Chapter Six

Axel Jaxton tossed a pillow at Axel's head and sat down on his bed to tie his shoes. They'd spent a grueling two hours at practice that morning, and Axel felt Coach Bear really pushed their limits. He'd just sat down after his classes for the day and kicked his feet up for the first time. Axel didn’t get as tired as the rest of the boys, but he pretended so they didn’t get suspicious. "Are you going to the party tonight?" Jaxton asked, tossing his dark bangs from his face. "It's tradition for the football team to attend before the first game." Axel didn't want to go to a party, but if he wanted to fit in, he knew he should. Fitting into the human world was only important because he didn't need to draw attention to himself. "All the team is going to be there?" he asked. Jaxton stood up, sliding into a shirt he pulled from his chest-of-drawers. "Yeah, why? You got a beef with one of them? You seemed a little distant today, and what was that yesterday in the cafeteria with Cash? You don't like him?" Axel knew better than to talk about the quarterback to his roommate. "I don't have a problem with anybody. I'm just not worried about sleeping with some girl right now, that's all." Jaxton pursed his lips and started combing through his hair in the mirror. "So, are you going or not? I'll wait if you want to get dressed." Axel debated not showing up and how it would look to the rest of the team, but he knew enough about football in high school to know that he needed to go. It only took one time to be cast as a loser for it to stick with you. He swung his feet from his bed. "I'll go. Give me a few seconds to get dressed." Axel tugged on a simple gray shirt and slipped into a pair of ripped jeans. The sun had set when they walked out of their dorm room and into the humid night. Something about the night put Axel at ease. Maybe it was he spent most of his time running at night, and his wolf enjoyed it. It'd been that way since he was a child. All the fraternity and sorority houses sat on one street of the university, which looked like older houses they fixed up for the school. The SIGMA NU two-story brick house was lit up like a Christmas tree. The doors were left opened, music spilled out onto the street, and the buzz of a party lingered heavy in the air. Jaxton bounced on his heels, excited about the party, while Axel felt uneasy. He had too many things to worry about to enjoy the party. The fact his mate hated him was one, and the lycan that mingled in with the rest of them. Normally, he could sniff a lycan out, but rarely they masked their scent, depending on their age and the practice they put into it. Several people sat on the front porch, Red Solo cups in their hands, some swaying to the music and others chatting amongst themselves. The living room was smaller than Axel anticipated and put him close up with people as they made their way into the crowd. The overwhelming scents had his wolf pacing with anxiety. It took Axel years to push back his senses while in human form, but sometimes they crept in and wrecked his wolf. Jaxton led him to the kitchen where kegs of beer and six packs sat along the island. Jaxton tossed him one, and Axel popped the top. Beer didn't affect him as it did a human, so he could drink an entire case before he felt tipsy. Several football players he recognized were scattered among the party, but none he wanted to hold a conversation with. Jaxton disappeared shortly after handing Axel his beer, so he took his time walking through the house and out the back door. The moon hung low over the neighboring woods, leaving his wolf with an itch to run. The breeze picked up, and her scent skimmed his skin, leaving goosebumps and putting his wolf on edge. He hadn't seen her in the house, so he briefly wondered if she was outside with her new friend. He tightened his fingers around the railing and scoped out the people in the back yard. She must had just arrived, and Axel waited no time to find her. If he wanted to make amends with her, he would have to make an effort. He pushed through the crowd, following her scent up the stairs, and the closer he got, the more pissed he became. Her voice … she wasn't alone. She was talking with a guy, and he didn't like it. The second floor had most of their bedrooms, and a huge game room at the end. He walked around the corner of the game room and froze. Claire sat on the edge of a sectional, talking to the guy he'd seen her with outside of her class. She looked delicious, with her blonde hair down her back and a skirt that tempted Axel's self-control. Her laugh sunk into his chest and weighed him down with guilt. Guilt that he never made her laugh