Page 27 of Fighting Fate (Monsters of London #4)

Dax

Millie calls when I’m on my way home from the class. At first, I consider not answering. I’ve walked most of the way, and I’m enjoying the late afternoon sun.

She’ll just keep calling if she can’t reach me, though. I haven’t heard from Patch since this morning, either. I answer the call, heading over to a nearby park so I can at least sit down.

“Dax! Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Should I not be?”

She laughs faintly, and I’m sure she’s shaking her head. “No, sorry. I just wanted to check in after yesterday. I know you were mad at Patch for what he told me.”

Of course she knows. I let out a heavy sigh as I sit on a bench. The park is quiet, and a squirrel clambers up a tree when it catches wind of my scent.

“It’s fine,” I say. “We talked about it. I know what he was doing.”

“He worries about you, is all.”

I worry about him, too, but I always keep that to myself. Still, I’m really not angry with him now. He needed someone to talk to, and I’d rather he talk to Millie than anyone else in our pack.

Huh. I haven’t really thought about that before. Patch has always just been there for me, so I’ve not thought about the fact that I’m not nearly as close with anyone else in our pack. Sure, there are wolves I’m friends with, but we don’t hang out that much.

“How are things going with Vince?”

My face flames. “I saw him last night,” I say.

“Oh?” Her tone holds an edge of excitement, so I explain about me and Patch going to Bite and everything that came after. Not in great detail, of course. She doesn’t need to know all that and I honestly doubt she wants to.

When I’ve finished, she lets out another laugh. “Shame he got away from you today,” she says. “Sounds like things are looking up.”

“They are,” I say. I think they are, at least. “I just… I don’t know how to tell him about the mating bond. I wanted to do it today, but he had to leave.”

“Does he know about them already?”

“Yeah,” I admit. “He doesn’t like the idea.”

“What do you mean?”

I explain what Vince said to me last week. All of it, the words just tumbling out, and with them, all my panic that I’ll never get to have a mate the way I’ve always dreamt of.

It’s easier now that she’s not sitting right next to me.

Millie’s quiet for a long time after. “He seems smart enough,” she says, her voice soft. She’s trying to stop me from spiralling. I get it. “And like he’s kind and cares about you. If you asked him to go slow and give it a try, he might do that.”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’m more worried about you. How much can you really take, Dax? Honestly?”

I don’t know the answer to that. “It’ll be fine,” I say and hope my voice comes out cheery. “I’m sure.”

“Yeah, me too,” Millie replies.

My phone buzzes in my hand—another call—and I frown before I pull it from my ear, looking at the screen. Alpha Axel? He never calls me, and I swallow down my sudden spike of fear.

“Millie? I’ve got to go. Alpha Axel is calling.”

She sounds as confused as I feel when she replies, “Okay? Give me a ring later tonight if you want. The kids will be in bed by seven.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

I end the call and take a deep breath before I accept Alpha Axel’s.

“Alpha?”

“Dax. I trust everything is all right with you?”

“Yes,” I lie. My stomach is in knots. “How can I help you?”

“I’m at the pack house. I’d like you to drop by and see me if you could. I want an update on how the classes are going.”

He… does? “Uh, sure. I’m not—I’m not there right now, but I could be back in an hour or so.”

I expect him to give me a time, or to even suggest we meet tomorrow.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll see you when you get back,” he says instead, and I manage to stutter out a goodbye before he hangs up.

I let out a shaky breath when he does. Fuck. Why does he want to know about the classes all of a sudden? Have I done something wrong? Is he going to ask that I return to my other jobs all the time?

Shaking my head, I get to my feet. There’s nothing to it. I won’t find out unless I go and speak to him.

It takes me forty-five minutes to get back to the pack house, and though I debate dropping in at my flat on the way, I decide against it. Like Kieran’s, our pack house is a block of flats, though bigger, and one of the flats on the ground floor has been turned into a dedicated space for Alpha Axel to meet with his betas and anyone else he should need to.

I baulk when I knock on the door. I showered this morning, but I’m still going to smell like Vince. Alpha Axel will know .

Freddie answers the door and gives me a smile when she sees the way I’m obviously panicking. “Chill, Dax,” she says and steps back so I can walk inside. “You know you’re not in trouble.”

“Do I?” I say faintly, and she chuckles. She’s wearing a pair of faded red dungarees, and her boots are covered in mud—though I don’t know how.

When she sees me looking, she shrugs. “There’s a city farm not far from here, you know. I like the animals.”

I stare at her. “And they like you?” Our wolves make plenty of regular animals skittish around us.

“They do now ,” she says. “Come on. Axel’s waiting for you.”

