Axel: Single Daddy Shifters #1

by Black, Tasha

  Axel

  Axel lay on his bed, looking out the window at the waning moon between the trees.

  It had been hard to sleep last night, and tonight was turning out to be even worse.

  All he could think of was Delilah.

  Somehow, he’d made it calmly through the whole day.

  He’d even eaten dinner with her. It was that delicious meatloaf again, as if she were trying to make something up to him.

  They’d both focused on Noah and the meal had passed pleasantly without incident.

  Outwardly, at least, it had.

  Inwardly, Axel’s bear was throwing himself against the bars of the cage, desperate to make things right with his mate.

  Axel resisted the urge to shift, then and now.

  The bear had pretty good instincts, generally. But sometimes the human knew best.

  Delilah seemed to have come to the same conclusion. She hardly made eye contact with him all evening and she seemed oddly embarrassed.

  It was a relief when she scrambled upstairs to put Noah to bed and to read.

  He happened to know there wasn’t a single book in her room.

  And she had never gotten her “lost suitcase” back either.

  That must have been a lie, too.

  Her heart is true, the bear told him.

  And although he was probably an idiot for agreeing, he knew it was so. In spite of everything that didn’t make sense about Delilah, the one thing that was clear was her obvious tenderness with Noah, and her kindness to Axel.

  A small sound from downstairs roused his bear.

  Axel sat up and listened.

  It was a clicking, wrenching sound - as if someone were fumbling with a locked door.

  He slipped out of bed and made his way to the hallway.

  It was dark but his bear lent him keen senses.

  He crept down the stairs.

  Muffled whispers came from the vicinity of the back door.

  “I don’t know about this,” one male voice murmured. “Out here in the country people have guns and shit.”

  “Shut up, Sweet Tea, I’m trying to work,” another voice hissed.

  “Do you really think Vinny will get us a job with his uncle for this?” the voice that belonged to the one called Sweet Tea whined.

  “Fuck his uncle,” the other one spat. “I’ve almost got it.”

  They were breaking into his house.

  The very thought was so alien, he almost didn’t know how to process it.

  His house.

  Where his baby and mate were sleeping.

  The bear began to shudder inside Axel, his chest aching with an unvoiced roar, fur threatening to bristle through his skin.

  Steady, he told himself.

  He made his way into the kitchen stood in the threshold as the door finally opened with a pop.

  Two young men stood on the other side.

  One was tall and skinny, the other shorter and stockier.

  They were both dressed like thugs from a movie, wearing dark, hooded clothing with gold chains.

  The necklaces and their dumbfounded expressions told him all he needed to know.

  Serious criminals would never wear jewelry that could make them vulnerable in hand to hand combat.

  These men were out of their element.

  “Who the hell are you?” Axel growled.

  “Look, we don’t want no trouble,” the shorter one said, sounding like a bad guy right out of central casting.

  “If that’s true then you shouldn’t have started this conversation by breaking and entering,” Axel replied.

  “Good point, man, good point, good point,” the punk replied. “I should have said we don’t want no trouble with you.”

  “Who do you want trouble with?” Axel asked, running out of patience.

  “We only came for the girl.”

  His blood thundered in his ears and it took everything he had not to let the bear take over.

  “Get out of here now,” he growled.

  “Just give us the girl and we’ll go,” the short guy said.

  “No way, man, he looks like he’s about to hulk out or something,” the taller one said.

  “Shut up, Sweet Tea,” shorty spat, then turned back to Axel. “Give us the girl and we’ll be on our way.”

  But Axel wasn’t there anymore.

  His clothes were exploding from his expanding form, his face lengthening, fur bursting from his body as he shifted involuntarily for the first time since his adolescence.

  “Fuck,” Sweet Tea yelped, stepping backward so quickly he almost fell over in his haste to escape.

  “What the hell?” the other man breathed.

  Nooooo, Axel moaned from behind the bars.

  The bear turned on the shorter human, threw his head back and roared.

  The wannabe thug screamed.

  An acrid scent filled the air.

  Axel shook his massive head to clear the smell from his sensitive nose.

  The man had peed on the floor in terror.

  Somewhat mollified by this show of submission, the bear allowed Axel to restrain him.

  The man slipped in the puddle of his own pee and crawled for the back door.

  Upstairs, Noah began to cry.

  The sound was echoed tinnily right behind Axel.

  He whipped around.

  Delilah stood in the living room, the baby monitor clutched to her chest.

  He reached out instantly with his senses.

  The sound of an engine told him the thugs had made it to their car and were trying to escape.

  Although he would have liked to have loped outside to chase them down, the bear stepped back, allowing Axel to shift back into human form.

  Comfort our mate.

  Axel closed his eyes for the shift and felt the sounds of the world fade as the coolness of the room registered on his bare skin.

  “Delilah,” he said softly, opening his eyes.

  She still stood before him clutching the monitor, her eyes wide with fear.

  “I know that was scary,” he said carefully.

