Howl.

Chapter 16

"Axel?" I whisper, disbelief coating my words.

He looks the same yet so different. Dark stubble lie across his cheeks and purple circles frame his eyes.

He looks older, more experianced and more dangerous but I know that he will not hurt me, his turquise aura tells me that.

He looks sick, tired, haggard, poisonous. He looks like he's been though so much pain yet all he radiates is confidence and authority.

"Yes, muffin, it's your dearly beloved back from hell." He smiles crookedly at me.

I notice a black SUV parked on the side of the road that I did not see before, probably because it blends in with the darkness of the night.

Oh my god! Seth where are you?

"Come on." Axel takes my hand in his and leads me to the car, opens the door and shoves me in lightly, closing the door behind him.

I freeze.

I don't know why but I cannot move. I think I am in panic mode or something.

Axel climbs into the drivers seat but I keep my eyes dead ahead.

What's happening here?

"Axel where's your ma - ah!" Something cold and sharp inserts itself in my neck and I feel liquid being released into my colar bone, near the mark.

The thing slips out and almost immediatly I feel dizzy. My drooping eyes drift his direction, focusing on a syringe in his hand.

What the . . .

"Just a precaution, babe." He starts the car and it roars to life.

"Not . . . your . . . babe . . ." That is all I get to say before darkness envelopes me.

***

Chad.

Bar.

Saw Seth.

Something went wrong.

Rabid's attacked.

Bones and Mikey dead.

Axel.

My eyes shoot open after everything replays in my mind.

The first thing I see is a light blue roof, one I have seen so often and had brought me peace and happiness, now it brings me chills and distain.

There is a pounding in my head but I ignore it, I need to get my bearings.

I am in Axel's room. Just like him it looks different yet the same. Here and there are female things and I wonder, Isn't his mate going to kill me?

I mean I know how jealous and possessive wolves can get over their mates.

Why did Axel bring me here?

"You're awake."

I sit up as my eyes zero in on the door.

There stands the guy I once loved. He's shaved and is wearing he's heartbreaker smile.

It reminds me of when we used to be together.

"What do you want with me, how do you know I have a mate and where is your mate?" I ask the three questions that has been knawing on me.

He sighs, his aura changing from dull green (conflicting emotions) to matt black (depression, exhausion).

He sits next to me on the bed and I flinch away, planting my back against the headboard. I know he won't hurt me but being close to him just feels wrong.

Oh Seth, save me.

"I know you have a mate because I could feel it. The night I won Mr Cuddles I had him enchanted. My Elemental made it so that I feel what you feel even if Mr Cuddles was in a box hidden in your closet."

"So that letter was a warning." I state.

"Yes." He answers.

I can't believe this!

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I love you! I wanted a link to you that didn't have to be through a mate bond. Speaking of-" he holds up a mirror.

I knit my brows in confusion before taking the mirror and looking at my neck.

The mark! Its gone. It's like it was never even there in the first place.

I stare at my reflection, "How . . .?"

"The injection I gave you." He answers my unfinished question.

"You said your Elemental? Aren't Elementals and werewolves enemies?"

"We have a treaty. Besides, I think it is better to have powerful creatures as allies."

"What about your mate?"

"Davina died." He picks his nails.

He only picks his nails when he's nervous, he's done something wrong or he feels guilty.

"How?" So sue me. I'm curious.

"I killed her." He says with little emotion.

A cold shiver runs down my spine after he says that, my breath hitching in my throat.

He - he - he killed his own mate.

Oh my god I'm gonna die!

I know I sound melodramatic but if he could kill his own mate, his soul mate, then what won't he do to me?

I need to keep myself alive till Seth or Chord comes for me, if I use what Becka taught me then I am dead for sure.

Ugh, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Even though I am so scared of him right now, I cannot control myself when I ask, "Why?"

He looks at me, his eyes filled with sorrow, "She betrayed me with Randy and I got angry. I stared her straight in the eye when I did it," he lets out a tortured laugh, "I could see that she regretted betraying me but only because it got her killed, not because it hurt me. You were right, I should have stayed with you."

"I don't understand, the mate bond, don't you want to be with nobody but your mate?"

"That is what I thought too. I loved her, so much so that it blinded me."

"When did she die?" I don't want to ask him when he killed her. Those words won't feel right coming out of my mouth.

"A year ago."

I inhale sharply, "Why am I here?"

Axel looks at me, the tips of his ears turning red with embarressment, "I am the last of my line, my parents are dead and I have no siblings. I need a child to continue my line and be my heir."

"You're not saying what I think you're saying, right?"

He nods seriously, "I am. I want you to have my baby."