Her Safe Place

Layla Andrews

“We are going on a trip?” I repeated. Axel had excitdley burst into our bedroom and announced that he had planned a trip. He smiled as he disclosed the destination.

“We are going to California!” He said. My jaw dropped. I hadn’t been to California since I had moved to live with my father. I couldn’t wait to visit everyone again.

“Yes we are, so you better go pack! I have a flight for us in three hours.” Axel said. He pretended to be stern and shook his finger at me playfully, “that means I want to be at the airport in one hour.”

I giggled before I stood. I made my way towards the closet. Axel had order me clothing online. They had arrived just recently. Although I did miss sleeping in his shirts, I liked that i had some of my own clothing. Axel hadnded me a suitcase and allowed me to pack. “How long are we staying?” I asked.

“Two weeks, so bring lots of your bathing suits.” Axel replied. I blushed. When picking out bathing suits, I had been a little worried. In everyone I saw, my scars would show. Axel had soothed my worries. I laughed before beginning to pull clothes from the shelves.

Axel packed up his things from the other side of the closet. I pulled out some sundresses and shorts. I knew the weather would be hot in California, it always was during summer. As it was July and we would be heading into Auguast soon, I knew it would be extremely hot.

Zipping the suitcase shut, I pulled it towards the door. I quickly packed a couple things from the bathroom before I lugged my suitcase down the stairs. Axel was in the kitchen talking with his parents and Vince.

“If you need anything at all, just call me. Everything should be smooth sailing for the two weeks while I’m gone.” Axel said. It seemed he was giving instructions for the pack.

“Dude, I have worked with you since we are little and I’ve trained fro this, I got this,” Vince said.

“I know, I’ve just never taken a big trip.” Axel said.

“Go have fun,” Eva said, placing her hand on Axel’s arm. “Layla will love getting out. You two can get to know each other more during this time. Use it wisley.”

“Thanks mom.” I stepped next to Axel and made my presence known. Axel smiled as he grabbed my hand. “Ready to go?” He asked.

“Yep, I’m all packed.” I replied.

“Okay, lets get going then.” We said our goodbyes to Eva and Alexei, Axel’s father. Georgia hugged me tightly before warning Axel to not mess anything up.

“I will always take Layla’s side,” she said.

“Thanks for the warning,” Axel replied dryliy. After we had all said our goodbyes, Axel grabbed our bags and we walked outside. I opened the trunk for Axel to put the bags in. He followed me around to the passenger door and held it open for me. I buckled in while Axel rounded the car and climbed into the drivers door. “Ready?” He asked. I nodded before he pulled from the pack house.

—-------

We arrived in California around noon. We had left the pack around seven this morning. Axel led me through the airport and outside to a taxi. “My king,” the driver said, bowing slgitly. I knew he was a werewolf by the bow.

“Derek, pleasure to see you again. This is my mate and the future queen, Layla Andrews,” Axel intordiced me.

“My queen,” Derek said, bowing to me.

“Its lovely to meet you,” I replied.

“Are we headed to your property?” Derek asked Axel.

“Yes, we are.” It seemed as though Axel had been to his property many times with Derek as the driver. Derek asked fro no directions or address. He simply drove. “We are here,” axel said after a moment. I looked out the window to see a beach huse long the ocean shore. The beach house was made out a light stone and one wall on the bottom floor was made entirely out a glass.

“Wow.” I said as we climbed from the taxi. “Its beautiful.”

“I’ve always liked to come here. This area of the beach is private, but about a mile southward, there is a public beach.” Axel said. Derek handed us our luggage before Axel paid him. Derek waved as he left the driveway. “Lets get settled in,” Axel said, leading the way towards the front door. He opened the door and I stepped inside. A small living area with a fireplace sat in the middle of the area. The wall of windows looked out from this room. Axel placed our bags by the door and walked towards an archway.

I followed behind him. “We don’t have groceries yet as I haven’t been here in about a year, but we can go out for dinner tonight.” Axel said, looking at the empty cabinets.

“That’s alright,” I replied. I looked out the window. It was still light outside. It was almost six. “Can we go to the beach?” I asked.

Axel looked over, “of course. Do you want to swim or just walk?”

“I just want to go for a walk. I haven’t been to the beach since I lived here.” I replied. Axel walked over and grabbed my hand. He opened the door to the patio. We walked out into the warm air. I took a deep breath. I had missed the smell of the ocean.

Axel held my hand as we walked towards the shoreline. I walked close to him, feeling comforted just by his presence.

Once we had walked the length of the beach, Axel and I headed back to the house. Axel had called for a car to be dropped off. Axel held the door open. I looked out the window as Axel drove. “We can stop by your old house if you want to,” Axel said, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?” I asked. I had wanted to see my old neighborhood, but I didn’t want to incovrnirnce him.

“Of course, I’d love to see the places you grew up.” Axel replied, glancing over at me. I smiled as I turned back to face the window.

We stopped outside a small resturant. Soft music flowed through the open door and light spilled onto the sidewalk. Axel opened my door before leading me towards the open doorway. The hostess greeted us before showing us to our seats. “Is there anything I can get you to drink?” She asked.

“Red wine,” Axel replied.

The hotess nodded before walking away from the table. “Axel,” I said, “I’m too young for alcohol. I’m only twenty.”

“Yes, but they don’t check ID’s. Plus, you have werewolf blood in your viens.” Axel said, “I will watch over you and make sure you are taken care of.” I couldn’t help the blush that spread across my cheeks.

A waitress walked up to our table, “Hello, my name is Kaydence and I’ll be your server today.” She kept her eyes on the notepad. “Would you like your wine put on ice?” I hadn’t that the wine had been poured until she asked the question.

“Yes, thank you,” Axel replied.

“Would you like to order?” Kaydence asked.

Axel glanced at me before replying, “yes, we would. I’ll have your special.”

“Okay and what side would you like with that?”

Axel replied to her questions about his meal before I ordered mine. Kaydence left the table to retrieve our orders while I looked around. “This is very peaceful,” I said. Although there were conversations going on, they weren’t so loud. More of hushed whispers.

“I love to come here. The food and environment is very friendly.” Axel replied. “Anyways, I was thinking that we could go to your neighborhood tomorrow.”

“That sounds great,” I replied. Kaydence returned with our food and I dug into the meal.