Page 10 of Hunting for Redemption

Axel clears his throat. “I assume you don’t hunt for sport?”

“Fuck no,” I grit out. I clench my hands against the side of the table, only stopping when I hear the table creak, like it might literally break under my strength. I let go quickly, closing my eyes a moment. Fuck, I need to learn to keep myself in check or I’ll be losing control around every corner. “Sorry about that,” I say after a moment, opening my eyes again and finding Axel just watching me carefully.

“That’s alright. I’m impressed with your self-control if I’m honest.”

I snort, shaking my head. “What self-control? I almost just broke your table because you just happened to blindly stumble onto my past trauma.”

“But you didn’t actually break it. You think this is my first table, Jeff? It’s not. Not by a long shot,” he tells me, letting out an amused chuckle.

“You do this often? Bring in newly turned vampires and rehabilitate them?” I ask, wanting to get away from talking about me. Axel’s accidentally struck a nerve and I’m doing my best not to let my metaphorical feathers be ruffled.

“My house has somehow become a bit of a wayward halfway house. I help people get back on their feet when the need arises. I’ve helped raise a few baby vampires in the past.” Axel shrugs like it’s no big deal. I can feel my heart softening the more I get to know Axel. Not only is he beautiful, but he has a good heart as well.

“That’s--” I look away, clearing my throat. “That’s really admirable.”

“Almost as admirable as a hunter keeping humans safe,” he says, smiling at me. Axel slides his phone across the table and I take it gratefully.

“Thank you. I really hope they’re not too worried about me. Hopefully they don’t fucking hate me.”

“If they truly are your team, then there’s no reason for them to hate you. They’ll probably be relieved to hear that you’re safe.” I give him a small, somewhat sad smile as I stand up, giving myself the illusion of privacy. “I’m actually going to step out for a moment, so I don’t accidentally overhear your conversation, okay? Stay inside for now. I’ll just go down to the gas station and then come right back.”

“That sounds good. Thank you,” I say again, really needing him to understand how thankful I am for this. For him.

“It’s no trouble at all.” Axel puts on a jacket and steps out. For the first time since turning, I am completely and utterly alone. I tuck my nose into the front of Axel’s hoodie again, letting it soothe my flayed nerves before shakily typing in Ronny’s phone number.

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