  “Y-you turned into a bear,” she said.

  “I’m a shifter,” he said. “It means I can turn into a bear.”

  She didn’t reply.

  “I’m still me,” he assured her. “Even in bear form I would never hurt you.”

  She nodded, still staring at him, lips slightly parted.

  “I’m sure you have questions,” he said.

  She didn’t speak, but Axel waited, willing her curiosity to win out over her fear.

  She should have found out another way. I should have had the chance to tell her, when she knew me better…

  “It makes sense now,” she said at last.

  “I seemed like a bear to you?” he asked, fascinated.

  “No, it makes sense why you don’t bother locking doors,” she said.

  Her words hung in the air for a moment.

  Then Axel began to laugh.

  When her soft laughter joined his, Axel felt his heart click together, as if it had been in pieces until that moment.

  Mine.

  He stepped toward her instinctively, ready to hold her, to confess his love.

  He didn’t care what her secrets were, he would hear them when she was ready to tell him.

  All he knew was that he was hers now. He had been a fool to worry about the rest.

  But she stepped back, arms lifted as if he were holding a weapon.

  “I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, taking a step back.

  “I’d better check on Noah,” she muttered, dashing up the stairs.

  Axel stood naked in his living room for a long time, listening to the soft sounds of his mate comforting his child in the room above.

  He wondered if she had already realized that Noah carried the same shifter heritage in his blood.

  She probably hadn’t. Surely she was still in shock.

  He wondered if she would leave right away when she realized,
or if she’d give him time to find another nanny.

  The house felt empty already.

  And Axel’s chest felt hollow.

  Mate, the bear insisted.

  No, he told it sadly. Not this one.

  17

  Delilah

  Delilah was both sad and relieved to find Axel was gone by the time she got herself and baby Noah up and dressed.

  Seeing him last night had made everything so much harder. Her resolve had nearly slipped.

  He’s a bear. He’s a freaking bear…

  It was like something out of one of her favorite childhood books: a kind and gentle man, who shifted into a wild creature when the moon was full, or his friends were in danger.

  Delilah had never imagined that such a thing could be real.

  But then she had seen it with her own eyes.

  She felt like she ought to be freaked out by the whole situation, but for some reason, it all seemed perfectly natural.

  In fact, if she was being honest, it was pretty damn cool.

  And even though it should have been frightening, she had never felt safer.

  She packed Noah into his stroller, and they walked into the village. Delilah was in a complete daze, picturing a world in which she came home to a baby like Noah and a man who could protect them from anything.

  “He’s got a girlfriend,” she mumbled to herself sternly. “How would Sally feel about your crush?”

  “Bah,” Noah said, kicking his feet in his stroller as if in agreement.

  “I know, buddy,” she said. “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

  She figured Axel must be feeling pretty crummy today. Those two guys he’d saved her from were a surprise to her, but they must have been a complete shock to him.

  She knew the Barracuda was serious about the car, but sending thugs was not her MO. And if it were, she wouldn’t send half-rate ones like that.

  It didn’t make any sense.

  Delilah had called her twice already this morning, but it went straight to voicemail.

  Delilah shivered at the idea that anyone would be coming after her when Noah was in the house.

  And then Axel had been forced to show his other self last night…

  She sighed and did the backwards trick to get herself and Noah in the door of the coffee shop and bought two cappuccinos before she could talk herself out of it.

  On the way home she called the Barracuda again, but nobody picked up.

  When she reached the shop, she took a deep breath.

  You’re going to try to make things right with him, she told herself. But you’re not going to throw yourself at him.

  “Hey, there,” Bill called to her.

  “Hi,” she said. “I got you guys some coffee.”

  “Oh, Axel’s not here,” Bill said. “He had to take a run for parts.”

  She hated the forlorn feeling that instantly descended on her.

  He’s not your boyfriend. You don’t get to miss him.

  She shrugged and headed over to Bill with one of the coffees.

  “Thanks, Delilah,” he said, taking it.

  Sunlight was slanting through the windows, sending rainbow sparkles off the Mustang’s candy apple paint job.

  She walked over to it, unable to resist.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” Bill asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, walking all the way around until she spotted the vanity plate.

  SALLY 67

  “Sally,” she said out loud.

  We figured with you around he’d be spending all his free time with Sally… Sally is his obsession…

  “It’s the car,” she realized out loud.

  But the car belonged to some rich client. Why would Axel be obsessed with it?

  “What?” Bill asked.

  “Nothing,” she said. “Um, who does Sally belong to?”

  “Sally?” Bill asked. “Oh, she’s Axel’s pride and joy. He puts all his free time into her. At least, he used to.” He gave her a wink.

  “Didn’t you say the guy who owned her had ten others just like it in his garage?” she asked.

  “Ha,” Bill barked. “Not the car, can you imagine having ten of that? No, I was talking about the hog-ring pliers Axel borrowed for the upholstery.”

  He indicated a red-handled tool on the bench near the car.

