Page 106 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“What happened?” she cried, carefully peeling it from his body.

Her mouth dropped open as she inspected his wound.

“Damn rabid thing bit me. It’s not healing.”

Chapter 56

Jax pulled the ring from his sock drawer and looked back at Layla’s sleeping form.

He’d broken her. He knew that. And yet he couldn’t reassure her about anything she had seen because they would kill her the moment she gave birth.

He sighed and walked over to the bed. She hadn’t undressed, so he could still smell a hint of the rogue’s blood on her clothes. The witch would pay for doing this to her. He would find her, one way or another, before he died.

Even if he had to give himself over to the Circle and their dark magic.

He gently took her warm hand, and the contact sent a jolt through him stronger than anything. It had been days since he had been with his mate the way he wanted, and Cain was still content to wait for her to be ready. But for how long? Lust and need constantly flowed between them; he wasn’t sure how long he could hold it at bay.

He slipped the ring on her engagement finger and let her hand go. Layla didn’t even stir. He hadn’t tired her much with the run, so he knew this was more about her mental state.

He’d fix it. He’d do what he promised and make sure she enjoyed the rest of her time here before she had to go. If he managed to let her go.

But first, he had some hunting to do.

Dylan met him at the front door and walked with him to the side of the house that Layla couldn’t see from her window if she woke up.

“What do you want me to tell her if she asks about you?” Dylan asked.

“Unexpected business trip. I’ll be back tonight.”

There was no way he would spend a night away from her. If he had to continue the hunt after seeing Chase, then so be it. His territory would be the safest place on earth for Layla by the time he was done.

Cain was right. He’d let people walk all over him long enough.

“Don’t forget to find out more about her mother,” he reminded his Beta. “And whatever you find, please keep it confidential.”

“Am I going to find something?” Dylan asked, cocking his head as if to judge his answer.

Dylan wasn’t the Beta just because he was his only friend. He’d earned that right. He was the second strongest member of this pack and had skills that had always put him a cut above the rest. Like him, Dylan could tell a lie a mile away. When he became Alpha, he would be able to stand toe to toe with the other Alphas.

If he stopped messing around and became more serious about the role, that was.

“Possibly,” he answered before he walked into the woods. “I trust you, Dylan.”

Did he? He would have to see when the time came. If Dylan deduced that Layla’s mother was a wolf, then he would know straight away what Layla was.

He looked back at the house and opened his senses to find Layla. Her heart was still steady, but he knew that wasn’t an indication of her mental state.

For a moment, the look that had flashed in her eyes as Cain approached her filled his mind. She’d been scared. Terrified. She’d watched him kill the rogue, so he shouldn’t have expected anything less. But he was her mate. She should have been drawn to him in whatever form.

It was probably a good thing because he couldn't have her, anyway. But for the first time, the thought of letting her go filled him with an emotion he couldn’t understand. It wasn’t Cain’s doing. The over-emotional, psychotic beast was still quiet after calling him a bitch, so everything he felt was all him.

He looked back at Dylan, who was still waiting for him to go.

“You have to take care of her, Dylan.”

Dylan frowned, but he nodded. He’d also agreed to protect Layla with his life before, but he was still ready to kill her at any moment to remove her from the territory.

Trusting him again was going to be incredibly hard, he could tell.

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