Mated To An Enemy

Alice had taken a suppressant. Axel had felt their connection locked away behind the wall of the drug. The warmth he always felt passing through their bond had suddenly gone cold. The subtle scent of chocolate in the air around him faded.

While he was relieved to know that Alice would no longer feel the pain he was experiencing, another part of him was in a blind panic.

Desperate to feel their connection, to know that it was not gone forever. Haunted by the memories of all the times he had felt alone in a crowd of people that loved him, of the nights he had stared into the darkness as though there was someone inside of it waiting for him.

Time slowed as the monstrous jaws that were moving toward him widened.

Axel snarled as he looked up at the twisted teeth of the monster.

This was one of the reasons he wasn't with her, the reason she had to suppress their bond.

His hands shot up. One grabbed the upper jaw, and the other grabbed the lower.

With an angry growl and a shout, Axel used his strength to drag either side in the opposite direction until the fallen howled its pain and desperately tried to pull away from him.

But it was too late.

Axel ripped apart the monster's jaws with a sickening tear and a loud crack.

The fallen took several uneven steps backward before it lost its footing and fell to the ground. Its body twitched and made wet, gurgling noises from the gaping hole where its jaw had once been.

Axel got to his feet, dropping the remnants of the lower jaw beside the beast. He stared down at it with his rage unabated. Finally, he clenched his jaw and raised his foot in the air, slamming it back down on its head with a thick grunt and ending the beast's misery.

Axel took deep angry breaths; his eyes scanned the trees, but he didn't see the bastard anywhere. He was tired of this game.

"Roman!" Axel bellowed out into the trees. "Come out, you coward!"

Still nothing.

Axel growled. He knew that Roman was out there, watching. He could feel his fiery gaze, the hatred that poured from them.

The bastard was waiting. Whether it was for more of his minions or for Axel to turn his back, it didn't matter. Axel was not willing to wait anymore.

He lowered himself to the ground as he shifted into his wolf. Then, shaking out his fur, he lifted his nose to the air and inhaled the scent of the forest. The snow, dirt, trees, all the familiar aromas of his home. Another sniff and he could smell the nuts stored inside one of the trees, the sleeping animals beside them.

Axel moved between the trees, his eyes scanning all the dark places he could be hiding. Each step he took sent a sharp pain through his injured leg, but he ignored it. Nothing would distract him from finding the snake that hid in his territory.

He took another deep sniff of the air, and he found it at the edge of his senses. The rot. The stench of dried blood and decay.

Without a second thought, Axel charged forward toward the smell. He bared his teeth as he ran past the trees and the overgrowth.

He felt rather than saw the movement. Above him, the black wolf jumped from the large branch he had been hiding on. As he came down with his jaws primed to clamp down on Axel's scruff, Axel suddenly stopped and turned with a sharp growl and snapping his teeth.

Roman hit the ground and immediately backed away from Axel's range.

The two wolves circled, baring their teeth and snarling.

Axel would not wait for Roman to call in another of his minions. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

He lunged forward. Roman tried to jump back, but not before Axel could catch hold of his chest.

Roman cried out, but Axel held firm as the black wolf shook and jumped until he finally managed to escape Axel's hold.

This time it was Roman that made the first move. He turned and immediately closed his teeth over Axel's injured leg. Then, Roman bit down as hard as he could, hoping to break the leg completely.

Axel cried and snarled, but he did not succumb to the pain. Instead, he focused on Roman and bit down at the back of his neck, ripping him away from the wound and tossing him to the ground.

The two wolves attacked each other's throats and bellies, trying to make the other submit. But it was clear that they were not getting anywhere.

It was Roman that shifted first.

"Come on, old friend," he said with a wicked grin. "Let's do this like men."

Axel snarled and leaped toward Roman. Shifting in the air, he caught Roman's shoulders and pushed him to the ground. He drew his fist back and hit Roman's jaw.

"Seems like the sweet little boy desperate for a friend grew into an angry man!" Roman growled as he struggled to push Axel off.

Axel drew back to hit him again, but Roman countered swiftly to Axel's ribcage.

The two men wrestled around, punching and kicking as best they could while struggling for control.

Roman managed to get Axel pinned. As he looked down at him, he pulled a small knife from his belt, quickly using it to stab Axel's side.

Axel let out a groan but refused to cry out. Instead, he clenched his jaw as Roman drew back and stabbed him again.

Axel moved his arm past Roman's shoulder and brought his elbow back against the side of Roman's head with force, knocking him to the ground beside him.

Roman spit the blood from his mouth as he rolled away and got to his feet just as Axel did.

They stared at each other, both breathing heavily.

"What's the matter, Axel?" Roman asked, his eyes blazing with his hatred. "Don't want to be my friend anymore?"

Axel snarled and charged forward, catching the joy in Roman's eyes and the small smile that spread over his lips a moment too late.

The fire that burned inside Axel's leg was a surprise.

Axel fell to his side at the sudden and excruciating pain. He grabbed his thigh, trying to find the wound, but instead, he found something else. His eyes widened as he looked down and saw a long thick root sticking out of his leg.

A root that extended from Roman's arm.