Chapter 8: Twist of Fate

Axton’s P.O.V

“Gus…You need to stop. It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill Lily!”

“I know.”

…

 “You’ve always been privileged, my dear litter brother. That’s why you never noticed how much I’ve suffered all my life.”

“Gus…what are you talking about?” I managed to stutter out.

…

 “You’re a pathetic weakling that got everything served on a silver platter.”

 “You don’t deserve to be Alpha.”

“Gus…”

“I know, you weakling. I know.”

…

 “Because I killed her.”

*

*

I jerked up in bed, my hands and legs trembling and my whole body covered in perspiration.

I closed my eyes momentarily, fisting my hands to stop the trembling.

It was all just a nightmare, right? Lily couldn’t possibly be dead, right? And Gustav? My older half-brother? The man who had always been my biggest supporter, my guide…he couldn’t…no…he couldn’t!

But then I noticed that my entire body was aching, and the area around my neck and my shoulder burned.

I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in a completely different room. This wasn’t my house. Nor was it any place I knew. Then where was I?

And then I brought my hand to my neck, to find it bandaged up, as was my shoulder.

So it wasn’t a dream after all. Lily truly was dead and Gustav had not only killed her…he had framed me for her murder. All because he thought I was privileged? Because he envied me enough to want me dead?

No…I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

But before my mind could wander on about what had gone wrong between me and my brother, a delicate scent filled my nostrils. It immediately helped me calm down my nerves.

I took in a deep breath, trying to get more of the scent into my lungs. What was this scent? It was a bit like fresh lemons and the scent of the soil after the first raindrops hit the ground.

I got up from the bed, wanting to follow the scent. Somewhere at the back of my mind came the realization that I was in an unfamiliar environment and I could very well be a captive. But that thought was lost between one heartbeat and the next. I needed to follow that scent. My wolf urged me to follow that scent.

I moved on stealthy feet, making sure I didn’t make any noise as I followed the scent to the living area.

It was a woman.

I couldn’t see her face since she was taking things out of the cupboard, but the scent was definitely coming from her. Her dark hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wore pink pajamas. She wasn’t very tall, around five and half and had a nice figure. But her scent…it was intoxicating…to the point where I wanted to pin her to the counter top and have a bite out of her.

That thought alone was enough to slap me back to my senses.

Lily just died and I was thinking about fucking another woman? What on earth was wrong with me? Did this woman bewitch me? Was she my captor?

Gritting my teeth to fight the temptation of her scent, I dashed forward on silent feet and was behind her in an instant. I wrapped an arm around her neck and hauled her to my chest.

“Who are you?” I gritted out, my voice sounding rough.

But before I could get a reply, I felt a sting on my palm…and then the sizzling heat of my skin being burned.

“Fuck!” I let go of the woman and fell to the floor, clutching my hand. When I opened my palm, it was seared and forming blisters.

“Oh my god!” The woman jumped back and away from me. “What are you doing? I literally saved your life?”

“Saved me?” I looked at her confused.

My head was spinning and my entire body felt weak. And the fact that she was wearing silver around her neck…no, she wasn’t a wolf. Then who was she? What was she? And why was she helping me?

This had to be a trap!

Growling low in my throat, I grit my teeth and stood up from the floor, watching her back away from me immediately.

“Who are you?” I shouted at her. “Who sent you to me? Where am I?”

“Look, mister, you need to calm down!” She frowned, backing herself up against the counter. “I found you in the middle or the road, naked and bruised! I don’t even know who you are?”

“Then why did you help me?” I asked her suspiciously. I remember falling from a height and then the tall trees of the forest breaking my fall, but I got injured from the branches.

Normally, werewolves heal faster than humans, but I did have superior healing since I was a child. I remember Gustav being jealous of that too. But I hadn't really thought about it too much at that time.

The thought of Gustav made my wolf howl inside my head, as it clawed at my skin to burst out. The rage that took over me was feral and instant and before I could control myself, I was back in front of the woman with the alluring scent, my hands around her throat in a vice grip…before I felt the burn of silver against my skin once again.

“Stop! Help!” The woman choked out, struggling to get my hand off of her neck, but I was forced to let go when the burn of the silver became too much to handle.