before and he may never have the chance. Axel's fingers tightened around his drink, and brown liquid splattered over the cup onto his shoe. "Oh my gosh," a girl standing next to him said. "You're spilling your drink, honey," she said, her voice slurred. Claire's gaze snapped over to Axel's and her eyes rounded in shock to see him there. Her date looked over his shoulder but didn't seem to think Axel as a threat because he went back to talking. It pissed him off. Axel, ignoring his wet shoe, walked over and stopped near them. Claire's green eyes turned up toward his. "Do you need something?" she asked, her voice clipped. "Yeah, I need to talk to you. Come outside with me." Claire gaped at him and slowly shook her head. "No, I'm busy." Axel narrowed his gaze to slits and fought his wolf to stay in control. "Who is this?" he asked, gesturing toward the guy beside her with his head but never looking away from Claire. "Uh … Tegan," the guy said. "Is something going on?" he asked. "Do you have a boyfriend, Claire?" "No," she said quickly. "He isn't even a friend. He bullied me in high school, and now he's showing up everywhere I go," she said. "Leave me alone," she hissed. Tegan looked uncomfortable, his palms sliding up and down his thighs, his shifty gaze locked with the door. Axel didn't blame him for wanting to bolt. "When you come outside and talk to me, yeah, I might." Claire's fingers tightened into fist. "I don't owe you anything." Axel nodded, because he did agree. "You're right, but you deserve an apology." "I'm just gonna go," Tegan said, standing up. Claire looked up at him and frowned. "You don't have to go. He's just leaving." Tegan sized me up, and I silently dared him to test me. "I'll text you okay?" he said, softly. His stomach twisted at the care in his voice because Axel wasn't sure he was capable of such tenderness. When he left the room, tears threatened her eyes, and she moved her gaze to his. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, her voice loud and drawing attention. "I've waited years to fit in, to have a boy like me, because of you, and now you're trying to ruin me again. Just leave me alone!" The hatred in her voice heated his blood and drained him of every ounce of emotion in his body. His mate hated him. Claire stalked from the room, leaving behind wandering eyes, and against his better judgement, Axel chased after her. He followed her scent down the stairs and out onto the street. Claire made it to the stop sign when he caught her, circling his hand around her wrist. "Wait .. please." "Oh my God!" she yelled. "What do you want from me?" Tell her, my wolf coasted me. Axel opened his mouth several times before anything came out. "I'm sorry for how I treated you, Claire. I'm sorry for everything. I meant it when I said I wanted to start over. Can you please forgive me?" Claire closed her eyes, sending a few tears down her cheeks. "Why do you even care if I forgive you?" Axel couldn’t tell her the truth, obviously. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Because I was an ass to you, and you deserve an apology. You didn't deserve it." Claire folded her arms over her chest. "It took you four years to realize I didn't deserve to be bullied for no reason? Yeah, right. What do you want? Do you need help with classes—" "I graduated with a 4.0 GPA. I don't need help in school, Claire. I'm sorry because I've grown up, and realized I hurt you for stupid reasons. Reasons that didn't make sense to me until now." "Such as?" she asked. Axel swallowed hard, wanting to blurt out that they were mates and nothing could keep them apart. "Because I was jealous of Patrick Kelly." She lifted a brow. "Patrick Kelly from junior high? What does he have to do with anything?" Axel closed his eyes. "Because I hated that you let him hold your hand. I hated you because you weren't mine." Which was partly truthful. Claire stared blankly at him for several minutes before laughing humorlessly. "I'll take your apology, Axel. I don't believe a word that came out of your mouth, but I forgive you. This doesn't mean we're friends, or we will ever be. Stop interfering with my life, and I'll stay out of yours," she said, turning on her heel and marching up the sidewalk. He couldn’t let her walk to her dorm room alone, so he slunk behind her, staying far enough away that she wouldn’t notice. Way to go, Axel, his wolf said. You've blew it with the only girl you're destined to be with. What an idiot. He didn't even have the energy to argue because his wolf was right. He'd broken the one girl that would make him whole, and that left him with broken pieces that he wasn't sure he could put back together.