Axton POV
I sat back in my chair as I hold onto Ellie's waist. Ellie leans her back against me as I try to focus on her heartbeat.
She would have died in my arms, I think as the image I had been dreaming about for so many years flashes across my eyes.
She's safe. She's here now, Knox tries to reassure himself and me, Mate and pup are both safe and they are going to stay that way, he growls out. I know my wolf well enough that he is still thinking about Cortez.
The room has gone silent as they all start to file out. Michael stares at Jade as he follows her out of the room in longing. It's the same longing gaze I looked at Ellie with when she first got here. I can't believe it's only been a few weeks.
I feel Ellie's hand move up my arm and she leans her head back to look at me.
Are you alright? She asks me through our mate bond.
I smile at our connection being completely restored.
I'm alright, sweetheart, I tell her.
Promise me? You're not mad about what Michael did? She sounds shocked.
I give her a light smile, I will always be angry with him for taking you away from me.
But he did it to protect his mate. He protected me and Zea.
I know, I tell her, squeezing her waist gently as I nuzzle into her neck. She lets out a sigh of content as I breathe in her scent.
I feel her tense under me for a second, causing me to lift my eyes to her face. I can see her biting her bottom lip, nervously. Her tell-tale sign that she wants to ask me something, "What is it, sweetheart?"
"What?" She asks, seeming shocked as I lightly chuckle at her reaction. She never even registers when she bites her lip when she wants to ask something or when she shuffles her feet when she is nervous or when she subconsciously licks her lips. I never comment or tell her about every movement or gesture she makes, because I love them. They tell me exactly how she is feeling and what she wants. If I tell her, she will stop doing them.
"You want to ask me something. Don't you?"
"I just don't want to make you more upset if I bring it up," she mumbles as she plays with my hand.
Moving her quickly, I shift her body around so she is straddling my lap. I move my hands to her lower back, and she rests her forehead against mine, "Ask me."
She looks into my eyes as she places her hands around my neck, "The attack that Michael had seen, where I died," she starts but stops for a second when I growl at the mere thought of her dead.
"I'm sorry," I apologize. She nods her head in acceptance before she continues.
"When I had made it to Madden's pack, right before Zea was born, I didn't hear about any rogue attacks here. If I was destined to die during that attack if I was here, I want to know when it happened?"
"Why?" I ask her, unsure of why she wants to know about that.
"Because I want to know how long it was safe to come back and I never did," her voice cracks as she looks sadly into my eyes before looking down again. I can feel her pain through the bond, and I know it is a reflection of my own.
"Listen to me," I put my hands on each side of her face and I bring her eyes to meet mine, "If I had to choose between being together for four years and losing you or being apart for seven and having the rest of our lives together, I will never have you make a different choice."
Without a second think, I claim her lips. She moans at the movement as I pull her body even closer to mine. Her hands run through my hair, pulling gently. Her moans ring out as my tongue battles hers for dominance. I won of course.
Pulling on the bottom of her shirt, she is out of it with two seconds before my lips are back on hers. Feeling her lack of oxygen, I remove my lips from hers but don't take them off her skin as I kiss down her neck, finally settling of her mark.
I suck and nip at it, causing my beautiful mate to let out a moan. God, what I wouldn't do to always hear her make that sound.
I am about to pick her up and move to the couch when she pulls back. I look at her questioningly as her smile brightens her face, "I love you, Axton."
Giving her a smile of my own, I tell her what I will always feel, "I love you too, Ellie. Always."
Claiming her lips once again, I stand up with her still in my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist as I lay us both on the couch, quickly removing my shirt before I continue to assault her lips and neck in kisses.
We forget about everything for a while as we lose ourselves in each other.
*****
I wake up to the feeling of the familiar tingles going throughout my body. Peeling my eyes open, I look down at my beautiful mate as she sleeps. My arms are around her waist as her head rests on my chests.
