Page 60 of Stray
Axel
She walked away from him.
No one ever walked away from him.
Especially nother.
If he hadn’t been so damn shocked, Axel knew he probably would have lost it right there in the hallway, but instead, all he’d done was watch her walk away in disbelief. As soon as he realized the students who’d gathered to watch the drama unfold were still staring at him, all it took was an icy glare for them to scatter.
Throwing his fist into the nearest locker hard enough to bow the door, Axel took off down the hall, intent on getting as far away as he could. He didn’t trust himself to be around people and not rack up the murder charges right now. God help him if Marissa or any of her cronies showed up again.
Kyrie appeared out of nowhere, catching Axel by the arm. “Dude. What the fuck was that?”
Axel jerked violently out of his grasp. “Fuck off.”
“Seriously?” Kyrie raised his hands in a shrug of indignation before giving up and flipping him off.
Axel ignored it, stalking through the front door. He kept going until he reached the woods, putting enough distance between him and the classroom building that he would have time to talk himself out of following her to class and hashing it out in front of everyone.
Hell, he’d probably get away with it, too. With a few notable exceptions, the teachers at the school kissed his ass just like the students did. It was more a matter of pride than practicality that kept him in check.
Who the fuck did she think she was? No one ever talked to him like that. Not his family, not Marissa, not the moondamned High Priestess herself. He always figured if anyone ever did, he’d put them in their place immediately, but it was complicated with Ella.
Everythingwas complicated with Ella.
This was one problem he couldn’t solve with a fist or a wad of cash.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was supposed to beeasy.
Of all the girls who’d fallen into his bed, Ella was supposed to be the low hanging fruit. Now that she was hanging up above him, not even just out of reach but far, he wanted to cut the whole damn tree down.
He’d wanted her before for reasons both unknown and maddening, but this was different. This wasn’t curiosity or even lust. It was fucking war, and he wasn’t going to stop until he’d conquered her, body, mind and soul. Until there was nothing left of her but an empty shell because he’d filled her with the same poison his filthy soul was marinated in.
Until he’d absolutely ruined her and there was nothing left for him to want.
Fire burned under his skin, fueled by spite and the same chemical madness that plagued him whenever that mewling little stray was near.
If he didn’t shift now, the beast was going to come out on its own and there’d be no controlling it.
The Academy was far from town, but no distance was too much for a furious tiger to bear in search of prey, and even he couldn’t get away with the body count that would result in.
Axel tore off his shirt and unbuckled his belt just enough to shove his slacks down over his cock. He’d no sooner left his clothes in a trail along the grass than the shift came over him and only the painful crack of bone and the heady rhythm of the earth beneath his paws was enough to distract him from far more unsettling sensations.
What was it, even? It smoldered like anger and cut like betrayal, but there was a far more acrid note to the sickness lodged deep in his bones, spreading through his system like wildfire.
Humiliation.
The answer came to him, no more welcome than the feeling itself.
There was a first time for everything, but this was damn sure going to be the last time that little bitch made a fool of him.
He hoped she was enjoying the brief moment of comeuppance, because it was going to be the last thing she enjoyed, period.
No…
That was too easy. Sure, he could turn the whole school against her on a dime. He could make her every waking moment at the Academy pure torture that made all of Marissa’s bullying seem like child’s play in comparison, but where was the fun in that?
He didn’t just want to break her. There wasn’t enough substance to Ella for the crumbling of her in his grasp to be satisfying.
