The Bond That Binds Us

14: Just Forget It

I walk down the hall quickly, hoping I don't run into Alanis or Adaira until later. I still haven't come up with an explanation for why I ran off, tears flying off my face, leaving Axel out in the courtyard, and locking myself in my room for hours. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best way to handle everything.

"Care to explain for your hasty escape earlier?" A deep, smooth voice calls from behind me. I grimace. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Shit.

"Axel." I whirl around to face him. He's crossing his arms, leaning against the wall, and watching me with an unreadable expression. "I don't think I owe you an explanation." Be a good mate, Safira. Don't fight with him, I remind myself. "But, um, you deserve one. Look, the kiss, it was just the bond, and I wasn't able to control myself. But I'll work on that. It'd be really nice if we could just... er... forget the entire thing?"

"Oh." I catch an odd flicker of disappointment and hurt in his eyes, but it's gone so fast I don't know if it was just my imagination. His jaw clenches and he looks off to the side. "Of course."

"Did anyone notice?" I asked, praying that no one in his family, besides Alanis and Adaira, knew of how awful I'd handled a delicate situation.

"They didn't see you running off, but Alanis has a big mouth so I'm sure she told them." His voice is painfully distant.

"Do they, um, know what happened before I ran off?"

"No." He tells me, still avoiding my eyes. "And don't worry, we'll never speak of it again, so no one will find out." I can't help but notice the bitterness laced in his words. Why was he reacting this way? I'm sure he regretted the kiss more than I did, seeing as he's the one that's been keeping me at arm's length the entire time.

"Oh." I'm too confused by his response to say anything else.

"Dinner's in a couple of minutes. My family and I always eat together at the table. It's our time to talk about our day, any problems with the pack, basically anything. Since you're now a part of our family, it's mandatory that you attend these dinners everyday." He commands.

"Okay." I respond obediently.

Axel's green eyes shift to look at mine, and surprise registers on his face. "You have nothing else to say? You're not going to argue?" A bewildered Axel is something I rarely see.

I shrug. "It sounds kind of sweet, actually. I haven't had a meal with a family in a long time."

His expression softens, and I stiffen as he takes a step towards me. But instead of approaching me any further or comforting me, he just looks away again and says, "I'm glad you've finally learned your place. Be down in ten minutes. And change into something acceptable. I suggest something in the closet I ordered for you."

I'm supposed to be a good mate to this coldhearted jerk? He's making it extremely hard. But did I expect anything else? Of course he's back to pushing me away. It's become somewhat of a regular pattern for us.

"Okay." I step around him and head back to the room to change, not bothering to look back. Once in my empty room, I walk to the walk-in closet and let out a gasp. It's completely full with lavish clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and I'm glad there aren't any price tags, because I'm sure I'd faint if I caught sight of them. I've never seen such fine things in my life, much less owned them. I'm sure they were brought in from somewhere specially. I take a silk dress off of a rack and inspect it. It's lavender and simple, with a loose bow you can tie around the waist. I take off the clothes I'm wearing now and shimmy into the dress. I gasp at how soft it feels on my skin. There's a floor length mirror in here too, and I'm stunned when I see how the dress looks at me. It isn't skin tight or hugging my body closely, but it does show off my dainty waist and petite figure. I look like something I've never looked like before in my life. Elegant.