Page 62 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“It won’t be for long,” he assured him.

Cassandra could return once he was dead and gone if she still wanted to.

The moment Micah left, Diedre walked in and locked the door behind her. He sighed and sat back. He couldn’t put this conversation back any longer, and the conference room was one of the only rooms he could speak freely in because it was soundproofed.

“I’ve made her this,” Diedre said, holding a gold chain towards him as she sat beside him.

The chain was thin and delicate, and an emerald to match Layla’s eyes dangled on it.

“She should wear it at all times; it will ward off most magical attacks,” Diedre continued.

“Most?” That wasn’t good enough.

“I don’t know what I’m protecting her from. It’s the best I can do at short notice,” Diedre said. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. Fate wouldn’t bring her to you only to take her away again.”

“Stop it, Diedre. She’s not the answer. You’ve been looking for ways to break the curse for years now, and we haven’t even come close,” he sighed as he put the chain in his pocket.

“I won’t give up, even if you have,” the witch said firmly. “You’re not your father, Jax. You don’t deserve to go out like this.”

“I do,” he said firmly, meeting the witch's gaze. “You know I do. And I’m worse than my father because even he wouldn’t have...”

He let that sentence hang and looked away from the witch’s probing gaze. Diedre put her small, delicate hand over his larger one and gently squeezed.

“You have been given a mate, Jackson King. The Moon Goddess hasn’t abandoned you. Maybe it’s time you started believing that you deserve redemption,” she said.

Layla wasn’t a blessing; she was a half-blood curse. Even if his curse were broken, he would have to watch her lose her mind and be put down for being a danger to everyone. If that wasn’t a sign to say he didn’t deserve happiness, then he didn’t know what was.

“Have you marked her already? Maybe that’s all it will ta—”

“I’m not doing that,” he said as he stood up and returned to the window. “If it doesn’t work, I'll have condemned her for nothing. I just want a child, Diedre.”

Diedre huffed but didn’t say anything else. He kept his gaze on the field, watching the future warriors training in their wolf forms, but his mind kept coming back to Diedre’s words. What if...? What if he broke the curse and got to raise his child himself? What if he could mark Layla and get to keep her? What if he could be happy?

“Have you seen anything?” he asked.

“No.”

He swallowed back the bitter disappointment. This was why he shouldn’t have allowed himself to feel even a slither of hope. If Diedre, the greatest Seer that ever walked the earth, still couldn’t see his future, then nothing had changed.

“I can try after—”

“Let’s concentrate on finding out who’s behind all this shit,” he said, cutting her off before she could say anything else to make him hopeful.

The chair scraped on the floor behind him as Diedre stood.

“Bring her to dinner tonight,” the witch said. “I can’t protect her if you keep her locked up. And frankly, she won’t want to stay here to raise your child if you don’t allow her to mingle.”

“She’s not going to stay. She’ll leave the child and go.”

Diedre chuckled as she walked to the door.

“What?” he growled.

“You think Cain, the beast, the wolf from fiery pits of hell, the bringer of death and destruction, is going to let his mate walk out of here?” Diedre asked.

And then she laughed again as she opened the door and left him to his thoughts.

Chapter 34

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