Page 38 of Broken Souls

“Can I ask what's going to happen when I meet your parents?” I ask.

“What do you mean?” He frowns.

“What if they don't like me?” I do admit I worry about that.

“I don't care. You're with me, not them.” Axe grabs my hand and holds it in his.

“I don't want Carson to go,” I admit.

“Neither do I. But she goes where her mate goes,” he mutters.

“Carson mentioned she met her mate because you were talking of an alliance with his alpha. Are you still allies?”

“We did make an agreement but when I went off the rails, Dash dealt with everything, so the alliance is really with Dash now. I would have to speak to the alpha to discuss an alliance with him and me again.”

“What you said earlier, you're becoming alpha again, right?”

“I feel that's not the question you want to ask.” He raises his eyebrows.

“I don't know. I kind of had a thought of us living a happy life in isolation. But now that you're going to be alpha again... what does that make me?” I hate the unsureness I feel now.

“You don't want me to say the L word, do you?”

“No, the pack would break apart if you made me the luna.”

“Elora, fuck what people think. Whatever choice I make, the pack has to oblige otherwise I sentence their punishment. I'm sick of how little you see yourself. You are mine now and once I mark you, my strength will resonate through you. Take advantage of it,” Axe says rigorously, wrapping his arm around my back and pulling me against him hard.

“After the mark, do you really share each other's strength?” I question.

“I think you just feed off each other without realising.”

Axe moves his fingertips down my spine, making me shiver. Does he have this effect on me because it's him or because I'm being touched for the first time? I wonder what he thinks of my touch. I gain the confidence to slide my hand up his shirt. His muscly torso is something I want to see but I've never seen him without a shirt. When my hand comes in contact with his abs, he tenses. I run my fingers over his muscle indents and it feels heavenly. Muscles really are attractive. He stares into my eyes and I actually hold our eye contact. There's something about staring into his eyes while we're touching in a non-sexual way that's creating a powerful connection between us.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When I wake up, Axe is already out of bed. He didn’t go for his usual run like he does at night. I go to my room and get ready for school then make my way downstairs, which smells delicious. Carson is in the kitchen cooking and Axe is sitting at the table.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi, Elora, do you want to hang out today?” she asks.

“I've got school.” I gesture to my uniform.

“Oh right. At least eat first.”

I sit at the table while Carson places the food in front of us.

“How'd you sleep?” I ask Axe.

“Good, how about you?”

“Good,” I agree. I want to ask him why he didn't go for his run. Maybe he didn't want to disturb me.

We enjoy a good breakfast and then I stand up to leave. Axe stands as well and pecks my cheek.

“If anything happens with Joel, you tell me,” he whispers sternly.

I nod and go to my car, now nervous about seeing Joel. If he tries something, Axe will do something about it this time. I head into the school and go to my locker. After getting my books, I turn to walk through the school grounds but get tripped over. I look up and see the three monstrosities standing there. They really don't know who they're messing with anymore. If I come home with one more bruise, Axe will kill them. My hands broke my fall, though, so it'll be just a few scrapes.