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My hand lifts to touch the red gem. There’s no longer a sense of comfort or security from it.
“Your headaches,” Griffyn says. He’s staring at me like I’m dying. My stomach clenches.
“You’re having headaches? Why wouldn’t anyone tell me?” Rion shouts.
“We don’t trust you,” Aksel says simply.
Guilt floods me. I didn’t realize until this moment that part of me still doesn’t trust Rion. We’ve been moving forward but I’ve been unintentionally holding us back.
“I should have told you,” I say, regret tightening my voice.
He nods, stiffly. “You need to take it off Anna.”
They’re all looking at me expectantly.
“Ican’t. The first thing I would do is hurt Aly, probably kill her unless her mates kill me first. Then, who knows what he’ll use me for. I can’t take it off until we find a new solution.”
“She’s right,” Felix sighs. “Unless we are going to lock her up, she has to keep it on.”
“If it gets too bad, we are going to have to,” Rion says softly, flinching at the glares Griffyn and Blaze shoot at him.
“You have to keep us updated on your symptoms. No hiding anything,” Aksel demands.
I squint at him, ready to deflect some of the attention off me. “Why do you care so much?”
I’m pretty sure his eyes shutter but he’s just the same asshole when he responds, “I don’t, but these idiots do. So I’ll help for them.”
“Real nice,” Rion scoffs.
“Meanwhile, we find a solution,” Blaze says.
“This takes priority. The search for Killian can wait, this can’t,” Griffyn says, staring at me intently.
“Agreed,” Felix and Rion say. Blaze merely grunts but it’s clear he agrees.
Aksel doesn’t say anything to object but his lack of protest is practically a roaring yes.
He surprises me further by saying, “I think I should check with my father. He’s a council member and might have insight into the problem.”
It sounds reasonable, but he’s so stiff it’s a red flag.
“Why don’t you want to do that?” I ask.
I know why I hate his father, Joka. He treated my friends poorly and sabotaged them, but Aksel is his son.
“My father can be unpleasant. We should be prepared to have to work for the answer.”
“That’s fine. We will do whatever it takes. He’s our best shot,” Felix says earnestly.
“Aksel, can I ask you a question?” I continue before he can respond. “Do you have other fathers or only Joka? I thought it was customary to have multiple mates?”
“He thought himself better than sharing a mate. I’ll reach out to him.” Aksel stands up and briskly leaves the basement.
“That was a big deal,” Blaze says once Aksel is far enough. “He never asks his father for anything. His top priority is avoiding him.”
Blaze is staring at me intently and I can’t help but read between the lines. Aksel cares about me, even if his words say otherwise. You don’t reach out to a man you hate for your teammates’ girl.
I feel a crack form in the wall between Aksel and me. Maybe he’s notsobad.
