Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 57

Axel POV

I speed off with screeching tires towards the airport. I am relieved that I packed last night and loaded my luggage. I do not want to risk going home and replaceing Angela's parents there as well.

Liana does not want to be my mate. The words are like hot daggers jabbing me. I replay our conversation over and over in my head. Trying to figure out if her decision would be the same if I have said things differently.

"Dammit!" I hit the steering wheel in frustration. I should have coerced her into accepting me. Why did I have to be so stubborn? Why does it matter so much that she loves me? If she accepted me, she could learn to love me over time.

No, I sigh. That is selfish. I cannot say I love her and then put my happiness above hers. Besides, if she stays with me in obligation I will always wonder where she is and who she is with. I will turn into a jealous and paranoid freak questioning all her relationships. That will make us both miserable.

It sucks, but I did the right thing. I laid out the options and she made a choice.

And there still is hope, I try to cheer up myself. Until she officially rejects me, I have time to show her how much I love her. I only wish I did not have to go to Dallas and leave her. On the other hand, this trip can turn out convenient. Liana can use this time to come to terms with everything and she could very well change her mind.

Liana POV

I cannot get rid of the ridiculous grin on my face as I walk to the office. All that drama and tears over the weekend were for nothing. I got into my own stupid head and tortured myself for no reason. Axel did not leave me.

I still cannot believe I marked him. That was a terrible thing to do, and I feel awful about it. I might not be as educated on wolves as I should be, but common sense tells me that I overstepped. Marking is a mate thing. Axel said so himself. It is not a sex thing. And I violated the mate bond by marking him without his permission. In human terms, it comes down to abuse. The thought turns sour in my gut, and I swallow hard. I owe him so much more than an apology.

Axel is such a good and kind man. He was not angry when I did this despicable thing. He did not blame or hate me for it. Any other person would have been furious. Instead, he explained the situation and told me how I can fix it. Not to mention the mind-blowing makeup s*x.

Oh, shit! My hand stills midair when I reach to press the elevator's button. I did not take my contraceptive pill this morning. I thought we were over, and I do not need it anymore. I must get to the pharmacy at lunch for an emergency contraceptive and start taking my pills again. When Axel returns in three weeks, it will be safe again.

Satisfied that all is well again, I walk into the office and smile at Juliana as I sit down behind my desk. I book a flight and accommodation for Axel and mail the information. Poor man, he still has another three hours to kill at the airport before he can board the plane.

"Where did you go?" Juliana asks out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" I frown and look up at her.

"You and Axel," she leans forward on her desk. "Where did he take you?"

"Oh, that," I lower my eyes and clear my throat as I think of an excuse. Lying always comes around and bites you in the ass, but telling the truth is out of the question. So, I decided to stick to the truth ... from last week. "Do you remember my crying friend from Friday?"

"Yes, Nina," Juliana's eyes start twinkling and instantly I can tell she loves gossip.

"She got involved with a guy that's not her mate," I explain. "And it turns out he's a dangerous person to know. Axel agreed to help her, and we went to sort out loose ends from Friday."

There, I smile satisfied. Not a single lie. Axel and I did sort out Friday's events.

"You know," Juliana sighs and shakes her head. "I never could understand why people get involved with anybody other than their mates. Call me old fashioned, I don't care, but you don't jump into a relationship if it's not your mate."

"In her defence, she's human," my smile is strained. I might be defending Nina here, but I am also defending myself. Axel is not my mate and not only are we sleeping together, but I also marked him. "She didn't know he wasn't her mate." "Oh, I'm not judging her," Juliana says hastily. "If anything, I pity humans for not having the mate bond to guide them."

"You do realize I'm human, right?" I raise my eyebrows. Juliana is dangerously close to offending my specie.

"Of course I know," she looks at me as if I have lost my marbles. "And I'm not insulting you, I'm sympathetic. The mate bond guides us to our perfect match. We don't have to search and date frogs to replace our princes. Sure, our mates can still turn out to be a douche, but the odds are in our favour more often than not. It's not like that for you. You can fall in love with the wrong person and have your heart broken over and over. And my judgement is reserved for wolves messing around with random people. They have the guiding system and should know better. Nina isn't at fault, the wolf is. He knew better."

"I guess you have a point," I sigh as I overthink her words. In theory, she is right. But theory does not take into account cheating assholes like Wyatt. He was my mate and betrayed me. Axel is not my mate, and he has been my rock from the moment he rescued me and Nina in the parking lot.

"I'm simplifying, I know," she smiles apologetically. "Nothing is straight forward and there's always an exception to the rule. Some wolves don't replace their mate and settle for the next best thing. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. I mean, just look at Angela and Axel."

"What?" my head jerks up and an iron clamp tightens around my chest.

"The two of them together scream disaster," Juliana rolls her eyes theatrically. "There's a reason they're not mates. He's a good man and she's horrible. He strives to be a good alpha for the pack, and she only wants status. That marriage is going to be a disaster from the second they say I do."

"Marriage?" I croak. What am I missing here? I literally had my legs around Axel's neck two hours ago. He is hiding at the airport to avoid Angela. Why is Juliana talking about Axel and Angela as a couple?

"Yeah," Juliana sighs and shakes her head. "That witch flew in here on her broom and showed off a monstrosity of a ring, claiming that she and Axel are keeping their engagement a secret until the official party."

"Oh, wow," I mumble as I sit back in my chair and try to process all the information. "Axel is engaged."

"To Angela," she gives me a pained look. "Can you imagine how demanding and bitching she's going to be once she's Luna? She's already horrible, now she's going to be insufferable."

"Yes," I agree like a zombie. This cannot be true, my heart argues. This is just one of Angela's lies.

"And I like my job," Juliana pouts after a moment of silence. "I don't know if I could continue working here if she starts throwing her weight around."

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" I grasp to a sliver of hope. "I mean, Axel would've told us, right?"

"In all my years working for Axel he has not shared an inch of his private life with me," she shakes her head. "And Angela is desperate to marry him. She will not jeopardise her only chance by making up stories and aggravating him."

I stare blindly at my computer screen. This cannot be true. This has to be a sick joke Angela concocted. Axel promised me Angela will not get away with trying to kill me. He ... the realization strikes me like lightning. Not only did he not do anything about it, but he is also marrying her.

My cell phone rings and dumbstruck I pick it up.

"It's Nina," I clear my throat and stand up. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

"Hi," I answer the phone as I walk into the elevator.

"I'm just checking in," Nina says softly. "You didn't look so great yesterday."

"It's horrible," I burst out in tears as I slide down the elevator's side to the floor.

"I'm coming," Nina says hastily.

"No," I say urgently and pull myself together. "I'll be fine. He left for Dallas."

"You don't sound fine, Liana," Nina says strictly.

"Because I'm not fine," I pick myself up from the floor and wipe the tears away. "But I will be because I have to be and there's nothing you can do to help."

"I can bring wine," Nina offers. "Wine always helps."

"It's not even lunch," I laugh through my tears.

"It's lunch somewhere," Nina scoffs. "And you need it."

"No," I sniff and lift my chin. "I appreciate it, but it's time for me to face the facts. It's over. It was fun while it lasted, and I will pick up the pieces and move forward. I've done it before; I will do it again. I will see you tonight." "Are you sure?" She tries one more time.

"I've never been surer in my life," I say, and I am glad when anger starts brewing inside me. Anger is good, anger will keep me going.

We say goodbye and I go back to my desk.

That son of a bitch! Fury rages through me. I am done with him. I am done crying over him. Done sleeping with him and done listening to his sweet words of seduction. I am done, just done.