Chapter 34 Axel
AXEL
“Do they know you’re down here?” Axel asked.
Tessa glanced up at him, scowling. “Yes, they know I’m down here,” she grumbled.
Axel hummed, walking around the kitchen island and opening the fridge. “Any particular reason you’re down here instead of asleep?” When she didn’t answer right away, he looked over his shoulder. Her face was slightly flushed as she stared down into her mug of tea, her hands clasped around the cup.
He smirked to himself. No one had spoken about it, but it wasn’t hard to figure out the three of them had come to some sort of understanding.
They all stayed in the same room, and he had no doubt they shared a bed.
A part of him felt bad. The bed on the third floor was much larger and designed for three.
The other part of him didn’t give a fuck because his wife was pregnant, and her comfort mattered more than anyone else’s.
“Well?” he prompted, nudging the fridge door shut after he grabbed milk, eggs, cheese, and a few vegetables.
She huffed, still not looking at him. “They think I need to learn to process my emotions instead of turning to my usual distractions.”
He arched a brow as he laid everything out on the counter opposite of where she sat. “You wanted to fuck, and they kicked you out of bed?”
“They didn’t kick me out of bed,” she muttered. “They just told me to go drink some tea.”
“Idiots,” he muttered, because who in their right mind kicked a willing female out of their bed? Then again, they were right. Tessa did need to deal with her shit. “So, what are you attempting to avoid?”
“What are you doing?” she asked when he poured some milk into a small pot before placing it on the stovetop.
“Nice deflection,” he replied, going to the pantry. Finding what he needed, he added a bar of chocolate to the pot before going back to the counter and picking up a red pepper.
“You’re not going to answer?” she asked.
“You first,” he said with a wink.
She huffed in annoyance. “I’ve been trying to teach myself about the Marks,” she answered. “They are complicated. Part of me seems to innately recognize them, but I still… I don’t want to fuck things up more than I already have by using one and not understanding the consequences.”
“How not impulsive of you,” he replied, moving on to an onion.
“Shut up, Axel,” she muttered, and he smiled to himself. He’d missed this. Missed her.
“Have you asked Theon?”
“No.”
“Because you’re stubborn and trying to prove a point?” He glanced up to find her glaring at him. “You could ask Xan,” he said with a shrug, moving to stir the pot before cracking eggs into a bowl.
“I’m avoiding him too,” she sighed. “He wants to bring my mother here.”
He paused for the briefest of moments. “Yeah, I could see how that would make you anxious.”
“You do?”
“There’s a lot there to unpack, baby doll,” he said, beating the eggs. “Xan is clearly fond of her, and you maybe don’t want to be fond of the female who abandoned you to this realm.”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“But it might be nice to get answers directly from the source,” he added.
“Maybe.”
Grabbing a pan, he set it next to the pot, turning on the burner.
“And what if she doesn’t regret it?” he continued.
Tessa didn’t answer, but he didn’t expect her to. He was simply naming the feelings she was obviously trying to avoid.
“What are you doing?” she asked again after a few minutes of silence.
“In about ten minutes, Kat is going to wake up craving an omelette,” he answered. “Just getting it ready.”
A small bark of laughter escaped her. “You’re serious?”
“Sure am,” he muttered. “Every night at the same godsdamn time. I’m so used to it now, I naturally wake up.”
She huffed another laugh as he flipped the omelette.
“What’s in the other pot?” she asked.
He smiled to himself, plucking a mug from the cupboard and filling it with the contents. Then he crossed to her, taking her mug of tea and replacing it. She looked down as he went back to finish the omelette.
“Hot chocolate?” she asked.
“Don’t tell Theon,” he said, throwing her another wink over his shoulder. “There’s whipped cream in the fridge.”
He heard her slide off the chair, then bare feet padding to the refrigerator. “I don’t know the first thing about having parents,” she said as she moved. “But I think you’re going to be a great father.”
“I don’t know the first thing about being a father,” he replied, sliding the omelette onto a plate and covering it with a lid to keep it warm.
“I think you have to care. Have to love. Deeply. The way you love Kat,” she answered with a soft smile, nodding to the covered dish. “Did you want to be a father though?”
“It was just always something I knew would be required of me one day, I guess,” he answered, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms while he watched her spoon whipped cream into her mug.
“That’s not what I asked.”
He smirked, but then turned contemplative. “Yeah, I think I did. Never thought it’d be this early. Figured it’d be decades from now, but…” He shrugged. “Sometimes the Fates surprise us.”
“Fuck the Fates,” she ground out, lifting the mug to her lips.
