Chapter Seven
Axel
Axel could kick himself for not clarifying that he wanted the horseback riding to be a date.
How he wanted to pack a picnic and show her the lake and his favorite cave.
He let her assume he was suggesting a lodge activity, one she’d have to pay for, instead of just having the courage to tell her what he really wanted.
He hoped there would be another opportunity.
Usually, they didn’t eat with the guests.
Jack, his youngest brother, and Mary Lou, their server, would serve the guests' meals, and Jack would make himself and his brothers something to eat, and they’d eat after the dining room was cleared out.
Now Axel is in the kitchen early. He’s puttering around, and Jack is shooting him glances but not saying anything.
He helps with the cleanup, which he usually doesn’t, and waits for his other brothers to come in.
They pull up stools around one of the prep counters, and Jack sets down a big bowl of pasta carbonara. It’s Axel’s favorite. After they’ve all started eating, Jack clears his throat. Axel knows whatever Jack is going to say will be aimed at him.
“Surprised you didn’t go eat with your girl,” Jack says.
“What girl?” Raif grumbles. Axel can already see this conversation going badly.
“Chloe, she’s a guest at the lodge. She’s...she’s my mate.” Axel tells them.
All eating stops, and he hears the clatter of a utensil as Gunner drops his fork.
“Your mate?” Gunner asks. “What the fuck? Seriously?”
“Yes, she’s my mate. I recognized it immediately.”
“Are you sure? Really sure?” Jack asks in awe.
“Yes. Her scent is like honeysuckle. It’s made for me. She’s...my heart. It feels different now. I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Wow. I never thought we’d find mates,” Gunner says. “But she’s really your mate, huh?”
Axel nods yes and picks up his fork to eat again when Raif stands.
He slams his plate down, and Axel is surprised it didn’t break.
He can scent the anger rolling off of Raif as he storms out.
He’s had it the hardest out of all of them.
Raif is the type of bear shifter who needs a mate to complete them.
That he’s listless and wandering without a mate to center him.
Axel feels bad, wishing it were Raif who found a mate first.
“Jeez, a mate. Wow.” The disbelief is evident in Gunner’s voice. Axel can’t fault him. It’s hard for him to wrap his head around it himself. He knows nothing about her except that she’s all he’s ever wanted. He knows she’s perfect.
“So, you gonna tell her? That we’re shifters?” Jack asks. He feels Gunner stiffen next to him.
“Yes. I have to. I’m not sure when, but I have to.
” Jack nods his head in understanding, but Gunner remains quiet.
Axel knows what a big deal it is to tell an outsider.
He hasn’t had to before and has no idea how to broach the subject with a woman he barely knows.
His heart tells him his mate will accept him, that she will welcome him with open arms. That she will love him. But he doesn’t know, not really.
Gunner begins to eat again, and Jack and Axel follow his lead.
There’s comfort in the silence. He knows they are probably wrapped up in their own thoughts, but they are his brothers, his family, and he knows they’ll support him.
At least Jack and Gunner will, but he’s not too sure about Raif.
Maybe it’s the fact that he found a mate first. Or the fact that after all these years, he’s been the only one of them who has.
Raif’s departure from the table means he’s angry.
At himself or Axel he’s not sure. But anger in a bear shifter isn’t a good sign.
Axel will have to talk to him, maybe even put him in his place.
Raif has walked around far too often lately with a chip on his shoulder.
Hating the world around him. And they can’t live like that, none of them can.
Axel is tending to the front desk early the next day when he gets a whiff of honeysuckle.
Instantly, he is calm, and his bear rumbles contentedly.
Chloe. He can scent her before he sees her, but when he does, his heart picks up a little bit.
She’s dressed for the outdoors, long khaki pants with pockets and a maroon sweater, a bit too large for her frame.
On anyone else, he would think they were just plain clothes, but on her, he thinks they’re stunning.
The light from a window catches her as she walks, and her red hair lights up.
She’s like the sun, and he’s inexplicably drawn to her.
Before he realizes it, he’s walking over to her. A big smile on his face, which she mirrors when she sees him.
“Chloe. How are you?” he sounds breathless, he knows he does. But she literally takes his breath away.
She blushes hard and looks at the ground. Her hair falls forward over her face, and his fingers itch to tuck it behind her ear. She moves it back and looks up at him. Her cheeks are still tinged pink, and he puffs out his chest a little, knowing he did that to her.
“I’m good. Just wanted to ask about the hiking trails.”
He wants to tell her he’ll take her. But he knows Levi is already out on a group hike, and Gunner has gone into town for some more feed for the horses.
There is no one left to man the front desk, so he has to stay.
He hasn’t seen Raif since the previous night and doesn’t dare ask him right now to greet any guests who might need something. Plus, two guests are checking in later.
“Sure, let me get you a map.” She follows Axel back to the front desk, and he pulls out a printed map with different trail heads. “Is Ms. Wilkshire going with you?”
“Yes,” Chloe nods. “She went yesterday when we were in town, but I want something a little easier. She has more experience than I do.”
He wonders if he could ask her on a date, if he could ask her to hike with him.
Take her to dinner in town. Or make her something in his cabin, his den.
But doubt creeps in. They don’t know each other, not really.
He knows she’s from New York, and he knows her scent, it’s now embedded in his skull.
And he knows she is his mate, but he doesn’t know much more. He wants to, though.
