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102. Dinner
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The Alpha King's Curse 103. The Truth
That had been a stupid lapse of judgement. Jackson had been too preoccupied tracking Miss. Roberts’ and her guest’s movements that he’d forgotten the other threat.He hadn't expected her eyes to glow in the middle of the dinner service.Going downstairs when Layla hadn’t learned to control her emotions had been a risk to start with, but he’d put everyone in danger now. There was a Hunter in his hotel. The stench of death that clung to Hunters was hard to hide. The darkness, the evil in their souls, always gave them away. Hunters were human, but they committed so many heinous acts in their mission to eradicate all werewolves that he could never sense any humanity in them. Just death and darkness.He heard Layla’s elevated heartbeat behind him and turned to look at her. Her grip was so tight on the rail that he could see the metal bending between her fingers. He turned back to Britney quickly and gave her a tight smile. “Don’t worry,” he repeated. If Britney thought it was weird that
The Alpha King's Curse 104. Nothing's Changed
It was late at night when they pulled up at the front of the packhouse. Layla was still numb from Jackson’s revelations.Did Jackson mean there was a wolf inside her? This thing that took her over and made her do stupid things? It was like a separate entity, a personality that was the complete opposite of who she was."It can't be true," she whispered. If Jackson had no explanation, then he had to be wrong. It had to be the baby changing her since Jackson had said it would be a werewolf. But all of this had started before she'd got pregnant. She'd seen the red wolf throughout her childhood. So it was true? Would she turn into a beast like him? What would the pack do to her if they found out?So many questions but she didn’t know what to ask first. Her whole life had changed at the drop of a hat. Some things made more sense now, while others became more confusing. Was Britney the same as her? Had she also grown up keeping all the weird things that happened to her to herself?And the
The Alpha King's Curse 105. Not Worth It
Eight months.He had eight more months of this shit. At this rate, he would mark Layla before the month was out. Jackson leaned back in the seat and drank a sip of his beer as he looked out over the balcony. Breakfast hadn’t even been prepared yet, and he was already drinking. What he needed was sleep, but Layla’s scent was stopping that from happening. He knew Layla didn’t fully understand the nature of his struggle, and even if she did, there was nothing she could do about this either. “Fucking Fate,” he grumbled as he listened to the sounds of the pack waking up. Zach had already held his nightly treasonous meeting with a few more pack members. They would all then continue their day as if nothing was happening. As if they weren’t backstabbing fuckers trying to find a way to kill him. Zach’s latest recruits included the loved ones of the people who had died in the last attack.Guilt ripped through him again as he set his empty beer can down and picked up another. What was he me
The Alpha King's Curse 106. Face Off
Cain took control the moment Micah finished speaking.It was like the day he’d killed Kendrick. The extent of Cain’s anger took him by surprise as he marched out of the packhouse. It burnt through him instantly as the red haze of his rage tinted his vision. He’d wrested control from him as if it was nothing. As if it was something he could now do at any time.That was concerning.‘Calm down!’ he ordered the beast.‘It’s their fault. Their wards failed because they thought they were some sort of gods capable of anything. They killed my people and put Layla in danger.’He couldn’t argue with that. The Circle had always been full of people who had big egos. Much like Zach and his friends, who considered themselves higher ranked in his pack when they were nothing but parasites. But as much as he wanted to deal with everyone, he had to think about what they would do to Layla and his child when he was gone. The Circle was much bigger than the three who liked to bother him.‘Cain, this isn’t
The Alpha King's Curse 107. The Beginning Of The End
Blood. The scream that died in his throat. The limbs that landed on the roof of their little toy car. The lifeless eyes staring up at him from the ground.Fin was dead before his magic could flare up to defend him.He felt the stinging dark magic shackle him from behind and turned to see Alpha Hugo with his eyes black and black veins around them. Soft chants came from his lips and made his invisible shackles tighter. And then, in front of him, Lincoln did the same. The whites of his eyes bled black, and he lifted his palms to start chanting.He had seen them in action once or twice in his lifetime, but their magic had never been used against him or anyone with his blood. If his father had been alive, he would have told him he’d brought shame to the family name.But he was fighting for his child’s life. Richard King hadn’t had a paternal bone in his body, so he wouldn’t have understood this. But it was his mate bond that had driven him to madness. That much he would have understood.
