Axel POV
I wake up stiff and with a monstrous headache. I sit up and imdiately grab my head when the room starts spinning.
“What the fuck,” I groan, pinching my temples.
“Not so loud,” Kane groans. “My head wants to explode.”
“You too?” I glance at him.
“Goddess, must we share everything?” Kane grunts.
I bite back my laugh, it hurts too much, and look, if Elara is still sleeping.
“Shit!” I jump up, ignoring my splitting head. “Where is she?”
“What?” Kane croaks.
“Elara!” I look at him, terrified. “She’s gone.”
“Calm down,” Kane croaks, massaging his temples. “She’s probably just in the bathroom.”
“You’re right,” I sigh, relief washing over . I have been so worried about her that I imdiately jumped to the worst-case scenario.
I march to the bathroom and knock on the door, but there is no reply.
“Elara?” I knock again, a dreadful feeling of déjà vu echoing through my soul. What if she passed out again?
“Fuck this,” I open the door, and my heart stops when I find it empty.
“Elara,” I mind-link her urgently. “Where are you?”
Silence.
“Kane, I have a bad feeling,” I turn to him.
“So do I,” he grunts. “Maybe she’s with Mother.”
“Rather Mother than Braden,” Kane says as we run down the hallway.
“Whoa,” Dad shouts when we bump into him as we take a corner. “Where’s the fire?”
“Not now, Dad,” Kane snaps.
“Have you seen Mom or Elara?” I ask, pumping Kane in the ribs. Now is not the ti to pick a fight.
“Yeah,” he shrugs. “They went to town. Sothing about a Luna appearance at a charity event.”
“Are you shitting ?” Kane huffs. “Elara is sick, she should be in bed.”
“Take it up with the won,” Dad replies, walking past us. “As long as your mother doesn’t nag , I don’t give a shit what she’s doing.”
“A charity event?” I mind-link Kane as we watch Dad walk away.
“I call bullshit,” he replies, taking out his phone and calling Mother.
“Voicemail,” he sighs, and starts typing a ssage.
I anxiously look at his phone, waiting for it to ping.
“Elara’s with Mom,” Kane sighs, relieved. “At least that part’s true.”
“Speaking of truth,” I grunt. “It’s ti for Anton to spill his guts.”
Kane POV
Axel and I are sitting across from Anton. At least pressing him for answers will keep distracted from Elara. I appreciate that Mother is taking care of her, but I find it highly irresponsible that she is doing it while Elara is supposed to be in bed.
“You can lock up like Rapunzel or kill , it doesn’t matter,” Anton says, stroking his pointy chin. “You’re not council mbers, and don’t need to know more.”
“You kidnapped our mate!” Axel growls.
“To keep her safe because she was in heat,” he argues. “If I wanted to hurt her, I would’ve. You should thank . If it weren’t for , the High Council would’ve sniffed her out and killed her.”
“Thanks to you fuckers, nobody knows vampires exist,” I hiss. “There’s no need to kidnap or hide Elara.”
“You’re right,” Anton grins. “Everybody but the Council, and they’re the ones you should concern yourselves with.”
“And speaking about the Council,” he continues. “Congratulations on knocking up Alice. They will be pleased.”
“How the fuck do you know about Alice?” Axel gapes at him.
“Elara told ,” he shrugs. “She knows I’m not a threat.”
I eye him intensely, contemplating whether I should believe him. He basically knows everything, and he seems to not be a total slimy little shit. But he could be bluffing.
“The timing isn’t right,” Axel says.
“That’s not a valid reason to take extre action.” Anton sounds exhausted. “Gustav gave you orders to produce pups with both of your mates. You’re halfway there. Gustav will be pleased you followed his command.”
I glance at Axel, and he nods.
“We don’t trust Alice,” I admit with a growl. “We don’t think the pup is ours.”
“That’s a serious accusation, Alpha.” Anton’s wrinkled face twists into a mask of horror, and he clutches at his chest. “She-wolves cheating on their mates are punished severely.”
“Do you think he’s right?” Axel looks at . “Are we jumping the gun?”
“She was off all night with Dad, wasn’t she?” I reason. “She wasn’t in heat when we claid her. There’s a possibility it’s not our baby.”
“No,” he reassures . “Things with Alice aren’t adding up.”
“Oh, for goddess’ sake,” Anton huffs, rising from his chair. “Will you two just speak out loud?”
Axel and I stood, too.
“Anton, listen,” I say calmly as Axel and I stand as well. “We have reason to believe Alice was with my ...”
“Father!” Axel cuts off when another wolf stomps into the room.
I swallow and turn around, looking at him. He stands there, staring at us with a wild look in his eyes.
“There’s been an accident.” He sounds breathless and upset. “Elara is dead.”
“Bullshit!” Axel exclaims.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snap. Has he completely lost his mind? This is not funny at all.
“Why the hell would I lie about that?” Father’s expression quickly turns from concerned to infuriated. “Your mother was in the accident as well.”
Cold, dark tendrils curl around my heart as I process his words. I silently pray that he is making a fucked-up joke.
“For goddess’ sake, Orion,” Anton huffs. “That’s not how you convey such terrible news.”
“Well, excuse for being imperfect while my wife is in the hospital,” Dad snorts.
I want to smack Father. He is a terrible husband and has been neglecting Mother, for fuck’s sake, we are suspecting him of having an affair with our mate. Now, he plays the concerned husband.
“I don’t feel any different,” Axel says as we exchange wary glances. “If she’d died, we’d feel it, right?”
I close my eyes tightly, but I cannot sense a change, either.
“Oh, please,” Dad rolls his eyes. “You haven’t claid, how the fuck can you sense her?”
“I know you don’t believe in our mate bond, Father,” I reply coolly. “But it’s strong enough for to know nothing has changed. She’s alive and well.”
“I don’t give a shit about your mate bond,” Dad snaps. “Elara’s dead.”
My heart thumps so hard it makes nauseous. It cannot be true, can it?
“Maxim!” I snarl, and he imdiately enters. “My father is saying Elara has been killed. Track her scent. Prove that this is rely so bad information.”
“Son,” Father grabs my arm, but I roar at him, wrenching myself away.
“Don’t,” I command. “How the fuck did this happen?”
I still cannot believe it. Just like Alice’s pregnancy, nothing is adding up.
“They were driving to the event when a truck hit them,” Dad explains. “The car caught fire. Gabriela did her best to free Elara, but ... she didn’t make it.”
All the air in my lungs evaporates, and I fall into the nearest chair. I look at Axel; he is as white as a ghost, and his eyes tear up.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I stand up.
“So am I,” Axel adds.
“I’ll drive,” Maxim nods.
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