid

Chapter 16

Rose's POV

     "What do you mean you don't know?" Axel asked, looking at me with a worried expression.

     "I had it confiscated from me when the alphas took me in," I said, suddenly feeling sick at the thought of where it ended up. "And someone found out about it. Fuck!" I yelled, gripping my hair. "They're gonna come after me," I said, looking around at my panicking mates.

     Everett shook his head. "No, they're not. We'll make sure of that."

     "Me and Everett will go look for it. It has to still be in one of our territories," Atticus said, looking at me before glancing at Axel. "Axel will stay with you for the time being. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

     I nodded my head because I wasn't an idiot. "Okay."

     The guys talked through their game plan before leaving the house. I turned towards Axel as he spoke nervously. "I'm sorry." I raised an eyebrow, urging him to elaborate.

     He exhaled. "I'm sorry for not trusting you, for not believing you. I'm sorry that I'm such an asshole all the time. I'm sorry for not being good enough for you, Everett, or Atticus. I'm sorry that you're stuck with me as a mate and not someone with less baggage. I'm sorry for not being enough for you, enough for you to love. Because I love you, Princess. Real fucking bad. You make me absolutely crazy, and I don't want anyone else."

     I felt my eyes water at his statement as he stood there so vulnerably in front of me. Before I could open my mouth to respond, he continued. "I know that I'm fucked up. When I was younger, I had a hard time controlling my hunger. I would lash out and drain a person if I was just having a bad day. And one day..." Axel chocked on a sob. "One day, my mom and me got into a fight. She was human, and I...I lashed out." A few tears escaped and ran down Axel's face. "I killed her. I tried to bring her back by feeding her my blood, but it was too late."

     "I'm so sorry, Ax," I said, as my own tears were blurring my vision. I wrapped my arms around him as he sobbed into my chest like a little kid would. I ran my fingers through his hair as he sobbed harder. "When my dad found out, he wasn't mad at me. For so long, I thought it was because he understood what I was going through and didn't want to make it worse. But now...I'm wondering if he just didn't care about her at all," He whispered into my shirt.

     I held onto my poor mate who had it just as bad as I did. All three of my mates have had troubled pasts that they've overcome. I couldn't help but feel this weird feeling inside my chest. I felt love for them. I felt protective of them. No one could stand in my way when it came to protecting my mates. I would give myself up in a heartbeat if it would save them.

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Axel's POV

     I can't believe I just told her all of that. Only Everett and Atticus know about the darkest time in my life. But when I'm with Rose, it's like she's the light in my dark heart. She makes me feel alive, feel wanted, feel loved.

     I lifted my head and looked into her eyes affectionately. She looked at me as she raised her hand and punched me right across the face. Hard. "Fuck. Well, I guess I deserved that," I said, as I held my jaw in my hand. Shit, could she punch. That was definitely gonna leave a bruise.

     "You're still an asshole," She said, smiling like she had just won the lottery. I felt my eyes soften and my smile widens just looking at her. God, she was beautiful.

     I leaned down, capturing her lips with mine as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I kissed her gently, despite my usually fast-paced self.