Page 120 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

But that monster had saved her. He had somehow realised she was gone and rescued her just in time. If he hadn’t, she would have died. That thought was sobering and made her nauseous.

It felt like hours later when the closet door slowly opened, and Jackson stood at the entrance. His chest was bare now, and the dressing on his side wasn’t in place. She could see the top of what looked like an infected animal bite. When her eyes lowered to his hands to see if he still had claws, she saw blood on his fingertips instead.

The reality of her situation hit home. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen blood on him, so Jackson was indeed a murderer. Maybe that was why he had been so blase about his conversation with Dylan about getting rid of her.

Jackson balled his fingers and looked away from her.

“I’m going to wash up. You’re safe; you can come out now. We can talk when I come out,” he said gently before walking away and leaving the door open.

Talk? Was he finally going to give her answers, or would he try to brush it all under the rug again?

She stood and slowly walked out of the closet. Her eyes were drawn to the door that still lay on the floor, mocking her. She had been constantly locked in, but even with the door gone, where would she go?

There was no point in trying to escape again if she ran into dangerous werewolves.

She had no choice now. She would have to trust Jackson.

But what would she do if she got pregnant?

Her hand went to her stomach as she thought about the reason she was there. It made sense now. Jackson didn’t want her to be a part of the child’s life because it would be like him. Her child would fit in better than she did. She knew nothing about what they were capable of. Did they turn into wolves from when they were born? Or later on, as they matured? She wouldn’t know how to protect her child on her own.

Only days ago she had decided to escape even if she was pregnant. There were only a few days until her cycle, so there was a high chance she already was. Now she would have to learn to live with the guilt of knowing she would abandon her child.

Was it still abandonment when it was the only choice? Had her mother had no choice, either?

It was painful to admit that maybe Rebecca had left for a good reason.

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

Jackson had come out of the bathroom so quietly that she hadn’t heard him. She turned quickly and saw that he had redressed his wound and washed his face. He looked sombre and tired. She’d never seen him like that before, and it pulled at something inside her.

“I thought someone was hurting you,” he admitted.

“You’d know if they were?”

Jackson nodded, gesturing at the couch for her to sit down. When she settled back in front of her cold, forgotten breakfast, Jackson sat opposite her. She noticed how much he winced at that movement.

“Do you need to see a doctor?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s just going to take longer than normal to heal.”

There was an awkward silence as she waited for him to start talking. She wouldn’t even know where to begin with her questions.

“Are you scared?” Jackson asked.

She hadn’t expected him to ask that. Of course, she was scared—what normal person wouldn’t be? She’d been thrown into a different world. But even after seeing his monstrous face, she could admit that she probably wasn’t as scared as she was supposed to be.

“A little. I think not knowing was scarier.”

“I still can’t tell you everything, Layla. When you return to your real life, they’ll probably keep tabs on you for a while to make sure you don’t know anything.”

“They?”

“A bunch of crazy werewolves who think they own the world,” Jackson answered with a shake of his head.

“So I’d be in danger even when I leave?”

“Only if you act like you know about us. I told them you didn’t see anything in the woods, and they didn’t see me half-shift in front of you.”

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