124. Rumbled

Jackson stood at the foot of his bed and watched Layla sleep. She had a smile on her face, unaware that he would pull the rug out from under both of them.

The last two days were all he could give her of himself. It was time he prepared to die.

He pushed that thought out of his mind and left the bedroom. One thing at a time. After all, it was the first day of the rest of his life.

He walked down the stairs slowly with his ears open. All the rooms were still occupied, but the patients were asleep rather than unconscious. The Omegas had already started preparing breakfast. It was still early; the sun hadn’t risen yet, but Zach had resumed his treasonous whispers that morning. Even after he’d stopped Brax, he wasn’t good enough for that cowardly toad.

But Zach was still the least of his problems.

When he started on the last flight of stairs, the warriors meeting in the lobby stopped talking to look at him. None of them did a good job hiding their shock, and some couldn’t hide their