Axel points out a trail, it’s an easy beginner hike that most families with young kids take. It has a beautiful path with wild flowers on it, and his mate should be able to walk it. She smiles as he tells her about the wild flowers, and he wants her to smile always.
It’s when she leaves out the front door with Danielle that he feels alone.
He knows it’s the feeling of being unbonded, having met your mate yet not bonded with them.
He feels lost, listless, without her near.
He needs to make a plan, not to fuck her, but to get to know her better.
To earn one kiss or two. To have her heart beat with love for him.
He has no idea how to go about those things.
Axel tidies up. It’s the only thing to do while he waits for the next two guests.
He vacuums the sitting area. Refills the logs for the fireplace from outside.
Sets out a plate of fresh cookies. He looks over the accounts again.
But every time he looks, it makes him mad.
Mad that things changed so much after his father died.
That people stopped coming. That stories circulated about killers on the loose at Silver Lake Lodge and chased the families away.
He wants it back the way it was, bustling and full of life.
Now being open is more expensive than not.
They may have to close the lodge completely for winter, and that would shut out the guests who choose to come in winter and snowshoe.
He’s lost in thought when he hears the whir of an engine.
Not a car, and he goes outside to look. There is a helicopter pad that is very seldom used.
Only maybe two times in Axel’s whole life has he seen it used.
His parents put it in for medical emergencies or if a very important guest came to stay.
He makes sure it always stays clear of any debris.
And all helicopter landings are to be arranged beforehand for safety.
He’s not expecting a helicopter and is pissed off when it touches down, spraying gravel and dirt everywhere.
He waits till the blades stop before he marches over to the pilot’s door.
“Hey, hey!” He raps his knuckles on the glass. The pilot looks at him with a bored look and focuses back on the control board.
“Hey. You’re supposed to radio in before landing. This isn’t a secure site.”
The pilot shrugs his one shoulder and doesn’t look at Axel again. The side door opens, and a lean man steps out with a briefcase in hand.
“Your pilot didn’t secure a landing with us beforehand,” Axel tells the man.
The man ignores him, looking around with distaste written on his face. Another man exits the helicopter, heftier, with the buttons straining on his suit. He smiles at Axel, at least before turning to look at the lodge.
“Come on, this way.”
Both men follow him into the lodge, and he can hear the helicopter powering up again to take off. He shakes his head, rich fucks. They think they can do whatever they want.
Once they’re inside, he takes a moment to really look at them. Are these the guests he was expecting? The thinner man looks around with a grim look on his face, like everything he sees is upsetting him. The rounder man does the same, and the smile from earlier is gone.
“How can I help you, gentlemen?”
“We have a reservation for a cabin, Harvey.”
Axel recalls that Harvey is the name the rooms are under, and he begins to gather their information. The thinner man is Russell Brown, and the bigger man is David Green, neither is Harvey.
“If the helicopter is picking you up again, you’ll need to clear it with me. We keep that pad for medical emergencies and can’t have someone landing without confirmation first.”
Russell nods, and Axel pulls out the maps of hiking trails and the list of activities, beginning to show them what’s available for their stay. David leans forward, looking everything over, but Russell pulls back with a sneer.
“I think you misunderstand why we’re here, Mr. Henderson,” Russell says with snark in his voice.
Axel looks between both of them, confusion evident on his face.
“We are from Harvey Development Group. We are here to evaluate your lodge,” which Russell says as if it’s a bad word, “and the land you have.”
“Development group? I’m not...it’s not for sale.”
“Everything has a price,” the sneer is back, “and also we have come into your financial reports and your business is failing. You have maybe six more months before you close.”
Axel is shocked. Who could have leaked the details of their business? He’s the only one who really knows how bad it is.
“Why are you here?”
David speaks up, clearing his throat. “We are here to do an evaluation. See what the land is worth. Evaluate the lodge, both the structure and how you run it. See if it’s worth keeping the structure or tearing down.”
At this, Axel sees red. He feels his bear rear up, and he has to physically restrain himself not to shift. Russell looks amused, like he’s waiting for Axel to lose his shit. But Axel reins it back in with deep breaths.
“Again, it’s not for sale.” The lodge and the land have been in his family for generations. It is owned outright, and even if the lodge were to fail, he and his brothers would continue to live on the land. This is infuriating. Who do these people think they are?
“Who do they think they are?” Raif practically roars. He knew his brothers would be just as upset as he after finding out two people from a development group were there to see how much they were worth.
Jack paces the kitchen, and Gunner sits quietly on a stool. Almost too still and quiet, and it makes Axel nervous about what his ex-military brother is thinking.
“How bad is it? The finances?” Gunner asks.
Axel knew this was coming. Knew he would have to answer to his brothers sooner or later. It wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t running the lodge poorly. They just didn’t have the guests they needed.
“It’s bad. Six months to a year, maybe before we have to close.”
“What about the fund Mom and Dad left us? We can use that to stay open?” Jack asks, he’s almost frantic, and Axel knows this next part isn’t going to go over well.
“It’s gone, most of it at least. I’ve been using it to keep us afloat. It’s how I pay salaries every month, how we keep the lights on.”
At that, Jack finally sits down and lays his head on the counter.
Axel knows what this all means, he’s in charge of their family.
He’s the leader of the bears, and he failed them.
He thinks his father would be rolling in his grave if he knew how bad things had gotten.
And his mother...it would break her heart to know this is where they are now.
His bear curls up in his chest, no longer on the defensive, just tired and sad.