Chapter 44 Axel
AXEL
Perfect.
That was all he could think as he leaned against the doorjamb, watching Kat softly talk to Maddox while she rocked him.
Her hair was down, framing her face, and her finger gently stroked his cheek.
Everything about that tiny babe was perfection, and now, nearly two weeks later, they’d discovered his perfect cry when he lets them know he needs something and his perfect soft sighs as he drifts to sleep.
It was unfair for something to be so godsdamn perfect in this fucked up realm, and more than once he’d tried to figure out how his father had looked at him or Theon when they were that small and new and still only saw them as a means to an end.
Kat looked up when he softly cleared his throat, and the pure joy from seconds ago faded into disapproval.
Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she looked him up and down once, taking in the black pants and fitted black long-sleeve shirt.
The boots and weapons. Everything he wore when he was out scouting with Cade and Rayell as they made their plans for Bree.
Maddox squirmed as if he could sense the sudden tension, a soft cry coming from him as Kat stood from the chair.
Crossing the room with purpose, she held him out, forcing Axel to take their son. “You may as well hold him. It might be one of the last times,” she said sharply.
He sighed as he cuddled the babe close, Maddox instantly settling down. “Kat, we’ve talked about this.”
“No,” she hissed in a low tone so as not to wake Maddox. “You’ve talked about this. Planned this entire thing without me.”
“That’s not true,” he argued, keeping his voice just as low. “You know what we know. You’ve been part of the plans, and you know this needs to happen. She won’t stop.”
“I know that,” she snapped in a whisper, angrily beginning to fold blankets. “But I deserve this vengeance too, Axel. I’m the one she kidnapped, forced into labor from the stress. I’m the one who labored for hours and hours without you because of her. It wasn’t just your son she tried to steal.”
Hot and angry tears were filling her eyes, and Axel’s chest twisted at the sight. He reached out a hand, halting her aggressive folding and tidying. “Kitten, I’m not keeping you from the vengeance because you don’t deserve it. If something goes wrong… Maddox can’t be left alone.”
“Something is less likely to go wrong if I am with you,” she argued. “I’m the one with the magic now. Even without his shadows, my fire is still something.”
He winced at the words. Even knowing they weren’t meant to be cruel, it still hit that way.
He swallowed thickly before he said, “I know that. Which is why if something happens, and he can only have one of us, it needs to be you.”
Katya went still, her eyes going wide at the words.
They’d argued about this several times since Maddox’s birth, but he’d never said those words.
Never put it out there so plainly, but it was the truth.
Bree needed to be dealt with to keep Maddox safe.
Then his father. And Axel didn’t have his power.
Sure, he was a lethal predator, but so were Fae and Legacy.
He was the disadvantage here, and Maddox deserved every advantage.
If only one could stay with him, it needed to be Kat.
“Axel,” she started, clearly choosing her words carefully. “Maddox needs both of us.”
A small, sad smile curled on his lips as he looked down at the sleeping babe in his arms. His tiny fingers curled around the edge of the green blanket.
His lips twitching in sleep. “I know, kitten,” he said thickly.
“But that’s not always how life works, and he deserves to not be hunted.
I plan on being with you for decades, but I’m not na?ve. If it keeps you both safe…”
“Because love to you is defined as safety, and you know loving someone as protecting them,” Kat said, moving closer until she stood in front of him.
When he didn’t answer, she reached up with one hand, cupping his cheek.
“That’s noble love, Axel, and while I understand it, I’m also telling you that is not how I need to be loved right now. ”
“And I’m telling you if something happens to me, I don’t give a fuck. But if something happens to you—”
“If something happens to you, I give a fuck, Axel,” she interrupted. “Are you dismissing everything I went through to find you?”
“Of course not. I—”
“Because if something happens to you, Maddox may still have me, but he won’t have all of me. You’ll take a part of me with you to the After.”
Axel curled his palm around the back of her head, hauling her mouth to his while being mindful of the sleeping bundle between them. His tongue skated along hers, her lips soft against his.
“You’ll pluck the stars from the sky for me,” she murmured against his lips. “But I’ll burn them to ashes for you just so we can build something new for him.”
They both looked down at their sleeping son as emotion clogged his throat.
“Who do we trust to stay with him while we do this?” he asked thickly.
“Corbin and Lange,” she answered instantly. “Even if we don’t completely trust the Shifters, we can trust they won’t do anything to Corbin after finally having him back.”
