Groaning, I let go of the doorframe to the toilet room and staggered to the sinks. My feet were still killing me, but I was done pissing in a bedpan. I ended up crawling onto the counter to get the weight off my ankles and fell onto my side. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths. It would be okay. Only a few more days until I'd change back and this would all be over with.
"Jed? Jedrek!"
I sat up and gripped the edge.
Axil entered the bathroom, looking a little panicked. "What the hell," he breathed. "Give me a heart attack."
I shrugged. "I needed to use the bathroom. I didn't think you'd be home for awhile."
"The meeting ended earlier." He walked over and stood in front of me. "How are your feet? They're usually the last thing to adjust." He reached for one.
I pulled them to my chest. "Not ready to be touched."
"It's been nearly two weeks." Axil tilted his head to the side.
"Yeah, not nearly long enough to recover. Have you ever looked at a human's foot and then one of yours." I motioned at the floor. "They're a little different."
Axil smiled. "Just a bit." He moved in and started massaging my ankle.
I backed up against the mirror and gritted my teeth. "That fucking hurts."
"I know," he replied simply. "It's not going to get any better until you get your muscles to relax."
I glared at him. "Doesn't matter. I'm going to change back soon enough."
"Perhaps," said Axil with no expression.
"I'm never going to do it with you. I'm not into dudes."
Axil jerked my leg hard away from my chest. The air rushed from me. I laid my head back against the mirror and cursed.
"Humans are so particular about male and female. It must be annoying to have to limit yourself to half the population to produce a good heir."
"There's such a thing called attraction." I gripped the faucets to keep from falling onto the floor.
"I'm attracted to you," said Axil.
"You're attracted to my damn blood."
"Well, your attitude is shit." He moved to my other foot.
My eyes started to water. It hurt so bad.
"I like your fur too." His eyes flicked up for a moment before back to my foot. "Werewolves there's not much difference between males and females. There's just as many dominant females and males. Hell, our pack is known for our female alphas. The current alpha's daughter is already in the running for the position. We don't rely on traditional pairings for offspring anymore. You and I will have plenty of pups of our own. We'll have to hire a female to carry our pup, but beyond that, I don't see why it matters if you're a male."
I shook my head at him. "Fine." I yanked my leg free. "I'm not attracted to assholes. Male or female. Do you feel better now?"
Axil smiled. "Now you're just making it personal." He grabbed me around the waist and plopped me over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" I pounded my fist on his back. "I made it this far. I'll walk back by myself."
He took me to the jacuzzi and set me down. I stood there for a moment, on shaking legs.
"Sit down." Axil turned on the water. "Now."
I did so, cursing him in my head.
"It'll help you relax." He adjusted the temperature. "And you're starting to smell."
My muzzle fell open. "It's all this damn fur. I'm it so hot in that room."
He brushed a hand over the top of my head. "I was teasing." Axil climbed in beside me.
"I can bath alone."
"Waste of water. This tub is big enough for both of us."
I turned my body away from him and ignored him by examining my tail. It had a mind of its own. The thing would just start moving randomly.
"Have you looked at yourself?"
"Hmm..." I glanced over my shoulder.
"Have you taken a look at yourself? You turned out really pretty."
I scoffed at the comment. "No such thing as a pretty werewolf."
"Thanks." He rested his head against his fist. "My grandfather chewed me out all morning and then I get to come home to you."
"You should have chosen someone else." I sunk down lower and rested my head on the side.
An awkward tension filled the room to the sound of the water running. Why couldn't he just go away? I didn't want to be around him. I picked at my claw. They were pretty sharp. The ends weren't pointed and maybe with enough pressure... I peeked over at Axil who was peering off across the room.
He noticed me looking. "What?"
I turned around and held out my hand.
He arched a brow and put his hand in mine.
I lifted my claw and made it pretty clear what I was going to do. Axil didn't move with a rather unimpressed expression on his face. I pressed my claw into the meaty part of his palm. I pulled back to see it hadn't even punctured the skin. I tried again, but with the same result.
With a sigh, Axil snatched my hand, startling me. I jerked back.
"Stay still." He took one of my fingers and pressed it hard into his palm.
I was a little taken back when I saw the small stream of blood spread. Axil didn't seem to be affected by it in the slightest. I pulled my hand away. Axil licked away the blood and it appeared like nothing had happened in a matter of seconds.
"You don't have toxins." He held out his hand. "My turn."
I pushed against the side of the tub and moved to the far corner. "You already did."
Axil laughed. "You don't act like a werewolf killer. Were you actually the one who did it?"
I bowed my head. "I used a gun."
"You're a good shot then."
I nodded. "Even better when a werewolves coming at me, fully intending on ripping me to sheds."
"Do you regret it?"
My head snapped up, and I looked him in the eyes. "No. A couple less werewolves in the world sounds awesome to me."
Axil moved across the tub and placed his hand around my neck. "You'll have to replace the ones you killed. Let's hope it's not too many. I won't be able to handle more than a dozen or so pups."
"You're insane," I breathed.
"That's what the other packs say about us. But you know what"—he ran the side of his claw by my eye—"I think they're just afraid to see what an actual werewolf looks like. One that doesn't cling to the idea that we're human." Axil grinned at me. "So you killed a couple of Midfield werewolves, big deal. Good riddance. They're no better than humans. You wouldn't be alive if you had pulled a gun on one of us." He lifted my wrist to his lips and kissed it. "There's a reason the rebellion doesn't try to infiltrate our pack." Axil pressed my hand to his cheek. "Not only will we kill every human remotely involved, but we're not above torture to find any others that might be hiding." He nuzzled my cheek. "Kind of like the ones you were with."
Turning my head to the side, I didn't dare move. My heart was pounding.
"Annihilate the threat," he stated. "Are you a threat, Jedrek?"
Swallowing hard, I knew better than to say anything.
"I'm going to find your group," he whispered in my ear. "And when I do, I'm going to make you watch as I kill every last one of them. You are mine, and no one touches what is mine." He kissed my shoulder. Climbing out of the tub, he went into the shower and shook off the excess water.
Axil grabbed a towel and rubbed it over his fur. He stopped at the counter for a moment. All the while, I hadn't move.
He came back to the tub. I flinched when he reached toward me.
Axil turned off the water. "Take all the time you need. I'll come check on you in a bit."
Nodding, I moved to the other side and sat very still. He left the room. The moment the door was closed, I was finally able to breathe. I put my head in my hands and had to keep telling myself to stay calm.
I heard movement in the other room. My ears twitched from side to side as I tried to detect if he was coming back. The door in the bedroom opened and closed. Immediate relief filled my body and I slipped down lower in the water. If I had known I'd end up in Wolfsbane, I would have just let a Midfield werewolf mark me. I laid my head back and stared at the ceiling.
Axil was a real werewolf and that thought scared the shit out of me.