The sun was starting to set when Layla’s phone rang.She rushed back from the window where she had been trying to map a way to the front gate to grab the phone from the nightstand. The number flashing on the screen was unknown, but she already knew who it was.“Brit?” she said as she answered.“Hi, Layla.”Britney sounded cheerful. That immediately put her most pressing fears to rest. Her sister would never have been able to hide her emotions from her if something terrible was happening to her. “Sorry, I didn’t think about getting you a new phone until now,” she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been busy settling in, and this place is huge. Have you been okay?”The lie came so easily again. But she knew she would have to tell her sister everything when she was ready to escape. “Don’t worry about me,” Britney said. “This is so surreal. They gave me a whole wardrobe full of expensive clothes, and I’m allowed to order anything I want.”Her heart ached. Those were the thing
Layla smoothed the front of the dress as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was by far the most expensive thing she had ever worn. The soft silky fabric felt sensual against her skin as it skimmed against her curves and fell to her feet with a slit at the front. The round neckline made it look classy, and it draped at the back, showing more skin than she was comfortable with around Jackson.With her height, shopping was a chore most days, so she knew she would have struggled to find something that fit her so well if she’d had to shop for herself. It was gorgeous.But it was hardly the type of clothing to wear when running through the woods at night. And she wouldn’t be able to hide her knife under it.With a sigh, she fluffed out her curly hair and then slipped her phone into her cleavage before leaving the bathroom. Not the classiest of places, but she needed to get in touch with Brit once she was on the move. Jackson stood by the windows, but he turned when she closed the doo
Jax tightened his fist around his cutlery as he sensed the reactions around the room. The hatred, the disgust. It was no less than what he had expected, but he hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be not to react to it. Cain was still lying low, so once again, he was the one who wanted to rip heads off.He also hadn’t anticipated how he would feel when she’d walked out of the bathroom looking like a goddess sent to make him lose his mind. It was just a dress, and he had already seen her hair out of the braid when he’d made love to her. But this was a temptation on another level.She’d walked out of that room and had claimed another part of his soul. Something had flared inside him at the sight of her that changed something. His whole body had tightened in reaction. Her scent seemed stronger. The pull between them was stronger. And it appeared his need to protect her was stronger.After finding out that she was in danger, the best thing to do would have been to hide her away, but he k
“Shit!” Layla leaned against the wall and rubbed her foot. She’d known going barefoot was a bad idea, but she hadn’t expected it to be an obstacle so soon in her escape. There was something sharp in the bushes. She couldn't see what she had stepped on. But there was no time to worry about the pain now. At any moment, Jackson would realise she hadn’t returned to the table. It was darker than usual because of the storm clouds, and the rain was pouring down faster than she’d expected. The light from the bathroom window showed it was already forming puddles and flowing in rivulets. She had been drenched in seconds. Her hair was plastered down her face and getting in her way. She did a quick braid before she pushed the sides of her dress up and tucked them into her panties to allow her more movement. Her dress felt like a second skin and would not protect her against the elements, but it would have to do.She felt around the ground for the knife she had taken from the table and made sure
Jax took control of his beast and shifted as he watched the drenched woman before him.He’d warned her not to run. Cain loved to chase. He was hard from the adrenaline, and all he wanted to do now was fuck. She was lucky he hadn’t pinned her down and marked her. And now she was on her fucking knees like she was waiting for him to desecrate that pretty mouth. He groaned at the tempting picture just as lightning struck and illuminated him.Even with the sound of the beating rain and thunder, he heard her gasp as she fell back. He heard everything. Her pumping heart, her whimper. Her bare legs splayed in front of her as she tried to scramble backwards on her ass. She looked helpless and completely vulnerable, and the beast inside him reared his ugly head, frothing at the mouth to dominate her.He stepped forward, uncaring that he was in the middle of the road and a storm was raging around them. All he wanted was to sink in her flesh right where she was and show her who she belonged to.
Jax stood by the windows overlooking the front of the packhouse as he watched his warriors return from a long night out. The storm had died down but it was still drizzling. They would have been miserable being in it all night, but he knew they wouldn’t complain.He should have been with them. Instead, he’d been stuck between Layla’s legs. He turned and sat on the ledge as he watched the woman sleep. Last night had been different. It wasn’t just because of the chase but everything else. Her scent, the emotions, everything. It felt like he had already marked her even though he’d had to push Cain back several times in the night to stop him.Having her so close to him was becoming too much. But all the other options had been removed from the table when that wolf had tried to hex his unborn child. Layla wouldn’t be safe anywhere outside the compound.She was trapped here, and every second seemed to pull her closer. Once she got pregnant, maybe he would have to be the one to leave the comp
Jackson threw a pair of sweats on so Layla wouldn't wonder why he was walking around the packhouse naked. He’d already taken a risk when he let Cain chase her in the storm. When he left the room, he opened his senses to find Dylan.And when he did, Cain reared his head, ready to finally avenge his mate. He didn’t know if he would let Cain deal with him, but he was so fucking tempted. He was the Alpha King. He could command Alphas and all their packs—they trembled in their boots at the sight of him. His bloodline was the most feared and revered because he never lost a fight. He’d raided and killed, sometimes just for the fuck of it. The fear that always filled the room when he entered was for a very good reason. And Dylan thought he could get away with lying to him?The whole pack thought he had gone soft just because he’d taken a step back. He felt challenged from all angles, and his beast was frothing at the mouth to make them remember his name. Rage coursed through his blood as h
Cain saw the rogue wolves as they reached the end of the road. The warrior had been right; it wasn’t just their scent that was wrong. They had shifted into their wolves and were running in formation. Rogues were never that organised. Once wolves left their pack for whatever reason, they usually died within a month if they didn’t find another pack to join. If they happened to come across a rogue pack, they lived longer, but they had no rules or structure. They stuck together out of necessity, but when they went on a hunt, it was each wolf for themselves. These wolves had their heads lowered, teeth barred, and their ears back as they ran down the streets, one at the front, two in the middle and three at the back. This was a fighting formation. They weren’t hunting for food scraps; they had already run past several houses and not raided anything.And not only that, they were out in broad daylight. Anyone could smell a rogue a mile away, day or night, but they preferred to hunt under th
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
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 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 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
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
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
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
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
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,”