The wolf's front paws thudded against the ground, reverberating through Inaaya's soul. She watched as its grey-white fur floated in the rancid air of the room while its light grey eyes shone with a murderous determination. The movement of its hind legs caused a fascinating shift in its muscles, restricting Inaaya from looking elsewhere. In sync with the wolf's every step, Inaaya felt her heart sink lower.

The wolf unhinged its jaw and she watched with wide eyes as its sharp, yellowing fangs dug into the skin of an unsuspecting man. At that moment, her surroundings blurred and all the focus shifted onto the man's neck and the wolf's head. Its fangs slowly, noisily tore through the skin till there was nothing left to tear into. The man's head rolled on the ground, his decapitated body shaking during its descent.

Unlike the reality, Silas wasn't there to turn Inaaya away from the gruesome scene, and so, Inaaya looked on as the man's severed head rolled to a corner, dripping blood in its wake. His mouth was wide open in an interrupted scream and so were his glassy eyes, looking straight into Inaaya's. She couldn't blink away, not until a vicious growl drew her attention away from the corpse. 

The wolf.

The wolf stalked in her direction with its neck bent, its stance that of a predator. His eyes were the most threatening to look at, as if announcing Inaaya was to meet a similar fate.

"No, Axel," she whispered, her heart racing in her chest as she stepped backwards. The wolf pounced and a scream erupted from Inaaya's mouth, "Axel, no!"

Inaaya's body, covered in a light sheen of sweat, lurched upwards as her hands fisted the sheets tightly. Her chest rose and fell in rapid successions. She blinked several times, attempting to clear the whirlwind of fear surrounding her heart. The room slowly came back to her and the voices calling out to her became clearer.

"Inaaya? Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Cold hands rubbed up and down her arms, causing a shiver to run up Inaaya's spine. Talisa gently hugged her from the side, whispering words of comfort in her ear as she had done for the past month.

"Here." A glass half-filled with water came into her line of sight along with Jace's slightly foggy face.

"Thanks," Inaaya whispered, gratefully accepting the glass and taking two small sips from it before placing it on her bedside table.

Immediately after, Jermaine uncurled her fingers from their tight hold on the sheets and entangled them with his own, his warmth contrasting with Talisa's cold skin. "The same?"

"The same," Inaaya confirmed, nodding once. Then they sat in silence, the three of them surrounding Inaaya in a cocoon of friendship, care and love.

This had now become a morning ritual for them for a month now. Inaaya would wake up screaming from the same nightmare and Talisa, Jace and Jermaine would be there to comfort her. Then, after a while, the three had to go to get started with their days, leaving Inaaya to her own devices once more.

But not today. Today was different.

Jermaine was the first to leave, followed by Talisa shortly after. Jace was the last to leave. Just as he hugged Inaaya goodbye, Dielle walked in with a strained smile on her face. Inaaya stiffened immediately, nonetheless, she gave the female alpha a smile of her own.

Jace bent his neck in greeting. "Alpha."

Dielle nodded politely at the man as she took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing Inaaya. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," Inaaya said, having adopted the simple word for everytime someone asked her that question. How else could she answer it? Horrible because I am afraid my boyfriend will tear my throat out? That sure wasn't going to go down well with anyone. 

Dielle nodded, her smile widening for a moment. However, Inaaya knew better. It wasn't the smile her friend gave her. It was the smile of a woman who was about to do something she knew no one would like.

"Were you just leaving?" Dielle asked, turning to Jace with a polite smile but a contrasting glint in her green eyes that claimed her words to rather be demand than just a simple question.

Inaaya gulped involuntarily, as did Jace. Inaaya didn't want him to leave. Not that his presence would stop Dielle from doing whatever it was she came to do but Inaaya found comfort in knowing a friend would be there by her side. Because at that moment, Dielle was anything but her friend.

"I wasn't, Alpha," Jace lied, standing his ground even with his neck bent in submission and his hands joined together in obedience. "Unless you'd like me to."

An unnerved shadow cast on Dielle's face as she glanced from Jace to Inaaya and back again. Straining to maintain her polite smile, she lightly shook her head at Jace. "Of course not."

There was a brief silence then; silence in which Inaaya wondered if Jace's presence would, in fact, stop Dielle from saying whatever it was she had come to say. There wasn't a doubt in Inaaya's mind that it was something concerning Axel. It always was with Dielle. 

"Have you spoken to Axel lately?" There it was. Though Dielle tried to sound casual, the determination behind her words wasn't hard to perceive.

Inaaya looked at her lap, at how her left thumb was pressing harshly down on the fingers of her right hand. The slight pain kept her grounded enough to calmly go through this ordeal with Dielle. It only ever lasted a few minutes. Dielle said her piece, Inaaya disappointed her by saying she wouldn't see Axel anytime soon and then frustrated, she let Inaaya be.

