Page 20 of Axes & Nos
“Chase has everything to do with everything I do. That’s what being my alpha means. But my tiger tells me that he is not our alpha any longer. Which is probably why I suck at following Chase’s orders to be patient. I shouldn’t tell you what it means for me to claim you, but as I said I suck at being patient.” He says, giving me a self-deprecating smile. It’s clear he’s conflicted about his brother no longer being his alpha. While I don’tunderstand the full dynamics of it all, I can understand some things.
“Sounds like your tiger has outgrown your brother as his alpha. Like a child outgrows his parents. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s the natural progression of life. Even in the animal kingdom once they reach a certain age mature males and females create their own family groups. It’s the circle of life or whatever that Disney movie said.” I explain with a shrug. Dax’s face lights up with excitement, a low growl rumbling from his chest.
“My tiger says it’s exactly like that!” He pulls me in, hugging me tight as he spins us around, his laughter ringing through the quiet surrounding my little cottage.
“I thought I was losing my mind. I thought that he was trying to get me to take over Chase’s territory, his ambush, but that’s not what he’s been trying to do. He just wants his own territory, his own place to live. How did I not see that? Shut up asshole, no one asked you.” He sounds so relieved, like a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders. His genuine smile is ghosting his lips as he sets me down on my feet and he tilts my chin up.
“Thank you.” He whispers against my lips before he claims them with a searing kiss. My legs give out on me but he catches me before I fall. His hands cupping my ass he lifts me up and I wrap my legs around him as his lips continue to devour mine. My arms go around his neck, holding on for dear life as my body catches fire. I don’t know why he’s thanking me, but I’m not about to complain if this is how he shows his thanks.
Chapter Eleven
Dax
Oh, she tells you what I’ve been telling you for the last six months and now it makes sense. I’ve been given to a dumbass!My animal bemoans inside my head, but I ignore him to focus on Myra in my arms.
Having this woman in my arms feels like coming home. Her lips meld to mine and my heart is lost to her. My need for her feels like it will consume me from the inside out. If I didn’t know she was my mate already I would know it now. It feels like the last piece of my puzzle has snapped into place, completing my soul. I couldn’t walk away from her now if I tried, not that I want to.
When I pull back, we are both breathing hard. Her lust-filled eyes meet mine and the temptation to kiss her again is overwhelming. There is something in the back of mind telling me I need to go slow, but my body rebels against the idea. Chase gave me a whole speech about how humans need patience; they don’t feel the pull like shifters do. Right now, looking into her eyes, seeing the want there, I find that hard to believe.
She’s ours, make her ours already! Fuck Chase and his patience bullshit. We don’t need his permission to do shit.
“Oh my God, will you shut the fuck up already!” I don’t mean to yell out my response, but I’m distracted by how good Myra feels in my arms and my concentration slips. Myra looks at me in confusion.
“I...I didn’t say anything.” She stumbles out looking too cute with a wrinkle on her forehead.
“Sorry, not you, the dipshit that lives inside me. He won’t shut up about claiming you. Shit I shouldn’t have said that either. Forget I mentioned it.” When she pushes against my chest, I know she can’t forget what I just said. Letting her slide out of my arms leaves me feeling cold on the inside.
Good job dumbass, you’ve fucked it up completely.Shut the fuck up! You’re the reason we fucked it all up. If you weren’t pushing me to claim her, I wouldn’t have slipped up.
“That’s not going to work for me Dax. You can leave.” She turns to go back inside and my heart stutters thinking I might have lost my chance with her.
“Let me explain, please.” I plead, grabbing her hand to stop her progress. When she turns there are tears in her eyes and I’m gutted knowing I put them there.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me Dax, that’s just it. I am nothing to you, therefore you are under no obligation to me whatsoever.” Her voice is filled with sadness and hearing her say she is nothing to me causes something inside me to snap. I can’t lose her, without her I will be incomplete, it will destroy me from the inside out. Before I can think better of it, I drop to my knees in front of her, clutching onto her hands like a toddler to their mother.
“That’s not true Myra, it’s not. You’re the exact opposite of nothing to me. You deserve for me to explain anything and everything to you. I’m not hiding anything from you, I swear.” I beg her to understand. Pulling her hands out of mine she crossesher arms over her chest, cocks her hip, and gives me a look that says she doesn’t believe a thing I’m saying.
You’re fucking this up, let me out, I’ll fix it. Yeah, because letting you bite and claim her will make things so much better. Not only will she hate us for turning her into a tiger, we won’t even get a taste of her pussy before she does.
Because your method is clearly working on making that happen.He snarls back at me. Fuck off asshole.
Standing back up I decide my best course of action is to explain everything to her. It will be like ripping off a Band-Aid, it might hurt for a little while, but at least it will over quickly. She will either accept me, or hate me, but I will at least know one way or the other. Who am I kidding if she hates me, I’ll be destined to be alone for the rest of my life. Then again if she accepts me then we can live happily ever after like Chase and Alia are. Closing my eyes I take a fortifying breath and motion for her to go inside.
“Let’s do this then. I won’t have you thinking you mean nothing to me.” I say, placing a guiding hand on her back as we make our way inside. There aren’t many options for places to sit and she gives me an apologetic look.
“Sorry, I was going shopping today for some furniture. It was...it was one of the lists I made. That’s what I was doing when you arrived, drinking my coffee and making my lists.” She blushes as she points to the lists, like she’s embarrassed she made lists. Alia brags all the time about how organized Myra is, so I don’t understand why she would feel embarrassed.
“I need to start making lists, I’m constantly forgetting things I need to get done. Chase is always on my ass reminding me of the things I need to get done. Maybe if I made lists, I wouldn’t have him on my ass as much. Although he might miss my ass then.” I tell her with a chuckle, hoping it will make her feel less embarrassed. I’m rewarded by a soft smile on her lips giving me hope she’s not already lost to me.
“I’m pretty sure he would just find something else to be on your ass about. I think that’s what a big brother is supposed to do. Although Alia’s brothers don’t do that to her. Then again, we are talking about Alia, she would probably eat them alive if they tried.” This time she chuckles, her eyes on the floor, her foot shuffling back and forth. I have to put my hands behind my back and to keep from reaching for her. Every part of my being wants to touch her.
“You’re probably right, on both accounts.” I chuckle in return. When she looks up at me expectantly her eyebrow raises, and I realize it’s now or never. This is either going to hurt like hell or give me everything I want. The self-preservation part of my brain says run, but the part of my brain that needs her stands firm.
“You look like you’re about to meet the Grim Reaper.” She says giving me an encouraging smile to proceed.
“You’ll understand why when I’m done explaining things to you.” Taking a deep breath I start from the beginning. “Our kind are ruled by fate when it comes to choosing a partner for life. Fate decides who we are meant to spend the rest of our lives with. We first recognize them by their scent; it’s a scent that only their fated mate can smell. Like they are the perfect combination of their favorite scents all wrapped into one person. Then when they touch it is like puzzle pieces are snapping together, fitting perfectly.” Myra lets out a tiny gasp at my explanation and her eyes grow wide. Did she feel the connection when we touched? Was she affected by me as much as I was affected by her? An ember of hope flickers inside me that she might be feeling even a tenth of what I feel for her.
“When we met in the parking lot...” She hesitates to finish her question, like she’s afraid of the answer, but I nod in response.