Chapter 114: Episode 113: Did you miss me?
"I don’t want to give up, Rue, anyway, so what would you have me do?" Axel asked quietly.
His voice completely cut through the freezing wind. He stood still on the dark stone balcony. The snow fell constantly around him. It landed right on his broad shoulders. It melted directly into his thick white hair. He didn’t feel the cold at all. He only felt the crushing ache directly in his chest.
Iris sighed loudly. A thick cloud of white breath floated right into the freezing night air.
She crossed her arms tightly over her fur coat. She looked at her older brother. She honestly didn’t have a single thing to say. She knew exactly how the mate bond worked. She knew it was a biological trap. It was literally tearing his heart apart to be this far away from the tiny silver rabbit. He was a wild wolf. He needed his mate to survive.
Axel turned his back on the snowy plains. He looked directly at his sister. His icy blue eyes were completely serious.
"I am leaving the pack in your hands," Axel told her. "You are in charge now."
Iris dropped her arms. Her jaw completely fell open. She stared at him like he just grew a second head. She was a strong Northern princess. She fought in bloody battles. She commanded troops. But running the frozen kingdom was an overwhelming job.
"Axel, you can’t just leave," Iris argued. Her voice shook a little bit. "I can’t run this territory completely by myself. The elders won’t listen to me. The border patrols need a king."
"If you can’t handle it alone, call Tanith," Axel replied smoothly. He didn’t look worried at all. He started walking past her toward the warm castle doors. "Tell her to come up here and assist you."
Iris followed right behind his boots. She stepped carefully over the slippery ice.
"Tanith has her own kingdom to run. She is busy."
"Then she can drag Onyx back here," Axel said flatly. He pushed the wooden doors open. The warm air from the hallway completely washed over them. "Tell her to make Onyx take on the duties he left me with."
Iris stopped walking. She stood right in the doorway. She thought about that for a second. Onyx abandoned his post a long time ago. It was actually his fault Axel had to take the throne in the first place. The wolf pack needed a leader, and Onyx just walked away.
"That is fair," Iris mumbled softly.
Axel walked straight down the long stone hallway. He went directly to his dark bedroom. He grabbed his leather travel bag from the floor. He threw it right over his broad shoulder. He didn’t pack a lot of things. He just wanted to get out of the snow. He was completely ready to leave the castle. He was ready to run all the way back down to the warm southern swamps.
He turned around to walk out.
He didn’t make it out the door.
A shadow blocked the hallway. Drax leaned heavily against the stone doorframe.
The Dragon King looked exhausted. His dark clothes were messy. He didn’t have his usual terrifying, highly energetic aura. He looked like a man who just got hit by a rock. Dark circles sat heavily right under his eyes.
"I am coming with you," Drax said quietly.
Axel completely froze. The white wolf narrowed his icy blue eyes. He dropped his leather bag right onto the stone floor. It made a loud, echoing thud. He looked at Drax in total confusion.
"What business would you want with her?" Axel asked strictly.
His wild instincts flared up instantly. He didn’t like other men going anywhere near his mate. He already had to deal with a completely unhinged panther and a deadly snake. He completely hated the idea of the Dragon King showing up at her cabin to cause more trouble.
Drax didn’t yell. He didn’t fight back. He just lifted his large hand and ran his thick fingers right through his messy dark hair. He let out a very long, tired breath.
"I just realised she is my mate too," Drax said simply.
The hallway went silent.
Iris gasped loudly from the open doorway behind Drax. She looked at Axel. Then she looked directly at the Dragon King. Her brain completely short-circuited.
"How did that happen?" Iris asked wildly. She threw her hands up in the air. "How can both of you have Rue as a mate? That doesn’t make any sense at all. She is just one tiny girl."
Axel didn’t look shocked. A slow, highly arrogant smile spread completely across his pale face.
"Perhaps history is repeating itself," Axel said smoothly. He crossed his arms securely over his broad chest. "If she is the one given the ability to change things here, it’s only normal that the King of the Beastworld would become her mate."
Axel tilted his head. He looked Drax up and down. He let out a low, highly satisfied purr right deep in his throat. He loved seeing the giant dragon look this pathetic.
"So let me guess," Axel taunted softly. "She was the one who had made you a pathetic sorry of an excuse."
A thick blue vein twitched violently right on Drax’s forehead.
The Dragon King gripped the stone doorframe so hard the rock actually cracked under his fingers. Small pieces of dust fell straight to the floor. He hated being mocked. He hated that the annoying white wolf was right. The tiny silver rabbit completely ruined his life. She invaded his thoughts. She made him unable to sleep. She completely broke his iron control.
He didn’t take the bait. He completely refused to start a bloody fight in the narrow hallway.
"Are you going or not?" Drax growled loudly.
Axel grinned. He picked his bag completely up off the floor.
They left the freezing Northern peaks behind.
They didn’t walk. Walking would take too long. Axel refused to waste another week travelling through the deep snow. He wanted to see Rue immediately.
Drax shifted completely. The giant, terrifying black dragon filled the snowy courtyard. His leathery wings blocked out the bright moon. The cold wind whipped violently against his thick black scales. Axel climbed right onto his broad back. He gripped the thick, sharp spikes securely.
Drax launched them directly into the dark sky.
***
Rue stood perfectly still in the exact middle of the bright green grass.
She was just trying to get some morning sun. Her small rabbit body felt tired today. The new pregnancy made her legs ache constantly. She wore a soft yellow cotton dress that completely hid her tiny belly.
She had her hands full.
She held Mochi securely under her left arm. The fuzzy gray snow leopard cub was chewing loudly on a small wooden stick. She held Theron perfectly in her right arm. The tiny silver snake was wrapped around her wrist, fast asleep.
The loud crash scared her completely.
She jumped violently backwards. Her long silver rabbit ears shot straight up on top of her head. Her pink eyes went wide in pure shock. She clutched her babies tightly against her chest to protect them.
The thick cloud of dust slowly settled down into the grass.
The giant black dragon was gone. Two terrifying warlords stood perfectly right in her front yard.
Axel wore his thick white Northern furs. His silver hair shined brightly in the morning sun. Drax stood right next to him. The Dragon King wore dark, messy clothes. His completely intense eyes were locked directly on her small face.
They completely blocked her path back to the safe cabin.
Rue couldn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe. She just stood there holding the cub and Theron tight against her rapidly beating heart. She stared directly at the two kings standing right before her.
Axel stepped forward. A slow, highly confident smile spread across his handsome face.
"Hi, little rabbit. Did you miss me?"