Axel (2 page)

Amelia nodded and moved away to speak with the other women.

Axel pushed the comm unit in his ear. “Viper, we need the cage brought in a little closer. We have six wounded birds in need of rescue.”

“Copy that. On my way.”

Amelia had gathered the women and they were slowly making their way up the stairs. Some were moving like scared mice while others were favoring arms or legs. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a doc ready to check them out, but Axel was concerned that they wouldn’t let anyone near them. Especially a male.

Once everyone was loaded into the SUV, Crimson took over driving while Axel, Whisper, and Viper climbed onto their bikes and headed back toward the clubhouse. It was an hour long drive and Axel worried about the mental state of the women in the SUV behind him. Viper rode at his side with Whisper bringing up the rear. At the clubhouse, the alpha’s SUV was already in the parking lot. A worried Autumn, the alpha’s mate, stood on the front porch, a tote bag clutched in her hand. When the SUV came to a halt, she hurried out to the vehicle, ignoring the bikers around her.

Amelia was the first to pop out of the car and Autumn reached into the bag and pulled out something, pressing it into Amelia’s hands. The little shifter smiled her thanks and then pulled a knit dress over her head. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but at least the women would be clothed enough for the next leg of their journey. The M.C. wasn’t set up to handle an influx of women who weren’t there for pleasure, so if they didn’t go with Autumn and her husband, Gabriel, Axel didn’t have a clue what would happen.

It didn’t take long to get the women dressed and inside the clubhouse, even though they looked wary. Amelia took a seat with the others and Axel fought the urge to go to her, to stand by her side. His beast rubbed along the edges of his mind, wanting him to get closer to Amelia. He didn’t know what the hell was wrong with his cat.

Keep her
, the beast rumbled in his head.
Ours
.

Like fucking hell!
Axel growled at his beast. No way in hell was Amelia their mate. Axel had made it thirty years without claiming a woman, and he intended to go a lot longer. The best thing about the M.C. was the easy pussy, and he wasn’t ready to give that up just yet. Having an old lady was the fastest way to neuter a man, and Axel wasn’t about to get snipped.

Gabriel clapped his hands in front of the group. “I realize most of you are human and may wish to return to your families. However, my pack will be happy to take you in if you should decide to stay in Ashton Grove. We have an apartment building, a dorm of sorts for women, which is fully furnished. You would each get your own living quarters, and until you’re ready to go back into society and get jobs, the pack would take care of your living expenses.”

“Why would you take us in?”

Axel looked at the redhead before returning his gaze to Gabriel.

“Because it is my hope that you will be a match for one of the males in my pack. I know you’re aware of shapeshifters, but what you may not know is that each of us has a destined mate out there somewhere. My pack is largely male, and while that may sound frightening to you after your ordeal, I can assure you that none of them would lay a hand on you in anger. If you should pair up with one of my males, you will be taken care of and loved the rest of your life.”

Another hand went up. “What if we don’t pair up with anyone?”

Gabriel shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you. I won’t kick you out of the pack just because you don’t want to be someone’s mate.”

Autumn stepped forward. “While the pack is largely male, as Gabriel said, we do have quite a few females, so you wouldn’t be alone in the apartments. There are plenty of women for you to make friends with. Some are shifters, but we have several humans in the pack as well, humans who were raised around shifters. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we only have your best interests at heart.”

“And if we want to go home?” another asked.

Autumn took Gabriel’s hand and smiled at the women. “Then we’ll see you safely home. There are several in the pack who have chosen to work with any woman the M.C. rescues and brings to us. Now, whether they help you assimilate to pack life, or help you get home, the choice is yours. Simply tell us what you want, what you need, and we’ll see that it happens.”

Axel felt Amelia looking at him before she turned her eyes back toward the front. “And what if we don’t wish to go home or to join the pack?”

“Then you would be on your own,” Gabriel said. “If you’re worried about the pack, I can assure you, we’re a good bunch. We do a lot of activities together: barbeques, picnics, the women sometimes get together for a spa day.”

“What if we wish to find a mate outside of the pack?” Amelia asked.

