Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Axel POV
I lay on my back, panting for air. We have been up all night, fucking like rabbits and Elara is finally asleep.
It was magnificent. She was beautiful, glorious, a goddess. I never experienced sex like this before, and as the scent of her heat wrapped around us, I doubted I ever would again. This was completely ... beyond.
My gaze meets Kane’s, and he does not have to speak to me to tell me he feels the same. He is conspicuously quiet, and tension radiates from him in waves. I hope Elara cannot feel it and wakes up.
“This is a problem,” he finally says to me.
“I know,” I agree, getting quietly out of bed so as not to disturb Elara. “If Elara isn’t pregnant with one of our pups, it would be a miracle.”
“If she is pregnant with one of our pups, it would be a problem,” Kane grimaces as we gather our clothes and get out of the room.
Right now, everything was a lose-lose.
“She’s going to hate us,” Kane whispers, “Are we right doing so?”
“It’s probably for the best,” I reply, pulling up my pants. I know what he is thinking. But the thing is, we don’t actually have other choice.
Kane nods and puts on his T-shirt before we sneak out of Elara’s quarters, into the hallway.
“We need to shower before we see Alice,” Kane exhales deeply. “She’s going to know regardless, and she’s going to be pissed as hell, but we can at least give her the respect of washing off as much as we can.”
“Once we explain everything to her, she’ll understand,” I scrub a hand through my sex-mussed hair, scratching at my scalp. “I hope, at least.”
“I hope you’re right,” Kane’s lips settle into a grim line. “I can’t bear the thought of how much this is going to hurt her.”
“I know it sounds harsh,” I shrug, shaking my head. “But if she can’t handle this, that’s another problem. And honestly, I can’t even remotely think about that right now. We already have enough to deal with.”
“Agreed.” Kane starts walking down the hallway, heading toward our quarters. “All I want at this moment is to take the longest, hottest shower in the history of wolves, and burn this scent off me.”
“Ouch. That seems a little extreme,” I shove my hands in my jean pockets as we walk.
“It’s the only option I have right now,” Kane mutters. “If I don’t get her washed off me, I’m going to go mad with wanting to go back to her.”
I stopped walking, stunned by his words..
I have been having similar thoughts, and I tried to shove them out of my mind, blaming it on her heat. But what if it was not her heat? What if she truly was supposed to be our mate?
Even now, I want to go back to her bed and curl up beside her, see what her eyes look like first thing in the morning when they are still drowsy and full of dreams.
But damn, I just can’t get Elara’s beautiful cinnamon-colour hair out of my mind, or those doe-like eyes of hers that pretend to be calm but reveal her naivety.Even her beastly, blunt temper, I loved it all. Even her wild, blunt temper—I loved it all. I know it’s wrong, and I should stick with who I chose, but it feels like the moon goddess played a joke on me and Kane.
Nope, I shake my head and continue walking. I am not going down that road. She is not our mate, Alice is. We have known each other for two years, and Alice is our mate.
Elara POV
I am not surprised to wake up in an empty bed. Not one iota, but that did not stop the sting.
Part of me hoped that them mating me last night meant that they changed their minds about Alice. About everything, and even though everything was going to be a mess, I was still their mate.
Well, I am their mate now. They had definitely marked me. Over and over and over.
I stretch my arms above my head, my yawn turning into a groan as all of the overworked muscles in my body cry out. Including everything between my legs. Hell, even my jaw hurt.
I get out of bed and go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and throw on the robe hanging on the back of the door. Hopefully, my belongings will be delivered today.
Padding out to the mini kitchen area, I scour the cabinets and fridge for something to eat. Finding the main kitchen and searching for food, where I am likely to run into other people, sounds pretty miserable. Right now, I just want to sit with myself and my thoughts. All eighteen million of them.
The ding of my cell phone interrupts my search, and I look for it in the living room, where I left it on the coffee table last night. I grab it and look at the screen. A text from Mindy.
Mindy: Gurrrrrrrrrl.
I laugh out loud. This means about thirteen different things right now. All of them require more than a text, so I called her.
“Tell me.” She demands when she picks up.
“Tell you what?” I asked innocently.
“Fuck you,” she snorts. “Tell me.”
“Yes, we mated,” I let out a loud sigh.
“And?” She asks eagerly.
“And what?” I tease.
“Don’t fuck with my emotions right now,” Mindy gives an exasperated groan. “You know damn well what.”
“It was ... amazing.” I bite my lower lip, contemplating not telling her more. “But I don’t know what happens now. It was literally a let’s-get-this-over-with thing right before midnight, but then it became ... more?”
“What do you mean by ‘more’?” Even though I cannot see her, I know Mindy well enough to tell that she is biting her thumbnail.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” I groan, frustrated. “When I woke up this morning, they were gone. So, I’m not taking that as a good sign.”
“Meh,” she replies. “That doesn’t mean much. They’re Alphas. I’m sure they have a lot going on. Monroe and Maxim left early this morning, too. They have early training every day.”
“But you know where they went,” I point out. “Which means they told you goodbye when they left.”
“You’re overthinking it,” she comforts me. “I’m sure they knew they exhausted you and wanted to leave you to sleep and recover so you can do it again today.”
I press my lips tight and scrape my index fingernail along the side of my thumb, a nervous habit I broke a couple of years ago.
“Something doesn’t feel right this morning, but I can’t put my finger on it.” I clear my throat before changing the subject. “Enough about me. How was your night?!”
“Oh, my goddess,” Mindy gushes. “Max and Monroe are gods in bed. I can barely walk this morning. The things they can do with their tongues ... holy shit, I can’t wait for them to get back here and do it all again. I’m pretty sure I’ll be pregnant in no time.”
“Are they...good, though?” I ask cautiously. “Beyond the sexy times portion of things?”
I feel Mindy’s smile before she speaks. Best friends are like that sometimes.
“They are, Elara,” she sighs. “They really are. I think I’m going to have a good life with them. Like, I could fall in love with them.”
“Oh, Mindy,” I smile. “I’m so happy that ...”
Loud pounding on my door interrupts me.
“One second,” I stand up. “Someone’s at the door.”
The pounding continues and becomes more urgent.
Geez, hold your horses, I shake my head as I open the door partially and peek out. Two officers of the High Guard stand there in uniform, serious looks on their faces.
“Miss Montgomery,” one of them approaches me formally. “Please come with us.”
“Uhm, Mindy,” I mumble, looking at them wide-eyed. “I will have to call you back.”
