As Axel said that, not breaking eye contact, Elsa's eyes widened. "What are you on about?"
"What am I talking about? That's the funniest question I've heard in a long time," he glared, and she blinked rapidly.
"Axel, you should just eat up. I don't understand what you're talking about," she said, trying to pat his head. But he grabbed her wrist midway, and her face hardened.
"Axel, what is the meaning of this? Do you realize you're holding your Luna this way? You will be dealt with," she spat, and he chuckled.
"That's right. Deal with me, Luna. You've been planning it, haven't you?"
"I told you I can recognize fake smiles. You've been giving me that smile ever since I was a pup. Flashy, lipstick-coloured, sweet smile. You're evil," he muttered. She grimaced, then a knowing look formed on her face, and she lowered her hands.
A smirk appeared on her face, and he breathed hard.
"Seems like you found something out, little devil. Care to share?" she said slowly, pacing the room. His breath hitched.
"You're quite smarter than I thought. That's impressive—" She paused, still moving to and fro, while Axel's golden eyes followed her every movement.
"I mean, your mother was such a stupid one; I didn't expect her whelp to catch on so easily," she giggled, and Axel's rage grew.
"You're so evil," he mumbled, his body shaking. "Why poison me now? You've taken care of me for fifteen good years. Why haven't you poisoned me all this while? You never wanted me anyway."
"Bravo! That's so correct," she let out a laugh.
"You know I don't, and I will never ever like you, yet your father took my kindness hook, line, and sinker. He didn't doubt me at all. I'm so meticulous, am I not?" she giggled, then her expression turned serious.
"That food—eat it," she said, pointing to the tray.
"Should I tell you what's in it?" she said, moving a bit closer. "Lots of blended silver. It will twist your intestines so badly, and soon, you'll be gone from this world. Your presence is too suffocating for me and my precious pup. I didn't kill you all this while because I was watching you. At first, you didn't seem like a threat. But then, the Alpha started showing you so much affection. He left his trueborn son alone and started showering his kindness on a filthy concubine's whelp. Such audacity." She blew a strand of hair from her face, and even though Axel's tears were on the verge of falling, he made sure none of them dropped.
A voice was speaking to him. A voice telling him a hundred things he could do to stop this woman from talking. Oh, she'd be silent forever. He could feel it within him. The feeling to kill.
Elsa's voice kept on ringing.
"But now, you seem to be showing traits that may endanger my son—the heir—if not tamed. So, just eat that food and leave. This packhouse isn't a place for you, and this world isn't either," she said, and took light steps toward him.
With every step, he retreated, taking an equal number of steps back. "Don't come closer."
"Why, Axel? You think I'm scared of you?" she cackled. "I am the devil's wife herself." She laughed again, still moving closer, and he didn't stop retreating.
"Come on, I don't bite," she smiled, and he winced. The bloodlust in him was screaming right now, and if she came any closer, he wasn't sure what was going to happen.
"I'm really interested in bringing out the real you, Axel—y'know, just to see exactly what you are before your death. It would be a waste to just leave like that, without unleashing the demon in you, wouldn't it?"
"I can hear your heartbeats pumping. They're beating ferociously—you want to attack me, don't you?" she said, a knowing smile plastering on her lips again.
"Stop smiling. That smile. I. Hate. It," he growled, his voice deepening.
"That's it. Almost there. Unleash that demon," she chuckled, and advanced closer. She was now standing a meter from him, and Axel breathed hard, his golden eyes blazing.
"Have you ever thought about it? You know, what you really are?" she said, retreating. Then she sat on the bed, picking up the poisoned tray.
"Aren't you curious?" she said slowly, her hands trailing the plate.
"Should I tell you?" she asked, looking at him over her shoulder, and she watched his eye twitch.
"Eat this poisoned food, and maybe, just maybe, I'll tell you exactly what you are."
"I'm such a kind mother, am I not?" She laughed, and a smirk plastered itself on Axel's lips as he moved closer to her.
A confused look appeared on her face, and she moved back. "You shouldn't be scared, Mother. It's just me, Axel, the son of a concubine, the demon. Why are you running?"
"I guess I'm really a demon, after all. Because the voice telling me to grab your neck and strangle you, Mother, it's getting stronger by the minute. I've been resisting it for the past fifteen minutes, but maybe I shouldn't," he said, and his eyes glowed a more intense gold.
Just before he could get closer to her, Elsa's claws sharpened, and she tore her own skin in three different places, blood dripping from the wounds as fast as it came.
"Help! Somebody!" She screamed, and Axel's eyes widened. "Help, he's trying to kill me!"
Within seconds, guards rushed in. The state in which they found the Luna was shocking. They looked from Axel to the Luna and back again.
With no time to process what happened, they rushed the Luna out of the room and toward the infirmary, while they restrained Axel like a criminal.
"I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything, I swear!" his voice cried out, but none of the guards listened.
The Alpha was currently out; he had gone to visit other packs, so they had no choice but to throw him into a dark cell.
His hands were bound, as they feared he would shift and do something more terrifying. He had injured the Luna; what else was he capable of?
Inside the cell, Axel stayed on all fours, breathing heavily. His eyes had long been accustomed to the darkness, so it didn't frighten him.
However, there was one thing he was sure of. If everyone else doubted him, his father would never.
A smile touched his lips as he thought about the Alpha. "He would never doubt me," he muttered, and that reassuring hope seemed to calm him down.