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61. The Mark
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Alpha King's Fate 62. She's Dead
Layla bit back her tears and tried to numb herself the way she used to when she had Nia. She looked back at Jax and saw the look on his face. The devastation was so apparent. With a little smile at him, she closed the bathroom door and headed straight for the shower. Only when she was standing under the spray did she let her tears fall and mix with the water. He knew. If she could feel the loss of their connection so acutely, Jax would have felt it, too. Their lovemaking was always more intense because they could share all their emotions through the bond. But when she came apart in his arms, it had been just her. Their bond was gone. The man she loved with every fibre of her being was free to be with someone else. She slid down to the shower basin and hugged her knees to try to comfort herself, but Jax was the apex predator, the Alpha King. She did not doubt that he would sense everything. When the water started to cool, she forced herself to her feet and washed. When she s
The Alpha King's Fate 63. After Nia
The sun was setting when Layla’s taxi stopped at the top of the road that led into her old neighbourhood. The storm clouds were completely black now, and she could smell the rain in the air. Finding someone willing to drive to that side of the tracks from Jackson’s hotel had taken a long time. That was as far as she allowed Jax to go. If he had come all the way to the trailer, she might not have had the strength to let him leave. “Thank you,” she whispered as she paid the fare. She’d only hastily packed a single bag. She slung that over her shoulder as she watched the taxi peel away. She didn’t blame him. There were many desperate people in her neighbourhood, and even though they didn’t steal from their own, taxis were fair game. With a sigh, she started the walk home. The trailers looked more run-down in the two years she’d been away. Or maybe she’d just gotten used to living in luxury that she saw everything differently. The same tired people sat outside the trailers drinking a
The Alpha King's Fate 64. The One Your Heart Beats For
“Keep all the children who were not reunited with their pack or families in my room. Give them everything they need and keep people away from them. They’re still terrified.” Some children hadn’t stopped shaking since they arrived, but others were subdued. He could see the trauma in their eyes, and it made him wonder if they could see his. “Your room? What about you and Layla?” Jax didn’t react when Dylan said her name. He already numbed himself to the pain before the first truck with the rescued wolves drove through the gates, and he kept busy until every person they saved was settled and comfortable. For the first time in a long time, he wished all the packs didn’t rely on him. All he wanted was to hide away. The sound of thunder forced him to look up at the sky. Would Layla even be safe in her dingy trailer in the storm? He forced himself to look back at Dylan. Layla chose this. She left him because the bond wasn’t forcing her to stay with him anymore. So much for her words o
The Alpha King's Fate 65. Moving
It felt like hours had passed since she hid in her bedroom, but she didn’t cry for that long before the raging storm caught her attention. Gerald must have gone to lower the window shutters outside at some point because the room was dark. She couldn’t see a thing when she usually wouldn’t have needed to put a light on. When they were kids, Brit joked that she had supervision. She did. Back then, anyway. Her chest squeezed, and the tears threatened to fall again but she blinked them back. The storm sounded worse than she’d expected. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and make sure everything was secure. Lightning flashed outside and illuminated the bedroom as if it was still daytime. Shock rippled through her when she realised the shutters weren’t down after all. Her eyes just weren’t what they used to be. Surely humans saw things clearer than that? Or maybe that was what the Commander meant when he’d said she would be neither wolf nor human. The trailer rattled and sho
The Alpha King's Fate 66. Burning Up
Layla secured the towel she’d wrapped around her hair. She’d taken as long as she could in the shower to warm up, something she didn’t normally do when there was a storm. She ran out of excuses to stay away from him. She took a deep breath before stepping out of the bedroom. It took her only seconds to realise she was still unprepared to talk to Jax. She felt his presence, but not in the same way. The love of her life filled her living room, taking over it the same way he took over her heart. He stood with her back to her, dressed in one of her old, comfortable bathrobes while he dried his hair. The worn cotton fabric of the robe sculpted his back, ass and thighs. He was like a work of art, sent by fate to tempt her. He might as well have stood there naked. Jax turned, and the view improved. He’d only loosely tied the belt so she could see his muscular thighs and the tattoos on his chest. He knew what he was doing to her. Heat spread through her cold body the same way it alway
The Alpha King's Fate 67. The Queen Is Dead
Was Layla completely human? Her pulse was weak, and she felt like a furnace, even against Jax’s naturally higher body temperature. But she was shivering as if she was stuck in the snow naked in winter. He pulled the blankets higher and tucked them under her chin even though she would likely start sweating again, and he’d have to take them off. She hadn’t even stirred since she’d fallen, even though the trailer was shaking and the storm was still raging outside. Was the Hunters’ poison still in her system? Was it killing her? He shoved that thought out of his mind the moment it popped into his head. There was no room in his head for thoughts that would break him. He pushed a strand of her fiery red hair out of her face and put his hand under the covers to hold on to one of hers. “This isn’t how things were supposed to go tonight,” he whispered. “Wake up, Layla.” The door opened, and Gerald walked in with another bowl of water and a battery-operated camping light. He placed the t
The Alpha King's Fate 68. Heartfelt Conversations
Layla felt like someone was hacking at her head with a chainsaw. She winced and rolled over, feeling the side of the bed for Jax. When her hand swiped across nothing but cool air, her chest tightened at the reminder that she was all alone. She groaned and lifted her hand to her heavy head. What the hell happened? One minute she’d been okay and the next, she’d been dizzy. Now that she knew Nia kept her healthy, she couldn’t get her head around how completely fragile she was without her. It was something she would have to get used to. Thinking of her wolf brought pain to her chest, worse than the headache, and a layer of guilt to top it off. Why did Nia make such a sacrifice? The wolf could have easily run away and saved herself. Sighing, she kicked her covers off and finally opened her eyes. The shutters were still down, but she could hear the storm had passed. She moved slowly off the bed but every step she took to the door still reverberated through her body. When she opened
The Alpha King's Fate 69. Date Night
Jax counted some notes into the handyman’s palm and then a few more. The guy did a great job at short notice while considerably swamped with other repair jobs after the storm. He deserved the tip. “Thank you,” he smiled toothily before jumping into his truck, where his team was already waiting. Jax waved them off before he looked at the side of the trailer. The dent was gone, and the whole exterior had a facelift. “That will last a good few years.” He looked over at the man who’d introduced himself as Adam. He and Dylan sat on some old garden chairs, drinking beers while Gerald manned the barbeque. Gerald didn’t grumble about cooking for them. “You think so?” he asked. “I didn’t like how much it shook during the storm. I think I should have someone come and look at that.” Or he could convince Layla to move out of the trailer park to somewhere safer. But Layla wasn’t open to that conversation yet. He looked at the door and saw the love of his life standing in the doorway with
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The Alpha King's Fate 78. No Regrets - Epilogue
“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
The Alpha King's Fate 77. Reunion
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 Alpha King's Fate 76. And Then There Were Three
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
The Alpha King's Fate 75. Gatecrashers
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
The Alpha King's Fate 74. Party Time
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
The Alpha King's Fate 73. Home
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.
The Alpha King's Fate 72. Hypocrite
“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
The Alpha King's Fate 71. No Regrets
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
The Alpha King's Fate 70. Fuck Fate!
“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