  “Oh,” Delilah said, unable to think of another word.

  “Ten of them,” Bill said to himself, chuckling as he bent over the car he was working on again.

  Axel didn’t have a girlfriend.

  He had a car.

  Delilah’s heart soared at the thought, but crashed back down at the immediate realization that followed.

  A car the Barracuda was about to steal.

  No, no, no…

  She hurried back to the house, determined to reach her partners and come up with a compromise.

  It was lucky that Noah was there to keep her grounded.

  She fed him and then chatted with him while she cleaned the kitchen. She was going to make Axel a meal tonight herself, even if it wasn’t as good as the stuff from his favorite restaurant. She would take Noah to the library this afternoon and find a cookbook. They would stop by the Co-op for fresh ingredients and if she bumped into that nice Eva Cortez again, she would tell her the truth about her cooking abilities and ask for advice.

  There was a bang on the back door.

  Suddenly all of Delilah’s plans were out the window.

  She lifted Noah from his jumperoo and held him close, backing toward the front door and hoping they could make it to the shop before whoever this was realized she was gone.

  But the back door slammed open with a crash before she could make it out of the room.

  “Delilah,” the Barracuda’s voice sounded rustier and crasser than ever in the coziness of Axel’s homey kitchen.

  “Y-you’re here,” Delilah stammered. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

  The Barracuda stepped in, glaring at her with frosty blue eyes, a pinched expression highlighting the wrinkles in her forehead.

  “Let me guess, you lost the second car, but there’s a bridge you want us to buy,” Hank sneered. His huge form nearly filled the doorway.

  Delilah was furious, but she could not forget for an instant that Noah was in her arms.

  “I’d like to speak with her alone,” she said calmly.

  “I don’t think so,” Hank laughed bitterly. “You made us track you all the way to this godforsaken burg. Anything you want to say to her you can say to me too.”

  “Fine. You can’t have the car,” she said, looking directly into those piercing blue eyes. “I’m sorry you came all the way here, but I’m out. I’m completely out of the game. And I’m not coming back.”

  “Bull shit,” the older woman said, enunciating each syllable.

  “I haven’t asked much of you over the years,” Delilah said. “You moved me around, you took me out of school, you made me pull cons with you when I was too young to even know what a con was. It ends today. I’m still your daughter, but I’m not your partner anymore.”

  The Barracuda’s mouth dropped open slightly.

  Delilah studied her mother’s face for a whisper of compassion.

  “So you’re trying to pull the family card now?” Hank spat.

  “Shut up, Hank,” Delilah said. “This is between her and me.”

  “Don’t you tell him to shut up,” the woman shrieked, clearly choosing her side. “I taught you everything you know, Delilah. And if you think you’re ever going to be anything more than a lousy con, then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

  “Please,” Delilah said quietly. “Just leave.”

  “I wish you could see how ridiculous you look,” the Barracuda said. “You’re playing house, carrying around that baby. Do you know what he’s going to do when he finds out what you are?”

  “He’s not going to find out because you’re going to leave right now,” Delilah said.

&
nbsp; “Like hell she is,” Hank retorted. “I’ve been subsidizing your stupid conscience with shitty gigs since the day I partnered up with your mother. You’re leaving with us, we’re taking the car, and from here on in we’re doing things my way. No more of your stupid rules. From now on, it’s go big or go home.”

  “She is home,” a deep male voice said from the front door.

  “Axel,” Delilah gasped.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Axel demanded, stalking into the room.

  “I’m her mother,” the Barracuda sniffed. “And she’s only here to con you. She invited us here to steal that Mustang in your shop.”

  “I can’t believe you let her take care of your baby,” Hank laughed. “You poor dumb bastard.”

  Delilah choked back a huge sob and pressed Noah into his father’s arms.

  She ran out the front door, trying not to listen to the angry conversation taking place in the kitchen.

  She had to get out, to get away. She couldn’t face Axel’s fury now that he knew the truth.

  She wanted to remember him smiling at her, his twinkly blue eyes happy and trusting.

  18

  Delilah

  Delilah paced the platform at the Tarker’s Hollow train station.

  The wind had picked up a little, scattering flame-colored leaves along the paving stones.

  The clock tower told her she had three minutes until the train arrived that would carry her to Philadelphia.

  Three more minutes to soak in this sweet town and the life she had lived here.

  She looked out over the little village.

  The hardware store guy was setting out a display of rakes and leaf bags in front of his store. A woman walking past waved at him and he stopped to chat with her.

  A woman jogged toward the station, dressed like she was ready to shop until she dropped in the city.

  An elderly gentleman tipped his cap to a group of women with strollers who were headed into the Co-op.

  It looked like a movie set, but it felt more real than all the other experiences of her life.

  She would carry it with her always.

  The wind changed and she caught the scent of the coffee brewing at Edible Complex next to the station.

  Instantly she pictured Noah in his stroller, chattering happily up at her as they waited in line.