Page 149 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

This was the man who was supposed to take over everything after he died. There wasn’t much time left to get him into shape for the role, but... But Layla. Everything came down to Layla.

“May I speak freely, Alpha,” Micah started.

He pulled his attention back to the Head Warrior and nodded. Micah never wavered on his duties despite the uncertainty he carried on his shoulders. Dylan was stronger and a better choice to take over, but the past few weeks brought out some issues he would never have seen otherwise.

“Sure.”

“Why did you send us away? Did something happen?”

“I... I needed to be alone,” he said and then cleared his throat.

If they knew Layla had gone into heat but still smelled human, their rumours of rogue or Dylan’s half-blood theory would be confirmed as the truth. It would be better if he found the red wolf first to know how best to handle this situation.

“Where’s Diedre? I need to see her but can’t sense her anywhere.”

“She went to cleanse herself, Alpha. She said something about a spiritual quest. She’s in the forest and wanted to be alone, but I sent my best warriors to guard her.”

The last time Diedre had gone on a spirit quest was to find clarity on dealing with his father. She must have hit a brick wall again trying to sort out her magic situation.

He sighed and nodded.

“Good. Send word if—”

He turned to look back at the house. There was fear and then a lot of anger. Rage. The same thing he had felt when Layla had walked in on Amber in their room.

“Shit,” he muttered as he shoved the doors back open and ran towards the stairs.

What the hell was that vermin still doing in his territory? If Amber laid a hand on Layla, he would fucking kill her. Had he been too lenient lately that people would go against him? He needed to set another example. He would string her up in the middle of town. He would torture her for everyone to see. He would—

He stopped in his tracks at the top of the stairs and tried to process what he was looking at.

Amber did indeed have a hand on Layla, but she was trying to push her away.

Layla was on top of the late Alpha Kendrick’s warrior, punching the shit out of her. And Amber was trying to protect her face.

Layla’s mouth was set in a snarl, and her rage was so forceful he had to step back. And her eyes... they glowed that beautiful green.

Fuck if he knew what was going on, but Layla looked fucking beautiful. He felt the presence of her wolf, and all her emotions washed through him. It wasn’t just the fury. It was all the things the wolf felt for him because she understood that she was his.

Thundering footsteps coming up the stairs forced him out of the twisted fantasy that had started playing in his mind. No one could see Layla like this, not yet, not until he had answers.

He rushed forward and pulled his mate off the other wolf. Layla didn’t stop struggling to get out of his arms and finish the job until he whispered in her ear.

“Calm yourself, my little mate.”

It was almost like magic, watching the light fade from Layla’s eyes as she returned to her human senses. But even then, her eyes remained much brighter than they had been before he had brought her to his house.

There was no more time to think about that as he set her down and turned back to Amber. He forced her to her feet and watched the wolf blink and wipe away the blood falling down her face.

“What... How did she—” Amber started.

“Alpha!” Micah called out as he finally reached the top. “What happened?”

“Did I not say she was banned from my territory?” he growled, turning to the Head Warrior.

“She... She appealed to Beta Dylan,” Micah explained, lowering his head.

Fucking Dylan. How would they ever get their friendship back if he kept going over his head like this?

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