CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63: A DIFFERENT STORY

I turned to see Gareth striding angrily down the lawn. When I noticed his narrowed eyes and the veins on his neck bulging, my stomach dropped.

Quickly, I scrambled off of Axel’s lap, almost falling on my butt.

Axel shot to his feet and helped me up.

As soon as I was steady, I let go of his hands. I murmured a quick thank you and shuffled to the side, near Michelle.

Why did Gareth look so angry? He was sneering and staring down at his nephew with rage. Sure, Gareth found Axel and me in a compromising position, but we weren’t doing anything wrong.

Wasn’t it obvious that we were sparring? I was learning new moves from a future Alpha that I could teach his daughter. It was also good for Michelle to watch two people fighting. She could see our techniques better that way.

“What the hell were you two doing?” Gareth demanded, looking between his nephew and me.

“Oh, hey there, Uncle Gareth,” Axel said, still just as laidback as ever. “Nice to—” He cut himself off, finally noticing the rage in Gareth’s expression.

The Lycan King’s hands were shaking with anger—a sure sign that he wasn’t in control of his inner wolf.

I stepped further away from Axel. The more space between us right now, the better. I glanced to see if the others were reacting. Elliot was also staring angrily at Axel, but his rage was less intimidating than Gareth’s. Isabella and Michelle were looking at their father with their heads tilted in bewilderment.

They weren’t the only ones who were confused. How could our fun sparring session turn into something this serious so quickly?

“Is this how you thank me for opening my home to you?” Gareth snarled at Axel. “I’m not allowing you to stay in my house just so that you can put your hands all over my staff when my back is turned.”

Axel raised his hands. “Woah, you’ve got it all wrong, Uncle Gareth. I wasn’t being disrespectful. I swear. Jasmine and I were just sparring! That’s all this was.” He gestured to the ground we’d just been rolling around on.

“It’s true, Dad,” Michelle chimed in. “Jasmine was using Axel to teach me. I was actually learning a lot until you interrupted, and Jasmine was winning! I want to try that badass roundhouse kick that had Axel flying backward!”

Axel turned his head and winked at me. A challenging yet flirtatious smirk crossed his face.

“I’d love a rematch,” he murmured to me.

But his eyes told me a different story. It seemed like Axel wanted a lot more from me than a rematch.

Gareth glared at Axel’s flirtatious behavior. A loud growl ripped out of his throat, and his powerful arm shot out, gripping onto Axel’s throat. He lifted his nephew easily off the ground.

Axel gagged and struggled against his uncle’s hold. His legs kicked and flailed, but he was no match for Gareth’s strength.

My mouth dropped open in shock as I watched the unbelievable scene unfold.

When Axel’s face began to turn red, I stepped forward.

“Gareth, stop!” I said. “Let him down! He wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

But Gareth ignored me as he scowled at Axel, whom he was easily holding up using one arm.

“You’re only the future Alpha of Mondlict because of my support,” Gareth snapped. “Don’t get on my bad side because I can take it away in an instant.”

Axel nodded and continued to struggle in vain, his face turning a frightening maroon color. “Please...let me...go,” he gasped.

I ran toward them and tugged on Gareth’s arm, but it was like trying to move a brick wall.

“Let him down, Gareth,” I begged. “You have to let him breathe before you seriously hurt him! He’s your nephew! You don’t want to injure him, do you?”

His gray eyes darted to mine, and they softened by just a fraction.

My begging seemed to do the trick.

Gareth flung Axel to the grass, and he crumpled onto the ground, gasping for air.

But Gareth wasn’t done yet. He glared down at his nephew with rage.

“In the future, stay away from my staff. They are not your playthings to merely pass the time with while you’re here. If I catch you touching another one of my employees again, I won’t be so lenient.”

Axel groaned in pain and clutched at his throat, which already had the red imprint of Gareth’s fingers.

I kneeled beside Axel and made sure that he could breathe, wondering if he needed to go to the hospital.

But I realized that helping Axel was a mistake as soon as my knees hit the ground beside him. Gareth’s jaw clenched as he stared down at us, and Elliot was glaring at Axel with poorly concealed rage.

“I think Michelle’s had enough tutoring for today,” Gareth snarled, his eyes on mine. “Jasmine, one of my drivers will take you home. Now.”

I nodded without argument. I didn’t want to make this tense situation worse by fighting with Gareth and making him even angrier.

With one last glare at his nephew, Gareth turned and stormed off.

For a long moment, the five of us sat in a shocked silence.

Axel rubbed his sore throat and shook his head as he stared after Gareth.

“What the hell...is up with...Uncle Gareth?” he managed to croak out.

My face flushed as I stood up and wiped the grass off my leggings.

“I think that Gareth is just protective over his staff,” I muttered.

That had to be the reason that Gareth just lost his temper, right? He couldn’t be jealous of me sitting on top of Axel’s lap...

No, I was being ridiculous.

Isabella stared after her father with a mystified expression. “That was so weird. My dad has never been protective of any of our staff like that,” she said, then looked at me. “Only Jasmine has ever gotten that kind of reaction from him.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Michelle agreed.

Everyone was staring at me, and I blushed even further. My face had to be as red as a tomato by now.

Eventually, Axel stood up but continued to rub his throat, wincing.

Isabella held out her hands to Michelle and Elliot. “Come on, guys. Let’s go back inside.”

But Elliot ignored his future wife and kept staring at me.

My wolf purred in excitement, but Elliot’s intense stare made dread fill my stomach.

“Elliot, come on,” Isabella urged, already walking to the house.

But he stayed frozen in place, staring at me.

Isabella stopped and looked at me with confusion.

Shit.

Loudly, I cleared my throat and widened my eyes at Elliot.

“Your fiancée is calling you,” I told him.

Finally, he shook his head, coming out of his stupor. Elliot turned and reached out for Isabella.

But she was no longer offering her hand. She had both of her hands on her hips and was looking at Elliot with a suspicious glint in her dark blue eyes.