The Bond That Binds Us

26: Green

Another quick update, and probably the last, for the day! :) Wanted to thank my lovely readers, you all! I do hope you'll comment, share, or vote, but just the fact that you're reading this is kinda awesome. Who am I kidding?! It's hella awesome! 

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I was at my wit's end. Should I run up to Axel and comfort and hug him? Or should I slap the shit out of him for not telling me anything about The Bringers of Hell before? He probably didn't want to worry me with the disheartening and frightening information about the bloodthirsty pack, but as his Luna, I have a right to know! Did he plan to tell me at all, or just leave me in my ignorance? Would he have worried about it all on his own, truly? Suppose, even though it hasn't happened before, that The Bringers of Hell strike us. Our pack wasn't so strong at this very moment. I mean, according to the lady I'd talked to earlier, the pack was hardly as powerful as it had been when The Bringers of Hell had struck the first time, and Axel, the Alpha, was still adjusting to having me as his mate, and Alistair, the Beta, was understandably spending all of his time with and worried about his pregnant wife!

Bumping into a wall, I frown until I feel hands go around my waist and pull me closer. The wall has hands? Looking up, dazed, I manage to make the connection that the wall is Axel. Bloody hell! I know only a moment ago I'd been feeling a multitude of feelings towards him, anger being the prominent ones, but looking into those profound and mesmerizing green eyes, I forgot every single one. How did I ever get someone so handsome?

Ugh! Focus, Saf! He's handsome all right, but he totally left you in the dark about The Bringers of Hell, and you deserved to know! I scold myself, shaking my head to organize my thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Axe asks, amused until he sees my lips twitching with fury.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shout, disentangling myself from his arms.

Taken aback, hurt and confusion flits across his face. "What are you talking about?"

"The Bringers of Hell! That's what I'm talking about! How could you not tell me?"

At first, I can see a plethora of emotions on Axel's face: puzzlement, surprise, hatred, pain, grief, anger, resolve. Then, nothing. His face goes completely blank. If it wasn't for his clenching and unclenching jaw, and hands balling into fists, I might've thought my words had no effect on him.

"It doesn't concern you." He says coldly.

"Axe, don't do this," I've totally forgotten any anger I harbored for him. I plead quietly and soothingly, not wanting the playful Axel I had come to enjoy to retract back into his shell, "not again. Don't push me away again. I'm your Luna; I want you to tell me these things, to share some of your burdens. They're our burdens now, baby."

His jaw stops clenching, and his hands loosen, as his lips part with surprise at my words. "Saf, I really want to, but it hurts so fucking much." He rasps. "They took the most valuable people in the world, to me, my family, and this pack, from me!"

My poor Alpha. I step back into his arms again, snuggling against his chest, both of us remaining quiet for a few minutes. My heart breaks as I realize that he's crying; I can feel each teardrop plop onto my head tenderly. His arms are like a vice around me, and I can hardly breath with how tightly he's holding me, but I don't say anything. I needed to be here for him, completely.

Breaking the silence, I say, "It's been 13 years."

His heart starts beating faster. "Yes, I know."

"They won't come for us again, will they?" I ask, hoping with all my heart that the answer will be no. The lady I'd talked to before had said they wouldn't, but hearing them from Axel, my mate, my Alpha, who I placed my utter faith in, would cause most of my doubts and nagging pangs to vanish.

"I sure hope not," He whispers, and the fear that laces his voice sends shivers down my spine. I'd thought Axel D' Amore didn't fear anything, but to know that even he was terrified by The Bringers of Hell did nothing to calm me down.

"And if they do?" I prod. I hate to spectate, but someone had to.

"Then we're damned. All of us." Axel says solemnly, and the words sound like a guarantee, not even the slightest trace of a doubt within them.

—*—

Axel had made it a habit of sleeping with me every night, ever since that very first time we slept together. We'd switch off the rooms, sometimes we'd sleep in his bed, sometimes mine, but that's all we did: sleep. I know he wants it to go further, and I'll admit, I do too, and oh so badly, but we both need to control ourselves. I didn't want my first experience with him to be something rushed and a result of pent up desire on both our parts. I wanted it to mean something, to extend past lust, to another four letter word. I'd shared my thoughts on that, and however reluctantly, Axel understood.

Being in his arms at night, as the two of us talked ourselves to sleep, brought a greater pleasure than sex ever could.

"What's your favorite color?" That's my question to him for this particular night, and he groans.

"That's such a cliche question!" He says, and I grin. "But, if I had to pick, it'd be black."

"Ugh! Boring!" I respond playfully.

He tightens his grip around my waist and pulls me flush against him, until my back is against his perfectly defined and sculpted chest. I can feel his six pack through the thin material of my nightdress, and bite my lip to keep the desire pooling within me at bay.

"Really? What's yours?" I can feel his smile as he peppers kisses down my neck and across my back, sending shots of ecstasy into my body with each one.

"G-Green," I reply, panting heavily from the lust that's getting hard to stifle.

"Is there a reason for that?" I can't see him, as my back is to him, but I just know he has a cocky and stupid smirk on his face.

Without thinking, I admit, "Easy. It's the color I see whenever I close my eyes, because it's the color of your eyes."

It was a pretty obvious answer, but I can tell he's surprised by my admitting it aloud. I blush in the dark, and am grateful he can't see me. I hadn't meant to be so direct, but the words had just flowed out before I could stop them.

"You really see me when you close your eyes?" He asks teasingly, but the surprise and warmth in his voice warms my heart.

"I said I see your gorgeous eyes whenever I close my eyes, idiot." I joke, and continue, "But, if you must know, yes. I do think of you too, sometimes."

"Only sometimes? Because you consume my thoughts all the time. It's shocking, really. I can't think of one damn thing without relating it back to you somehow." He confesses, voice raw with emotion. "Your smile, God I'd walk to the ends of the Earth just to see it one time. You, smiling, that's all I think about. It makes my heart and insides feel weird."

My breath hitches in my throat hearing his words, so real, and so filled with ardor. I try and come up with a response, but before I can say anything, Axel easily and swiftly turns me around so he's facing me. Caressing my cheek, looking into my eyes with his piercing green ones, which have flashed that gray color again, naturally pink lips pulled into a small smile, Axel says softly,

"You're my fix for life, Safira."

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A big thank you to Aneeshaimran and ForellaP for voting for this chapter! :) Your votes are what keep me motivated! 

Oh and btw, if any of you have voted for my chapters, and I've failed to address it at the end of the chapter, please PM me so I can do so! I have to show my appreciation to my dedicated readers in some way! :)