Mated To An Enemy

The reports from the teams sent to the mounds were all the same. Fae creatures were found near or around each of the sites. None of the creatures became hostile or even acknowledged the presence of the men and women that arrived to clear the area. All fae had been exterminated without a fight.

The only difference in the reports was that the southern mound was not found. Instead, the fae were spread out in the forest and in the pass, but none had made it to the actual site.

Wyatt had gone off on his own, being the only one who knew the exact site. But found none of the fae were even close.

He had never shared the details of what had happened inside the mound with anyone besides Ashleigh and Bell. Even Axel was only told very broad strokes of the events.

“Do you think it’s because you blew up the tree?” Bell asked.

“I’m not sure,” Wyatt replied. “It seems the most likely answer since the other mounds are undisturbed and the fae found their way to them without a problem.”

Wyatt took a sip of his coffee.

He had called Bell because she knew the truth of it all. But, he didn’t want to tell Axel because he didn’t want to give Axel any excuse to make things more difficult for Ashleigh and Caleb.

Wyatt knew better than anyone else that Axel’s desire to keep them apart was based on a need to protect Ashleigh and Bell. But Wyatt also knew, better than anyone, that trying to save people often meant pushing them away.

“Maybe we should get some samples?” Bell suggested. “Maybe there is a chemical or pheromone connection from the trees?”

“Bell,” Wyatt sighed. “I didn’t share this with you to solve it or begin any side projects.”

“I know,” she said. “But it’s kind of interesting.”

“It is,” Wyatt said, “but it’s far more concerning.”

Bell nodded.

“We still don’t know where they even came from or if there’s more of them,” Wyatt said.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Wyatt called.

The door opened, and Axel stood on the other side.

“Bell,” he called, “Mom has been looking for you. She said it’s about the wedding.”

Bell’s face lit up. She got up from her chair and set down her glass.

“Gotta go!” she said with a quick bow to Wyatt and a smile that filled his heart with warmth.

Bell hurried past Axel and ran into the night.

Axel stepped inside with a sigh.

“I still don’t like that it’s a Summer wolf,” Axel said, “but I do like seeing that smile on her face.”

Wyatt nodded.

“She has earned it,” he said. “And Galen is a good man, you’ll see.”

Axel smiled.

“And what about Caleb?” he asked.

Wyatt cleared his throat.

“I already told you, Axel, Caleb is a good man. Your sister is lucky.”

“What about when he finds out about his father, about Tomas?” Axel asked. “Will he still be such a ‘good man’?”

Wyatt sat up and looked Axel in the eye.

“Caleb already knows about Bell’s past. It was her choice to tell him,” Wyatt said. “She didn’t tell him the connection to his father’s death, but she will if she needs to. He is a good man. Like his father, neither of them would put her at risk.”

Axel sighed.

“Do you know who it is?” Axel asked.

Wyatt shook his head.

“She has refused to tell me all these years,” Wyatt answered. _{ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​}

“If we knew, we could just–”

“That,” Wyatt interrupted, “is why she has refused to tell anyone all this time. It’s not what she wants.”

“Why not?” Axel asked, dropping himself into the sofa. “Does she still care about him?”

“I can’t know her mind, though I don’t think that’s it,” Wyatt said. “I think she is who she is.”

“What does that mean?” Axel asked.

“She heals, Axel,” Wyatt smiled. “She fixes the ones that get injured, keeps them alive. Revealing his identity will only lead to his death or the death of someone she loves. It’s against her very nature.”

Axel sat quietly with that thought.

“After everything, she’s been through,” he said. “The stuff we know about and the stuff she doesn’t tell us about. How can she still really know who she is?”

“What do you mean?” Wyatt asked.

Axel shrugged.

“I don’t know, just wondering.”

“Axel,” Wyatt called. “Are you alright?”

Axel stood up from the sofa.

“Yea,” he said. “I’m heading out for patrol.”

“You’ve been doing those a lot lately,” Wyatt commented.

Axel shrugged.

“With Ashleigh gone, and the others we’ve lost, there are gaps in the rotation,” he said. “I’m just filling in where I can.”

He walked out the door without another word.

Wyatt sighed.

Axel had always been a bit childish and unmotivated. But his heart was pure. He was devoted and trusting. His desire to protect the ones he loved far outweighed his self-destructive thoughts.

Wyatt and Corrine had spoken many times about how to encourage him. How to pull him out of his shell. But nothing they tried seemed to work. Wyatt knew Axel would be a great Alpha. He would always look after the wolves of Winter. But he didn’t know if he would ever look after himself.

***

Axel swept the perimeter. He checked for cracks along the border and reported to the others. The night was quiet.

He looked up at the moon. It was only another week from being full, but it felt empty somehow.

He wandered the trails for hours. He had long since traded off shift, but as the sun peaked over the horizon, Axel still found himself walking the forest paths aimlessly.

He took a deep breath and then climbed the nearest tree. He sat at the tree top, enjoying the wind in his hair and the sound of the birds waking in their nests.

Axel sighed.

He pulled the small paper from the pocket inside his jacket where he had kept it since the night she left it for him. He opened it up and read the note for the hundredth time.

“Little Alpha,

I have to make this quick. Don’t trust me. I won’t be me the next time we meet. You’ll be you, but I’ll be shiny and new every time. I might not see you again, or I might watch you from the trees. I see your face a lot when I dream. I like it, especially when you don’t cover it. Don’t trust me, please. I really think I don’t want to hurt you, this me, or the shiny one. Don’t look for me. You seem like that kind, the one who tries to be a knight. But that leads to getting stabbed or eaten by a dragon. I like you not stabbed or eaten. Stay that way.

Not so shiny,

Alice.

P.s. I’m glad you didn’t eat it. He would have made you shiny again.”

Axel took another deep breath and put the note back in his pocket. He didn’t understand what Alice meant, by most of it… but she was right. He wanted to look for her. He wanted to see her again.

He kept dreaming of those chocolate eyes. It hurt. Even now, it hurt to think of them. But each time it hurt, he could swear he saw them just a little clearer.