CHAPTER 12 | Johann Axelis
Bella was dressed in her school uniform as she sat on her bed. She nibbled on the toast and eggs Melinda brought in her room and Axel was sitting beside her, eating only the white parts of the fried eggs and leaving the yellow yolks on the plate. Melinda laughed in amusement as Bella nagged and swatted his fingers away from the toasts.
“What?” Axel asked innocently. “This is a free country. I can like eggs, but dislike yolks.”
Bella only shushed him and turned to Melinda. “Nana, if dad or grandfather asks for me, could you tell them I already left to school?”
“Ugh, liar,” Axel mumbled in between his bites. He wiped his lips and said teasingly, “How could you make nana lie?”
Melinda laughed and said, “Your grandfather left early for school, young lady. As for your father, he attended a meeting with the alpha of the Blackstone pack in the town of Cedarville. He left at dawn, around five. He wanted to see you before leaving, but your door was locked, so, he told me to just tell you.”
Bella avoided Melinda’s gaze after hearing the last part of what she said. She plopped a chunk of toast into her mouth and there was a glint of regret in her eyes, but she quickly masked it as she kept a straight face. However, Axel was quick enough to notice her sudden change of mood. He could see through her. He felt that Bella wanted to be close to her father and she regretted not being able to. Melinda, on the other hand, was too naïve to notice Bella’s mask.
“I’ll leave Axel in your hands, nana,” Bella said as she got off of the bed. “I’m running late for school.”
“You still haven’t told me why Axel is staying here. Isn’t your family looking for you, young man?” Melinda asked; her eyes on Axel whose mouth was full as he munched on a bunch of toast.
Axel choked on his food and reached for the glass of milk on Bella’s bedside table. He coughed nervously and said, “Right… I’m actually not from this village, nana. I’m here to visit my uncle.”
“So, you’re not from the Nightshade pack?” Melinda asked, surprised. “Then, you must be from Blackstone or Asphalt pack.”
“I’m not from this town, in general. Try guessing which town I’m from, nana,” he teased.
“Bordoni? Cedarville? Cambria?” Melinda guessed, enumerating the towns with her fingers. Axel laughed in amusement as Bella threw him a look telling him to stop.
“I’m actually from Camp Clover,” he said and Melinda’s face was shocked upon hearing him.
“Camp Clover?” she repeated in disbelief. She was from the said town herself and so she could not believe that Axel was from that place – the land of the banished wolves, rogues, omegas, and slaves. “So, you’re a…”
“Yep, I’m a rogue, nana,” he cut off and chuckled.
“Axel!” Bella exclaimed and turned to face Melinda. “Nana, I can explain.”
Before Bella could utter her explanation, Melinda hugged her and patted her back.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to. Now I understand why you hid this to your fathers,” she gently said. “You were just like Alpha Apollo. He fell in love with a rogue, too, your mother.”
“Nana, actually…” Bella trailed off as she pulled herself from Melinda’s motherly hug.
“Actually, I’ll be escorting princess here to school,” Axel butted in and smiled innocently at Bella. “C’mon, princess. I’ll drive you to school.”
Axel grabbed her schoolbag and dragged her out of the room, leaving Melinda chuckling in an amused happiness. It somehow reminded her of Apollo’s teenage years when he fell in love with a rogue omega slave named Xenia, Bella’s mother. Ever since ‘that night’ she had never heard of her. She had never heard Alpha Apollo utter her name either. Rumors had it that she died ‘that night’. Melinda sighed heavily, suddenly feeling sad at the thought that Bella grew up without a mother. She had always treated Bella as her daughter even when Bella sometimes treat her indifferently. She understood Bella’s behavior and had always wanted her to be happy.
Meanwhile, Axel was picking which car he would drive while Bella suppressed her urge to hit him smack in the back of his head to get everything over with. They were in the underground garage of the mansion, arguing in front of the dozens of luxurious cars parked according to their respective colors.
“That one!” Axel exclaimed excitedly. Bella only rolled her eyes and went over to the key frame, where all the car keys were hanged and displayed horizontally in an alphabetical order. Bella grabbed the key for the black Rolls Royce Axel chose. She pressed the remote attached to the keychain and the car’s headlight flickered along with two short beeps. She threw the key to Axel’s direction and he swiftly caught it with one hand. He smiled excitedly as he went inside the car and sat on the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing?” Axel threw Bella a questioning look as she opened the door to the car’s backseat. “Don’t sit there. You’ll make me look like a driver.”
