Axel dipped his head. “Crystal.”
Chapter13
Axel
Something slammed, the loud crack pulling him from a deep sleep.
“Get the fuck up, arsehole,” a voice snarled, and Axel felt himself be yanked up from his bed and up onto his feet. The ashtray he had balanced on his stomach clattered to the carpet, spilling ash and the remains of the joints he had just smoked.
Axel pushed at Titus’s arms, loosening the grip on his t-shirt enough for him to step away. “What the fuck?” He blinked, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
Titus stood at the side, vibrating with anger as his bourbon irises swirled the silver of his beast. “So I went to our apartment today,” he said, voice a deep growl edged with ice. “To check everything was okay, considering I got a notification that the fire alarm went off.”
Axel squinted his eyes, mind groggy. “Look, you shouldn’t have used pink glitter, that was a dick move. It’s just glue, I’m sure we can get something to dissolve it and your toys will be fine.”
“What are you on about?” Titus growled. “I’m talking about your room, you know, where you’ve kept your fucking drugs.”
“Keep your voice down!” Axel quickly slammed his bedroom door closed despite Titus’s tone being quiet.
“Not to mention the bathroom,” he continued. “The one where you’ve been hiding a fucking chem lab.”
“It’s no one’s business but mine what I do in my own fucking room.” Axel’s beast was reacting to the violent current in the air, pulling him completely out of his daze.
“It’s my business if you’re hurting yourself. ” Disappointment frosted his words. “You’re family. How could I have not seen how bad it’s become?”
“Ti, what have you done?” It was a whisper, panic strangling his voice. “What have you done?” The words rose to a scream.
“I've smashed it,” he answered. “All of it.”
“Fuck you, you selfish prick!” Axel began to pace, his movements rigid with rising anxiety. “You have no idea why I do this. The pain I’m in, the constant fucking noise in my head. Nothing helps except… Fuck.” He glanced at the ashes on the floor, at what remained of the joints and wondered if he’d set them on fire, how much fumes could he inhale.
“I’m done protecting you, Axel.” Titus stepped closer, forcing his attention back. “You were back up tonight, or did you forget? Again.”
Axel stopped moving, remaining deadly still as Titus’s words registered. He glanced at his phone, lying dead on the pillow.
He swallowed past the lump in his throat, mouth suddenly dry. “Was anyone hurt?” He wasn’t on rotation, but he was on call to help if needed. Wassupposedto be on call, and instead he had smoked until he had passed out.
Fucking. Great.
“Jax,” Titus muttered. “But Sythe came when you didn’t answer your phone. He’ll be okay, it wasn’t as bad as last time.”
Axel couldn’t help but glance down at Titus’s chest, remembered the life-threatening wound his cousin had suffered. Axel was supposed to have been on call that night too, but instead he had been getting high at the bar. The same night he kissed Sam.
“I’ve been lying and protecting you for years, telling the others there was nothing wrong, hoping you’ll sort yourself out and it was just a phase. I’ve risked everything for you, and you were sitting cooking your own shit this entire time.” Titus looked away, a flush across his cheeks. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“The pain –”
“I’m done, Axel. Done with picking you up so high that you can barely walk and done with making excuses for your mistakes. I’ve tried to help you and you’ve done nothing but –”
“Help me?” Axel’s voice rose once more. “Fuck you, you’ve never helped me do shit you arrogant prick. How can you help something that’s beyond repair? My connection to my beast is fucking fragmented, Ti.” Axel clenched his fist, so tight his knuckles cracked. “It’s been ruined since the ritual. We’re not bound properly. My beast isn’t connected to me like everyone else, he’s constantly trying to escape and it creates this intense ache and fucking whispers inside my head. The drugs, they help.”
“You can try –”
“I've tried everything,” he said. “I've gone to healers, holistic witches and I even tried asking a faerie down at the Troll Market. Nothing worked, the pain’s still there to the point I can’t take it anymore. The narcotics take the edge off, so I keep going back.”
“I can’t watch you destroy yourself,” Titus said, his beast present in his tone. “You’re going to kill yourself, and I’m not going to sit here and watch.”
Something dark and twisted burned in the pit of Axel’s stomach. “Stop acting like you’re better than me, like you haven’t got your own issues.”