The Alpha King's Curse 108. Not Fit To Be King
What the hell was happening?Layla tried to keep her footsteps light as she found the old rucksack she had come with and stuffed some essentials into it. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute. Breathe. She just had to breathe and focus on the task at hand so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. Was she supposed to pack for Jackson, too? She slowly opened his drawers and took a few things out. What did one pack when they were running for their lives?Her heart started to hammer again.Had she heard right? Some people had come all this way to what? Take her? Kill her?As she had listened in, she heard the anger in their voices. She was more unwelcome here than she had imagined, and these people seemed to already know she was pregnant. Was she really responsible for all the bad things that had happened? Were all the whispers she'd heard from the pack true? She hadn’t understood half the things the visitors had said. What was a rogue, and why had it claimed her? They had calle
The Alpha King's Curse 109. Wounded Beasts
None of them had lowered their gazes or shown any other deference to his rank as their King. They were openly challenging him.He’d suffered from his guilt for weeks. Slaughtering the people who killed his pack members hadn’t been enough; he should have tried to make amends. But their whispers about him and Layla had held him back. And his guilt was holding him back now. Though Cain was still on alert, even he recognised a wounded animal and the need to grieve. The woman who demanded he give Layla to them was projecting as much pain as most of them. Zach had used their vulnerabilities to get them on his side, like the asshole he was. His declaration didn’t scare him as much as the emotions his pack members were projecting. The amount of pain they were in was enough to tip them over into doing anything to make it go away. “You’ll never be Alpha, Zach. You’re too much of a coward and dick to fit into that role. There’s a Beta and a Gamma, and all the pack warriors who would do the j
The Alpha King's Curse 110. Feeling Useless
Blood. There was blood.Jackson froze, unable to fathom that such a horrible thing was happening. All the noise around him faded to the background as he tried to concentrate on the little heartbeat. Still there. But was it fainter?He sucked in a breath and tried to concentrate. Everything in him went numb. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t think.Someone grabbed Layla’s arm from the side. Cain reared forward, his whole body filling with rage as a growl left his lips. The sound was low and guttural, a warning that promised death if anyone defied him. Immediately they all fell back as the tables turned. They hadn’t had any power over him from the beginning.“Stop! For fuck’s sake, stop! Have you lost your damn minds?”Dylan’s voice pulled him from the horror going through his mind as he focused on the little heartbeat hiding behind Layla’s. His Beta appeared beside his mate and then Micah on her other side. The scent of their blood mixed with his and Layla’s. Both men were bloo
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The Alpha King's Curse 164. Grateful
Jackson grinned when Dylan rolled his eyes at him as Hope led him by the finger to the tea party she had set up in the garden. “Enjoy your party,” he called to them before he turned and walked toward the packhouse. The trainees had the day off today, but he was pleased that most of them took their training seriously and were sparring in the fields. All the kids had to grow up quickly after the last war. In a few days, they would all hold a memorial honouring all the people they had lost. Gavin walked up to him before he reached the door. “Everything is all set, Alpha,” he said. Gavin was the most prominent reminder of what the war had cost him. He’d had to fill Micah’s big shoes. Though it wasn’t his fault, his heart cracked whenever he saw Micah’s replacement as the Gamma. “Thank you. We’ll be ready in time,” he said with a nod. The packhouse was spotless as usual, awaiting all the guests he had invited. As he walked toward the stairs, Faith’s mother walked in, a huge sm
The Alpha King's Curse 163. My Queen
Layla clutched her heart and fell to her knees. Hope started to cry behind her, as if her poor child could sense her pain, too. Faith tried to soothe her, but there was too much fear in the air, too much pain. “Jackson is hurt,” she whispered, looking at her mother. She had held out long enough. The house was full of all the vulnerable people in the pack, and their fear and anxiety weighed down on her. She couldn’t wait any longer. Rebecca walked over to Faith and took Hope from her. And her little girl instantly quietened in her grandmother’s arms. Rebecca met her gaze and nodded. “I will look after Hope. And I will protect everyone in this house,” Rebecca said, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Her mother knew what she had to do. She couldn’t leave Jackson to fight alone, but if anything happened to one of them, it would happen to the other. “Can I trust you, Mum?” she whispered. She hadn’t called her mum since the day she had abandoned them. “Always,” Rebecca whis
The Alpha King's Curse 162. Brothers
The dark clouds completely covered the sun. Jax stood at his lookout rock and looked over the forest. Even the witch was closing in from that direction when it was supposed to be their safest. He could sense her magic filling up in it even though he couldn’t sense any individual wolves. It was like when she’d sent the rogues who had hidden in the shadows right under their noses. His warriors wouldn’t sense them until it was too late. ‘The women and children are in the packhouse,’ Dylan said in the mind link. He didn’t know if that would make a difference. The strength he could sense in the magic around him was something he had never experienced from the witch before. He could feel it in the clouds above him, in the air they were all breathing. He could feel it rippling over his skin, yet they had not reached their boundary. Cain was silent in his head, already in hunting mode. But he couldn’t hunt everywhere at once. They were surrounded by armies bigger than any that had ever
