Mated To An Enemy



Words were weapons to Alice. Riddles and games, twisting and turning off the tongue to trick and trap her target. She didn’t trust them. They were too easy to say, much harder to do.

Actions were the language that Alice understood.

Expressing herself through words was difficult.

Often, she found herself misdirecting and playing games with her words purely out of habit and instinct. Words were meant to be false. They were meant to cause chaos and confusion. That was one of her earliest and most ingrained lessons from Holden.

It was difficult to lie with your body. To keep secrets or hide what you felt. The body was honest if you knew how to listen to it.

Throughout her time as the doll, Alice had been forced to do many things to herself and to others. Her words were perfect, designed and decorated to fit whatever tale she was spinning.

Her actions were choreographed and programmed. Her body was not her own. But, having no control and no honesty from the shell she lived inside of made it that much easier to recognize the lies and misdirection of those around her.

A forced smile, a gentle recoil, a slight shifting away from or toward another. There were others, pain indicators, threatening postures, favoring to try and hide a wound. All of them were familiar and well-known to Alice.

Corrine spoke with confidence and strength. She was composed and dignified, always. But her lip quivered, and her eyes shook at the mention of Ashleigh. And though she always kept a smile when she spoke of Wyatt, her hand would casually move to her chest as though she were covering a wound.

Peter was snarky and sarcastic. He called Myka names and often told him to leave him alone. But he watched his lover carefully. His breath hitched when he felt him nearby. Whenever Myka left, Peter always took a step toward him as though he wanted to follow.

Actions were the language that Alice understood.

As time passed and Ashleigh continued to ignore the pain her body screamed, Axel’s words began to differ from his actions.

That was when Alice became uneasy.

When he said he was fine, the dark circles under his eyes and the increasing weight of his shoulders told another story.

When he told her that the report from Moonguard was good and he had approved Ashleigh’s mission, he swallowed and fidgeted while his lip was swollen and red from the frequency of his nervous chewing.

And when he told Alice about what Ashleigh had done. He said he was sure she had believed she could protect them and hadn’t intended to put the children or Myka at risk. His tears, the absolute shame in his eyes, and the weakness in his body as he said those words made it clear that even he did not believe them entirely.

But it wasn’t until she saw his bruised face when he returned from speaking with Peter that Alice realized how she felt. When she saw such an honest display of emotion.

Peter had not held back or hidden or lied.

Alice was devoted to Axel. She knew that she could never live her life without him again. If he asked her to accept his lies as truth, she would.

But if she did, he would continue to wear himself down trying to believe his lies. And she would resent him as her actions became choreographed to fit the lie.

If it was only her, she would have stayed. But the babies growing inside her needed words and actions to mean the same thing. To be honest and genuine.

Spending all these days away from him, her heart ached. She was angry about Myka and the children anymore. They were fine, and they were safe.

Alice continued to stay away because of Axel. Because she saw the conflict in his eyes when they spoke, the guilt and shame of his decisions.

But after she collapsed, things had changed. When he yelled at the doctor, when he felt the movement of their children, and when he immediately reacted to her pain and carried her up the stairs. Alice felt like she was finally seeing Axel again after a long trip.

When he set her down in the bathroom, and she saw the blush in his ears as he hurried out the door, an idea came to her.

She wanted to see just how honest he would be with her.

So, that was why Alice had told him that she only wanted help washing up. And that was why as they sat naked in the bath together, she was teasing and taunting him while reminding him of his words.

“Don’t let me distract you,” she whispered against his throat, pressing soft kisses to his flesh. “You should really be more focused, Alpha Axel.”

She smiled as she felt his short breaths and the desire that flowed from him. Would he be honest with himself? Would he tell her he couldn’t do it and give in to what they both needed? Or would he hold himself back, even though he knew it wasn’t what either wanted?

“You’re right,” Axel whispered. Taking his hands off her shoulders.

Alice swallowed, feeling a gentle disappointment. But she wasn’t ready to accept his answer. She licked her lips and took a breath.

“Am I?” she smiled. She opened her mouth and gently bit him before sucking lightly on his throat.

“Yes,” Axel said, dipping his hands into the warm, soapy water. “I have to focus on what you need.”

He lifted his hands, bringing them just over her chest, and spilled the water over her.

Alice gasped as the water flowed over her breasts. She looked down as his large, firm hands cupped her breasts and began to massage them. She drew a sharp breath and closed her eyes, swallowing as the jolt of pleasure moved through her body.

She turned her head away from his throat as she took several short breaths and licked her lips.

“What... what are you doing?” she whispered through soft pants as his thumbs gently rubbed against her nipples.

His hands didn’t stop as he turned and looked down at her. Alice gasped when she saw the dark, lusty gaze in his eyes.

“Exactly what I promised,” he whispered. “I’m washing your body and taking care of your needs.”

Alice took a deep breath as the heat in her body suddenly grew.

Axel moved one hand down onto her thigh as the other continued stimulating her breast. Alice arched her back toward him as his strong hand squeezed her thigh.

“Just lay back and relax, Alice,” Axel whispered in a heavy voice as his hand moved toward her center. “I won’t get distracted anymore.”

Alice let out a thick moan as his fingers slipped into her folds.