MISSY

Maddox sat on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees; I paced the floor opposite him, chewing on my nail. Faint bruises painted his knuckles now that he washed the b***d from his hands.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled.

I didn’t respond. I had been silent since we got back, wracking my brain trying to puzzle together how that i***t’s words elicited that explosive response. I paused for a moment, looking at Maddox still staring at the ground, then resumed my pacing.

What brought this on? Yea, I could admit Jeremy’s words stung some. We used to be friends when we were back in elementary school, but he distanced himself after my mom died like everyone else. He knew my mom wasn’t a junkie; that was just the favored rumor that was spread after her death.

Getting milk spilled over my head was unpleasant, but it didn’t warrant Maddox almost beating him to death. There was so much rage coming from Maddox when he attacked Jeremy; I was paralyzed for a minute.

“Can you please stop pacing?” Maddox asked. I looked at him to find him finally looking up at me.

“I just don’t get why. I can’t make sense of it,” I told him. I grabbed at my hair. “You rearranged someone’s face when I could have gone to the bathroom and washed out the milk.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I snapped.”

“Maddox, it was more than that. You were completely out of control!” He had to know just how worried I was. I could even feel the stress seeping out of me.

“You were right; we shouldn’t have gone back yet, okay?” he said defeatedly.

“I want to know why you almost killed him over an insult, Maddox,” I demanded.

“You were hurt. What he said hurt my mate, and I reacted,” he reasoned.

“That wasn’t a reaction. That was annihilation,” I said, shaking my head. “It was a total overreaction. Maddox, what if you get expelled over this?”

“We go to a school full of werewolves, some of which are at mating age. There is no way I am going to get expelled for breaking his nose,” he said.

“Do not deflect!” I shouted. He looked hurt by my outburst, so I tried to calm myself down. Maddox rubbed his shoulders, looking sad.

“I snapped because it’s my fault,” he muttered.

I looked at him bewildered. “I have been the center point of teasing and taunts for years, but it’s your fault? You are going to have to connect the dots for me,” I told him.

He sighed. “I left you here. I left to go search out Warwick. We should have been at school all this time together. If we had walked through the doors on the first day together, I could have prevented all of this. From day one, I would have made it known that they weren’t to go near you. Instead, I left you just like I left Langston. You both got hurt because I ran when it was more important for me to stay.”

Maddox dropped his head into his hands, he wasn’t crying, but I could feel his desolation. All I could do for a moment was stand there blinking as I tried to process what he had just admitted fully.

I went over to the couch, lowering myself next to him. I laid my head on his shoulder. “What happened to Langston?” I asked softly. He shook his head. “Maddox, please tell me.”

“Things didn’t go as planned…” he said. His voice was so quiet I had to listen closely. “We found Warwick’s hiding place but ran into another Sire there before we could get out. Langston made an opening, and I ran. I knew I shouldn’t have left him.” His fists curled over his eyes and his shoulders tensed. I reached up and rubbed his back in small circles. “Bygrave crushed his spine, Missy. I left, and Langston almost died. I just barely got back to him, but it was already too late. He might never walk again.”

“I had no idea,” I said. My heart sunk. My mate felt guilty for leaving Langston to fight a Sire on his own, and it was worsening his guilt for leaving me alone. I was so selfish about him going; I made it all about how much I needed him. Maddox needed me too, and I wasn’t there for him like he needed.

“I didn’t tell you, so you had no way to know. I was so relieved to have you in my arms again finally. I didn’t want to ruin that with anything that had happened while we were gone,” he admitted. I continued to rub his back, and his shoulders slowly relaxed.

Finally, I had to ask. “Maddox, did you tell my dad about any of this?”

“No,” he said, sitting up. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face looked drained. “I was going to call him after school today to check on Langston. I just wanted to go back to normal with you.”

I nodded. “I think we should go talk to him,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

He raised his hand and ran it over my tangled, milk-soaked hair. His eyes followed his fingers. “Can it wait? I just want to be with you right now,” he said. I bit my l*p and nodded.

“First thing in the morning,” I offered.

He nodded. “Let’s go wash your hair. I don’t like being reminded of what happened,” he said, his eyes still avoiding mine. I reached up and cupped his cheek lightly. It looked like we had some healing to do.

LEMON

Maddox and Missy quickly disappeared after Liam and his uncle arrived to help Mr. Langston. I waited in my office, and soon after, Axel joined me. He told me he needed to go and would check on me the first chance he got. I didn’t ask him to explain, but I could surmise it had to do with however Mr. Langston and Maddox ended up in their conditions.

The following morning, I woke up thinking about Axel. Without any hesitation, he had taken control of the situation. He even calmed me down and refocused me. I had never seen that much b***d in my life; I panicked until he stepped in.

