Mated To An Enemy

"She's scared," Alice said, sipping from the mug on the island counter as she watched Axel wash out the pot.

They were both still in robes, with freshly made cocoa, as Axel explained what had happened with Ashleigh in his office.

"She's immature and hypocritical," he replied, moving the pot into the drying rack with a grunt.

Alice laughed and took another sip of the warm chocolate.

"She's a teenager."

"Hardly," Axel replied, turning and leaning on the counter. He grabbed his mug and blew into it. "She's eighteen, married, a Luna of one of the great packs, and has led soldiers into battle against the fae… I'm not sure she can throw the hormones card down as a defense for her crappy attitude."

Alice lifted an eyebrow as she took a sip.

Axel held her gaze.

"What?" he said.

"She threw a fit," Alice said simply. "And you didn't exactly respond in the most mature way."

"How was I not mature?" Axel asked with a look of incredulity.

"Oh, come on," Alice sighed. "You could have told her the truth from the beginning, explained why Corrine asked you to make the oath. But instead, you evaded, and then you poked and prodded her. You knew how she would react to that, and yet you still threw in the suggestion that Caleb put her before his pack. Seriously?"

Axel lifted his mug and lowered his gaze.

"It's not like I was wrong…" he said quietly.

Alice laughed again.

"You were mad," she said with a smile. "You were offended on my behalf and threw a tantrum of your own."

Axel sighed, righting himself to stand.

"Maybe," he said. "But that doesn't change the fact that she blindly attacks people because of her insecurities."

"What?!" Alice shouted suddenly, surprising Axel. "You mean she acts…. human??"

Alice gasped dramatically, bringing her hand to cover her mouth.

Axel rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink. Alice let out a soft giggle.

"Axel, I am never going to be Ashleigh's biggest fan," Alice said, setting down her mug. "So, listen up because I don't want to have to keep defending her."

Axel set down his cup and crossed his arms.

"Her entire self-worth has been based on her duty to her pack and her ability to dominate a fight," Alice began. "As hard as she has trained and as many fights as she has participated in, she has never had to face the things she has faced in the past year."

"None of us have," Axel interjected.

"Hush," Alice replied. "Yea, new stuff all around for everyone, yes. But have you ever had to question your sanity? Because I have, and so has she. It's a whole different healing process."

Axel clenched his jaw.

"She's eighteen, and already in her life, she has faced challenges that no one else could ever possibly understand. Her shoulders have born the weight of two packs, and now, the wolves as a whole."

He listened and swallowed as understanding crept over his irritation.

"Between the way Granger got in her head and her decision to push Caleb away, she stopped trusting herself. Throw in the twisted voices of her great grand alphas and the expectations of the original Lunas; frankly, I'm surprised she can still form sentences."

Despite himself, Axel chuckled and relaxed his arms.

"But when you experience something like that, you can't trust your thoughts. So, you lean into what you know. For her, that's fighting."

Alice paused, taking a sip from her mug.

"Now, the war is here. And though Ashleigh has spent her entire life training to fight, she's not out there. Instead, she's here, looking for clues to ancient mysteries or running into remote settlements and being forced into killing off people who can't fight back."

Axel looked away.

"Your sister is filled with emotions that she doesn't know what to do with, but she knows how to fight," Alice shrugged. "Unfortunately, she doesn't always understand that she is seeking a target everywhere she goes."

Axel sighed and looked at his mate. He tilted his head, crossing his arms again.

"Not her biggest fan, huh?"

Alice gave a half smile and shrugged, taking another sip from her cup. He moved around the island counter to stand beside her. Alice turned to meet him and automatically placed her arms around his neck as he slipped his around her waist.

"Admit it," he whispered, leaning down to brush their noses against each other. "You like my sister."

"Like, seems a pretty strong word for what I feel for Ashleigh," Alice replied, brushing a soft kiss to his lips. "Tolerate, begrudgingly respect. Those seem a tad more accurate."

Axel smiled.

"Maybe I might like her after she grows up a little," Alice added. "Until then, I do like one of your sisters."

Alice smiled, and Axel laughed.

"Bell is great….and she also called me about your missed appointments," he said with a raised brow.

"Hmm, I may have spoken too soon. Both your sisters are troublesome."

