“It’s just, Axel has a facial scar too, so shouldn’t I stay and monitor him here? What if the guy you are going to go see isn’t the ultima and we ruin the trust I have here? It would be better for me to…” I say as Brutus cuts me off.
“I need the backup,” Brutus says sternly.
“No. You are wrong. I know he isn’t the Ultima.” I say back, holding my ground.
“You seem mighty sure of that,”
“I am!”
“So then, tell me who do you think it is?”
My blood runs cold. I have backed myself into a corner and I know it. I sigh heavily.
&ld
*Axel*It feels a little wrong to hug a crying woman and feel elated. It’s not her tears that are making me happy, though. No, that would be her very raw and honest confession. In the weeks that I have known Maggie, I have felt a shift inside. A complete thawing of the ice around my heart. I never thought I would want to love again after Madelyn and Abe were mated together. I know it wasn’t Madelyn’s fault, but I hated her and blamed her, too.I understand it now. Her use of the bond to save me. And now that I have my own mate, one who I trust and love, I want nothing more than to call my old best friend and tell her all about it and hear how happy her life has been. I can’t believe how much I fought this blessing, convincing myself it was some stupid werewolf curse that would bring me nothing but pain.For once, a woman could look at me for more than a few seconds with something other than horror or the
I stare down at the faint woman in my arms as my brain spins out of control. Elation zooms through me like an over-caffeinated person, only to be hammered down by regret. This isn’t how I wanted the mating process to go. Yeah, I love her, but this is still a new love. Love with the potential for the things she claimed she wanted moments earlier. Love, plus this bond has made us both go crazy and I’m not sure we are better for it.She officially marked me, And I reciprocated the act. She can no longer leave on a whim and I can no longer hide from her what I am. What will happen when she finds out I’m the Ultima? Sure, maybe she will stay and try to understand. But there is a much more likely outcome- her leaving me like everyone else when they found out my identity. On the plus side, I will have a valid reason for my red eyes and won’t have to lie to her about that.Maggie groans and slaps her hand over her neck
*Maggie*Three minutes with Cora and Sarah looking starry-eyed and planning my future has me ready to tear my hair out. I look frantically for Axel, hoping he is close enough to save me. I sigh in defeat when I can’t get my eyes on him. The last time I had ‘girl talk’ was with my two best friends who strong-armed me into hiking the day I got bit. The same day I met Axel.“Maggie, Maggie?” Sarah says, rubbing my arm.“Uh, sorry, what was that?” She frowns and looks at me with concern.“What color dress do you want to wear for the ceremony?”-Where are you?- I ask Axel frantically through the mind link. I can hear him chuckling in my head.-Miss me already?- I swear I can hear the smugness in his tone.-I’m feeling overwhelmed and I just think I need to lie down. I feel drained.--Just tell Cora you’re not feeling well and h
*Maggie* The roar of the crowd shakes the tent sides as Emal transforms into his massive white elephant. Ginger looks tiny next to him as she crawls onto his trunk. The crowd goes wild as she stands and puts both hands up. Emal walks around the ring twice before going to the center and going up on his hind legs. He uses the force of his trunk to propel Giner up into the air. She soars like an angel, her arms open wide. Her momentum slows and just as quickly as shooting her up, she plummets back toward the ground. Gregor takes a hold of her ankle and swings her up into the air once more. Hans then swings through the air and Ginger snaps her fingers right in front of him and he transforms into a monkey, grabbing her tightly and tossing her back to Gregor, who then turns into a monkey. “It’s pretty amazing, huh?” Axel whispers in my ear. The hair on my neck stands on edge at the sound of his voice. “Did you know they were adding al
*Axel* Maggie reaches out as if trying to grab hold of something, then stepping forward off of the tightrope, she lurches forward and falls. Her body looks limp as it twists and turns through the air like a rag doll. The crowd screams in horror and Ginger is frantically calling out to her. I can sense that Maggie is lost in her mind, as the only fear I can feel is my own. I run as fast as I can, trying to get to her, knowing I won’t be fast enough. The only thing I can think of doing is bellowing out what she should do. In order to be heard above the crowd, I reach deep and scream out to Maggie. “SHIFT!” I can feel the word rumble through my chest and burst through my voice box with such a force that the surrounding ground shakes. Maggie’s body snaps and breaks as it transforms into the purest wolf I have ever seen. Her white fur looks like it is glowing as it comes crashing to the ground with a rough landing. The crowd gr
“Your dad?” I ask her as she frantically paces the rug.I try to reach out and pull her back to sitting, but she is too caught up in her own mind to notice. My t-shirt only covers so much over her and her long legs are becoming a distraction. It is increasingly harder to focus on comforting her when my own pain is forming. This damn mate bond is pulled taut and wants nothing more than for us to finish the process.“Yes! He was here.” She groans like I’m not following the conversation.“Are you sure?” I ask, shaking my head at the thoughts that don’t belong there, at least not presently.“Yes, I think I know what my own father looks like.” She scoffs.“Okay, well, what can I do to help. Do you want me to help you find him?”She looks at me like I have gone crazy.“No, I don’t want to find him. That means I would have to talk
*Maggie*Axel has his arm wrapped firmly around my midsection, holding me close. Every time I try to move, he tugs me back and mutters incoherently. It’s since become a game to see how far I can move away before he notices and curls me back into him. After my last four attempts, I spin to face him.He sleeps with a smile on his face. Everything about him seems so regal and at peace. His scar is pressed into the pillow, so for the first time, I can get a good look at what he looked like before his brother tried to kill him. Axel has an angelic bone structure with high strong-looking cheekbones and a strong brow. His nose is in perfect proportion to his face and his stubble is nothing short of sexy.I run my hand along his cheek gently, trying to memorize how he looks, how he feels, before it this all blows up in my face. It was wrong of me to start this, but is it so wrong to want to be loved for who I am, even just for a night.
*Axel* It feels as if the ground beneath me disappears as I fall through the lies and deceit Maggie has laid so thick at my feet. I should move away from her, scream, push her back to her friends who plotted with her. I can hear the murmuring behind me as my pack realizes what this man is saying. She played us. Not just me, but my family. The people I am supposed to protect, and I allowed it because I was so desperate to feel loved. I can’t feel anger. I am beyond wanting to explode and fight. My emotions are overrun with exhaustion. My life has been fraught with trying to be enough. Trying to be worthy of someone like her, only to be falsely convinced I am as a sick joke. My stomach churns at the thought of how far she had gone in her ruse. She mated with me. She hates what I am so much that she marked me and mated me, ruining me for anyone else to come. At every turn, I tried to be sure this was what she w