The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

Grace's eyes soften and she holds out her arms for me. I need no further encouragement. I shuffle across the bed and pull her into my arms. I crush her to my chest and inhale her perfect scent.

'Of course, I still love you,' she whispers in my ear.

Her warm breath hits my neck and sends a shiver down my spine. Relief floods through me.

She still loves me.

I hold onto her tightly, closing my eyes and silently praying that I never have to let go.

'I'm so sorry,' I mumble into her hair. 'I never wanted you to find out like this.'

'I know,' she replies softly. 'I know that wasn't you last night, you were too different.'

I pull back and slowly brush her hair off her face.

'It wasn't me. I would never want to scare you.'

Grace opens her mouth and then hesitates. I wait patiently for her to speak.

'Can we not talk about it today That's all I've done since I woke up and I feel so tired and overwhelmed. Can we just…can we cuddle instead'

I smile at her cute request.

'Of course.'

I move up to the top of the bed and sit with my back against the headboard. Grace snuggles into my side, and I wrap my arms around her, keeping her close.

I don't know how long we stay like that for. Grace falls asleep and so do I, shortly after.

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It's dark outside when her mother calls up to us. I blink a couple of times, trying to get my brain to catch up. Grace wakes with a start, jumping in my arms.

I feel stiff as I climb off her bed, rolling my shoulders and stretching my arms above my head. Grace slides off after me and we silently go downstairs.

Jeanette invites me to stay for dinner, but I think I should give Grace some space. Now that I've seen that she's okay and we've spoken, I can give her some time to think everything over.

I kiss my girl on the forehead and take my leave. When I get home, Grace has texted me.

She wants to meet up tomorrow, on Sunday, and we can talk properly. Although things aren't back to normal between us, we're definitely on the right track to getting back to it.

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I pick Grace up from her house at about 10 AM. We drive into town and park up.

With her hand in mine, we walk through the park and find our bench. It's quiet for a moment when we sit, and I wait for her to say something. Nerves build in me the longer the silence drags on.

Finally, Grace turns to me, her expression thoughtful.

'Can you explain what happened on Friday Rory said that your wolf was in control.'

Okay, wasn't expecting that question.

I don't really know what I was expecting her to say, really.

'Sure. Basically, our wolves are part of us. It's kind of like our alter ego, they're part of our personality. When we feel a strong emotion like anger or fear, our wolves tend to take control of our bodies, to handle the situation better.'

Grace listens intently as I try my best to explain our kind to her.

'Our primary goal in life is to find our mate and claim them. I've found you, but I haven't claimed you, and my wolf doesn't like that. Good thing is, I'm usually the one in control. However, if a shifter hasn't marked their mate by the time a full moon comes around, the wolf can take control back.'

'And that's what happened on Friday' Grace says uncertainly and I nod.

'Yes. My wolf took control of my body. It was never going to hurt you, it only wanted to mark you. I was doing everything I could to try and stop it from doing that.'

'That's why Rory was asking me not to move'

'Yeah. I was holding you, which was keeping him calm. But if you'd ran, it would have set him off again.'

I look out around the lake and sigh heavily.

'I should never have gone to the dance; it was too risky. But I didn't want to disappoint you, I wanted to go. I took a sedative that calmed my wolf up until midnight. After that, it wore off.'

Grace remains silent, thinking over everything I've said.

'I don't want you to have to go through that every month, every time there is a full moon,' she says quietly, playing with her fingers. 'But I'm scared. I don't mind you marking me, I understand that we're mates, and we're meant to be together. That's the part I like.'

That makes me smile.

'You're happy to be my mate' I ask, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

Grace shoots me a small smile. 'Yes, I am.'

The smiles fades from my face as I realize what she said before.

'So, what's the part you don't like'

Grace's throat moves as she swallows. 'The part where I have to turn. I don't want to have a wolf and be a slave to my own body when they take over.'

I can hear the fear in her voice, and I hate it. Instinctively, I reach over and hold her hand. Lacing our fingers together, I squeeze her hand tightly in mine.

'What happened to me on Friday, will never happen to you. You won't ever be out of control like that. Sure, you might feel your wolf more strongly when you're experiencing a fight or flight response, but it won't be anything like I was.'

My words seem to offer some comfort. She meets my eyes.

'Really'

'I promise you,' I tell her softly. 'You will never experience that.'

She lets out a sigh of relief. 'Thank God. But what about you I don't want you going through that.'

I shrug. 'We still have another three weeks to work it out. Don't worry, Strawberries, I'll be fine.'

'Will you really though Doesn't it hurt'

I promised I wouldn't lie to her.

'It does hurt, but it's bearable. Ironically, the one thing that causes my madness, also cures it.'

Grace's eyebrows draw together as she thinks. 'Me'

I squeeze her hand again.

'Yes, Strawberries, you. Although the full moon makes me go crazy for you, you are also the cure. As you saw on Friday, just holding you calms me down. You keep me sane.'

A light blush spreads across her cheekbones and a soft smile graces her lips. I can see that I'm slowly getting my happy mate back.

'There are lots of good things about being a shifter, too. We heal really quickly; we don't get diseases or infections. We live a lot longer than your average human.'

Grace mulls the perks over for a moment. 'What about shifting Does it hurt'

I shake my head and reassure her, 'No. Not anywhere near as much as you'd think it would, what with your skeleton changing shape and all. It's uncomfortable the first time, but after that, it's like stretching.'

'Would you be with me, if I shifted, I mean'

'Of course, I would. If you wanted me to be, anyway.'

She shudders. 'Definitely. It would be so scary to do that alone.'

'My auntie did,' I reply with a shrug. 'Upset my uncle because she went off and shifted by herself the morning after he marked her. She was okay.'

'And now when she shifts…'

'It's a simple as blinking.'

Grace nods seemingly encouraged.

'Can I see you shift' She asks, hurriedly adding, 'I mean, if you're okay with it.'

'Really' I'm surprised she wants to again, so soon after Friday.

'Yeah.' She blushes. 'I want to see your wolf properly. I didn't really get to see him on…'

I stand up and pull on her hand, taking her with me. We walk out of the park and down the street, until we reach the forest.

There's a patch of No Man's Land in the forest in town. Alpha Damien's territory is cordoned off by huge fencing.

Grace follows me into the trees, until we're deep enough in that no one will stumble across us, unless they're hiking or something.

'You sure' I check and Grace nods eagerly.

There's even excitement in her pale blue eyes.

I take off my top and she immediately blushes. Her gaze drops to the forest floor whilst I strip down. When my boxers land on the pile in front of her, she gasps in surprise and covers her eyes with her hands.

'Come on, Strawberries,' I tease her gently as I approach her. 'It's nothing you haven't seen before. Touched before, even.'

Grace's blush spreads up to her hairline. I pull her hands back from her face and she keeps her eyes solely on mine.

'Change please, before someone finds us and thinks you're a naturist or something.'

I chuckle and take a few steps back. Grace watches me intensely as I kneel down on the floor and get onto my hands and knees.

Please don't let her freak out.

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