Layla hadn’t meant to fall asleep after Jackson had left the room, but she must have because the next thing she saw was Jackson walking back into the room with blood all over his body. Or maybe she was still dreaming. Her eyelids felt too heavy, and she was still drained after their activities last night. Heat spread through her body when she remembered what Jackson had done to her. What she had done to Jackson.She covered her face and groaned. “Get a grip, Layla,” she scolded herself. Last night had been an unending wave of pleasure. She’d been desperate for Jackson—his touch, his kiss. She wasn’t a prude, but she would never have had sex outside if she’d been in her right mind. And she would never have allowed him to do any of the things he had done once he’d brought her to his room. Everything had been so desperate, and part of her felt like she would die if she didn’t have him. She had to avoid Diedre and her drug shots from now on. She was on a roller coaster with her emotio
“What did he mean, Alpha?” Jackson turned away from the window that overlooked another training field to face Dylan. “You know where we found Layla. She’s not a rogue, Dylan,” he sighed as he returned to his seat at the head of the conference table. There was a pile of business paperwork he had to go over before he started looking at the official reports from the incidents yesterday and earlier. “I know that. She’s human,” Dylan snorted with barely disguised disgust. His fist clenched, crumpling the paper in his hand. He had to stop doing that. He couldn’t react to every single little thing someone said about Layla. “But why would they target her?” Dylan continued. “I think they’re targeting me. The whole pack probably already thinks I’m fucking a rogue. Maybe whoever is doing this wants to undermine me, somehow.” “But why?” He pushed the paperwork away from him and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know,” he lied. “I’ve pissed off many people in my life. Maybe this is
Layla squinted as she looked in the distance. The sliding glass door to the balcony was locked, so she couldn’t go out to look over the grounds, but there was a building she could see through the trees quite a distance away. Dense trees surrounded it; she wondered what sort of person would live there when wolves seemed to roam freely.She hadn’t heard or seen one since the first night, but that didn’t mean they weren’t still there. Maybe they only came out at night.Like last night.She shivered when she remembered the cold red eyes that had disappeared in the storm. She had just imagined that. It wasn’t the first time she had imagined seeing a wolf. Her imagination had always been wild. As a child, she’d thought she’d seen wolves even behind their house regularly before the bank had repossessed it. And a few times at the trailer, too. It was often a sign that she was stressed; right now, she had plenty to be worried about. Besides, whatever had flown over her had been too big to be
Jax waited until the doctor closed the door behind him in the conference room before he spoke.“Who else knows?” he growled.There was a tightness in his chest as he waited for the answer. What was that?Doctor Richards stepped back in fear and almost backed into the door. “No one. I ran the tests myself as you ordered,” he answered. “I’m sorry it took so long; I had to run the tests several times to be sure.”“I appreciate your discretion, doctor, but just spit it out. What’s the emergency?”Was it some incurable human disease? It was just like Fate to keep screwing him over. Kick him while he was already down. He couldn't catch a break lately."Alpha, she's..."Doctor Richards cleared his throat as he hesitated. His fear clogged up his nostrils and pissed him off. Why couldn't the doctor just grow some balls and speak?"With all due respect, Alpha, I don't think she's the one you should try to have a child with. I compiled a list of women who would be compatible—"Cain growled so l
She hadn’t imagined that.Just that morning, she thought about wolves and how she’d imagined seeing one during the storm. The sound she’d heard had sounded very much like a growl.She had felt it vibrate through her body.It had come from Jackson; she was sure of it. Something flashed in his eyes when he turned back to her, something cold and dark. Something evil.And there she was with her legs still wrapped around him.She pushed him away quickly and hopped down from the table.“What’s wrong?” Jackson asked.Was he serious? Who growled at people like that? It sounded so... real. So terrifying. Not human. It had raised the hair on the back of her neck and her arms, and her instincts had told her she was in danger. She never ignored her instincts.Maybe she was overthinking things because of all the weird things she’d heard and seen, but... She had to get out of this room. Put some distance between them so she could think.“Nothing,” she lied.She pulled her t-shirt lower to hide her
Jackson balled his fists and looked to where Dylan stood with Micah and a few other warriors. They all turned to look in his direction as he stood on the patio and then immediately lowered their gazes.But he could feel their disgust, even if it was laced with a bit of fear. If he had come to sort out the mess the rogue had caused instead of fucking Layla on the conference table, this wouldn’t have been happening. He wouldn’t have threatened Dylan like that, either. He knew it was only the fact that he’d still been buried inside Layla and holding her against him that had stopped him from ripping his friend’s throat out. ‘Get back to work!’ he ordered through the pack link.While the warriors turned away to go and start their training or patrols, Dylan approached him. Cain watched his every step while still growling in his head. His wolf’s possessiveness made his blood run cold and pushed forward what he had realised from the first time he’d been between Layla’s legs. Diedre was righ
Layla had no idea how long she lay on the bed. Jackson had returned at some point and brought her some dinner before he disappeared again, but she hadn’t touched it. Was she losing her mind? The growl, the super strength those mean girls had had and the fact that she had been referred to as ‘human’ a couple of times. And the blood on Jackson’s body? She’d seen and heard all of that, hadn’t she? That hadn’t been an episode.Had it?She rolled over and punched a pillow. It hadn’t happened in a few years. She’d almost forgotten how frustrating and terrifying it was to be stuck in her head like that. Jackson had already looked at her as if he knew something wasn’t right when he’d brought her the food.Not that she cared about that. It was probably better if he thought this was one of those ‘defects’ the doctor had mentioned so he could forget about this deal and let her go. But her mind was sometimes a dark place to get lost in. It was always a downhill slope the moment she started seein
Jackson walked through the doors that the door attendants held open for them. Micah had stayed behind to protect the pack with his Gamma, Jon, but Dylan insisted they needed a few warriors when they met the Circle. Almost like he had no faith in him anymore.He balled his fists, something he was doing too often lately, as they walked through the lobby. The sun was just rising, so there was thankfully no one—“Mr King, welcome back.”Fuck’s sake.He ignored the voice and continued walking to the elevators. What the hell was that woman doing here so early, anyway?“I heard you were coming, but I wasn’t sure if you plan on staying for a while. We cleaned your suite again despite that very young girl you have staying as your guest.”He sensed the judgement in her tone. He had no time for this shit. Layla had still been asleep when he had gone in to see her before he’d left, but he had sensed something wrong with her all night. Cain wanted to go back and make sure she was alright, but sh
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,”