Jax walked into the conference room where Dylan was waiting and went straight for the drinks cabinet. “A little too early for that, isn’t it?” Dylan said. He threw his head back and downed the shot before he poured another. And that still wasn’t enough fortification. He turned around and looked at the envelope Dylan placed on the table. There was only one group of people so full of themselves that they still sent messengers when they could easily have called. The little envelope had its official seal, a raised circle stamped in red wax, and it stank of dark magic. “It’s been over a year since that incident at the gate and longer since Alpha Finn. Why would they do this now?” Dylan asked. “Because they’re assholes,” he growled. He’d started to believe that the Circle accepted his declaration that they were breaking away because he hadn’t heard from them since their last visit. Since Layla grabbed Hugo by his throat. He should have known better. They would never let him go t
Layla landed hard on her elbow, knocking the wind out of herself for the millionth time. And for the millionth time, Jax rushed over to help her back to her feet. “I’m fine,” she said through her teeth. “You’re not fine. You’re distracted. I look like I’m beating up my mate,” Jax growled. “Do you want to do this or not?” “Of course, I want to do this,” she snapped, pushing him off and testing the movement in her arm. The pain had already subsided. She looked around the field and saw several trainees sitting around the perimeter, watching her make a fool of herself. They were probably regretting putting their faith in her now. She’d been crap for the last couple of hours, and if it hadn’t been for her sleeping wolf, she would have bled all over the place. “Then stop fucking around and get your head in the game,” Jax growled before he walked back to his side. He’d been angry with her since they got back. She didn’t know if it was because he’d figured out that Britney was a littl
Jax pushed his frustration down as he watched his mate walk—no, run away from him to avoid a confrontation. It had been a long time since she’d masked her emotions from him, but he could still sense the underlying panic because they were forever bound. What the fuck was she hiding? “Can I train with you, Alpha?” He looked back at the trainees and saw Josh among them. The young wolf was already a warrior because his skills had been impressive even before he shifted. Micah trained Josh himself, so he would always be one of the special ones. He had the most potential out of all the young wolves to be ranked higher, perhaps even to Beta, because his wolf was more dominant. He was right to make him focus on his training instead of a girl. If Britney was his mate, that would have been different. He wouldn’t have been able to keep them apart anyway. But she wasn’t. Josh’s place was with the warriors, learning how to keep the pack safe. Something in the air didn’t feel right; he needed his
Layla sat by the window all night as she used to when she first arrived at the packhouse. She’d locked the door from the inside even though she’d known Jackson wouldn’t come. It was her anger making her act out. Jax wouldn’t hurt Britney. He’d gone out of his way to protect both of them before she knew what being a mate meant. But her emotions were unstable, and her wolf seemed to have pushed forward again. The threat around her felt so real that she probably would have fought Jax to protect Britney. What kind of mate did that? How could she have stood there, ready to attack Jackson? What was wrong with her wolf that it had been dormant since the shift, but now in the space of a few days, it acted out a few times? She trained for a year and tried to shift and speak to her wolf again, but everything failed. Why now? There were no voices in her head. Nothing to indicate she was going to shift. She knew she still had a wolf only because it enhanced her senses, and she was stronger t
“We’re here.” Jax finally noticed his surroundings and realised they had already stopped at the Crimson Valley territory gates. He’d been stuck in his head for hours but it was time to put his emotions aside. Layla would be there when he got home; they would fix this mess once and for all. “Why aren’t they opening the gates?” he asked with a frown. Maybe he should have asked why he couldn’t sense anyone at the gates. How would they keep anyone safe if there was no one to patrol and alert them of intruders? “I’ll call them,” Dylan said as he pulled his phone out. While his Beta ordered the gates to be opened, he rolled down his window to understand what they were up against. There was no scent of magic in the air, light or dark. There should have been a little if the pack had protective wards. “Do they have witches in their pack?” he asked. Since he’d been cursed the day he’d taken the throne from his father, he’d been too messed up to keep up with such details. He hadn’t g
Layla watched Hope run through the garden, laughing as she chased butterflies. She didn’t remember anything at that age but must have done the same with her mother. Rebecca had been involved in every aspect of their lives. She had been a good mum until she’d gone. What would Hope remember of her? How long would she have with her daughter before the Hunters forced her to abandon her? Pain lanced through her before she could block it out. “Mummy!” Hope’s delighted squeal pulled her focus back. The little girl ran over, hiding something in her palms and a little smirk that looked so much like Jackosn’s on her lips. “Open,” the toddler ordered. “It’s not a spider again, is it?” she asked hesitantly. Hope shook her head and giggled. “Open,” the girl demanded again. She took a breath while she held the green gaze that was the same as hers and then gently pried Hope’s fingers open. A worm wriggled in her palm, attempting to escape to safety. She sat back and made a face. She