“You’re the shifter, aren’t you?” Autumn asked.

Amelia nodded.

“If your mate is not within the pack, I won’t force you to pick someone.” Gabriel released Autumn’s hand and took a step closer. “I would never force any of you to choose a path that isn’t right for you.”

Amelia looked at Axel again and he wondered what she was thinking. She resumed her seat with the other women as they discussed what they wanted to do. Some wanted to join the pack while others wanted to go home. Amelia remained a mystery, stealing glances at Axel.

His beast was practically tearing him apart inside, urging him to go to Amelia, to take her, claim her. But despite the cat’s very loud protests, he ignored the chaos within and crossed his arms over his chest, watching everything unfold.

Chapter Two

Amelia was torn. The alpha and his mate seemed nice, and being part of a pack would be wonderful, if they would welcome a small shifter like her. But at the same time, she was intrigued by Axel and wanted to know more about the shifter. He was doing an admirable job of hiding it, but she knew he’d felt something when they’d met. His scent had pulled her in, making her want to get closer to him, despite his big, bad biker persona. Any man who used his time to rescue women couldn’t be all bad.

In the end, all of the women agreed to go with Gabriel, even if it was just for a night or two before they could be reunited with their families. Amelia went with them because she had no other alternative. With no money and no clothes, she couldn’t very well go off on her own. She’d secretly hoped that Axel would lay claim to her, but it hadn’t happened. Despite her ordeal, she wouldn’t mind spending some quality time in the sexy biker’s bed.

“How are we getting there?” Amelia asked. “You only came in a small SUV; there’s no way eight people are fitting inside of it.”

“I’ll send Whisper with the other SUV to get all of you there safely,” Axel said.

Why not you?
She wanted to ask. He looked at her, but quickly jerked his head the other way, as if it were painful to look at her. Amelia didn’t understand why he didn’t feel the same pull she felt. In the moment their gazes had clashed in that horrible basement, she’d thought she’d found her mate. Was she wrong? Or was he just being stubborn?

“I’ll send a message to my enforcer and have six apartments ready for you when we arrive,” Gabriel said. “As for clothes, we’ll have to sort that out tomorrow. I’m afraid the apartments won’t be stocked with food tonight, but we’ll take care of that, too. Is anyone hungry? We can pick up some take-out on the way there.”

A few hands went up and Amelia’s stomach rumbled.

“Then that’s settled.” Gabriel rubbed his hands together. “Are we ready to move out?”

Autumn placed her hand on his arm. “Why don’t you call one of the guys to pick up food and deliver it to the house? We can take them there first, give Ramsey time to get the apartments ready. I’m sure Kinley wouldn’t mind running to the store for some essentials for the women. And we could call Cassie to see what she can round up for them to wear. She’s excellent at that sort of thing.”

Gabriel nodded. “Make the calls while I get everyone sorted into a vehicle.”

As Amelia followed the alpha out to the parking lot, she cast one last glance Axel’s way and met his stormy gaze. Good god, but the man was sexy. He made her tremble with need and all it took was one look. When he’d sniffed her in that wretched basement, her beast had perked up and clamored for their mate’s attention. But despite her best effort to show him she was interested, he wasn’t picking up her signals. Maybe she wasn’t being obvious enough?

Jerking back around, she followed the women outside and waited for the alpha to assign her to a vehicle. When she was placed in Whisper’s SUV, the biker winked at her and put her in the front seat. He lingered a moment, leaning into her space, then whispered in her ear.

“Don’t look now, sweetheart, but you’ve caught the kitty by the tail. Axel’s busy arguing with himself right now, not sure if he wants to pummel me for being close to you, or walk away to prove you mean nothing to him.”

His words encouraged her and she smiled at Whisper. “Thank you.”

He winked. “Anytime, doll.”

After everyone was loaded, the SUVs pulled out and headed to the alpha’s home. Amelia was surprised by the beautiful Victorian and felt she was nowhere near clean enough to enter the home, but she meekly followed everyone inside. They gathered in the living room, but the scent of Chinese food came from the kitchen.