He smirked again, picking up on the sound of feet on the stairs.
“We can have all kinds of plans, baby doll,” he said, uncovering the plate and carrying it to the counter.
“Some work out. Sometimes we’re fucked over.
And sometimes we didn’t know we were dreaming the wrong dreams all along until we’re living them,” he said, smiling softly as Kat appeared in the kitchen.
Sliding the plate across the counter, he said, “It’s ready, kitten. ”
“I could have made it,” she sighed, giving him a sleepy smile. She said the same thing every night. Glancing at Tessa, she asked, “Am I interrupting?”
She shook her head. “No, Kat. I think I’m the one interrupting.”
Kat sighed again, picking up her fork. “Axel, can you—”
“Orange or grape tonight?” he asked, already opening the fridge.
“Orange,” she answered, and he grabbed the orange juice carton.
As he poured the juice, he said, “Oh, and Tessa?”
“Hmm?” she asked, finishing off her hot chocolate.
“Maybe she has no regrets, but maybe she regrets every single day of the last twenty-four years.”
She paused for a moment before getting up to take her mug to the sink.
“I’m still trying to decide if I care,” she answered.
“Fair enough, baby doll,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “Fair enough.”
“I’m going to ask you one last time—”
“I swear to Anala, Axel, if you ask that question, I’m tying you up with shadows and going myself,” Kat snarked, slipping her feet into gold sandals.
“You had me intrigued until the going by yourself part,” he quipped.
She shook her head and turned away, but he saw the small quirk on her lips.
She looked stunning in a dress of burnt orange, a gold necklace at her throat, and his ring on her finger. Her hair was piled atop her head. Tessa and Eliza had helped her get ready, forcing him out of the room until minutes ago.
Moving to stand in front of her, he cupped her cheek, and she looked up at him in question.
“If at any time you feel uncomfortable, we leave,” he said. “I don’t care who is at that table tonight.”
“It will be fine, Axel.”
But she didn’t know that. They had one more week until they were past the month Miara had warned them about. There was no way the timing of this dinner was a coincidence.
He bent, brushing his lips across hers. “Any discomfort, you tell me,” he murmured.
She reached up, running her fingers through his hair. “I will.”
Kissing her once more, he took her hand, leading her down the stairs.
“Ready?” Luka asked from the foyer.
Rather than walk across the entire Underground, Luka was Traveling them to the Dispensary District. They’d tested it earlier to make sure the distance didn’t trigger his new Mark.
“Did you drink blood?” Theon asked, standing nearby with his arms crossed. “Do you need more before you go?”
“You know I drank extra today,” Axel answered, grabbing his suit jacket.
“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?”
“I’ve got it covered, Theon,” he replied in irritation. Kat smirked up at him, and he pointed a finger at her. “Not a word, kitten.”
“I didn’t say anything,” she said, amusement dancing in her amber eyes.
“Be smart. They’re cunning,” Theon warned as they stepped closer to Luka.
“I’m aware,” Axel said dryly.
“He’ll be fine, Theon,” Tessa called from the sofa, where she was studying some books with Eliza. Apparently she’d gone to her instead of Theon for help learning about Marks.
“You’ve never met Bree,” Theon replied curtly.
“No, but I’ve met Axel. He can be scarier than you when he needs to be.”
“Thanks, baby doll,” he said with a wink.
“Don’t be stupid tonight,” she replied, and he heard Eliza snicker.
“Kat, send a fire message if you need anything,” Theon said, ignoring both him and Tessa.
“I will, Theon,” she answered.
“So he can worry, but I can’t?” Axel asked, reaching to grip Luka’s shoulder.
“Oh my gods,” Kat muttered as he slid his arm around her waist.
A moment later, they were standing just outside the Dispensary District. Kat swayed, and he tightened his grip. “You good?”
“Mhmm,” she hummed. “Just need a second.”
“Kat—” he started.
“Don’t,” she cut in, straightening her spine. “Let’s go.”
“You know what to do if you need us,” Luka said.
“I’ll let you know when we’re done,” Axel replied.
With a nod, Luka was gone, and they turned to walk to the House of Four. It was still a long trek, but as time does when dreading something, he blinked and they were crossing the bridge.
He’d thought this dinner would be held in the building the four Houses shared, but they were greeted and escorted deeper. His stomach dropped when he realized they were entering Bree’s House, and his hand tightened around Kat’s.
“Breathe, Axel,” she murmured out of the corner of her mouth, and he forced himself to take several too shallow breaths as they took a lift.