Page 248 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Katya went still, her eyes going wide at the words. They’d argued about this several times since Maddox’s birth, but he’d never said those words. Never put it out there so plainly, but it was the truth. Bree needed to be dealt with to keep Maddox safe. Then his father. And Axel didn’t have his power. Sure, hewas a lethal predator, but so were Fae and Legacy. He was the disadvantage here, and Maddox deserved every advantage. If only one could stay with him, it needed to be Kat.
“Axel,” she started, clearly choosing her words carefully. “Maddox needs both of us.”
A small, sad smile curled on his lips as he looked down at the sleeping babe in his arms. His tiny fingers curled around the edge of the green blanket. His lips twitching in sleep. “I know, kitten,” he said thickly. “But that’s not always how life works, and he deserves to not be hunted. I plan on being with you for decades, but I’m not naïve. If it keeps you both safe…”
“Because love to you is defined as safety, and you know loving someone as protecting them,” Kat said, moving closer until she stood in front of him. When he didn’t answer, she reached up with one hand, cupping his cheek. “That’s noble love, Axel, and while I understand it, I’m also telling you that is not how I need to be loved right now.”
“And I’m telling you if something happens to me, I don’t give a fuck. But if something happens to you?—”
“If something happens toyou,I give a fuck, Axel,” she interrupted. “Are you dismissing everything I went through to find you?”
“Of course not. I?—”
“Because if something happens to you, Maddox may still have me, but he won’t have all of me. You’ll take a part of me with you to the After.”
Axel curled his palm around the back of her head, hauling her mouth to his while being mindful of the sleeping bundle between them. His tongue skated along hers, her lips soft against his.
“You’ll pluck the stars from the sky for me,” she murmured against his lips. “But I’ll burn them to ashes for you just so we can build something new for him.”
They both looked down at their sleeping son as emotion clogged his throat.
“Who do we trust to stay with him while we do this?” he asked thickly.
“Corbin and Lange,” she answered instantly. “Even if we don’t completely trust the Shifters, we can trust they won’t do anything to Corbin after finally having him back.”
That was fair. Those two had opted to stay here for the time being, and Axel couldn’t blame them. Tessa, Theon, and Luka were still figuring out their new relationship. Not to mention Luka’s family was broody as fuck. At least here they had Kat—another Fae—and Corbin was slowly getting to know this side of his bloodline. More than that, they were searching for Eviana, which was a whole other matter—learning his father’s Source had a child.
One thing at a time, or he was going to go mad.
“Okay, but…” he started, and her eyes narrowed. “Kat, you gave birth two weeks ago. It was long and exhausting. Not to mention traumatizing,” he continued in a rush. “Are you sure?—”
“We do this, Axel. We do this, and then we rest,” she interrupted.
“I don’t like this.”
A coy smile tilted on her lips. “But?”
He sighed. “You’ve finally figured out I can never deny you anything.”
“I love you,” she whispered, pushing onto her toes.
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “We don’t have set plans yet. Remember that.”
She pressed her lips to his jaw before she left the room to shower.
He looked down at the sleeping babe, his gut churning with unease. “I promise she’ll come back, Mads,” he said softly. “You’ll never be alone.”
“We know where she is,” Rayell announced, striding into the study they were using for their plans.
Axel set down the book he was looking through with Maddox asleep on his shoulder. “Really? That’s great.”
“I know,” she said, dramatically dropping into a chair. “But we need to make our move tonight.”
“Which means you better have come up with a way to contain her,” Cade added, crossing his arms over his broad chest where he stood beside Rayell.
“And if we haven’t?” Axel asked, because that was, in fact, the case.
“Then I don’t know when we’ll get another chance,” Cade said simply. “Could be days. Could be years.”