The Alpha King's Curse 161. Dark Clouds
The air was knocked out of her lungs as Layla landed in a heap in the field. Everything hurt. Jackson had been pounding into her for hours. ‘And not in a good way. How the hell are you getting worse at this instead of better?’ the voice in her head said. Since Jackson had marked her, that voice had become a more permanent feature in her head. She’d been able to shut it off before, but now it was impossible. She was constantly arguing with it and losing focus, and her ability to control her emotions was also on the fritz. Her moods were yo-yo-ing worse than when she’d been pregnant. “You’re distracted.” She lifted her head with the bit of energy she had left and looked at Jackson, who was glaring at her from the other side of their makeshift ring. “I’m tired,” she corrected. “Let’s take a break.” “We can’t, Layla,” Jackson growled. He marched across to her and helped her to her feet. “You pissed off the Circle, and I pissed off the Wicked Witch. It was fine when our sins were
The Alpha King's Curse 160. Angelic Singing
Angelic singing. It drifted in and out of his ears and tried to force him from his peaceful slumber. It was beautiful but it was pissing him off. Why did anyone have to sing so much when people were trying to fucking sleep? His eyes shot open. His heart slammed in his chest. Could it be? He turned and saw the face he had fallen asleep next to because it was the last face he wanted to see before he died. Layla’s mouth was slightly open and she was snoring softly. He sat up with a jolt and listened to the singing. Those weren’t angels. That should have been his first clue. His soul had been damned long ago; there were no angels in his afterlife. “What are you doing? Come back to sleep,” Layla mumbled. It took her a few more seconds, but Layla jolted awake and her eyes widened as she looked at him. She sucked in a breath, her heart hammering to match his. Maybe he was dreaming. Perhaps he wanted this so much that he was dreaming about it just before the curse snatched his l
The Alpha King's Curse 159. Happy Birthday, Jackson King
Jackson watched the sleeping baby in his arms and blinked back his tears. He was leaving his precious little girl in chaos. All his efforts to find the witch had failed. She’d disappeared after Amber and Miss Roberts had failed. He assumed the witch knew there was no point now. She’d already achieved her goal of making the rest of his life miserable. “I’m sorry, Hope,” he whispered. “I know you’ll become a better person than I was, even in any adversity. Do you know why? Because you also have your mother in you. You are going to be magnificent.” The more he said it, the more he would believe it. But it was hard to see any such future in a helpless three-month-old. “What the fuck was I thinking?” His chest squeezed as it had done all day. “It’s not your fault.” He looked up to see his mate in the bathroom doorway, a vision in a green, body-hugging dress. It had thin straps, so his mark was on show. For a second, he felt pride in it. But he remembered it was nothing but a death s
The Alpha King's Curse 158. We Effed Up
Jackson wasn’t too worried about Hugo’s threat. Since Diedre had started feeling better, she had been working hard to remove all the traces of dark magic around their territory. Her well of magic seemed to run deeper, even though it was not yet fully replenished. Warding the whole territory had been beyond her before Layla had healed her. But all the entry points had been fortified. Her magic wasn’t as it used to be but strong. Nobody would enter through his gates without his permission. Even if Diedre’s magic didn’t work on him and Layla, it had to work for the rest of the pack. Right? He was more worried about what the hell Layla was doing there. She should have been home with Hope and the others. Especially since he’d already warned her that the Circle was worse than any Hunter she would ever meet. Layla seemed intent on breaking all his rules. He was about to tell Hugo they had wasted their time when he sensed the rage rising in his mate. It was so dark it felt like Cain’s
The Alpha King's Curse 157. Something's Changed
Layla opened her eyes and stretched. And then she remembered what she had done. She sat up and looked at the other side of the bed. Jackson hadn’t come back, though she could sense he was close. And he was angry. Rightfully so. She lay back and pulled the covers over her naked body. Her hand went to her neck, and she felt the grooves left by his teeth. She’d assumed his bite would heal like all her other injuries. Maybe that was why they called it marking. Would everyone be able to see it? It tingled when she ran her fingers on it, and though the way she had got it made her cheeks heat up with shame, she didn’t regret it. She had known he would react like that. She would have been livid in his shoes. If he never spoke to her again, then she would understand. But she would never have forgiven himself if he died and she could have saved him. She’d had no choice. She sighed as she pushed the covers off again and slid off the bed. She started walking toward the bathroom, but her st
The Alpha King's Curse 156. Different
Everything felt different. The longer he lay on the rock, the more he sensed the differences. Everything was sharper, as if there had been a veil on his vision before. The stars were so clear he felt like he could touch them. The air was sweeter. The chirping of the birds as they woke up to get the worm... Beautiful. Fucking beautiful. And the rage in his heart eclipsed it all. He’d told her. He’d said no over and over again, even before she had known what his bite would do. And she’d gone ahead and violated his trust. Violated him. ‘She was never going to give us up without a fight,’ Cain stated. ‘Stop talking like you knew it was going to happen. This isn’t Romeo and Juliet. We don’t have to die together!’ ‘What would you have done in her shoes?’ That question cooled some of his anger. He knew what he would have done for his love. He’d have moved heaven and earth to save her. He’d have crossed any ocean, climbed any mountain. But this wasn’t about him! “I’ve killed her,”
