Chapter 66

A dam can only hold so much before the foundation begins to crack, before those cracks turn to holes, and eventually, everything floods out. This is my breaking point. I am so damn tired of trying to fill the cracks and plug the holes, tired of trying to hold the pressure in despite knowing it is a losing battle. My foundation didn’t crack. It burst fiercely, angrily, showing exactly how broken I am, showing me how far in over my head I am.

Too busy stopping everyone else from flowing away with the raging waters, not realizing by holding everything in, I was drowning myself because I was the anchor, the one at the bottom, claws dug deep into the earth and hanging on by my teeth.

Not anymore.

Now my flaws splay out for him to pick through further, showing him how weak I am, the facade of strength I’ve always displayed now long gone, and now he can truly see how ugly, tainted, dirty the floors at the bottom are. Axton’s grip falters, the heat of him seeping into me as he presses his body against mine.

“Shh, Elena. Please stop crying. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please look at me,” Axton whispers.

Yet the dam walls have already burst, and nothing he or Lexa says can calm me down. Nothing until it finally stops, until it has nothing else left, leaving nothing but a dry, barren wasteland.

“Elena…” His voice sounds laced with concern.

Yet I know Axton doesn’t care; he only cares for what I have that he wants to take.

Shame washes through me as the anger subsides, the tears stop, and I feel hollow, drained of everything. Yet when I give up, submitting to him, I notice his aura is no longer crushing because he isn’t using it now.

When I open my eyes, I find Khan peering down at me. Lexa whines in my head, having missed him. I missed Khan. Missed my mate.

“He came forward,” I sob, embarrassed at the fool I’ve made of myself.

“No, Axton gave him control,” Lexa murmurs.

Yet I don’t care because Khan is back, the one person who actually wants me. I wrap my arms around his neck in a chokehold, not wanting him to leave, not wanting to give him up just yet.

Even if he is mad, I would take his anger if he just let me hold him for a moment. Khan rolls onto his back, pulling me with him. He’s never had any issues manipulating Axton’s body. For once, I wish it belonged to Khan, but knowing he is in control right now is enough.

His fingers tangle in my hair, I listen to his heart beating and the purr thrumming from his chest, while absorbing their scent to calm me. Khan isn’t like Axton, not to me, anyway. Khan, I could never hate. My soul cries out for his. Some part of me believes it is just because Axton marked me and the flutters of the bond are slowly returning, but I know it is just Khan. Khan is good.

Lexa whines when I feel his rough touch change, his grip loosening as a hand slides up my back and the hand in my hair moves and grips the nape of my neck. I wait for Axton to shove me off, berate me, and demand his sons. He turns his face toward mine, pressing his lips to my cheek.

“Go.”

The word sounds strangled, and I am sure I must have heard him wrong.

“Go, Elena, go home,” he whispers.

I push off his chest and look down at him. Surely Khan must be in control, not Axton. Yet looking down, his eyes flicker, darkening slightly as he watches me. His hands fall to my hips while I blink at him. Even Lexa is confused as she peers through my eyes, watching our mate.

“Go before I change my mind,” Axton whispers, looking away.

Believing it is a trick, I hesitantly climb off him. Axton rolls over and snatches his keys off the bedside table, fiddling with them and removing some. He passes them to me. Still, I hesitate to take them, finding one to be a car key.

“Just come back,” Axton pleads. “Don’t keep them from me,” he adds, and I climb off the bed.

Is he letting me go?

Axton climbs off the bed and moves toward the door, unlocking it.

“I have a car,” I tell him, offering his car keys back to him.

“No, that busted-up thing was towed to the junkyard. The chassis was bent.”

Great, how am I going to explain that to Sondra? Not that she would care; she would just be glad to see me home.

Axton sighs, and I see his eyes glaze over as he mind links someone, and I quickly rush past him through the open door, worried he would shut it in my face.

“Eli has gone to get you formula. I will end the strike. Don’t make me come looking for you. I want your word, you’ll let me see them.”

“I’ll bring them back,” I promise.

“When?” he asks.

I chew my lip. “Can I have two weeks?”

Axton growls and looks at the ceiling. But I have to get my pack in order, sort out the rogue women’s situation, and register them. Those documents will be uploaded into the system within three days. Anonymity only lasts a week before every pack will be aware of a new one.

If they come looking before then, and they aren’t registered under my pack name, they will fall under council punishments for their crimes instead of pack punishment. No matter how justified it was that they killed an entire pack, their own mates.

“Fine, two weeks, Elena. Not a day more. If you are late, I will come looking for you,” he warns, his eyes flitting to my neck.

My fingertips brush it, and I feel the jagged outline of his marking.

“You’re not rejecting me, so don’t. I won’t accept it.”

I open my mouth to say something when Axton speaks before I get a chance.

“I can’t track you with it. I will only get a general direction because you haven’t marked me, but that would be enough to hunt you down, Elena. Enough for Khan.”

I swallow. He may not be able to feel the bond in full force, and I can barely feel anything at all. But Khan, if I don’t come back, I have no doubt will lead Axton to me.

“Two weeks, no longer.”

I nod, turning on my heel to get my mother and brother.

“Oh, and Elena.”

I stop looking back at him.

“Return the car when you do. Don’t post it to me. I don’t want it back in pieces.”

I press my lips in a line, quickly nodding, and he sighs.

“Go. I’ll help you find your mother and brother.”