It took them the rest of the day to ensure their guests were fed and settled. The children refused to be separated, so they settled in the packhouse hall. His Omegas spent the better part of the afternoon moving mattresses and other essentials for them, some of them donated from the pack because he couldn’t risk anyone going out for a supply run. The children were still scared, making everyone else around them anxious. The pack was still on edge since the scare with the Hunters. But Layla seemed more anxious than the rest of them. Jackson looked at his mate as they went up the last flight of stairs and gently squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?” “I... I’m not sure. Rebecca hasn’t come back yet,” she answered. “I’m probably just being a bit paranoid because of those children. She disappears all the time and comes back as if nothing’s happened.” “It hasn’t been that long since the memorial. The last person I’d worry about right now is your mother,” he answered. “She can take care
Layla didn’t sleep a wink since Jackson ran out of the packhouse. She looked back at the bed where her sister passed out, fully dressed. Britney had been too exhausted to take in anything she tried to tell her. Not that she’d made much sense. She’d been too worked up to say much more than ‘keep your damn mouth shut’. She didn’t know if Britney understood anything. Why the hell did Jackson keep something so important from her? The summons had nothing to do with the pack; he should have told her the moment he knew the Circle wanted to see her. She’d almost choked one of them to death at the main gates! In the human world, that was similar to attacking someone high-ranked. Maybe even a president! Humans got life sentences for that. She stopped pacing the room as dread filled her and rooted her to the spot. She was probably going to die. And she only had the night to process that she might have to leave Hope and Britney to fend for themselves. If she had known about the trial w
“What’s this?” Jax looked at the envelope in front of him with the Circle’s seal. The last time he received one of those, they summoned him and Layla to stand trial. He looked up at Hugo, sitting at the end of his conference table with Keith and frowned. If they thought they could punish him for defending his pack, they could think again. “You’re not going to sit at my table and tell me that piece of shit deserved to live, are you?” he growled. Hugo shook his head. “No, of course not, Your Majesty,” he said. “That’s just a formal apology from the Circle, acknowledging our mistakes. And we’d like to welcome the Queen and her family into your pack.” “They don’t need your shitty welcome,” Ryker snapped. Hugo flinched and looked at Ryker, who was sitting opposite him. Out of everyone, the Alpha of the Night Walkers was the least agreeable about the new partnership. If anyone knew how to hold grudges, it was Ryker. He wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to string one of them up
Layla struggled to breathe. She could feel Lincoln’s large hand crushing her windpipe, even though part of him was twitching on the floor in front of her. Her mind was foggy with the lack of oxygen, but the fear that crippled her disappeared. Jax had taken charge now. Everything would be okay. Her eyes fluttered and then closed even with all the commotion around her. The cut-off screams. The scent of blood that even her nose could pick up. And when she heard her mother’s voice, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rebecca’s wolf was stronger than Nia. She would never allow anyone to hurt her family. She relaxed entirely until Britney's scream brought her back to the present. Her heart lurched as she sat up and saw Alpha Cole drag her and Hope towards him. Maybe Cole didn’t have a wolf, or he wasn’t shifting because he knew he was outnumbered. But there was no denying he had enough dark magic to follow through with his threats. She could almost smell it even though she was less than
The dark magic continuously ripped Jax’s cells apart even as Cain worked on healing them. Cole—that fucker—rounded up some of the strongest witches. They were no match individually for Diedre, but together they bound her up tighter than anything. He gritted his teeth and looked sideways at Diedre. Her face was pale, her teeth snapped together, and her eyes closed. He sensed her pain. He felt all the pain in the room, even the children’s. “Silence!” The command rippled across the room. Cain growled in his head at the challenge. Had he not been bound, he would have commanded Cole just as he did at the trial. Another warrior fell beside him, and the pain slashed through his body when another bond broke. He was still trying to recover when Lincoln grabbed Layla by her throat. His claws dug into her delicate skin and punctured it. And the scent of her blood overpowered every other smell in the room. Her blood. Her pain. Her fear. All of it clouded his head, calling on the beast
