8. The Offer

She was still bleeding. The metallic scent of fresh blood assaulted Jax's nostrils, and the moment he stopped the car in front of the hotel, he shoved the door open and got out without looking back.

She’d been hurt, and all his wolf wanted to do was make her feel better. Take care of her as a mate should. The scent had Jax so wound up he had to ball his fists and concentrate on keeping Cain under control. It had taken everything in him not to chase after the last of the men who had taken her from her home and tied her up. He wanted to rip them apart like the others for daring to touch her. He hadn’t lost control like that in a long time.

If he gave in to Cain, the demented wolf would do just that. It would take little effort to hunt them down. 

The attendants opened the hotel's wide double doors the moment they saw him approach the entrance. But he could sense Layla’s hesitation behind him as if somehow this cursed bond had already taken root even though he had no intention of marking her. He wasn't supposed to sense her emotions so easily yet. How was that even possible? 

Though he didn’t want to, he turned back and looked at her with a raised brow. Layla still had her arm around her little sister as they waited at the bottom of the steps, and Dylan stood behind them with their bags. Britney. She was the only person Dylan had found that he could twist and turn to make Layla do what he wanted. The money he would offer would end all of Layla’s problems and get her out of this mess, but it was her sister she would accept it for.

“What is it?” he asked impatiently.

He wouldn't concentrate on anything else as long as he could scent her blood.

“I’m... I’m not allowed to use this entrance,” Layla said.

“They’ll make an exception this time,” he said, and turned back to walk through the doors. 

It wasn’t too late, so the hotel lobby was a little more crowded than he wanted. Most of the guests knew who he was. He could smell their fear the second they saw him. Some he had invited to discuss the issue with the rogues in neutral territory. They all knew how he felt about humans, so the bleeding one following him was bound to raise eyebrows.

But he was banking on the fact that they wouldn’t have the balls to question him about her.

“Mr King.”

He hadn’t walked far through the lobby when he heard that irritating voice. It had been bad enough when the woman had been one of the maids. She’d always found a way to be assigned to his room. But now that they had promoted her, she was turning up everywhere like a foul smell. He didn’t think she’d even gone home since he had checked in.

“I’m busy, Miss Roberts,” he said without stopping.

The woman didn’t take the hint and quickened her step to walk beside him. No one in his pack would dare to do that - to walk beside him as if they were equal. This was another reason he couldn’t stand humans. They didn’t know their place. 

“You’ve just missed the dinner service. Would you like me to bring something up?” Miss Roberts asked.

He could hear the hope in her voice. When he stopped over, he’d been known to have a woman or ten in his suite, but they were always wolves. Not that this annoyingly insistent woman would know that. She had no chance of being one of them, pretty as she was.

Cain growled in his head as if the thought of other women angered him, and that worried him more. He had known many mated wolves, but all the intense feelings came after the marking. This part was supposed to be easier. Just some sparks, just a pull to be intimate and cement the bond. But Cain was an asshole and always had to take things to the extreme. 

That wolf knew better than anyone else why Layla couldn't be his. He had to know, since everything was his fucking fault. 

“If I need any food, I’ll call room service,” he said firmly. “But if I need anything cleaned, I’ll contact you.”

He didn’t need to look at her to know her displeasure at being reminded of her place, but her feelings were the least of his problems as he stopped at the elevators and pressed the call button. Layla’s wound didn’t need to be assessed by a doctor, but Cain behaved like she was bleeding out and on the brink of death. He would act out and expose them if they didn't get to his suite as soon as possible. Stupid wolf. 

“Yes, sir,” Miss Roberts said, turning away.

He sensed the moment the meddling supervisor noticed Layla because of the tension that rose in the air.

“Layla, this is unacceptable. You know the rules, and you’re in no state to be seen at the front of the house. Our image is everything,” Miss Roberts said. “This is your third strike—”

Third? So typical of humans. They didn’t know the necessity of following rules and maintaining order. The young ones were always the most selfish and disrespectful.

But no matter what a degenerate Layla was, he needed her.

“She’s with me.”

The doors opened and he marched in, eager to reach his room so Layla could wash the blood off. When he turned to face the doors, he saw the expressions on Miss Robert’s face. He saw the shock as she watched Layla walk into the elevator with him; then, she must have made the correct assumption about why he would be with a woman like Layla in the first place because jealousy coloured the air. 

It made Cain want to wrap himself around Layla and stake his claim immediately, so Miss Roberts would stop thinking she had a chance.

The doors shut in the Housekeeping supervisor’s face, and Layla swore quietly as the elevator started moving.

“What?”

“She’s going to fire me,” Layla answered. 

Maybe he should ask Miss Roberts to fire her, just to make sure she had no other options to escape the situation she had found herself in.

“I’ll sort it out. But you must clean yourself up first, and then we’ll talk.”

He said nothing else until the elevator stopped at the top floor.

‘Check her wounds and patch her up until Diedre can look at her. I’ll start packing,’ he told Dylan through their mind link. 

‘We’re leaving? What about the meetings?’

‘Rearrange everything. She’s going to say yes, so she’s coming with us. I don’t want to waste any more time.’

There was no other way. Cain was so wound up that they needed to leave, and his wolf wouldn’t leave without Layla. She would have to stay with him until he figured things out.

‘Wait. You want to take her to the packhouse? Jax, she’s as good as human. You know she can’t be there—’

‘Do as I say, Dylan.’

He didn’t wait for a response. The moment he walked into the suite, he went to his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. It only mildly helped to block the scent of her blood but not much. Cain kept pushing, trying to force his way out so he could see to his mate himself, but Dylan had to handle this one. The less contact they had, the better. 

Half an hour later, he heard Layla speaking gently with her sister, their voices carrying clearly from the lounge. Despite her questionable character, she was very good with her sister. Was Britney a half-blood, too?

He didn’t give a shit, though, one way or another. Neither of them was welcome in his pack.

He picked up the folder on the bedside table and then marched out of the room, finally allowing Cain to seek out Layla. The slight scent of blood was still in the air, but it wasn’t fresh. She'd stopped bleeding.

The two girls stopped talking when they saw him. They had showered and changed clothes, and the only evidence of their earlier adventures was their pale appearance. They were both bags of nerves, but Layla was doing a good job hiding it from her sister. 

"Layla. A word, please," he said as he walked towards the doors that opened to the balcony. 

He didn't wait for her to respond. Layla was human, but she was a street-smart one. She would know she didn't have a choice in this. 

Layla stepped out hesitantly when he had settled on one of the balcony chairs.

"Um... Thank you for rescuing us. We'll get out of your hair—"

"And where will you go? You've got yourself involved with some dangerous people."

"I'll figure something out," Layla shrugged.

"Or we can make an arrangement that would benefit both of us. It looks like your job here won't last much longer, either," he said as he slid the folder across the table. 

Layla eyed it warily but didn't pick it up. Would she still make him work hard for this, even after everything?

"I'm offering you financial security for the rest of your life. I'll sponsor your sister at a college or university of her choice and pay off whatever debts you have right now. You'll have a proper roof over your head. And I will assign security for your sister for the duration of her school year, so you don't have to worry about her being kidnapped again."

Layla snorted and then slapped her hand to her mouth.

“Sorry. But that’s a lot to offer a stranger. I’m sure the surrogacy agencies would cost you less,” Layla said.

He tapped the folder.

"I have my reasons for not going to them. Read my offer, Layla. I don’t think you can afford not to right now," he stated as he sat back. “Say yes, and you’ll never have to worry about your sister again.”