I decided not to go to work, instead opting to stay home. All day, I moved about the house cleaning or doing laundry with Axel right there in the back of my head. He was so capable, acting so rationally and quickly in every emergency.

I was also slightly worried that I had not heard from him since the previous afternoon. I knew he said he would check in with me when he was free, but it had been a long time. I had no right to demand anything of his time or ask that he tell me where he was, but it still had me nervous.

I was relieved when a knock on my door around lunchtime brought me to find him on my porch. He looked a bit haggard but was also freshly showered. “Hey,” he said with a tired smile.

“Glad to see you’re alright,” I said, stepping back so he could come in. He raised an eyebrow at me as he passed.

“Was someone worried about me?” he smirked.

“Only because I am so used to you always being around. I never go more than eight hours without seeing you,” I pointed out, trying to hide my blush. He laughed.

“Fair enough. Sorry, things took longer than expected, and I really needed a shower,” he explained.

“You don’t owe me anything,” I said, walking to the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He went to the kitchen table and took a seat. “Have you eaten today?” I asked, changing the subject.

“No,” he said, sounding a bit amused.

“We could have lunch, then,” I said, grabbing my phone. I texted the chef at the inn to get something sent over for us. I needed to go grocery shopping, so the options in my cupboards were limited. “What do you want to do while we wait?”

Axel shrugged. “I got all the time in the world,” he grinned. I looked away from him, not wanting to get lost in his sexy gaze.

“Movie?” I squeaked. I cleared my throat and tried again. “We could watch a movie or something. It should only be twenty minutes or so until lunch is here.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said. I led the way into the living room, grabbing the remote from the table and tossing it to him.

“Guests choose,” I said, taking a seat on one side of the couch. Axel sank into the other end, leaving a cushion in between us. He flipped through the channels until he settled on some crime thriller I hadn’t seen before.

We sat comfortably for a few minutes, watching the movie he chose until he interrupted the silence. “So, how do you feel after yesterday? I know it was sort of a lot to deal with.”

“I’m okay,” I said. It was true. As soon as I knew he was okay, yesterday’s events didn’t seem to matter much.

“I was a little worried that you didn’t go to the inn today because of it,” he admitted.

I ducked my head. “I thought it was a good day to take off,” I said. I looked sideways at him as he nodded. His eyes were watching me, and I could tell he was trying to figure something out.

The doorbell chimed, and I knew it was our lunch. I hopped up to collect it, bringing the bag to the coffee table. “We can eat in here,” I said. “No sense in stopping the movie.”

Axel scooted over on the couch to have better access to the table. I set a box down in front of him, and he opened it greedily. I sat down to dig into mine as he started to inhale his.

“Are you even tasting that?” I laughed. He paused mid-bite, letting out a small laugh.

“Sorry,” he said. “I guess I was more hungry than I thought.”

“Here,” I said, pushing some of mine to his box. “I never finish it all anyway.”

He smiled brightly. “Thanks!” We went back to eating, and I didn’t realize that the distance between us had almost completely closed. When Axel finished, he sat back, draping his arm on the back of the couch behind me.

When I was finished, I sat back too, pretending not to notice his arm almost over my shoulder. It felt rude to scoot away from him back my original spot at the armrest, so I sat there watching the movie while internally panicking.

–

The movie was close to ending, and I was planning my escape. We hadn’t moved at all for the rest of the film. I was so afraid to give him the wrong impression either way because I had no clue what impression I wanted to give him.

“Lemon,” he whispered, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Yea,” I turned to him.

“Do you think you will ever act on those feelings?” he asked. I turned away from him, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. I should have known he wouldn’t forget my words.

He brought his hand up to my face, turning me back to him. His fingers were warm and rough against my cheek. “I just need to know that I am not wasting my time chasing you when you don’t want me to,” he said softly.

“Axel, I…” I trailed off. How did I explain to him the constant internal feud I was putting myself through. I remembered my list. “There are so many what-ifs that I just can’t ignore.”

His eyes search mine for a minute. “What if I could love all your what-ifs away?” I let out a small gasp. Axel just continued, “I know you have reservations and worries. I just want the chance to show you that we could have something more than any of that. I promise they won’t matter. I care about you too much to let them matter, Lemon. All I am asking for is a chance. Take a leap with me. Maybe the real what-if is what if we could fall in love?”

That was the single most romantic thing I had ever heard, and it was directed at me. In a matter of seconds, Axel swept my worries under the rug. They didn’t matter anymore as I looked up into his shining eyes. I could give him a chance; I wanted to give him a chance.

“Okay,” I breathed.

“Okay?” Axel asked.

“Let’s see where this goes,” I said with my heart thundering in my chest. His face broke out into the most enormous, adorable grin I had ever seen.Belongs to - All rights reserved.