"I haven't but you already knew that. You know I can't even see him without..." Inaaya trailed off, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to compose herself.

"Without having another panic attack." Dielle finished the sentence. The poorly hidden contempt behind her words made Inaaya's head snap in her direction in complete shock.

"Dielle?" Inaaya asked slowly, uncomprehendingly. Lately, it was as if she had never really known Dielle. The woman sitting opposite to her was as unlike her friend Dielle as she could be.

"You know I can't help it. I can't help that the moment I see him, I see the wolf tearing into a man's throat. I can-can't help that it makes it difficult for me to breathe... you know that Dielle, don't you?" A tear slipped from Inaaya's eye, which she rashly wiped off. A part of her desperately wanted to explain herself so Dielle would understand and another couldn't believe she had to defend herself for something she couldn't control.

"But can't you?" Dielle burst harshly then slowly clasped Inaaya's hand in hers, speaking in a softer, eager tone now. "You just have to forgive him for marking you. I know he shouldn't have done that but—"

"Dielle, it's not about the mark!" Inaaya spoke, snatching her hand from Dielle's hold. Her eyebrows furrowed and lips parted in utter astonishment. Of all the things that could have come out of Dielle's mouth, those words were the last Inaaya expected. "You know it's not about the mark." Inaaya stared the woman down, begging her to agree because even the possibility of anything otherwise was affronting. It wasn't some petty couple's squabble. Axel marking her as he had seemed trivial in front of watching him decapitate someone. It wasn't about the mark.

Dielle's nostrils flared as she breathed in, visibly struggling to keep her temper in check. Her green eyes never once left Inaaya's as she matched the latter's offended stare with an accusing one. "No, Inaaya, I don't know. What is it about then? The death of some wolf you had never seen before? Not to mention the same one who was aiding a vampire in drinking your blood."

"Alpha!" The word escaped Jace's mouth in a horrified whisper but remained ignored by the recipient.

Dielle's each word was spoken with such hostile mockery that it stunned Inaaya to silence. Inaaya found it incomprehensible that Dielle — her friend Dielle — had made such gross errors of judgement about her character. Inaaya wasn't some petty human being who was latching onto the death of a man to further an argument. An argument, for fuck's sake!

"Help me understand, Inaaya. What, did you not know that werewolves killed? Did Jace here not tell you about our history? Our nature? It's who we are, Inaaya! We're predators. We're part-animals. We kill and that's all there is to it." Dielle stood up, her hands thumping the air at her loud declarations. Then her eyes zeroed in on Inaaya once more, as if holding her accountable for a crime. "So why are you holding it against Axel? If it's not your anger at him for marking you then what else is—"

"It's the fact that I am a human, Dielle! I am a human!" Inaaya screamed, standing up to face Dielle. Her eyes filled up anew with unshed tears, her lower lip trembled and her fingers shook by her sides. She looked from Dielle to Jace and then settled back on Dielle again. There was a sudden hush in the room, a stillness that seemed to intensify the angry beating of her heart.

"You're a wolf but you're forgetting that I am a human. I've lived in a world that condemns the unnecessary loss of life. I've grown up in a world where decapitation isn't an everyday occurrence for me. Just because it's in your nature to kill doesn't mean I will be able to accept it. It doesn't mean I should be able to accept it."

Inaaya's hands covered her face then slowly moved to the sides of her head as she took in a deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes and ceasing the trembling of her fingers. "I can't, Dielle, I can't," she whispered, her hands covering her mouth as a sob broke through. "I watched a man die, Dielle. I watched a man die a gruesome death... because of me."

Inaaya was trembling, her eyes pooling with tears again, imploring Dielle to stand in her shoes and then judge her for what she was feeling. She inhaled then spoke, her voice thick with emotions as she struggled to get the words out. "I know- I know you want everything to be okay between me and Axel but I don't know if I'll be able to look at him the same again. I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop picturing the wolf tearing into a man's throat everytime I see him." She stumbled backwards, sitting clumsily down on the bed again, struggling to compose her thoughts.

"Inaaya, I- I am—"

Inaaya shook her head, interrupting Dielle, though she seemed to mostly be talking to herself. "Fuck! In some twisted way, I might even be able to accept that he killed a man. Hell, I know he and Talisa killed that vampire too." Inaaya's eyes met Dielle's in a pleading, helpless gesture. "But Dielle, I can't get that image out of my head. I can't." 

Another sob escaped her lips as her mouth formed the words she hadn't wanted to voice. "I don't know if I can ever be with Axel again." The gravity of the situation caught up to her, breaking her heart that had only just come out of its cage. Axel had fast become a constant in her life and now, she couldn't face him anymore. Not without risking a panic attack.