I follow her down the hall and she knocks on the door to Axel’s office, opening it when he calls for us to enter. This isn’t like a few weeks ago—he’s sitting alone behind the desk, looking much more casual than he did when he called us all in to see who would volunteer.

He does smile when he sees me, though. “Dax! You’re early.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I thought it would take longer to get back.”

Axel and Freddie exchange a look, and Axel shakes his head. “Not a problem. Please, take a seat.”

I do, and Freddie takes one across the room, crossing one leg over the other. Axel leans back in his chair.

“Tell me, how are the classes going? Alpha Kieran reported at the last alpha meet, but I know you’re at them more often than he is.”

Is this… I bite my lower lip. Is he trying to catch Kieran out? Why would he? I don’t know what Kieran reported, of course, but I don’t know why it would be anything less than the truth.

“The classes are going well, I think,” I say honestly. “Lots of the wolves are feeling more confident, especially when they’ve finished the classes with the vampires. The mages, too. Most of them could probably escape if they were cornered by a wolf and didn’t have their magic.”

Axel nods. “And if they were cornered by a vampire?”

I shrug. “Vince and Kieran said they’re working on it with the vampires. They’re faster than we are, so it’s harder for humans or mages to get away.”

“That’s good,” Axel says. “And how are you finding your role there?”

“I like it,” I admit. “Some of the wolves are still scared, but I’ve helped a few so they can work with vampires now. They wouldn’t be in the same room as them at the beginning.”

That took a lot of work from Vince and Lucien, too. Adam couldn’t bear it at first, but Lucien has unending patience, as far as I can tell. Quinn’s not the only wolf we have left with major issues—though he seems almost as at ease with Lucien and Adam as he does with Sam, Ophelia, and Dante—but all of them can at least observe classes that involve vampires now, so long as the vampires don’t sneak up on them.

“Kieran mentioned you,” Axel says, and I blink at him in surprise. “At the meet. He said you, Cecile, and Saoirse had all performed well, but that the wolves who are most distressed tend to gravitate towards you and that you always take care of them.”

My cheeks heat. “Alpha, I—” I don’t know what to say. They’ve said to me, of course, that I’ve done well, but I don’t think I’ve really believed it.

“You’re doing well, Dax,” Freddie says.

“Thank you.”

“So I wanted to ask you if you like the classes more than the work you’re doing at the pub and the café,” Axel continues.

I swallow hard. What am I supposed to say? I was assigned those jobs, and I don’t hate them—except for when we have rude customers—but I don’t enjoy them the way I’ve been enjoying this. Even if Vince weren’t the one teaching, I know I’d still love what I’m doing with the classes.

“I do,” I admit, and Axel smiles.

He doesn’t seem mad at all, though I do my best not to filter through his scent. That’s rude.

“That’s good,” he says. “I want all my wolves to feel at home in their pack.”

“I-I do,” I reply. My wolf howls a protest in the back of my head. Do I? Or do I feel more at home with Vince? With his pack?

I can’t bring that up here, and I do my best to push the doubts away. Axel and Freddie are polite enough that I know they won’t bring up anything they scent, but I still don’t want them to know about it.

“That’s part of why I asked you to come here. If you need to spend more time on this job, then we’re happy to work with you on that. There are always wolves who can pick up the slack in the pub or the café. We’ve got some pups who need the experience, anyway. I’d rather you be somewhere you feel useful and appreciated.” Axel levels me with a look when he finishes, and I hold his gaze for a second before I lower my eyes to the top of his desk.

“Yes, alpha.”

“Good. You can always talk to Freddie if you can’t reach me, or even one of my other betas. I spoke to them after the alpha meet, and they know how important what Kieran’s doing is.”

I nod again. When Axel asked us who wanted to volunteer, he didn’t seem like he liked the idea all that much. I don’t know what’s changed, and I daren’t ask. “Thank you, alpha.”

“No, thank you, Dax. I’m glad you’ve finally found somewhere you want to be.”

I dart my eyes up again, but no, he’s still not angry. His smile is soft, and there’s something in his expression I can’t read.

“Now, go enjoy the rest of your Sunday,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt any plans you have.”

I nod and Freddie opens the door, letting me out of the room. Only when I’m a few floors away from Alpha Axel’s office do I breathe more easily again.

Does he know I’ve been considering my place in the pack? Does he want me to stay?

Do I want to stay?

I groan and push my hair back from my face.

I need to think about all that. Maybe even discuss it with Patch and Millie. I take my phone out of my pocket and scroll to Vince’s number. Is he okay? Did he fix whatever he ran off to help with?

I sigh and head back towards my flat. I’ll see if Patch is in, and I’ll talk to Millie tonight.

Maybe then I’ll know what I need to do about Vince.