Chapter 33 Bloom

The rich scent of blueberries and juniper lingered in the room, clinging to the cabin's wooden walls until it felt like I was trapped inside an invisible circle. The crushing Alpha aura pouring off the towering figure in front of me pressed down on every instinct screaming for self-preservation. Still, I managed to hide my trembling hands behind the thick walls I'd spent years building around myself.

The man standing before me was Cassian. But the endless darkness burning in his eyes... the ancient, ageless authority carved into his expression... That belonged entirely to Axel.

The warmth of the fingers that had wiped away my tears still lingered against my cheek.  Trying to shake off the shock of that unexpectedly gentle touch, I took a step back. Axel didn't let me.

Without saying a word, he pointed toward the chair. The strange exhaustion weighing down my body won the battle before I could protest, and I slowly sat. He remained directly in front of me, leaning closer as though determined to erase every inch of distance between us.

When he finally spoke, the voice was Cassian's... But the rough, rumbling growl beneath every word belonged to the ancient wolf inside him.

"I don't believe this legend is just another dusty fairy tale, Bloom."

Unlike Cassian's impulsive certainty, Axel spoke with the calm conviction of someone carrying centuries of memories.

"My father—the Alpha—and every noble bloodline buried in those libraries can spend their lives searching for answers. I don't care what they find."

His gaze never left mine.

"I know what my own soul feels."

His eyes darkened until the blue nearly disappeared.

"For years, I slept inside this man's body." His voice dropped into an even deeper growl. "Like an ordinary wolf. The pack hierarchy... endless power struggles... none of it ever mattered to me."

A brief silence settled between us.

"Until I heard you."

Another heartbeat passed.

"Until we came to this town."

The air itself felt heavier.

"The moment we crossed into this territory..." he admitted quietly, "...it felt like my soul was waking from a sleep that had lasted centuries. A painful awakening."

His jaw tightened.

"Cassian couldn't understand what was happening. He thought it was simple curiosity. That he was fascinated because you were a hybrid."

A low, dangerous rumble escaped him.

"But it wasn't him losing control."

"It was me."

His eyes locked onto mine with terrifying intensity.

"Because the moment I sensed you..." His voice softened, becoming almost reverent. "...my soul recognized the emptiness hidden beneath the body everyone believes has no wolf."

He leaned even closer. A possessive smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

"So don't sit behind those walls of yours and try to push me away, little fox."

The Alpha aura flooding from him grew even heavier.

"You feel it too."

His words carried absolute certainty.

"In your mind."

"In your body."

"So don't deny it."

"I can see the way your muscles tense whenever we're close."

"I can hear your heartbeat change."

"And no matter how stubborn your pride is..." His nostrils flared slightly. "...I can smell exactly how your body responds to our scent."

He never spoke Dominic's name. He didn't need to. The conversation shifted there naturally, guided by nothing but a wolf's instincts.

"And that redhead..."

The growl that slipped through his clenched teeth sent another chill through the room.

"The wolf inside him is simply struggling against its chains."

There wasn't hatred in Axel's voice. Only raw instinct.

"He's just a wolf that's been locked away, Bloom."

His blackened gaze held mine captive.

"But my soul..."

He placed a hand against his own chest.

"My soul is bound directly to yours."

"I can feel it."

"So I don't care what you think of the strangers circling around you."

His voice became impossibly firm.

"Because the truth of that bond..."

"...belongs to me."

Every word crashed through my thoughts like lightning. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs. Some deep, hidden part of my soul trembled at the certainty in this ancient wolf's voice...

But the hurt. The betrayal. The pride I'd wrapped around myself like armor... They refused to let those walls fall. I held his gaze without flinching. Those impossibly dark blue eyes never blinked.

"I respect you, Axel."

My own voice came out cold. Steady.

"And what you've told me means more than you probably realize."

I inhaled slowly.

"But none of it changes anything."

"It doesn't matter what you feel."

"It doesn't matter what legend you believe in."

"It doesn't even matter whether we're destined mates."

My chest tightened.

"As long as Cassian is holding another woman in his life..."

The words tasted bitter.

"As long as I have to watch him flirt with her every single day..."

"As long as I have to watch him kiss her..."

"...neither of you has the right to take away my freedom."

I refused to look away.

"You don't get to act possessive."

"You don't get to be jealous."

"You lost that right a long time ago."

Slowly, I rose from the chair. Standing over him, I forced myself through the crushing pressure of his Alpha aura.

"And one more thing." I folded my arms.

"If this legend... this secret... is connected to my life and my future..."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"I deserved to know before anyone else."

My voice sharpened.

"You chose silence instead of trust."

"So don't stand in front of me now expecting acceptance."

For the first time... Axel hesitated. His jaw tightened. For a fleeting second, Cassian surfaced again beneath those dark eyes. Regret. Helplessness. Human.

The deadly silence stretching between us grew tighter by the second. Then—

Something reached my ears. A faint sound...

Carried on the wind from somewhere deep inside the forest. My attention snapped away instantly. Every instinct sharpened. Every sense reached beyond the cabin walls. Between the cracks in the old wood and the whispering breeze, another scent drifted toward me.

Weak.

Sweet. Wolf. It didn't belong to anyone from the pack house. It cut straight through Cassian's overwhelming scent of blueberries and juniper.

I recognized it immediately. That familiar scent. That locked-away energy. Dominic.