Mated To An Enemy

Ashleigh had been working on getting the duck figurine out of Bell’s hair for well over an hour. Both of them were getting frustrated.

“Ugh!” Ashleigh growled as she seemed to create yet another knot keeping the stupid bird in Bell’s hair. “Why the hell did she put a duck in your hair!?”

Bell sighed.

“She said it was some kind of good luck thing... So I thought it might help me stay calm.”

Ashleigh stopped what she was doing. Bell had her back to her, but she knew the look on her face was crestfallen. Ashleigh put her arms around Bell and hugged her from behind.

“It’s going to be great,” Ashleigh offered. “The wedding will be great. Galen is great. It’s going to be great.”

“Galen is great….” Bell replied sadly, touching her hand to Ashleigh’s arm.

“Why do you sound so sad when you say that?” Ashleigh asked quietly, resting her chin on Bell’s shoulder.

Bell leaned against her friend.

“I’m just nervous… afraid to do the wrong thing.”

“Bell, you and Galen love each other. How could it be wrong for you to be together,” Ashleigh smiled.

Bell nodded, but her expression remained unchanged.

Ashleigh pulled back and sighed as she looked once more at the figurine trapped in Bell’s hair.

“I think I need to get mom… I have no idea what I am doing….”

Bell laughed.

“Probably a good plan… I will wait here where no one can see this disaster.”

Ashleigh nodded and hurried out of the room.

Bell was alone for a few minutes; lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t hear the soft knock at the door.

“Bell?”

She jumped in surprise at Axel’s voice.

“You scared me!” she shouted with a laugh.

Axel let out a chuckle.

“Sorry,” he said, “Ash said you had some kind of situation with your hair… she went to find mom, but I thought I’d come to see if there was anything I could do for you.”

Bell smiled and looked up at him. She gasped in surprise yet again.

In all the years that she had known him, he had never purposely revealed his face to her. Always a draping of hair covering the right side. Bell had tried many times to pull it back, but he was too self conscious of his scarring to allow it.

But now, here he stood, so casually, as though nothing had changed.

His hair was tied back in a simple half ponytail, but it was all pulled back.

Bell smiled as her eyes traced over the right side of his face. The scar began in a hidden place on his scalp. It came down through his eyebrow, into his eye, and across his cheekbone toward his ear.

He had almost lost his eye from what she had been told. But, looking at him now, she was surprised he hadn’t.

It was thick and sunken. Overlapping skin healing over itself, fissures and cracks randomly along the surface where some parts had healed faster than others.

She knew now why he was so afraid of showing it. There would be some that would react with fear, others with disgust.

But Bell was just happy to finally see him.

“It’s good to see you,” she smiled.

She stood from her chair and moved close to him. He kept a stoic look on his face, but she could see the fear in his eyes.

“You look good,” she said.

Axel let out a soft sigh.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “I decided it was time to stop showing my weakness.”

“What?”

“Someone recently told me that I treated my scar like a weakness. I realized she was right,” he said. “I hid it away because of how I felt when I got it. I held on to the shame and misery of it all these years.”

Bell wanted to ask. She had never known how he got it, only that it happened when he was only ten years old. But she wouldn’t ask. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

“It’s time to move forward.”

She looked up at him and felt something strange. A subtle difference in his entire being. He was calm. She could see that there were things he was holding back. Something that weighed on him. But he wasn’t boiling at the surface, waiting for a fight anymore.

“You’ve changed,” Bell said almost unconsciously.

Axel’s mouth tilted in a slight grin.

“I’ve woken up,” he said.

“What does that mean?” Bell asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Axel smiled.

Bell furrowed her brows.

“That, however,” Axel said, pointing to her hair. “We should definitely worry about.”

Bell sighed and tried to cover her head with her arms. Axel stopped her and lowered her hands.

“Have a seat,” he said.

“Are you going to take it out?” she asked.

Axel gave her a look of mock offense.

“You don’t think I can?” he asked.

“I just would like to keep my hair, so maybe… no…” she laughed.

“I will have you know that I have amazing dexterity,” he replied. “Do you know how many of my mother’s coronet styled updos were made by these hands?”

“Seriously?” Bell asked in disbelief.

Axel nodded. Guiding her back to her chair.

“I was always really good with knots, and after this,” Axel said, indicating his scar, “Mom kept styling my hair up to try and get me to accept the injury. So I learned to tie my own braids and knots to avoid having to. I found that I was pretty good at it.”

“Corrine has always said she does them herself!” Bell laughed as she sat down.

“Well, I did ask her not to tell anyone,” Axel laughed.

They laughed together for a moment when Bell’s eyes lit up.

“So…” Bell smiled, looking up at him with a pleading look. “Would you be willing to do my hair for the wedding?”

Axel smiled.

“I’d do anything for you,” he replied honestly. “But first, let’s get this thing out of there… is that a duck?”

***

“Oh, it feels so good to be free of that thing….” Bell sighed.

“It was pretty well attached,” Axel laughed.

“Yea, well, that might have been more Ashleigh than Maggie,” Bell laughed.

“Oh yea,” Axel said. “Never let Ash touch your hair. Why do you think she always just wears the loose braids?”

“I’m not that bad!” Ashleigh cried out as she entered the room.

“Oh darling, yes you are,” Corrine said as she stepped into the room behind Ashleigh. “I see the crisis has been averted.”

“Yep! The Alpha saved the day!” Bell shouted out happily.

“So, you finally made your secret powers known,” Corrine smiled.

“Well, I couldn’t just let this thing destroy Bell’s wedding...” Axel laughed, holding the duck in the air as he turned to face his mother and sister.

“Oh!” Corrine gasped. Bringing her hands to her mouth.

Ashleigh’s eyes widened, and all she could do was stare at her brother.

Axel suddenly felt nervous, frightened. He had forgotten about revealing his scar.

Bell had always been the natural choice as the first person to approach. She, like Alice, had encouraged it and tried to get him to show his face.

But showing her had been a moment he was prepared for. Unfortunately, he wasn’t prepared for how his family might react.

“My sweet boy….” Corrine whispered as she ran to him and hugged him tightly.

Axel hugged her back.

Corrine pulled away and smiled up at him, gently touching her hand to his scar.

“I have missed seeing your face,” she said softly.

Axel swallowed down the deep emotion he felt. Hugging her again instead.

“I don’t know what everyone is getting so worked up about,” Ashleigh said, tears glistening in her eyes. “It’s still his same stupid face.”

Axel caught her eye, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m glad you finally realized the emo look wasn’t your style,” she said with affection.