“Help!” She yelped one last time before I pushed her back and fell to the floor once again, this time with little to no strength left in me to get back up.

I clutched my hands to my chest, trying to stop the burning, but my skin was seared raw and there was no way this wound was going to heal soon enough for me to hide it.

“Oh my god!” I heard her whisper and I knew she had seen the burns. But when I thought she would either run or call for help, she knelt beside me instead, taking my hands in hers to inspect the wounds.

“Shit!” She brought my hands closer to her eyes to inspect them, blowing on them gently to ease the pain. “That’s a second degree burn. How on earth…”

I looked up into her face, my own face probably a mix of anger and pain, but I only saw concern in hers. What was wrong with this woman? Why hadn't she taken off running yet? Didn’t she shout for help just a second ago?

“Hold still.” She commanded and got off the floor, heading over to the two large suitcases on one side of the room, from where she retrieved what looked like a first aid box and brought it back to me.

Taking my hands once more, she applied a cooling ointment that immediately stopped the burning and once she was done, wrapped a thin bandage around the wounded areas, before she scooted back away from me and taking off the silver chain from around her neck, held it in front of her like a shield.

“Now talk!” She said in a mean sounding voice that just made me raise my eyebrows at her. “Who are you? And why did you try to strangle me…twice?”

“Who are you?” I shot back frowning. “Where am I?”

She sighed, rubbing a hand down her face before she looked back at me. “I’m Dr. Anika Mehta. I’m the new Resident doctor at Sapphire Medical Clinic and I just got transferred tonight. I found you in the middle of the road as I was driving to this cabin. You were badly injured…still are. That’s why I brought you here with me, to treat you and help you get better.”

I was still in the Sapphire Mountains? Shit! I was still in the middle of my pack area…which was now enemy territory.

“Now, I’ve told you my part of the story.” She told me, breaking me out of my thoughts. “So it’s your turn to answer my questions.”

“I…” What was I doing? Was I really about to tell a stranger who I was? Could I even make her believe in my story? No! I couldn’t tell her yet. I couldn’t let anyone know that I’m alive. If Gustav or his men find out, I’ll be hunted down and killed.

“I…don’t remember…” I told her slowly, thinking about how to make my lie sound convincing.

“Pardon?” She raised her eyebrows, not looking convinced at all. “You don’t remember how you got to the middle of the road or…?”

“I don’t remember anything,” I blinked a few times, looking around the room as if seeing it for the first time. “I don’t…remember my name.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” She wined, throwing her hands in the air. “You can’t be serious!”

“What do you mean?” I sat up on the floor slowly, realizing then that I was wearing a pair of tight pajama bottoms that didn’t even reach half-way down my calf. “Who dressed me?”

“I did.” She sighed, rubbing at her temples. “Look, if this is some kind of a joke…”

“Where is this place?” I asked her out of the blue. “What country am I in?”

Anika blinked several times. It looked like she just might start screaming at any moment, but she was keeping calm to the best of her ability. But then, without another word, she held out he hand with the silver pendant, almost like she was about to throw it at me.

“No!” I yelped and covered my face with my hands, but I didn’t feel the burn. As a few seconds passed and nothing happened, I removed my hand to find her studying me like bug under a microscope.

“Interesting. You seem to have an allergy to silver.” She tilted her head to the side and the bun on top of her head unwound itself and her hair fell around her in waves like slivers of dark silk.

It was a mesmerizing sight, watching her long hair fall over her shoulder. It changed the way she looked almost completely. It was the first time I noticed the depth in her chocolate brown eyes, the arch of her long neck and her dark pink lips, so plump…so kissable.

I blinked. What was wrong with me? Why was I suddenly feeling this attraction towards her?

“Fine then,” she sighed and got up from the floor. “I guess…till you regain your memories, you’re stuck here with me.”

“Thank you.” I told her almost in a distracted voice.

The scent…her scent was getting stronger, even more addicting by the minute. Was it because it was a new moon?

And that was when realization came to me and my eyes widened in horror, making me feel like my world was crashing down around me all over again.

This woman…this doctor who had saved my life…was my mate. My very human mate.

She turned to face me from the kitchen then, looking over her shoulders. “Do you want to eat ramen with me?”