Chapter5
Axel
“That’s fifty-two to forty-eight,” Titus said with a grin, sweat a fine gleam across his bare torso. “What about whoever hits triple digits first is the winner?”
Axel sucked in a breath, his skin just as slick. They had been running the obstacle course hidden in the clearing behind the estate for the past two hours non-stop. Their movements were a blur as they followed the wooden structure Jax had built a few years ago to improve their reflexes. It was actually a pretty ingenious design, with certain parts of the obstacle connected by gears, and if someone pulled the crank it caused the obstacle to move. Columns would turn, blunt poles would stick out at random angles that you had to dodge when walking across the slim plank. It was crudely made, yet they all loved it.
Titus and Axel were alone in the clearing, which meant the course remained static. They had to run, jump, and slide through the race, the winner usually the person who completed it the fastest. Axel was faster than Titus on a sprint, but they didn’t exactly play by normal rules.
“I think a rib’s broken,” Axel said, lifting his arm with a grimace to check the bruise blossoming.
“You shouldn’t have tried to grab my ankle, then maybe I wouldn’t have kicked you.” Titus stretched his shoulder, a cut splitting his heavily tattooed skin. Out of all the Guardians he had the most ink, and not just glyphs. His entire chest was shaded as a skull, the black and grey so detailed it was hard not to study the intricate markings that Kace, their brother had created in the bone. He’d made it look as if it had been carved, echoing the glyphs that surrounded the design. A Chinese dragon curled around his left arm, starting just below his shoulder with the head finishing on the top of his hand. His other arm was covered in the glyphs they all wore, as well as his back, both legs and hands.
A silver ring glinted in his left nipple, the piercing, along with the matching ones in his face, Titus had done himself. No one else understood, mainly because of their increased healing ability. His body would reject the jewellery, pushing it out and Titus would simply pierce somewhere else.
Axel sucked a breath in through his teeth as he stretched, his ribs protesting the movement. “You wanna spar instead?”
“So, you’re giving up then?”
“No!” Axel barked. “Let’s go agai –” Lightning across his skin, the pain a shock that pushed a grunt from his throat.
“Hey, you okay?”
Axel fell to his knees, his calves spasming as he clamped his teeth to stop from crying out any further. “Fine, I must have overdone myself on the course,” he lied. “Cramp.”
“A cramp?” Titus dropped beside him, hand reaching out to touch his shoulder before Axel flinched. “Are you seriously bullshitting me right now?”
The pain went as quickly as it came, a wave through his body that constricted every muscle. His hand shook when he let out a breath, so he clenched it into a tight fist. “Calm down, Tit. It’s just a cramp, I’m not dying.”
Titus’s expression darkened at the nickname he despised. “Don’t call me that, Pretty Boy,” he growled. “That wasn’t a cramp.”
Shit. Guess the name didn’t distract him.
“Maybe I ate some bad fish? I don’t know.” Blood coated the back of his throat, and seconds later the familiar heat dripped out of his nose.
Axel sat back on his heels, staring up at the sunlight that glittered through the leaves high above. He’d been going less and less between hits, his medication no longer taking away the edge. It meant he was back at square one, trying to figure out what combination of drugs and herbs would numb him the longest. At least the whispers weren’t as prominent, his beast unusually still.
He wiped his nose with the side of his hand before gesturing to where they had placed their t-shirts and jackets. “Grab me a joint, would you?”
Titus glared.
“What? It helps me relax.”
Titus reached for the smoke, placing it between his lips and lighting it before handing it over. “You’re acting weird,” he continued, concern an emotion Axel didn’t need, or want. “Weirder than usual.”
“Says the man who just pierced his own nipple,” Axel muttered, taking a heavy drag before holding it out.
Titus refused, instead crossing his arms. “You left the poker match the other night. You went missing, no explanation. Just vanished.”
“I was tired.”
“And then this shit with Samion –”
“What the fuck has Sam got to do with anything?” Axel interrupted, finally climbing to his feet. His legs were steady beneath him, no echoes of the earlier pain, and his nose had stopped being a faucet.
“I’ve been hearing things –”
“Then stop fucking listening!”
