Chapter 311
AXEL
“How in the hell can you say you rejected Emily for her sake?” Aaron demands heatedly.
“There are things about me you don’t know, Aaron. Dangerous things.”
Aaron scoffs. “You expect me to be surprised about that? You’re not exactly an open book. And I’ve heard the rumors.”
“Most of what you heard about me is just that. Rumors. A lot of them started by Karolina to discredit me.”
Aaron seems to pause and take this in.
“Why would Karolina want to discredit you?”
“Because she knew I was onto her, and she needed me out of the way. She couldn’t kill me, so locking me up on false charges was obviously the next best thing.”
Aaron is definitely re–examining everything he thought he knew about me.
“Okay, I’m listening,” he says, some of the anger going out of him. “Who are you really, and why were you after Karolina?”
“My real name is Axiel Mercier-”
At this Aaron’s expression turns into shock.
And this is exactly why I never use my real name anymore.
“Axiel Mercier…as in the slayer?” he demands incredulously.
“One and the same,” I reply in an affirmative, and then let my eyes glow with the amethyst color of my dual nature. No one else in the world has eyes like mine, and no one ever will.
“What are you?” Aaron demands. “I’ve heard the stories. You’re immortal. No simple wolf is immortal.”
“I’m a hybrid,” I tell him, and this time I flash him my fangs. “My mother was bitten by a vampire when she was pregnant with me. As she started dying, she went into labor and I was born seemingly healthy, even though my family assumed the poison from the vampire bite would infect me too. It did…just not the way anyone expected.”
“How old are you?” Aaron asks, and so far, he seems more intrigued than pissed off or like he’s about to murder me.
“Centuries,” I reply. “I don’t remember exactly how many years any longer.”
Aaron shakes his head in disbelief and begins to pace. “And you came here after Karolina?”
“I didn’t know Karolina was the one I was after. I’d just been
Wilig between wolves and vampires
in these parts, and I needed to put a stop to it before the peace treaty was threatened.”
“And Emily?” Aaron asks, voice lower and quieter this time.
I glance away from him, not wanting him to see the truth in my
gaze.
“I never expected Emily. In all my long years of life, the Moon Goddess has never gifted me with a mate. Why would she? My very existence is a curse.”
Aaron mutters a curse under his breath and starts pacing again.
“Then why Emily? Why now? Hasn’t she suffered enough?”
I’m not sure if he’s talking to me, the Moon Goddess or himself.
I force myself not to be offended that he makes the connection between Emily being fated to me and it causing her to suffer.
It’s basically the truth, after all.
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I only knew it could not be. It’s dangerous for her, and for me.”
Aaron nods, and there’s a new light of respect in his gaze as he
stares at me.
“You did the right thing, Axel. I can’t imagine it would have been easy, denying yourself and your mate the bond, knowing you
were causing her pain by rejecting her like that. Many wouldn’t have been strong enough to do the same. I can see now, what you meant about trying to protect her.”
I don’t need Aaron’s approval, but I appreciate it all the same.
“I’m glad you can see the truth of things,” I reply.
“But Karolina is dead,” Aaron says, brow creasing in confusion. “Why are you still here?”
“You saw what happened the other night–vampires brazenly walking onto wolf territory in a way they haven’t dared for hundreds of years. My work here is not done.”
Understanding dawns in Aaron’s expression.
“That’s why the vampires reacted the way they did when you walked in.”
I nod in agreement. “I didn’t lie, I’ve never met those vampires before. But vampires have a unique way of sensing my hybrid nature that wolves cannot. They knew who I was. Like you, they’ve heard the stories. Unfortunately, they’re not smart enough to be worried about me.”
“What are you going to do?” Aaron asks.
“Continue monitoring the situation, gather intel and be ready to act when I’m needed. Technically, I can only intervene when treaty lines have been broken. And while the vampires coming onto your lands was brazen as hell, they haven’t acted with
aggression or broken any laws. Yel.”
Aaron is silent for a moment as he takes this all in. “And if myself or another wolf were the one to cross a line?”
“I think you know the answer to that, Aaron,” I tell him in
return.
Aaron’s grim expression hardens, and I can see we understand each other.
“Still want me in charge of your pack while you’re in Romania?” I ask with a hint of dark humor.
“Now, more than ever,” Aaron answers, which surprises me.
“You can offer us–and the rest of the wolves in Montana- real protection against the vampires. I’ll be able to rest easier, knowing you’re keeping my pack safe in my absence.”
“Very well,” I agree.
“However,” Aaron says, and his narrowed gaze is icy as he regards me. “Emily is off limits. Should you change your mind about the mating bond, know that I will never accept someone as dangerous as you for my sister. I don’t care if you are Axiel, the Slayer of Legend. If you so much as touch Emily in anything other than a platonic way, I will hunt you down. And I will kill you.”