That was fair. Those two had opted to stay here for the time being, and Axel couldn’t blame them.
Tessa, Theon, and Luka were still figuring out their new relationship.
Not to mention Luka’s family was broody as fuck.
At least here they had Kat—another Fae—and Corbin was slowly getting to know this side of his bloodline.
More than that, they were searching for Eviana, which was a whole other matter—learning his father’s Source had a child.
One thing at a time, or he was going to go mad.
“Okay, but…” he started, and her eyes narrowed. “Kat, you gave birth two weeks ago. It was long and exhausting. Not to mention traumatizing,” he continued in a rush. “Are you sure—”
“We do this, Axel. We do this, and then we rest,” she interrupted.
“I don’t like this.”
A coy smile tilted on her lips. “But?”
He sighed. “You’ve finally figured out I can never deny you anything.”
“I love you,” she whispered, pushing onto her toes.
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “We don’t have set plans yet. Remember that.”
She pressed her lips to his jaw before she left the room to shower.
He looked down at the sleeping babe, his gut churning with unease. “I promise she’ll come back, Mads,” he said softly. “You’ll never be alone.”
“We know where she is,” Rayell announced, striding into the study they were using for their plans.
Axel set down the book he was looking through with Maddox asleep on his shoulder. “Really? That’s great.”
“I know,” she said, dramatically dropping into a chair. “But we need to make our move tonight.”
“Which means you better have come up with a way to contain her,” Cade added, crossing his arms over his broad chest where he stood beside Rayell.
“And if we haven’t?” Axel asked, because that was, in fact, the case.
“Then I don’t know when we’ll get another chance,” Cade said simply. “Could be days. Could be years.”
“Years is not acceptable,” Axel said darkly. “And you’re certain we cannot kill her?”
“She is older than anyone I know. Than anyone here,” Cade said.
“That doesn’t mean she can’t be killed,” Axel argued.
“But what if she’s not from here?” Kat said, sitting up a little straighter.
Axel frowned, rubbing his palm along Maddox’s back as he stirred. “You think she came through a mirror gate at some point?”
That was plausible, he supposed, but it still didn’t explain why she couldn’t be killed.
“Maybe, but I don’t think that’s the case,” Kat said, pacing the same way Theon did when he was putting pieces of something together.
“I don’t know exactly how, but…” She paused, turning to face him.
“I think we’re going to need Tessa to imprison her.
Maybe there is a way to kill her, but if we can imprison her until we figure it out, then we do that tonight. ”
“Tonight,” Axel repeated.
She gestured to Cade. “They just said it might be our only chance for a while.”
“We’re nowhere near ready,” Axel argued.
“Something has her on edge,” Rayell cut in. “It’s the only reason she’s come out of hiding. She’s at the House of Four, but she won’t stay there long, Axel.”
“If Tessa comes, Luka has to come because of that Life Mark. And if Luka comes, then Theon is going to come. That is too many people to do this quietly,” Axel said.
“So Theon and Luka stay here with Maddox while the rest of us go,” Kat said, as if it would be that simple.
“Right,” Axel deadpanned. “You convince them of that, and we’ll go tonight, kitten.”
“Great,” she answered, lifting a palm before flames carried a fire message to Arius House.
There was no way in all the Pits of Torment she was going to convince Theon and Luka to let Tessa do this alone with them.
The three of them were escorted into the room several minutes later, and Theon was immediately taking Maddox from Axel. Tessa watched him, her lips thinning, before she focused her attention on Kat.
“You said you needed me?” she asked, drifting closer and perusing the books scattered about.
“I think we’re going to need your magic to imprison Bree,” Kat replied.
“Of course,” she answered, flipping through pages. “Just let me know when.”
“Tonight.”
She looked up, her brow arching. “Tonight?”
Kat nodded. “Rayell and Cade have found her, but it might be our only chance for a while.” She paused, glancing at Axel. He smirked in response, gesturing for her to continue. “And it needs to be just you. Theon and Luka need to stay behind.”
“Not happening,” Theon said immediately while Luka said, “Fuck no.”
“It’s too many people for us to be covert,” Kat argued. “We understand Luka and Tessa can’t be too far apart. We’re just going across the Underground. We’ve done this before. You two can stay with Maddox.”
“No,” Theon said simply while Luka just crossed his arms.