She didn’t say anything as she looked at the time on her phone. It had been a few hours since Jackson had walked off with his terrifying temper. Her headache was gone now, and she felt as good as new, but she didn’t want to go near those girls again. What if the whole pack was like them? What if they were all that strong, and her little knife couldn’t protect her?

She was sitting on the sofa when she heard the key in the door. It swung open, and Jackson walked in. He looked at her in her little corner as if he had already known that was where she would be.

She clutched the vase tighter as she watched him put his hands in his pockets and slowly walk towards her.

He was dressed in a suit, and she could tell from this distance that it wasn’t cheap. It was dark blue and matched his eyes perfectly. This was how he had looked the first time she had met him, so polished and out of her depth. He didn’t look angry anymore but still looked serious and unapproachable. A million years away from when he had made love to her that morning.

But the air still became charged with sexual tension as it had earlier. Her body still remembered every touch, every kiss.

How could someone make love like that and still be a bastard? How could he even stand there and look so high and mighty when young girls were waiting to be in his bed when they turned eighteen? And to have them call him Alpha as if they were all a bunch of animals and his word was the law was disgusting.

“You should be ready,” he stated.

“I don’t want to have dinner downstairs. I’ll eat in my room.”

She didn’t look away from his stern gaze when she said this, even though giving him any attention made her body tingle.

“It’s not a choice, Layla. I’ll introduce you as my guest, and no one will question it when you walk around freely.”

And that was what she needed. She had to be free to plan her escape. But she could still feel how hard she had been punched and how vulnerable those girls had made her feel. She didn’t want to be the centre of attention.

“Maybe tomorrow. I still have a headache.”

Something flashed in Jackson’s eyes, but he looked away quickly as he strode to the walk-in wardrobe. He held a navy blue dress on a hanger when he walked out.

“I think this one will suit you,” he said.

“I’m not going, Jackson. Let me process all the shit that happened today; I’ll go tomorrow.”

“Things don’t work like that around here, Layla. What I say goes.”

Yes, she was starting to see that. He’d brainwashed everyone so well and then surrounded them with wolves and a dangerous forest, so they had no choice.

“Now get dressed. Tonight’s important; I don’t have time to argue with you,” Jackson continued as he put the dress down.

“I agreed to have your baby, not jump every time you snap your fingers,” she said, finally looking away from him.

She knew she couldn’t antagonise a man like Jackson. He was so drunk on his power that he wouldn’t like being challenged. But she had one thing to her advantage, and that was the fact that he needed her to be his surrogate for whatever reason. That had to give her some sort of leeway, even if he didn’t like it.

“If you want me to treat you like a whore and lock you in here all day until I need to use you, then I have no problem with that,” Jackson said.

He walked to stand right in front of her. She felt the truth in his words, and it made her nauseous. He ran a cult; he would have no trouble imprisoning her until she gave him a child.

“Do you need me to help you undress?”

Heat spread through her body at an alarming rate. She jumped to her feet and put some distance between them. What the hell was wrong with her to still find him attractive?

“I can manage,” she said through her teeth as she snatched the dress up.

“You have five minutes. They’re going to come and move your things soon.”

She turned back to see Jackson settling on the sofa she had just vacated.

“Move me where?”

“To my room. No one will hurt you there. Also, you’ll get pregnant much quicker if you’re in my bed, and I can have you anytime I want.”

Her jaw dropped as she watched the man confidently cross his arms. All night in his bed? She screamed in her head, but her body tightened at the thought of him touching her again.