Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“Have you ever heard the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions?” she asked.
Stefan shook his head.
“Just because you do something wrong for the right reasons doesn’t mean you didn’t do something wrong,” Alice said. “I don’t blame her for your injuries. She did not cause them. But she knowingly and willingly took that risk with all of your lives. And that is something I can’t look past.”
Alice took a breath and stood up once more. She nodded to him and turned to leave.
“Could you forgive her if I asked you to?” Stefan called out.
Alice paused with her hand on the handle of the door. She swallowed and then took a slow breath through her nose.
“Don’t do that,” she said, not looking back at him. “Forgiveness is a choice you make for yourself, not for anyone else. Asking someone to do it for you is cruel.”
“I didn’t mean—” Stefan quickly tried to explain.
“I know,” Alice interrupted, looking back with a warm smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll get through. Selene and I were never that close to begin with. So I doubt any real long-term damage will be done to our budding relationship.”
Stefan smiled and waved as she opened the door and walked out.
He knew that Alice was upset about his injuries, and he had been worried that it would cause a problem between her and Selene. But he also knew that if she said she didn’t blame Selene, she meant it.
He hoped that in time, everyone, including Selene herself, would forgive her for her mistake.
“Saul’s most recent report shows that the repairs to southern borders have been completed, and the foundations for the upgrades that Galen sent over have been laid,” Corrine said with a smile as she turned to the next document.
Axel nodded, looking down at the report that sat before him.
“Looks like the communications tower upgrade is also finished, and I heard this morning that the backup tower is almost done,” Axel said.
“Yes,” Corrine nodded and looked up at him with a smile. “Winter is better than ever.”
Axel nodded but did not look up.
“There are still a lot of security updates that need to be implemented in the residential areas,” he sighed. Making notes on the report.
Corrine sat back in her chair and kept her eyes on her son.
“Yes, but they are on schedule,” she said. “There is nothing so pressing that you can’t afford to leave this office for a few hours every day or night.”
Axel stopped writing and took a breath.
“I know you haven’t been going home,” Corrine said.
Axel set down the pen but said nothing.
“Talk to me,” she said. “Why are you here all day and night instead of home with your pregnant wife?”
“Because she’s not there,” he sighed, looking up at her with tired eyes.
Corrine nodded.
“You knew?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. “How could I not?”
Axel took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.
“What happened?” she asked. “The two of you are unlike any other couple I have known. I never thought there would be a day that you would willingly stay away from each other, much less have a reason to fight.”
“We didn’t fight,” he said softly. “We didn’t argue. We didn’t even disagree, really.”
He leaned his head back against the chair.
“She left, said she needed time,” he continued. “After what happened in Moonguard… she needed time.”
Corrine sat forward.
“Are you saying she blames you for what happened?”
“No,” Axel said quickly. “No, she doesn’t blame me.”
Corrine watched him carefully. She saw the young man that had cleaned the blood off Selene’s wounds as she slept after returning from her first shift. The one that had become silent and solemn when he learned all that Jackson had done.
His greatest strength and flaw was the size of his heart.
Corrine sighed.
“So, this is about Selene.”
Axel swallowed and shook his head.
“No, it’s about me,” he said. “I disappointed her.”
Corrine raised an eyebrow as she sat back in her chair and sighed.
“Axel,” Corrine said. “You need to stop worrying about Selene.”
Axel furrowed his brows.
“Selene’s isn’t even here,” he said.
“No, but you still call Bell every day to check on her.”
“She’s my sister, and she is struggling with the loss of her mate. So how can I not worry about her?” Axel huffed.
“You can worry but stop trying to get involved. Stop coddling her and making excuses for her choices.”
Axel clenched his jaw. Alice and Myka both had already told him something similar. But it was a lot easier to say than it was to do.
“I’m not making excuses for her,” he sighed.
“Oh?” Corrine asked, crossing her arms. “Then you agree that she is responsible for Myka and those children being put in danger.”
Axel swallowed.
“I agree that she made a bad decision,” he said. “But I approved the mission, and she did protect them.”
“Which she wouldn’t have had to do if she hadn’t faked the report,” Corrine countered.
Axel clenched his jaw.
“The report only mentioned the village. She did not know that the lake had such dangerous creatures.”
Corrine gritted her teeth. She stood and walked around the desk.
“What are you doing?” Axel asked as she leaned forward and opened one of the drawers.
She reached in and moved the hanging folders until she found what she sought. Then she pulled out a piece of paper. Finally, she moved back around the desk and sat in her chair across from him.
“Moonguard not safe. New creatures in village. Too dangerous for extended observation.”
Corrine read from the paper aloud. It was a copy of the original scouting report that Alpha Ross had sent with Myka.
“Moonguard not safe,” Corrine repeated angrily. “That means the territory, not just one section, was unsafe. New creatures in village. That means that the scout found unrecognizable hostiles in at least one location. Too dangerous for extended observation…”
Corrine paused.
“That,” she said, looking up and meeting his eyes with a cold anger, “means that the scout, trained to look for and analyze dangerous situations or creatures, felt that the enemy he discovered was too dangerous to be observed safely.”
“I know what it says,” Axel growled.
“Yes,” Corrine said. “Now that Ross has sent you a copy.”
Axel clenched his jaw.
“A copy that he had because the scout believed there was an immediate threat to the nearest pack,” she stated.
Corrine took a breath and let it out slowly.
“Knowing what the report actually said,” she continued. “Would you have approved Selene’s mission?”
Axel swallowed.
“Answer me,” Corrine demanded.
Axel took a breath.
“No,” he replied.
“And when Selene read this report, do you believe she knew you would not approve?”
He turned away.
“Axel,” Corrine growled. “Do you believe that Selene knew if you read the report sent by your scout, you would deny her request?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
Corrine sat back and took a breath.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?