Jackson stood outside his bedroom and made sure Layla was asleep when he locked the door.His fists clenched as he marched down the hallway and the stairs. Two wolves. How did two wolves go past the wards that the supposedly strongest Circle members had erected? How did they both end up so close to Layla?He pushed the door to the conference room so hard it slammed against the wall. Dylan, Micah, Jon and a few other warriors were quietly arguing among themselves, but they stopped when he walked in. “Tell me how the fuck this happened,” he growled.“We checked the walls along that boundary when we looked for the red wolf,” Dylan said. “There was nothing.”“The men are still out there patrolling. There are still no signs,” Micah added. “All of this started happening when the human arrived. Maybe we should question her,” Jon said.He looked at his Gamma and felt his face tighten. After almost losing Layla, he did not need this shit. A growl from deep within him had all the people in th
Jax pulled the ring from his sock drawer and looked back at Layla’s sleeping form.He’d broken her. He knew that. And yet he couldn’t reassure her about anything she had seen because they would kill her the moment she gave birth. He sighed and walked over to the bed. She hadn’t undressed, so he could still smell a hint of the rogue’s blood on her clothes. The witch would pay for doing this to her. He would find her, one way or another, before he died. Even if he had to give himself over to the Circle and their dark magic. He gently took her warm hand, and the contact sent a jolt through him stronger than anything. It had been days since he had been with his mate the way he wanted, and Cain was still content to wait for her to be ready. But for how long? Lust and need constantly flowed between them; he wasn’t sure how long he could hold it at bay. He slipped the ring on her engagement finger and let her hand go. Layla didn’t even stir. He hadn’t tired her much with the run, so he
The sun hadn’t yet risen when something woke Layla up again.A howl.And just like that, everything she had been trying to process returned to the forefront of her mind. Another howl joined the first. She inhaled shakily and then bit her lips to stop herself from making a sound. Though she had left a big gap between them when she had eventually nodded off back to sleep, Jackson’s arm was around her stomach, and his warm breath fanned her neck where he had nuzzled against her hair.“You’re thinking too hard,” Jackson said sleepily.Way too hard. The worst part was not knowing if she had lost her damn mind. If she asked Jackson, what would he think about her? Maybe the better question was why she would care. His opinion of her didn’t matter to her. Not one bit. Especially since he was going to kill her once she gave birth.Still, there was that horrible part of her... The one reacting to his nakedness and the warmth of his body. The one that felt the tingles when he spoke. She tried t
He hadn’t meant to do that.He was supposed to be given her space to deal with the shit that had happened, but one thing had led to another and... He ran his tongue along his gums because they were itching. The urge to go back and do what she had asked was still riding him hard. He had to remind himself that she had no idea what she was asking for. And even if she did, he could never do that to her.He dried himself and then looked at the bite on his side. It had reopened and was still bleeding. It looked worse than it had before he had gone to bed. How the hell was that even possible if it wasn’t caused by magic? Could Diedre have got that wrong? If she couldn’t see his future, maybe her magic didn’t work on him at all. Maybe the witch had found a way to speed up his death. He put a thicker dressing on it before leaving the bathroom. Layla was still exactly where he’d left her, looking a little shell-shocked. He could commiserate. It felt different this time. A little more intens
Jackson watched the look on Dylan’s face as he continued to collect all the paperwork.Was he that excited to get rid of Layla even after he had told them all that wouldn’t happen? Maybe finding somewhere safe for Layla to take his child was the only thing he could do now. He’d been desperate to have a child to leave his legacy behind with his pack, but his bond with Layla strengthened every day. He was still desperate for a child, but only so he could watch Layla swell with his seed. So he could leave her a part of himself to console her when he was gone.She would feel it when the bond severed. She would get depressed without understanding why. She would break down a little. But she would recover. She would love his child as no one else would.A part of him knew he was asking for the impossible. With his blood running through their veins, his child would be the Alpha King, no matter where he was raised. He would need a pack around him to help him understand what he was and his resp
Layla was dressed and wondering when Jackson would bring her something to eat when she saw the entourage of expensive cars coming up the driveway. She leaned against the window to have a better look as the people started to come out of their cars. They were all dressed in suits like Jackson. She’d assumed he had just made up an excuse to escape her questioning, but she’d obviously been wrong about that. A group of the visitors met before the front steps and started talking. There was only one woman among them, and she was dressed to kill. A tight, short dress that showed off all her assets—and even from her distance, she could see what fine assets they were. She was tall, like all of them, and her hair was in some sort of elegant curly do on top of her head.Something inside her hated the woman on sight. She never formed opinions about people if she’d never spoken to them but this woman... Her skin prickled just by looking at her. What sort of meeting was this anyway, where people d
Jax chewed his food slowly. All his senses were alert as he paid attention to every little movement, every breath, the beating of their hearts.He could smell the deceit in the air even if they hadn’t said or done anything. One wrong move, and it would start a war. So why were they even going to attempt it?He looked over at Chase as he cut up his breakfast and then shoved it into his mouth as if he didn't have a care in the world. So far, he had yet to say what was so important that he had repeatedly sent his scouts to his gates until he’d secured an invitation. What was his angle? Had he forced this invitation just to get on his property?And then Kendrick. He sat quietly with Amber on one side and his Beta on the other. So far, his heart had been beating steadily, but Kendrick was the one he had to watch more closely.Kendrick was vocal about his displeasure that he had the most extensive territory. He was vocal about the fact that he didn’t think they needed a king. The fucker was
Jax stepped back and tried to rein his beast in, but his heart was pounding, and his head was still trying to process what he had just done.And Cain, the bastard, he was raring to go. He had a mate to mark and enemies to rip apart, in no particular order. “It was you,” Layla whispered. Behind him, the sound of footsteps pulled his attention away. Dylan and his warriors were running up the stairs. Shit! His door lay on the floor, and he couldn’t stop his shift. Like a newly shifted pup, his beast had taken all the control from him.He had to stop. If they saw Cain, then he would never be able to lie that Layla didn’t know the truth. ‘I’ll kill them all,’ Cain growled. ‘And then you won’t have to hide her from anyone.’‘They will take her from us!’“Hide, Layla,” he growled before Cain turned them around to face the coming deluge.By the time Dylan appeared on the landing, Cain was already halfway down the hall, ripping off his jacket and shirt as he became half man, half beast. The