As I watch her sleep so peacefully, I study every detail of her. No matter how many times I have memorized her face or her body, I always find something new about her that I love.
"Good morning," she says, barely above a whisper.
I smile down at her, not caring at all that I am caught watching her sleep, "Good morning, sweetheart," I say as I kiss her forehead and pull her closer to me.
She sighs in content, "You know, I don't even remember when we left your office and came to your room," she lightly laughs.
"Our room," I remind her as I continue smiling, "And you probably don't remember because you were a little preoccupied," I tell her as I flip us over before claiming her lips to mine again.
She laughs when I finally pull away, "I guess I did have lots of other things on my mind."
"Or maybe just one big thing," I tease her. She laughs even more when I can see the light pink blush forming on her cheeks, "I'm glad I can still make you blush."
That only causes her to blush even more.
We stay that way for a while, just talking lightly to each other before we both decide that we should really start thinking about getting up. Quickly taking a shower and doing both of our morning routines, I sit on the bed as I wait for Ellie to finish up getting dressed.
When she finally walks out the bathroom ready for the day, she walks over to me in a light sweater and a pair of leggings. I grab her waist and pull her in front of me. She places her arms around my neck and we both just look at each other, "You know," she starts, "You never answered my question yesterday."
"What question?" I ask her.
"When did the attack happen, Axton?" she asks. I drop down my head for a second before looking at her, silently begging her not to talk about it. But I know her better than anyone. She isn't going to let this go, "Please, Axton. Just tell me. You said something about four years."
I nod my head, taking a deep breath before telling her what I want to avoid talking about at all times, "About four years ago, a group of rogues attacked the pack. Exactly like Michael described. It was the biggest group of rogues I had ever seen. During the attack, my father was badly injured. I saw him get taken down."
"I'm so sorry, Axton," she says, but I stop her from saying anything else as I continue.
"You know my father, Ellie. He was stronger than any one of those rogues. What I didn't know when I saw my father fall is that it wasn't the rogue that had brought him to his knees," I tell her, "He had felt my mother's death."
"Axton," she whispers as I see the tears in her eyes. I pull her into a hug as I whisper sweet nothings into her ear, "I didn't know."
"I know you didn't," I tell her as I pull away so she can see my face, "Both my parents died because of that attack and with the knowledge that I would have loss you too, I could not have lived. I saw what happened when my father lost my mother. I felt it when Michael broke our mate bond. That pain, I never want to feel that way again. I don't think I will be able to survive that."
I catch the silent tear as it drops from her eyes, "I promise, Axton. I'm not going anywhere," she seals the promise with a gentle kiss. She pulls away and she decides to change the subject slightly, "What about Alex? I haven't seen her since I got here."
I nod my head at her misunderstanding, "Alex was devastated after the attack. But you know my sister, she wouldn't let anyone see her pain. About a year after the loss of our parents, she found her mate in a neighboring pack. Last time I talked to her, she was doing well. She's happy."
Ellie smiles lightly, "I'm happy for her. She always wanted to fall in love."
"He's good for her. After everything that happened when we were younger and with our parents, she needed him."
She nods her head as I pull her lightly to lay back down on the bed with me, "I'm glad that she's happy."
"Me too," I tell her. I look back at the clock on the side table for the first time all morning. It's only seven and Zea shouldn't be up for a little while, "We have some time before Zea or anybody else wakes up. Why don't you tell me something?"
She smiles brightly as she pushes herself up on the bed so we are both at roughly the same height, "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," I breathe out.
She laughs lightly at my honesty, "Why don't we start with one thing at a time? What do you want to know first?"
I think for a moment before deciding, "How about we start at the beginning? I already know about Cortez and Reid finding you. What happened after that?"
"Well, after I left here for the second time, Reid helped me contact my brother," she starts, "Xander's mate is a witch of sorts. She helped me make it safely through Cortez's men and got me to Blue Moon."
"What do you mean by a witch of sorts?" I ask her.
