Page 22 of Broken Souls

I stand up nervously, not sure how to go about being so close to someone so unhinged.

“Do you want me to go?” I ask.

“Who is he?” His voice is quieter now but deadly.

If I tell him my mate is Joel, I can't imagine what he will do. I shouldn't have mentioned the rejection. Axe is like a volcano, lava spitting out in small drizzles but I feel if I say my mate's name, that volcano is going to erupt and destroy anything in its path.

“Who is he?” he asks again, impatience in his voice.

“It doesn't matter. Don't hurt him, Axe, because it will hurt me too,” I murmur gently.

He pulls his fist from the wall, the drywall crunching and falling to the floor in little pieces, then he turns to me. It's true; if I saw Joel get hurt, it would distress my wolf. Axe comes to me, his expression softening. He reaches out and cradles my cheeks with both hands.

“You're just a young pup. You shouldn't be going through this.” His voice is heartbroken.

“I'm okay,” I assure him.

Despite how mad I saw him a minute ago and his deep breathing now, the way his hands are holding my face is truly soothing. I feel protected.

“You don't have to be strong for me.”

Axe wraps his arms around my back and pulls me into an embrace. His words break through my barrier and I drop my head against his chest, a few tears falling. We stay like this for a while, neither one of us making a move to let go. I feel something, being in his arms. I don't know what. But I like the feeling. His warm body comforts me enough, I almost doze off against his chest. He must sense this because he picks me up and rests me on the bed. His bed.

Chapter Nineteen

Iwake up and see Axe lying beside me. He's lying on his back, one arm behind his head and he's staring up at the ceiling. I sit up and decide what I should say. Did he fall asleep beside me when I did?

“Um, I'm going to make dinner,” I say to excuse myself. I hop off the bed, seeing that the drywall on the floor still isn't cleaned up. When I reach the door, I turn to look at him. “Do you want me to call you when dinner's ready?”

“Can you leave me some leftovers? I've got a lot on my mind,” he says, his voice normal again, not angry or sad.

I leave the room and go to the kitchen. But I barely pay attention to what I'm doing, my subconscious seeming to control my cooking. My mind is worrying about what Axe is thinking about. Is he going to hunt down my mate? I can't open up to Axe anymore. The way he reacted to my mate's rejection, I can't imagine how he would react to the years of abuse. Even though he knows someone hurt me, I don't think he understands the severity of it. I don't hear someone walk in until I see Dashiell in the kitchen.

“How are you, Elora?” he asks politely.

“I'm fine. Axe is upstairs if you want to see him. He's kind of in an off mood, though,” I let him know.

“He's always in a mood. I'm surprised you're tolerating him. Not many people do,” Dashiell says.

“He's a good person... just broken.” I continue moving around the kitchen.

“You might be the one to heal him,” Dashiell whispers, clearly to himself but I hear it.

“What do you mean?” I ask shakily.

Did Axe say something to him? Dashiell bites his lip, his brows creasing.

“Elora, he's been alone in this house for years. Now he's letting you stay here and even went after you when you left... I think you've tugged on something inside him…” Dashiell trails off.

“He's just protecting me,” I state, not wanting to consider the thought of Axe thinking of me in that way.

“Maybe.” Dashiell gives me a gentle smile before excusing himself.

Dinner takes a while since my mind is going crazy. I try not to overthink and just focus on the food. When I sit at the table, I find the food heavy to eat. Time goes by and I'm glad that Axe didn't come down for dinner. To see him after Dashiell's words... I just don't know what to think. Could Axe really see me as a woman to… date… open up to… I don't know what to call it. If he has feelings for me… shit.

After putting the food in the fridge, I go to my room and call Amelia. I tell her to distract me, so she dives into sugar daddy talk and then chats about studying.

***