Page 66 of Challenged Mate
I stared at Axel, unsure how he could be so… composed. He sat in silence, content to let me process this revelation at my own speed.
I knew I needed to say something. I had so many questions.
But I supposed the most important was, “You’re okay with this?”
You’re okay with mating your twin’s fated mate?
You’re okay with signing me and your brother up to a lifetime of pining in order to solidify the alliance you so desperately wanted for the Wilds Pack?
I bit my cheek to hold back from asking more.
Axel leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together before saying, “It doesn’t matter what I think.”
My forehead furrowed. “It doesn’t?”
“No.”
Well, that wasn’t what I expected.
Axel continued, “Arranging for you to join the Wilds Pack was always going to come with complications. The bond with you and Asher… it adds a new layer to an already complicated arrangement. I’m confident it can be smoothed over, though. And I think you will both be happy… eventually.”
I was back to staring, my mouth slightly ajar.
Was Axel delusional or willingly naïve?
How could he expect us to ever be happy?
Before I could ask any of those questions, a siren blared.
My hands covered my ears in a futile attempt to save my eardrums from the piercing sound.
Across from me, Axel jumped to his feet.
The silencing barrier around us broke and he yelled to everyone in the restaurant, loud enough to be easily heard over the sirens, “Perimeter breach. Everyone to your designated locations. NOW.”
Eighteen
Sirens blared around us.Axel issued his command. No one dining at Miko’s hesitated.
Except for me.
I sat, frozen in my chair, while the others were already on their feet and rushing out the door—food and drink abandoned as they prepared to face an unknown enemy.
Axel rounded the table and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of my daze. His grip was firm, but gentle, as he lifted me from the chair.
“Come on. There’s a bunker underneath this building. You can hide there.” He dragged me towards an innocuous door located in the back of the restaurant. Old and young shifters ducked through the doorway, disappearing down a narrow set of stairs.
My mind, still muddled from our conversation and the blaring sirens, took a moment to understand what Axel had said. When it did, I tugged my arm back.
Axel could have easily kept his grip, but he let go instead. He turned to face me with a stern expression—the expression of an alpha.
I lifted my chin. “I won’t hide.”
“I don’t have time for this, Blair. Depending on what breached our borders, the threat could already be at the town’s edge.”
What… notwho.
A chill of foreboding coursed through me, but I met his gaze with a determined one of my own. “I’m a trained fighter, Axel. Don’t sit me on the sidelines when I can help your pack.”
