Page 23 of Malek

They kept walking, or rather Malek dragged him along, until they got to an area separated by trees, where they came upon another clearing. They kept walking, then made a left turn at the corner, and Axel’s jaw dropped when they came upon the largest house he’d ever seen. It looked like something out of… what? He had no words, it was a bloody castle—at least to him.

“Your parents live in a castle?” Axel gasped, his mouth hanging open.

“Not quite a castle, more a manor, if we want to be specific.”

“It’s massive,” Axel stared at the house before him. It looked like a smaller version of Buckingham Palace, well at least the style fit, although it wasn’t quite as large, but it was still huge.

The driveway to the manor, as Malek called it, was impressive, and to the immediate front of the house there was forecourt garden area, laid to lawn, but with stone-flagged walkways. There was space for parking, but there also looked to be a large garage. The also seemed to be a garden to the side, but Axel couldn’t see if it all the way from where they stood although flower borders went all the way round which suggested it went right to the back of the large home.

The house seemed to be constructed from some kind of stone with a stone tile roof. It all looked like something from a bygone era

“You grew up here?” Axel said, eyes wide.

“Yeah we did, me and my brothers, and some other family members, but they left a long time ago.”

You can’t be more than thirty-five.”

Axel wasn’t looking at his mate. Instead he was trying to take in the majestic building before him that looked like one of those posh English boarding schools.

Axel frowned and looked at his mate when he heard Malek’s laughter, “More like seventy-five.”

Axel froze in his tracks, “What?”

“Yeah I’m about seventy-five, but we age very, very slowly.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, we can live unto quarter of a millennium at the very least, more most of the time, especially after we are mated.”

Axel stared at Malek like he was speaking Spanish.

“You never mentioned that. My family,” Axel gasped, as he realised that a time would come when they would all be gone, and he would have to mourn their loss, because he would still be here. “You should have told me,” Axel insisted, for the first time since he met his mate, he felt anger.

“You’re angry,” Malek tilted his head to the side, and frowned like he couldn’t figure out why.

“I have a family, one I love and you just told me that… that…” Axel couldn’t even say the words, almost like not saying anything would make it less real.

“I have to watch them die,” Axel whispered, sickened just thinking about it.

“Fuck,” his mate gasped when it clicked. He picked up Axel and held him close in his arms.

“Angel, we don’t have to worry about that right now. I swear, if there’s anything that can be done, I will do it for you.”

“Promise,” Axel said, and he knew his eyes were filled with tears, but he didn’t care.

“I swear it,” His mate vowed.

Axel laid his head on his mate's chest. As his panic receded, Axel could feel Malek’s sincerity.

Before he could say anything more, Axel heard a deep male voice call, “Malek, won’t you introduce us to your mate?”

Axel could feel his mate's pride, and he could swear Malek’s chest puffed out, hearing someone else call Axel his mate.

When Axel tried to get back on his feet, Malek held him tighter and walked him the rest of the way up the drive towards the large wooden front door of the manor. Axel kept taking note of his surroundings. It was all so elegant and proper, and right there and then, Axel felt a little intimidated.

Malek must have got a whiff of it, because he stopped and kissed the top of Axel's head, and whispered in his ear, “Everything will be fine, my brothers will love you.”

When they went through the front door and entered the home, the man who had called out wasn’t there, probably giving them a moment of privacy.