"I guess I should explain that," she says, "She is an elemental witch. All of her powers are surrounded around the elements and nature. She actually had a run in with Cortez before I had," she looks down for a second before meeting my eyes, "She's the witch that cursed him."
"What?" I sat up fully, shocked.
"After she cursed Cortez, he attacked her. She would have died, but Xander found her. Using the mate bond, he healed her just enough to keep her alive. Cortez has no idea who she is. He never even found out her name. So, when she became Luna of Moonstone, Cortez never blinked," she grabs my hand, squeezing it, "Axton, you can't tell anyone that she is the same witch. Cortez will kill her."
I nod my head, "I promise. It never leaves this room. What happened after you got to Blue Moon?"
"When I made it to Blue Moon, I was about eight months pregnant. Madden is one of my brother's best friends, so he and his mate Layla took me in. When my water broke, Layla helped me deliver Zea."
I look at her, sadness probably evident on my face, "I wish I had been there for you. I wish I had been there when my daughter was born."
"That's the thing, in a way, you were," I give her a questioning look when she pauses before she explains further, "Before I went into labor, I had gotten attacked by a stray rogue who attacked near the border."
"What!" I growl out.
"I took care of him, but he clawed me pretty good in the shoulder. When my water broke, I had already lost half my blood. I went into labor, but I didn't have enough energy. But then I felt it," she smiles at me, "I could feel your strength through our bond. I can't describe it because I thought the bond was broken. Yet when I needed it the most, I could feel you."
She places her arms around my head as she pulls me to hover above her, claiming a kiss before pulling away.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone," I tell her, "I promise that I will be there next time."
"Next time, huh?" she laughs, "I don't think we ever talked about that one."
I smile down at her, "Oh really, because I seem to recall a time where you wanted at least four kids."
"And when was this conversation?" she asks, her smile clear even as she tries to hide it.
"One of the days when you were helping with training of the pups," I point to her forehead lightly.
She looks a bit shocked as the realization hits, "You were in my head!" she pushes me up and she sits up glaring at me, "That's a complete invasion of privacy."
"We are mates, sweetheart," I tell her as I move closer. She keeps leaning back until I am hovered over her again, "We have no privacy, no boundaries."
"That doesn't mean I have to like it," her lips forming a pout.
"You don't have to like it, you just have to accept it," I smile down as I claim her lips in another kiss.
"So, you really don't mind if I start rummaging through your skull?" she asks.
"I'm am all yours, sweetheart. Body, mind, and soul," I tell her moving down to her neck again.
"God that is so cheesy," she comments, laughing out loud.
Her laugh causes me to start laughing alongside her. I am about to kiss her again when someone starts knocking on the door quickly, "Mommy! Daddy!"
Ellie keeps laughing as she calls for Zea to come in, "Good morning!" Zea yells as she runs in and jumps on the bed with us.
"Good morning to you too," Ellie tells her as I pull Zea onto my lap.
"How did you sleep?" I ask her.
"Great! No scary monsters anymore," she tells me before turning to Ellie, "Mommy, will you make breakfast?"
"You don't want me to make breakfast?" I ask her as Ellie tries to hold a straight face,
She shakes her head vigorously, "Mommy is a better cook than you."
Ellie bursts into laughter and Zea joins her as I just stare at both of them, "I am not a bad cook," I try to defend myself.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Ellie tells me, "But you really aren't a very good cook."
Zea rolls off my lap and onto the bed as she clutches her side from giggling too much, "Fine. Since I'm apparently such a bad cook, I just won't cook for you guys anymore."
"Thank you," Ellie laughs.
I try to be angry, but with both my mate and daughter giggling so much, the scene causes me to start laughing as well.
"So, breakfast?" Zea asks when she finally pulls herself together.
"Of course," Ellie tells her.
One normal day, Ellie says to me through the bond.
I nod my head in agreement, Just one normal day.