Layla kept her senses alert as she sat on Jackson’s lookout rock. The sounds of the forest below were soothing. There were no disturbances as far as she could reach, which was very far since she had started training. From the rock, she could hear everything in Jackson’s territory if she wanted to. Jackson knew that, which was why the day’s lesson was a complete waste of time. Her ears pricked at a sound in the forest behind her. She closed her eyes and focused. Jackson was teaching her how to combine all her senses and form an almost complete picture in her head. Any movement of sound caused vibrations in the air, which she could pick up. But he told her that was another thing that the other wolves couldn’t do. The list kept growing, and it was making her more anxious. How was she supposed to protect herself if she was going to stand out? And Jackson told her she would be okay in his pack, but his earlier words kept playing in her head. They would never accept her. He had been so
Layla watched the pack gates get smaller in the mirror before disappearing completely. She sighed and looked at Jackson as he drove the car down the dirt road. “If you are positive they won’t do anything, why are you taking me away?” “They’re our allies, and they owe you their lives,” Jackson said. “Of course, they won’t do anything.” “You said the lunch was important.” “Not that important; I’ve discussed everything with them on the phone before, so I don’t need to be there. They’re worried about the Circle and the witch. Dylan can handle it.” And yet his grip was tight on the steering wheel. What she had done had wound Jax up tighter than a spring. “Why are you lying to me, Jackson?” she asked. “If you’re going to keep me at some other hideout like last time—” “I’ll never do that to you again,” Jackson sighed. “And I’m not lying. Chase and Brax are your biggest fans; they wouldn’t hurt you.” She looked back at the month-old baby sleeping in her car seat. Hope still had a mo
Layla was out the door before she could think, following the scent to the woods behind the house. And just past the treeline, she saw the woman who had birthed them, dressed in a casual summer dress with her arms around. “You know I can’t do that, darling.” “Get away from her,” she growled. Both Britney and Rebecca turned with surprise on their faces. Surely her mother had sensed her coming? ‘Get away from my sister!’ she screamed in her head. Rebecca winced and stepped back from Brit as if she’d heard her. It was one thing to appear out of the blue to traumatise her but to approach Brit? That was a different story. Rebecca had said she was watching Brit the last time they had spoken, but she didn’t think the woman would dare to make contact. Fury raged through her veins, so much that she had to force her emotions down so Brit wouldn’t see them. “Are you going to make this decision for me, too?” Brit snapped. She looked from her mother to the moody teenager with a frown.
Layla set the cake in the middle of a table and turned to watch Brit holding Hope in the shade near the pool. Since Brit had refused to have a party to celebrate her birthday and also for writing her last paper, there was no one else around. It was for the best, anyway. She was anxious about what would happen that night. “You said it can happen at any time, right?” she asked Jackson when he came out to set more snacks on the table. “Yes, anytime around the eighteenth birthday if she’s going to shift. If she’s a half-blood, she won’t, but she’ll start having issues with her wolf half when she’s older,” Jackson answered. She sighed and turned away from her sister to look at Jackson. “And she could be like me,” she stated. “I’m not so sure. You have red hair and green eyes, and so does Hope. Your sister looks like your father, and I don’t sense anything different in her,” Jackson said. “It’s a full moon tonight, so if it was going to happen, Britney would have started feeling it
It was still dark when he stopped the car outside the packhouse and mindlinked Dylan to help Layla with Hope and their bags. Guilt was eating him up. His heart raced, and Cain howled loudly in his head. Diedre was the closest thing to a mother that they had. He’d seen how bad she had been; he shouldn’t have left her. She should have been surrounded by the people she loved the most. Dylan came out of the house just as he ran up the front steps. "She's in the kitchen," Dylan said. He stopped and looked at his Beta with a questioning frown. Why would Diedre be in the kitchen when she was so unwell? Dylan let out a breath and continued down the steps without saying anything else. He walked into the house slowly and listened. The house was empty except for the young orphans who couldn't shift yet. And Diedre was in the kitchen. He followed her scent mixed with the smell of baking down the hall. He could hear humming... When he pushed the kitchen door open slowly, the humming f
Jax turned slowly towards the door. Layla stood there with tears shimmering in her eyes. She must have heard everything. Layla wasn’t even trying to mask herself; all her raw emotions were pounding into him and slicing into his heart. His first urge was to go and soothe his mate, but he held back. He’d made it to one month until his birthday; that was good enough. Now, he had to break Layla’s heart. “What do you mean, Jackson?” she asked. He looked down at Diedre and felt her relief as if she thought his ordeal would finally be over. But didn’t she get it? The same bond Diedre was relying on to save him was what was holding him back. “Let’s take a walk,” he said to Layla. Layla immediately walked out. She projected her breaking heart so loudly he could even hear it. “Tell her everything,” Diedre said. He walked out of the kitchen and followed. Layla was already out of the house when he saw Dylan coming down the stairs. “How is that possible, Jax?” he asked. “Diedre was
Layla watched Jackson spar with a young girl and wondered how he could still go about his day as if he hadn’t completely nuked her heart. How could he even smile like that? “Are you here to train or to ogle your boyfriend?” She ignored Dylan and watched Jax show the girl a complicated hold. He was dedicated to giving the best of himself. Though most of the pack members were wary of him, they were eager to train with him and learn from him. Dylan sat beside her and pulled at a blade of grass. “It sucks, doesn't it?” She pulled her attention away to look at the man beside her. And his new attitude finally made sense. He knew. All of that pain that he couldn’t hide... he was hurting for his best friend. “What am I supposed to do?” she whispered. “If I knew that, we wouldn’t be sitting here.” When she looked back at Jackson, he had stopped training and was looking at them. The smile was gone from his face as he looked at both of them. Briefly, she felt the pain he was hiding. Bu
Layla brushed her hair and fluffed it out. It had grown longer since she had first arrived. It fell in fiery red curls down her back, and Jackson loved it. He loved to tug it and bury his face in it. He actually loved every part of her, even the parts she preferred to hide. She looked down at the skimpy lingerie she had found in the wardrobe. The black lace barely covered anything, especially considering her tits were bigger since she had Hope, and her whole ass was exposed. She had been with Jackson for months, but she had opted for the more functional, comfortable underwear. But she was going all out tonight. She heard the bedroom door open and took a deep breath before she picked up the matching robe. When she walked out of the bathroom, Jackson was pulling his t-shirt off over his head. “I’m sorry that call lasted longer than...” Jax’s voice trailed off when he saw her standing in the bathroom doorway. His eyebrows rose, and then a slow smile formed on his lips. “To what d