Page 19 of Broken Souls

Go back to Axe's house where he looks after me but can snap in an instant? Or stay in a hotel for free away from werewolf territory? The smarter choice is obviously the second one. Yet the way Axe is staring at me is making my heart want to make the decision instead of my brain.

“How did you even know I was here?” I change the subject.

“I've been watching the front of your school from afar for the past week, seeing if you would come out, and today you did, so I followed you.”

“Oh,” I murmur, looking down. Why does he care about me? He cared enough to wait for me every day at school to see if I was alright.

“Look, I'm smart enough to know whoever hurt you is in my pack. My first to go to would be your family because you don't want to go there but that seems too easy. You are going to tell me right now who did this to you.”

I sigh. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Here's the deal, I won't ask you any more questions if you come back and stay. But if you don't, I will show up here every day, questioning you. Let's see how much patience you have because I'll lose mine and use my alpha order on you,” he says, sure of himself.

“Why haven't you used your alpha order on me already then?” I ask. Given he wants to know, he should have already ordered me.

“Because I don't want to force it out of you. I want you to tell me because you trust me.” Axe walks over and sits beside me. I stare down at the floor, fiddling my fingers in my lap. Trust is something I've never given to anyone. Axe places his large hand over both of mine, curling his fingers around my small palm.

“What's the reason you want me to come back?” I whisper.

“I feel the need to protect you like the way I feel about my mate or little sister.”

I look up into his eyes, seeing the honesty in them. His mate and his sister were important people in his life. I'm nobody. So why does he feel the need to protect me?

“Why?”

“I just do.” His brows pull into a frown.

“I don’t want to come back,” I whisper.

“My sister said the same thing to me years ago.” Axe lets out a loud breath, staring off into nothing.

“Why did she say that?” I ask.

“I don't want to talk about the girls I've lost in my life,” he says, his voice firmer.

“Your sister died?” I frown.

“No, when she had just turned eighteen, she met her mate. He's in another pack, so she left. Whenever my parents and I invited her here, she said she didn’t want to come back. She did come back when my mate...” He pauses at the mention of his mate and clears his throat, then changes the subject. “So, will you come back?”

Chapter Seventeen

Idecide to move back in with Axe, but I don't have an answer why. I just can't say no to him. I thank Karena and say I'm fine and leaving. She looks unsure but nods. Axe and I discuss that I'll stay with him until graduation and at least for the Christmas holidays so I'm secure enough with money to move out. I've decided all the holidays I'll work full time so my money builds. I settle back into my room and it actually looks homier; my school books littered everywhere, my laptop, my clothes in the closet and the bathroom full of my supplies.

After my stuff is sorted, I go downstairs. Now that I live here, even if it's for a short while, I'm going to use the kitchen. I'm sure Axe will appreciate having home-cooked meals. As I move around the kitchen, it's calming. I could never cook at my house because of Step-Bitch. When I've dished out our plates, which are full of cooked vegetables and juicy steaks, I call out to Axe since I couldn't be bothered going upstairs. He comes down within seconds, and when his eyes see the table, they widen.

“What is all this?”

“I thought I would cook dinner for us. My body has been way too full of takeout these past few years,” I say, taking a seat.

Axe sits down and picks up his fork and knife. He stares at his food like he can't believe it. I dig into my food but I notice his eyes look sad.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, it's just I haven't eaten like this since my mate.”

“Oh, we don't have to eat together if it's too hard...”

“No,” he cuts me off then looks up at me. “Thank you for this, really.” He gives me a reassuring nod.