Where did the vampire come from? How did he go through Diedre’s wards? Layla backed up until she felt Jax’s car behind her. The vampire grinned, showing his teeth, and she froze in place. Fear filled her body. This was her worst nightmare come to life. She was vulnerable, and her child was in the hall. She couldn’t protect her. “Breach!” Someone shouted behind the vampire. But she would never have outrun him even if the fear didn’t paralyse her. Their speed was unmatched. There were screams. Something zoomed past at such speeds she realised there were more of them. And if the vampires were there, the Circle was making its move. And that was the twist—the final nail in the coffin full of all her hopes for a future with Jax. Something snapped around her, some invisible force that pulled her forward. It was magic. How did it even get past Diedre’s wards? She tried to lift her arms and drag her feet, but it was futile. Wolves around her were hauled towards the hall like rag do
Layla didn’t sleep much. She’d alternated between having nightmares of Jax losing his wolf and watching her two girls sleep. She had her arm over them, content to soothe herself with their presence. She didn’t know where they had been and how far it was, but after dinner, Brit and Hope had been ready to go to bed. Faith prepared Britney’s room next to Jax’s and moved Hope’s cot there because the girls bonded while away. The three of them snuggled on the bed together. She imagined she heard someone outside the bedroom door a few times. She knew it was Jax. He’d told her the main bedroom was ready for her to return to, but she wasn’t prepared for that. It would be like accepting what he did—acknowledging that he ruined his life over her. Her hand went back to the bite on her neck. Did that mean they were mated again? It hadn’t felt the same as when he marked her the first time, even though it still caused the earth-shattering explosion. There had been no fire in her bones, and she
Layla smoothed her summer dress and adjusted the straps before she took a fortifying breath. Not that the expensive clothes would make a difference. Compared to how vibrant she’d looked when Nia manifested, she looked like crap now. No amount of makeup could hide the bags under her eyes or how lifeless her eyes had become. And she couldn’t tame the frizz, no matter what she did. She'd tied her hair up in a puff— the same style she used to have before she’d met Jax. She tilted her head to see the angry red mark on her neck. Her stomach churned, almost bringing up the few bites of food she’d managed to eat. Images of her night with Jax returned, and her nostrils flared. What did he think would happen now? The bite wasn’t healing as it did the first time; it was starting to look infected. Jax poisoned himself for nothing. She ripped out the hair band and the millions of pins holding her hair up and fluffed her hair, covering the mark again. No one else needed to know what Jax did.
“What the hell have you done?!” Layla repeated, and this time her anger surged as her voice rose. Jax gently pulled out of her before he straightened. He’d known how the night would end. It had been the same the first time he marked her. But her anger still hurt. It had been months, and every second of that had been torture. Did she not feel the same? “I did what I had to do, Layla.” “How could you do that to Cain?” Layla shouted. She pushed him aside and got off the hood to look for her skimpy little night dress. “We don’t know what they put in my blood, but we know damn well that it will kill him!” Layla pulled her nightie on before she turned to face him. Her emerald eyes blazed at him. He’d been just as angry when she bit him the night before the blood moon on his birthday. Marking someone without their consent was a dick move, and as the Alpha King, he’d put down a few wolves for that exact reason. But there he was. Being a dick. “It was Cain’s idea. And I completely agree
Layla rolled her neck and shoulders to ease some of the stiffness but knew it wouldn’t do her any good. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt that tired. She spent money that she didn’t have to buy some energy drinks to keep her awake for the drive home. It was almost two in the morning, and working two jobs was sucking the life out of her. At one point in her life, she’d even had three jobs and still had the energy to run around after Brit and take care of their trailer. With a sigh, she grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and shoved her door open. The car had been a piece of crap when she’d bought it, but it was worse after being off the road for so long. She’d worked at least a month to afford the extra money to pay someone to get it roadworthy again. It was hectic catching buses or getting a taxi to take her close enough to her neighbourhood, especially this late at night. She hadn’t seen Jax since the picnic, but some warriors hung around the neighbourhood for wee
“Jax?” He kept his back to her with fists clenched. Cain wasn’t backing down. It felt like the time the beast had completely taken over when he killed Alpha Kendrick on his doorstep to protect Layla. Now all he wanted was to sink his teeth into her neck and return what was lost. “I’m sorry I don’t have the endurance I used to have,” Layla said as she came up behind him. He sensed the pain in her words but didn’t turn around to offer any comfort. If he’d needed proof that her wolf was well and truly gone, he had it now. Even before she had shifted, Layla could sense the danger in the air. She’d been able to feel when he was losing control. ‘She can’t sense me at all.’ Cain’s words caused an avalanche of pain that shoved him further into despair and buried him deep within it. He tried to focus so he could pull himself out, but it was pointless. He felt the same way his beast did. Cain couldn’t live without his mate, either. And if he tried to deny his mate, he would end up like