Her breathing constricted. Needing to be out in the open and alone, she rushed out of the room. On her way out, her eyes caught sight of Axel, sporting a light stubble and a damaged look in his eyes. Her heart hammered in her chest at the sight of his light grey eyes. The same eyes as that of the wolf.

The reality merged with the phantasm and instead of the hurt, she only saw a murderous intention in his eyes. Her mind was closing in on her; her heart hammering against her chest in an unhealthy rhythm. Her body turned into another direction of its own volition and her feet fastened their pace, carrying her outside and away from him.

Walking blindly outside the castle, Inaaya had lost track of how far she had come and how long it had taken her. Inaaya didn't have a destination, her mind focussed on the path alone, at least until the dizziness took over. Her eyes were filled with tears and sweat was dribbling down her temple. She felt that ever-present sense of terror again, a telltale sign of her panic attack. 

Her body slammed into another and she stumbled backwards, barely able to balance herself. She looked up to find Eliseo. His brows were furrowed, eyes narrowed and lips curled in an unexpressed snarl. His long blonde hair were wild and dirty, much like his clothing. His t-shirt was marred with mud and his half pants, a size too big on him, looked as if they had survived a war. He was the picture perfect of a danger Inaaya wanted to avoid at all costs, more in that moment than ever before.

Stumbling further back, Inaaya's hands shot out in front of her to protect herself. "Not now, not you. Please," she begged in a soft whisper. Her eyes fixated on the ground, scared to meet his gaze. "I can't— I can't take it. Not right now." She shook her head repeatedly as her legs finally gave way and she tumbled to the ground.

Eliseo moved forward instinctively, his hands grasping for her but Inaaya crawled backwards, wide eyes staring at his grimy hands in utmost fear. She shook her head again, knowing her voice wouldn't make it out of her throat to express her protest.

"Shit! You're having a panic attack. Fuck!" Eliseo cursed loudly, looking out of his depth in that situation. His sheer blue eyes phased out and immediately raised Inaaya's hackles.

"No! Don't!" Inaaya called out in alarm. "Don't call Axel."

Eliseo's eyes focused on her again. "I wasn't mind-linking Axel."

Inaaya breathed in, her body slouched. Of course, he wasn't calling Axel. By now, everyone in the pack knew how things were faring between the couple— if they still were one. Inaaya was sure Dielle had filled out her counterpart on the situation too. Through the cloudiness of her mind, another nervous thought flitted forward. "Please don't call Dielle either. Or anyone else. Just leave me be."

Eliseo's brows rose up in surprise and confusion. "But Dielle can help—"

"Please." Inaaya cut him off, closing her eyes as her body slumped against a tree. Numbly, she hoped Eliseo would just leave. She didn't want to be near Axel, near Dielle, near Eliseo. She just wanted to be left alone to deal with her panic, like she had been doing for years now. Her hand clutched at her chest as it throbbed in pain. Her body shivered at the sudden chilliness in the air.

"It's okay. I'm here with you. You're going to be okay."

Eliseo's whispered words surprised her. In her mind, she was alone in the clearing. She opened her eyes a crack to find him sitting across from her, a respectable distance away. He gave her a small encouraging smile, murmuring words of comfort and support and distraction. 

Inaaya didn't know how long she sat there, partly listening to Eliseo and partly lost in the frightening maze of her own thoughts. Slowly, her breathing was calming, the panic receding. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes found a very blurry image of Eliseo. Wiping her tears, she watched as his visage sharpened. She noticed the concern lining his features. Gulping and fisting her hands, she attempted to bring herself down from the high of her emotional rollercoaster. 

It didn't help. A loud sob broke through.

Inaaya knew a meltdown was long due but it couldn't have happened at a more inconvenient time. Eliseo was the last person she wanted to be like this in front of. This was even worse than her having a panic attack in front of him. Her panic she couldn't control but her emotions, that she was supposed to have some control over. Half her life she had spent firmly controlling the one thing she could— her emotions, but now, even that was slipping from her.

She covered her face with her hands as if to shield her weakness. Eliseo's faltering hand had barely touched her shoulder when she roughly pushed it away. Though barely a moment passed when her need for comfort took over and she blindly grabbed hold of his t-shirt. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing against the dirtied cloth. Minutes passed and finally, a hand cupped the back of her head rather rigidly.

It had been years of breaking down alone in the privacy of her room. For once, it felt nice to have someone there with her. As unwilling as Eliseo might have been, in that moment Inaaya found comfort in knowing he was there with her, providing some semblance of solace.

Eliseo allowed her to pour out her heartbreak to him, gently patting her head and whispering reassurances. "You'll be okay, kid."

A/N:

So, this was.... well, somewhat intense. I know there hasn't been much Axel-action in this chapter but hopefully soon. ;)

What did you guys think of this chapter? Of Dielle's unusual involvement in their relationship? Any theories?

Thanks so much for reading!

Don't forget to vote & comment if you enjoyed this chapter! :D