赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Alice!� Bell shouted.

Grabbing Alice's chin, Bell forced her to look into her eyes.

Bell could see the panic and fear. She knew without question that something awful had happened to Axel. But, whatever it was, Alice must have experienced it as well.

Her heart thumped heavily. What could it be? Was it Roman? Did Axel need help? Bell closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shoring up the flood of panic. She swallowed down her fear for her brother and focused instead on helping his family.

“Alice,� she said softly. “I need you to look at me, see me, listen to my words.�

Alice showed no sign of having heard her.

Bell licked her lips. She didn’t want to push Alice harder than necessary, but she saw no other way.

“Alice, your family is in danger!�

Alice blinked, and then she looked at Bell.

Bell took a deep breath; she had her attention now.

“Listen, right now, we know that Talis has protected your pregnancy from the infection, but we don’t know if it is protected from anything else,â€� Bell continued. “Whether it’s the bond or the stress of knowing Axel is in danger, we don’t know how it willâ€"“

“Broken arm,� Alice whispered. “Teeth... through his skin, bone splitting....�

Bell took a sharp breath and clenched her jaw. She closed her eyes briefly as the fear in her heart for Axel grew, but she pushed it away again.

“Alice...." she called to her. "Axel is the strongest wolf I have ever met. The things he has survived... that both of you have survived. It's obvious why the Goddess paired you. His strength is rivaled only by your own."

Alice lifted her red-rimmed gaze to Bell. She was listening. Bell let out a soft breath before continuing.

"That's how I know that whatever happens out there... he will return. He will survive," Bell whispered, chewing her bottom lip with a slight nod.

Alice swallowed and tilted her head just slightly.

"Promise?" she asked quietly.

Bell felt a tight grip on her chest. She lowered her gaze and clenched her jaw, holding back a sudden burning in her eyes.

"No," she whispered honestly, sniffling as she fought to hold back her tears.

"Good," Alice replied.

Bell raised her head, looking at Alice with confusion.

Alice did not hold back her tears. Instead, her eyes glistened with them as they continued to fall in a steady stream.

"I trust you, Bell," she smiled with gentle bitterness. "I don't do that... too dangerous."

Bell nodded. She understood.

"If you promised, it would have been a lie," Alice continued, her voice beginning to break. "If you lied about this... I wouldn't be able to trust you enough to stay here."

Alice's jaw shook, her brows furrowed as her face shifted mournfully. She took a deep and pained breath as she let her head hang, and her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. Bell pressed her lips between her teeth. Her heart ached for Alice. She knew how hard it was to choose to let the person she loved run into danger, how hard it was to stay back.

Bell touched Alice's shoulders, helping her to her feet. They moved together down the hall. No words were spoken as Alice let out her tears, and Bell guided her to an empty room while still giving her a shoulder to cry on.

After a few quiet moments, Bell spoke again.

"Alice," she said. "There is something we should consider."

Alice took a deep breath as Bell pulled away from her and approached the medicine cabinet. She pulled out a key and unlocked it.

"You want me to take a suppressant," Alice sighed when Bell pulled out a small orange bottle.

Bell nodded.

"I normally would not suggest it," she said. "We don't really know the effects it has on pregnancy. But..."

"But..." Alice continued where Bell had left off with a heavy sigh. "We know that a broken arm is the least of Axel's worries while Roman is out there."

Bell swallowed and nodded.

"That is the cold hard truth," Bell said, looking Alice in the eye.

Alice hated the idea of suppressing her connection to Axel. As much as she understood why Bell was suggesting it, she couldn’t shake the hollow feeling in her gut as she considered it.

For so many years, they had been forced to suppress their bond, and choosing to do so... felt like a betrayal.

Bell could see the concern on Alice’s face.

“Tell me something,� Bell said.

Alice looked up at her.

“What?� she asked.

“What do you think Axel would want?� Bell asked.

Alice lowered her gaze, thinking of her sweet boy. She closed her eyes. She could almost hear him whispering in her ear.

“Please...� Axel whispered, holding his arm to his chest as he took slow, deep breaths and clenched his jaw.

He hid behind the tree, having barely escaped from the fallen. His arm was in bad shape, but he knew it would be manageable if he had a few more minutes without injury.

But his arm was the least of his concerns right now. Axel felt the effect of his injury on Alice. The panic and the fear. He wanted to reach out to her, to tell her he was all right. But all he could do was hope that she understood.

A scraping sound from a few feet behind signaled that the fallen was getting close.

“Fuck...� Axel whispered to himself, creeping between the trees to put distance between them.

But as he moved behind another larger tree, he saw movement in the darkness and then the soft orange glow.

Axel clenched his jaw.

Roman howled, and Axel knew his location had been reported.

The fallen rushed through the trees, bursting from the bush beside the large tree. It turned with a growl and a snarl.

Lunging forward, the beast attempted to bite Axel’s injured arm once more.

Axel twisted away, avoiding the creature’s strong jaws.

As Axel cleared himself, he felt an abrupt sharp snap in his system, a separation. A suppression. He gasped at the suddenness, losing his footing and tripping over an exposed root.

The beast saw and took the opportunity. Axel’s eyes widened as the large, razor-sharp jaws of the fallen approached his throat with lightning speed.