"Alice…"

"I know, I know," she said. Then looked up at him with a mischievous grin. "How about we make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"I will go see Bell and let her run all the tests she wants, but you have to agree to something for me."

"What?" Axel asked with suspicion.

Alice chewed her lower lip. Then, finally, she gathered her will and pushed forward.

"I want to go with Ashleigh and Myka to Spring."

Axel took a deep breath in through his nose and closed his eyes.

"Before you get angry or start talking about how I take too many risks…" she said. "I would be going strictly in a sidekick fashion. Ashleigh is the hero of this story. I have no interest in stepping into that role."

"Could have fooled me," Axel sighed.

Alice rolled her eyes.

"I am no hero," she said. "But, if I don't like something happening to someone or something, I'll stop it. I think that leans me in an anti-hero direction, if anything."

"I'm pretty sure you are more of a reluctant hero than an anti-hero," he replied. "An anti-hero tends to do the right thing but for the wrong reasons. But a reluctant hero, that's more like you. Someone that doesn't want to be or doesn't think they can be the hero, but when push comes to shove, there you are."

Alice narrowed her eyes at Axel.

"How much thought have you given this exactly?" Alice asked.

Axel laughed.

"I spent a lot of time trying to think of different ways to convince my family to let you show them who you are rather than assume they already knew you."

Alice smiled and pulled him down into a sweet but short kiss.

"I love you," she whispered.

Axel pulled her closer and captured her lips in a more ardent kiss.

"I love you," he whispered as they parted.

"So…" she smiled. "Do I have permission to go on a quest …?"

"Hmm," Axel began, lowering his hands from her back to her hips. "I'll have to think about it… after I eat."

He lifted her up to sit on the island counter with a playful growl. Alice laughed, and Axel gave her a hungry look as he spread her legs apart and moved his hands to the ties of her robe, unwrapping her like a present.

***

"So, from the plans I've been able to pull, we can take this mountain pass and avoid most of the populated areas around the border. But from there, I'll need your help. Finding maps of the inside of Spring was an impossible task. Each one I looked at was different from the one before," Ashleigh sighed, looking at the map on the table.

"I can try," Myka replied, "but you gotta remember, I haven't been there since I was a child. Even then, I lived in a secluded area."

"It's all we've got to work with," Ashleigh shrugged.

"What about time?" Myka asked. "Didn't you say there was some kind of scary deadline attached to your mission?"

Ashleigh nodded.

"The truth is, we don't know how much time we have," she sighed. "Lily told me that it could be days or months. So, the quicker we get our part done, the better."

"Well, on the plus side, I have an idea of where we should start looking. A place near where I grew up, it was restricted, but I think it might be the connection point you mentioned. It's a feeling I've got… but I don't think it would hurt to check it out."

"Talis said that you likely would have inherited the powers of her descendants. Maybe this is part of that? Either way, I don't think we have much choice," Ashleigh replied.

"The real problem is the prison mound," Myka said. "From what you've said, it seems like it would need to be at least near the main city in Spring. Even without the introduction of crazy monsters, that place was heavily monitored. Can't imagine your Dark Queen would leave her home base unprotected."

"Yea…" Ashleigh sighed.

In truth, she wanted to be able to take an entire team into Spring, but there was no one to spare. Even if there was, taking a team would only draw more attention to them.

"There are ways into Spring that even the Luna's body snatcher doesn't know about."

Myka turned immediately to see Alice standing behind him.

"Don't worry, I'll lead the way," she said with a grin.

"You're coming?" Myka asked excitedly.

"Of course," she replied.

"You are?" Ashleigh asked, standing from her chair slowly. "Does my brother know about this?"

Alice tilted her head to look past Myka at Ashleigh with a bright smile.

"He does. Disappointed?" She asked.

"I didn't mean it like that…." Ashleigh sighed. "I just meant… I know he worries about you."

Alice nodded.

"He does," she said. "But he also understands I can't let Myka run off on a dangerous adventure without me."

"Worried about me?" Myka grinned.

Alice looked back at him.

"I made a profound investment in extending your life," she said. Myka felt a twinge of guilt, but she pushed his shoulder playfully to reassure him. "I'm just making sure you don't waste it."

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