Her Promise

Her Fear | Chapter Two

Before a human fell for a wolf warrior…

AXEL

Getting promoted but also sent away from the pack felt like not a promotion. The only upside was moving out of my parent’s house. My sisters both had mates and moved long ago. Add the three grandpups they popped out for my mom to spoil, and I was chopped beef.

Liam promised I would have real responsibility and enjoy living out in the human town. It wasn’t entirely human anymore, though. Not since he found Luna there. Or came back to get her? The story confused me, in all honesty.

I packed up my car and headed away from my parent’s house, relieved to be on my own. I wasn’t worried about being in charge of the warriors around the town at all. I’d worked hard by Sean’s side since I was in high school to earn it. While my buddies were busy wrapped up in their mates and girlfriends, I was training. Shifting and fighting were second nature to me now. Plus the humans had their police for minor issues.

I was worried about living in a new place. I’d spent my whole life in the pack. I could count the number of times I had ever left it on one hand. My parents saw no reason to take us outside the pack; frankly, I had no interest in the outside world. My pack was my home, and that was all I needed.

My pack and a mate. The latter had evaded me thus far.

I quietly envied my friends who found their mates. That perfect compliment to them. Some took longer to mesh than others, but plenty of them were instant. And having someone waiting at home for you made you work all that much harder to get back to them.

Before I was given the job, Sean sat me down and told me I couldn’t be reckless. Not like I had been. I knew it was true, so I didn’t argue. When there isn’t someone waiting at home for you, you tend to do stupid s**t and justify it later.

A couple of hours later, I was pulling up to a newer house at the far end of a quiet street. Liam had invested in some development when he had our pack members expand out here. This wasn’t technically within our pack borders, but our protection and presence were enough to give others pause. With Luna out here so much to check on her business, the Alpha pups often joined her. That all meant our protection was necessary.

I grabbed a box from the back of my car and the key from my pocket. I had three days to get moved in before I officially started. I didn’t have any furniture, but Liam said there should be a few things inside to get me started. I held the box up with one hand and knee as I unlocked the front door and pushed it open. I dropped the box to the side of the door and went to explore my new house. I could have opted to split something with someone else already up here. There were a few single warriors on the team. But the romantic in me hoped I would find a mate soon and wanted to have my own place when the time came.

-

I made quick work of unloading my things and getting stuff put away. My measly box of kitchen items didn’t even take up an entire cabinet. I positioned a singular armchair in the living room across from my TV. The bedroom had a bed and no dresser. All my clothes would have to stay in boxes until I could buy some hangers for the closet.

It was getting late, and I figured I could leave grocery shopping to the next day. Alpha had mentioned a few places to grab food around town, and Luna made me promise to stop into the inn. Grabbing my keys, I headed out the door to explore.

The inn was easy enough to find. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled into the lot. It was bigger than I expected, and the lawn swept around to the back. Sean had told me that the Alpha and Luna kept a small residence behind the property. The flower beds out front were beautifully maintained with a picturesque assortment of flowers.

I headed inside the front door, looking more like the door to a large house than a business. A little bell tinkled as I stepped onto the old hard oak flooring. “Welcome to the Blue Moon Inn,” a chipper voice greeted me.

The air punched out of my lungs when I saw the owner of that voice. A woman around my age stood behind the front desk, smiling brightly. She had raven black hair laying over her shoulder with a curtain of bangs that sat right above her eyes. Her yellow top had little black dots all over it but nicely covered what I knew was a delicate figure underneath.

“Mate?” I asked my wolf. He just shook in disapproval. If this wasn’t my mate, then the Goddess was a cruel woman. Whoever she was, she was a vision.

I realized I had been standing there staring like an i***t. I finished closing the door and nodded to her. I approached the counter, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Suddenly, my dusty flannel felt too casual. “Checking in?” the girl asked.

“Uh, no. I just moved to town,” I told her. “Azalea Blackfur told me I should come by and try the food.”

“Oh!” she said, perking up. “Are you, ya know?” Her voice got quieter as she asked.

I chuckled. “Yea, I just moved away. I’ll be heading up all the…” I looked around us, and the room was empty. “I’m the new guy in charge of the warriors.”

She stuck her hand out. “Well, great! It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lemon. When she lets me, I manage the inn for Lea. Lived here all my life.”

I gripped her hand in mine. Her skin was soft but her grip was firm. “Axel Roberts,” I introduced myself. “Never been out of the pack really until now. But I’m starting to think this place won’t be too bad.”

“It’s alright if you like places with a lot of nothing to do,” she laughed. “You’ll fit right in.” She motioned to my clothes. I shrugged. I didn’t need fancy dress clothes like she had on, but then if she was managing the place, she did.

She gave me a peculiar look. “Something wrong?” I asked.

“No, sorry. You just look vaguely familiar. It’s almost like we’ve met before,” she said. “Anyway, why don’t I show you to the dining room? Dinner is on the house tonight.”

“Won’t turn down free food,” I smiled broadly. I had never been an outwardly happy guy, but after ten seconds around Lemon, I didn’t think I could stop smiling. She came around the counter, and her flowery smell took over my senses. It was a perfume for sure, not natural, but it smelled good on her. I knew I would be spending too much time at this inn.

-

“We’re heading to the diner. Want to join?” Dylan asked. We just wrapped up training. I had our entire team train twice a week, and we split up patrol time between our three patrols. I tagged along with whatever group I chose or filled in when something came up. I was always at their beck and call when problems arose.

“Nah,” I said, pulling my shirt over my head. “I think I’m gonna head over to Blue Moon.” Dylan and I had gone to school together, but he had been out here with the humans longer than me. He offered to grab lunch with me regularly, and I had been over to his house for dinner with his mate and pup once.

“I don’t think you’re going for the food anymore,” he laughed.

“What do you mean?” I defended.

“Managers pretty cute, but she doesn’t date anyone,” he said. “She used to be a little wild child, but she’s all grown up now, according to the old lady who owns the grocery store.”

Lemon didn’t seem like the kind of girl that was a wild child, but the dating thing was painfully obvious. I had spent weeks here going into the inn for lunch or dinner almost every day. Every time I hoped to see her, and sometimes I did. I did everything I could to be charming and flirt with her, but she gave me no indication it was working. I wasn’t giving up, though. The girl intrigued me, and I wanted to know everything about her.

I shrugged, acting indifferent. “She’s cute. But the kitchen is awesome.”

“Uh huh,” Dylan shook his head. He turned and headed away from the clearing we used for training. “Later,” he called.