“Aren’t you the driver?” Bella countered. “You insisted to drive me to school, idiot.”
“Aren’t we lovers? I’m your boyfriend, remember? Girlfriends are supposed to sit in the front while boyfriends drive.” Axel retorted and motioned her to sit beside him in the front seat. “Oh, what I meant by ‘I’ll drive you to school’ was ‘may I borrow a car’?”
“What?!” Bella exclaimed angrily as she sat beside Axel in the front seat. “Get out. I’ll drive myself to school. Go back to my room and stay there ‘til I come back, or you could go to wherever you have to be and get lost.”
“How harsh of you.” Axel held his heart and pretended to be hurt. “Don’t worry, princess. I’ll pick you up in the afternoon, too. You’ll never see a scratch on this baby. I’d never harm such an expensive car.” With that, he drove off into the highway while humming happily. Bella had no choice but to sit back and endure his somehow reckless driving.
“Where were you?” Bella asked after a while of being silent.
Axel stopped humming and glanced at her. “Beside you – humming, smiling, grinning, and stealing glances at your coldness.” He laughed as he saw Bella roll her eyes at him.
“You suddenly disappeared. You and your family,” she said, ignoring Axel’s banter. “It’s been ten years, Johann Axelis. Where were you?”
“Gosh, don’t say that name,” he groaned. “I go by Axel Jay now.”
“Answer me,” Bella said flatly, ignoring Axel’s whining once more.
“Why didn’t you ask your grandfather? After all, it was him who banished my family and demoted us into omegas, leaving us in the cold streets of Camp Clover with some rogues who later took us in,” Axel replied, his tone bitter. Nonetheless, he glanced at Bella and smiled reassuringly. “But, don’t worry. I don’t hold grudges.”
“Grandfather did that?” Bella said in a low voice, confusion written all over her milky face. “And dad didn’t do anything to stop him? He knew you were my only friend and your father was his best friend, yet he still let you become rogues.”
“Hey, stop overthinking. Your dad didn’t know anything,” Axel replied with an assuring smile. “My father was convicted of treason after it was proved that he had joined the rebellion with your father along with the other pack members of Nightshade pack, Asphalt, Blackstone, and Blue Creek. You must have not known, but Alpha Apollo suffered the most. He had to shoulder all the faults and take the blame just to protect all those who joined the rebellion. However, he wasn’t able to save us. He probably thought we left.”
“Then, why did you come back?” Bella asked, glancing at Axel. “Why were you in Mr. de Lima’s home?”
“I told you, he’s my uncle. He’s my father’s cousin. I came to ask him to free those rogues you let off. They were actually my friends and I’m picking them up later after I drop you off.”
“What? They were your friends? Why didn’t you tell me? And what? You’re picking them up?” Bella snarled angrily as she bombarded Axel with questions. “Why are you picking them up for? And in my car? Are you setting me up or something?”
“Of course not, I’d never! I didn’t come back to betray my childhood best friend,” he chuckled. “I’ll be careful. They’re hiding somewhere near the boundary of Blackstone and Blue Creek village. I’m just going to find them and convince them to give up. Then, I’ll drop them off at uncle’s house. By Wednesday night, I’ll go back to Camp Clover with them.”
“How about your mother’s medicine?” Bella asked, feeling blue suddenly, but she masked it with a cold expression.
“Don’t worry and don’t miss me too much.” Axel smiled teasingly. “I’ll visit you again and we’ll look for her medicine together.”
“Tsk.” Bella clicked her tongue in disapproval. “I’m not worried and I won’t miss you either,” she said under her breath, but Axel was able to hear it – loud and clear. He only laughed in amusement and smiled teasingly.
“I think I’ll be sad if we break up,” he teased. “I won’t deny that, princess.”
She hated to admit it, but Axel was growing on her. Bella may not say it, but she was enjoying Axel’s company; and did not want him to leave her – not again. She wanted him to stay – with her.
“I’ll be sadder,” she said in her head as she glanced at Axel.