The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

Xaden leaves an hour before my date. After giving his approval of my shirt choice, he leaves me to it.

I come downstairs with five minutes to spare. Mum joins me just as I'm checking my reflection in the mirror.

There are tears in her eyes.

'Don't start, Mum, please,' I beg her.

She laughs and wipes her eyes. 'Don't mind me, I'm just being silly,' she says quickly.

She comes over and straightens my shirt.

'You look so handsome, darling.' She hands me my jacket. 'She is one lucky girl.'

I smirk as I shrug on my jacket. 'I'm the lucky one, Mum.'

Dad steps out of the living room and wraps his arm around Mum's shoulders.

'Have a great time and behave yourself. Remember to be careful with her, she won't feel the bond as strongly as you,' he warns.

I nod and grab my car keys.

'I know, don't worry. See you later.'

I follow my phone's directions to Grace's street, humming along to the radio.

Even though I arrive ten minutes early, my girl is already waiting for me on the pavement.

She looks stunning.

Her red curls are pinned up in a bun, a few strands are loose around her face. She's wearing heavier make—up than she usually wears at school, but it's not too much.

Her short red dress actually works with her red curls, rather than clashing. She pulls on the hem nervously as I step out of the car.

'Grace…wow,' I greet her. 'You look stunning.'

I'm sure she's blushing, but it's barely noticeable under the foundation she's wearing. I decide that I don't like her wearing this much make—up, I can't see my favorite blush.

The freckles on her nose are still visible though, which makes me happy.

'Thank you,' she replies shyly. 'You look very dashing, Axel.'

I laugh at her choice of words. 'Why, thank you.'

I offer out my arm to her and she slips her hand into the crook of it. I lead her around to the passenger seat and get the door for her.

Once I'm back in the car, I drive us to the town center. We find a parking spot and walk hand—in—hand to Olivier's.

The server shows us to our table at the back, near one of the windows. As soon as the menus are placed in our hands, my stomach starts rumbling with anticipation.

'Wow, everything looks so good,' Grace comments. 'Can you recommend anything'

I shuffle my chair closer to her and lean over her menu, pointing out the ones I've tried and loved.

Eventually, we make a decision and place our order. I don't move back to my side of the table, wanting to stay near my mate.

Our drinks come and Grace sends a text to her mum.

'She worries,' she explains with an eye roll.

'So.' She leans forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the table. 'Axel Archer, tell me about you. On our first date we covered hobbies, likes, food, etc. I want to know about your love life, if you're okay with sharing.'

I swallow hard.

Shit.

This can never go well.

Remember you can flip the question back on her.

'Am I allowed to plead the fifth' I ask and she chuckles.

'That bad, huh'

I quickly shake my head. 'No, not bad, per se. But perhaps you should go first.'

Grace's lips quirk up in a smile and she takes a sip of her drink.

'Okay,' she replies. 'I've been on a few dates, nothing serious, never had a boyfriend.'

Shit.

Maybe asking her to go first was a bad idea, now I'm going to look even worse in comparison.

I mean, I'm no Xaden, but I've not got her perfect track record, either.

'Our kiss wasn't your first kiss, though' I confirm and she shakes her head.

'No, but kissing is the um, full extent of my experience.'

Shit.

I take a big gulp of my drink and Grace chuckles again.

'You seem rather nervous, Mr. Archer. Is this question making you uncomfortable You don't have to answer if you don't want'

I groan and sit back in my chair. 'No, Strawberries, I'll answer it. But please remember how much you like me, yeah'

She smirks and crosses her arms over her chest.

'This should be good. If you have to make anything up to me, I take payments in ice cream and milkshakes.'

I smile at that. 'Duly noted.'

I take a deep breath and try to think about how to word this in a way that is both truthful and doesn't make me sound like an ass.

'I'm afraid my experience is a little more extensive than yours. But, I have never had a girlfriend,' I reply vaguely.

Grace narrows her eyes. 'So, you've just slept around with no commitments'

I swallow hard again, opening and closing my mouth like a fish as I attempt to come up with a response.

'Um, if you put it like that…shit.' I sigh and run my hand through my hair. 'Look, Xaden and I were idiots when we were younger. I thought the only thing that mattered was girls and scoring with them. I knew nothing, I was a twat.'

Grace takes a sip of her drink, her demeanor giving nothing away about what she is thinking. She looks so calm and composed, the opposite of how I feel right now.

'How much of an idiot were you' She asks, acting nonchalant.

I know better.

I curl my fingers into fists. I don't want to admit it to her but then, I will never, ever lie to her. If she outright asked me if I am a werewolf, I won't be able to lie and deny it.

'Quite a big idiot,' I confess. 'Maybe about twenty.'

She nods, not saying a word. There is no judgment in her eyes, which makes me feel slightly relieved.

I decide to be completely honest with her, girls like that, in my experience.

'I realized that I was being stupid, and I stopped. Xaden didn't. I knew that one day, I was going to meet a girl that would make me regret being so…generous with my uh, body. So, I decided to stop messing about and wait. A few months later, she came along.'

I watch Grace intensely, studying her reaction. She swallows visibly, her throat moving with the action. Her hand shakes a little as she moves it from her drink to her lap.

'Oh' She asks quietly.

I smile, knowing I got to her. 'It was you. You made me regret every mistake I made, in a good way. You made me realize why changing my mind and waiting was the best decision I ever made.'

Grace meets my gaze. Surprise and gratitude shine in her blue irises.

'How do you manage to say the sweetest things, Axel' She murmurs, shaking her head.

I grin at her. 'It's easy with you, I just say what I think.'

She laughs lightly and leans across the table to hold my hand. I uncurl my fingers and place my hand in hers.

'You can relax now, that's the only grilling you're going to get,' she says softly. 'It wasn't even that I needed specific details or figures, I just wanted to know if there is a hoard of angry exes that I should be warned about. I like to go into something with my eyes open, you know'

I smirk at her response. 'Go into something What exactly are you going into, Strawberries'

Her cheeks flush enough that I can see it through her make—up.

'I don't know, Axel, you tell me. You're the one that has asked me out, twice.'

I squeeze her hand to reassure her. 'Alright, I'll tell you, Strawberries. I knew from the moment I saw you, I wanted you to be mine. We can go at your pace, and I am happy to work at convincing you it's a good idea but let me warn you that my intention is to make you my girlfriend at some point.'

Her eyes widen at my confession and her lips part in surprise. I want to kiss her again.

'Best believe it, Strawberries, I want a relationship with you.'

The food arrives, snapping Grace out of her shock.

I don't know why she is so surprised, really. It's obvious what I want, I guess she didn't think I was serious. Or maybe she was worried that I was only interested in her for physical reasons.

I don't know what she thought I was after, but I'm going to show her how serious I am.

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