After that day, Axel shut himself away from everyone, including the king himself. He hardly came out of his room, and even when he did, he never said a word to anyone.
The King had been quite worried and had tried to get him out of the locked mode he had put himself in, but it was to no avail.
"Elsa, can you try? You're the only mother figure in his life; maybe he'd listen to you."
"Sure. I'll talk to him," she answered.
"I'm really grateful for you taking care of Axel. I won't lie; fifteen years ago, I doubted you when you decided to take him in. But I had no other option than to entrust him to you."
"You doubted me?" She creased her brows. "Why? Because he's not my son? I'm not that petty, my king," she said, sounding a bit offended.
"I'm sorry. That's all in the past. You've taken care of him like your own son for more than ten years. I'm really grateful, Elsa," he said sincerely, and she smiled.
"Where are my two pups?"
"They're with the head guard. Those two are such a headache. They've been so fascinated since they saw him with a sword and have been following him all around," she explained, and he chuckled.
Elsa had given birth to two other sons after Darius: Nascar and Leon. She gave birth to Nascar four years after Darius, and Leon three years later.
"I'd better go check on Axel now," she said, and he nodded.
***
**AXEL'S CHAMBER**
Axel stood, staring into the mirror for an hour straight. He had re-styled his hair, and the front part now fell to the right side, covering his right eye completely.
His face was cold as he stared at his reflection.
Somehow, his sense of hearing had grown sharper than normal. He had noticed this since he turned five. He had discovered he could hear things distinctly from a distance. And while he had been tempted to tell the King, he had kept it to himself for fear of hearing another rumor about himself.
Not long ago, he had heard a maid talking just outside his chambers.
"I wonder what sort of child he is. What sort of child stays perfectly fine without eating for a week? If his mother were alive today, I'm sure she'd be creeped out."
"Geez, he gives me the jitters."
His blood had boiled when he heard that. Truly, he hadn't eaten for a week, and he had no plans of doing so.
He had just one plan: to die.
If he died, he wouldn't be able to hear those gossips anymore. No one would be terrified. He would stop hearing people call him a demon.
He balled his hand into a fist and took a deep breath.
He was still in his own world when he heard a knock. How weird was it that he already knew who was at the door without even checking.
"Aarghh!" he screamed, punching the bed hard. "Why do I know things I don't want to know? Why am I different?" he cried silently, his chest heaving.
"Axel? Are you okay? Can you open the door for mom?" Elsa's sweet voice rang out, and Axel covered his ears with his hands.
"Just go," he mumbled.
"Axel," she called out again, knocking further.
"Everyone should leave me alone!" he yelled, loud enough for Elsa to hear him, and Elsa flinched.
"I promise I won't do anything to annoy you, baby," she said, and for a short while, there was silence. No screams, no yells, no hushed tones.
She was about to knock again when the door opened.
She gasped as she saw his look. His covered right eye made him look much scarier.
His golden eyes were also blazing with anger as he stared at her.
"What? You're scared of me too, aren't you?" he said and was about to shut the door in her face when she held it.
"Scared? Why would I be scared of my son?" she quickly said, and he scoffed.
He walked in, leaving the door open, and she entered. There were no lights on; everywhere was pitch black. She had to use her wolf senses to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the room.
Had he been staying in the darkness like this?
"Can I at least turn on the lights?" she said, and he shrugged, taking his seat on the bed.
Another anomaly.
He could see perfectly in the dark, even without having his wolf.
"You're really a demon, Axel," he muttered under his breath.
She switched on the lights, and everywhere brightened up.
She cleared her throat and moved closer to the bed, taking a seat.
"Axel, dear. Why are you doing this to yourself? Shutting everyone out, locking yourself in... it's not good for you."
"Everyone's worried about you," she cajoled, and he scoffed again.
"Worried?"
"That's funny," he added, his brows twitching.
"No one's worried about me. Everyone's scared of me. No one wants to move close to me because I'm a demon."
"You're not a demon, Axel. Don't say that," she sighed.
"I'm sure no one is scared of you. Like I said earlier, they are just worried, that's all," she said calmly, but he only looked away.
"I heard you haven't eaten in days... I brought your favourite. Should I bring it in? It's just outside your room."
Silence.
She sighed and stood up to bring the food in.
As she placed it on his bed, he turned to look at her, and she smiled.
She pushed the food toward him, handing him a spoon.
"Why don't you eat up, dear? I made it specially for you. I'm sure you've missed my meals, haven't you?" she smiled, and he took the spoon from her. Her eyes brightened as she watched him take a spoonful.
He brought it close to his mouth, then he looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Since you're being kind enough, why don't you take the first bite, Mother," he said, stretching out the "mother," and Elsa blinked, not expecting the turn.
"What are you talking about, son? I made this for you. No one else. Have a bite, dear, or should I feed you?" she asked, smiling, and he dropped the spoon with a loud clank. Her smile faded immediately.
"That's it. That smile should not be there in the first place. I'm sick of it," he spat, and she grimaced.
"Axel?"
"One thing I've grown to recognize and hate the most is fake smiles around me. And yours is the fakest of them all, Mother."