Page 227 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Her eyes welled with tears.
Well, shit. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.
Godsdammit.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, cupping her cheek. “You’re strong, kitten, but these last months have been stressful. These coming months will be more of the same, and?—”
She winced then, and his eyes went wide as she brought a hand to her stomach. She’d been doing that more and morelately, and this was exactly why they hadn’t gone with the others to the Acropolis.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“It’s nothing, Axel,” she sighed. “It’s always nothing.” When he still didn’t move, she emphasized, “I’m fine.”
He straightened, still eyeing her. “Do you want some tea? Something I can get from the kitchen?”
“I can get it,” she muttered. “Just help me up.”
He didn’t like it. He’d rather just get it for her, but he’d concede on this if she’d stop pushing him to leave the Underground.
Helping her up, she made her way to the kitchen, and he listened to her rummage around. For a moment he debated going to help, but ultimately decided against it. She was already on edge today.
Sighing, he sank into an armchair and grabbed the flask, uncapping it. Things had been fine with Miara and the Fae after that disastrous dinner last week, but the Shifters were still unreliable. He’d sent a request for a meeting, but they hadn’t replied yet. They wouldn’t until they were ready, and who knew when that would be.
And then there was that nagging feeling that wouldn’t go away.
It’d seemed too easy.
He took a long drink, letting the blood soothe the hunger and need that had been nipping at him all day. Back to monitoring his rations, he felt like he’d been holding his breath ever since that dinner, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ithadbeen too easy. Bree wasn’t just going to roll over and move on. She wasn’t done with him. He needed to be proactive, but that was hard to do with Kat and the babe.
Kat reappeared with a plate of food and a glass of juice. Axel immediately stood to take it from her, helping her back onto thesofa, and when she winced again, he knew it was only a matter of time.
Where was he?
That was all he could think. Or try to think.
He couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts as he tried to open his eyes.
Blood.
He could smell blood.
Heneededblood.
But where the fuck was he?
A groan slipped from him, and he tried to sit up. Everything felt too heavy. Even his godsdamn eyelids felt weighted down as he struggled to open his eyes.
Swallowing, he nearly gagged. His throat was sandpaper, and when he finally managed to pry his eyes open, the room spun.
By Arius, he’d never felt so sick in his life, save for the times he was experiencing bloodlust, but that was different. This was…
He squeezed his eyes shut again, the room spinning too much. Start small. That was what he needed to do. Wiggle his toes. Flex his fingers. Feel the cool floor beneath him.
Wait. Why was he on the floor? Why wasn’t he in bed with?—
Kat.
