Page 137 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked.

“We had that talk already. There’s nothing wrong with us enjoying the time we have together. I don’t want you to be unhappy, Layla,” he said as he looked back over the forest. “Maybe you’ll be the only one to think of me fondly when I'm gone.”

“Gone where?”

Shit.

“When we have to part ways,” he corrected.

And her sadness returned. Layla looked away from the forest and started twisting the ring on her finger. If Diedre’s magic didn’t work on her, then the ring and the pendant were nothing more than expensive jewellery—gifts from a man to his lover.

He put his hand over both of hers to stop her anxious movements.

“Are you scared of me, Layla?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I know I should be, but...”

“You have nothing to fear from me. I’m the last person in the world who’d ever hurt you.”

She looked up at him questioningly. Humans didn’t know anything about mates and what that did to a wolf, so he wouldn’t attempt to explain that. Knowing too much would be too big of a burden on her shoulders when he was no longer there to protect her.

“Do you hurt other people?” she asked.

“I’ve had to. I protect what’s mine,” he answered quietly.

And that was the reason they were all in this mess. There was no redemption on the cards for him.

“Why are we talking about this? I brought you out here so I can hear your screams echoing over the forest,” he said as he stood and turned to face her. He positioned himself between her knees and heard her heart rate spike up.

“Anyone can come up and see us. Don’t tell me you’re an exhibitionist,” Layla chuckled when he pulled her t-shirt off her head.

“Oh, definitely not. No one else gets to see you like this.”

Her bra went next, and he threw it on the ground next to the shirt. Layla didn’t resist him. He knew she couldn’t, but he wanted to believe they had spent enough time in each other’s company for her to have thawed towards him. Maybe she would have reacted the same if the bond wasn’t pulling them together.

He pulled his t-shirt off and watched the way her eyes lit up like the red wolf’s as they ate him up. She couldn’t hold her emotions back any more than he could.

‘Mark her.’

He groaned as he pulled her against him. Since his recovery, that was all Cain wanted. To mark his mate and bind them for life. The urge was nearly impossible to resist.

“Your eyes,” Layla whispered.

And yours, mate.

“Am I scaring you?” he asked.

She shook her head quickly; he could sense it was the truth. Layla seemed more fascinated than scared. It was a relief because he couldn’t stop it. Heat rose in his veins, and his heart started to hammer against his chest. His hands trembled as he brought them up to her face and brought her lips against his.

Completely lost. She’d ruined all his plans, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to be upset about that. Layla owned his soul and had claimed it, whether she understood it or not.

He had them both naked in record time and then wrapped her legs around him as he settled back between her legs. Her sexy moans started the moment he started sliding inside her and got louder with every movement. The echoes travelled over the forest as he had expected.

His little screamer.

She had no idea what she had done to him.

She consumed all his thoughts, and everything he had done since he had brought her to the packhouse had been for her. Had been just so he could do this, feel this for as long as he could.

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