“Two of my wolves are in the kitchen with take-out,” Gabriel said. “Once you’ve eaten, we’ll introduce you to Cassie and she’ll take down your clothing and shoes sizes. Help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen.”

Amelia followed the crowd and fixed a plate, eyeing the two wolves on kitchen duty. They seemed friendly enough, and were respectful toward the females. Not once did they hit on anyone or flirt outrageously like Crimson had done. They were subdued, but gave off a nurturing vibe.

The younger of the wolves leaned across the counter toward Amelia. “Are you the shifter?”

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “But I’m not looking to mate with a wolf.”

He grinned and held up his hands. “Consider me warned. I’m Lucas.” He nodded toward his partner. “That’s Finn.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

She pulled her plate closer and looked for a place to sit, finally wandering back to the living room and claiming an empty place on the sofa. After her belly was filled, she waited patiently to see what would happen next. It didn’t take long for the mysterious Cassie to arrive, two large shopping bags in hand. Introductions were made, each of the women eyeing her with curiosity.

“I’ve been a friend of the pack for a long time,” Cassie said. “I even dated the alpha’s brother, Cole, for a few days. My husband comes from a wealthy family, so that allows me to help more than most people can. I’ve brought a few things that might fit some of you, but before I leave, I want everyone’s sizes so I can make sure you at least have a few changes of clothes to get you started.”

The redhead raised her hand. “Why would you help us?”

“A friend of mine, a member of this pack, was abused before she found her way to Ashton Grove. Ever since I helped Marin, I’ve made it my mission to help women in need. And I’d say y’all are definitely in need. I don’t know the details of what happened to you, and I don’t need to know them. But if you want to share, I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

The redhead nodded.

“Now, are any of you a size eight or ten? I have some pre-baby items in these bags you can have.”

Autumn looked startled. “You’re expecting again? Doesn’t this make number six?”

Cassie blushed and shrugged. “I had my tubes tied after the last one, but it seems it didn’t work. So Matt has scheduled a vasectomy for early next week. We figure that’s our best bet of making sure we don’t have any more. Not that we don’t love each and every one of them!”

Amelia’s eyes widened. “Did you say number six?”

“Well, we wanted a large family, but we really had planned to stop at five. This little one is something of a surprise.” Cassie smoothed a hand over a belly that still looked rather flat to Amelia.

She watched as the clothes were passed around, even nabbed a second knit dress just to have something to wear, even if it was a little bit big. Then they were escorted to the apartments. Amelia wasn’t sure what she expected, but as she looked around the small space, she realized it was far from home. It felt…cold. Impersonal. There was a perfectly serviceable couch, a full size bed, small dresser, and a kitchen table with two chairs. Amelia was grateful for a place to stay, but determined it would be temporary.

Whisper leaned against the door, but didn’t venture inside. “Not what you were expecting, is it, doll?”

She shrugged.

“Of course, I’m sure you’d much rather be in Axel’s nice, large bed. He’s got a rather cozy cabin on the outskirts of town, hidden back in the woods.” His lips tipped up on the corners. “Real cozy, if you know what I mean.”

“What makes you think I want anything to do with Axel?”

“Because with just one look, Axel Bloodmoon got under your skin. And despite his cool attitude, I can promise you got to him too. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Hide away here in this apartment? Join the pack like a good little girl? Or are you going to go after your man?”

Go after him? “I don’t understand.”

He shrugged. “There are two types of women at the clubhouse. The old ladies, which is what you want to be, and the party girls. And honey, you’re no party girl, but if you show up in the right attire, you can play the part.”

“Play the part?”

“I can guarantee that some of my brothers will come onto you, ask you for favors, and the general rule is that party girls don’t say no. But the moment Axel sees someone paying you attention, the minute he feels someone else is going to get lucky with you, he’s going to snap and come after you, and when that happens? Lord, I hope you’re holding onto something.”

“You really think that would work?”

Whisper nodded. “I’ll even put the word out that you’re Axel’s girl, but that the stubborn fool won’t admit it. The guys will have fun with it, so be prepared for anything.”

“How am I supposed to dress the part when I don’t have a penny to my name?”