Diedre stopped and forced her to stop, too. The older woman put her hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
“I’ll need to do more for him, and I don’t want you to get upset. Stay down here. Go and find something to eat in the kitchen, and I’ll get you as soon as I’ve tended to him.”
“But—”
“Go,” Diedre said firmly and then moved faster than she had ever seen the woman move.
She had a determined look as she started to march up the stairs.
“Please make sure she stays downstairs,” Diedre told the men at the door.
They both nodded and then walked to stand in front of the staircase. She wasn’t going to get past them.
Something in her chest hurt as she watched Diedre disappear at the top without her, that same thing that had pushed her to stay by Jackson’s side. What if he died? What if Diedre came down in a little while and told her there was nothing she could have done?
Her hand went up to her chest as her heart started beating uncontrollably, and her breathing became harsher.
“So you’re the girl.”
With her breathing still harsh, she turned around and saw a woman entering the lobby. The same woman she had seen from the window who’d dressed inappropriately for breakfast.
Even now, she wore short shorts that showed off her insanely long legs and round bottom, and her breasts were straining out of her tiny t-shirt.
Her panic was replaced by the intense dislike she’d felt the first time she’d seen the woman. Her skin started to prickle, and shockingly violent thoughts filled her head. It was like watching a gory movie; everything flicking through her mind was so detailed. She had no idea where those thoughts came from.
She tried to put them aside so she wouldn’t be rude to the stranger.
“Hi,” she said politely.
The woman looked at her from the top of her dishevelled, unruly red mess on her head to her bare feet before she laughed and continued walking to the door.
“I don’t know what he sees in you,” she chuckled. “I guess I won’t have to work very hard after all.”
She knew instantly the woman was referring to Jackson. Those were fighting words, and they set a fire in her veins as she watched the woman walk out of the house. Her head seemed intent on ignoring that Jackson wasn’t hers, and they could never be together properly anyway. She wanted to fight for him.
“I’ve made you something to eat.”
The calm voice made her turn around. Faith stood in the hallway leading to the kitchen with a small smile on her lips.
“Come to the kitchen,” Faith said gently.
And her mind settled instantly. She nodded at the girl and followed despite her body feeling shaken. She didn’t understand why she felt any of these things. Maybe she’d run herself down. Not once in her shitty life had she ever felt such violent emotions against someone, especially over a man. She would probably be okay once she got some sleep.
Chapter 65
Layla knew she looked insane as she paced the lobby. Her thoughts were becoming less coherent the longer she stayed up.
At any other time, she would have thought she was having a mental breakdown because all her crazy thoughts were mixed in with the weird voices that got her into trouble when she was younger. But she knew this wasn’t anything related to the red wolf or her usual delusions. She wasn’t herself just because she was tired.
Hell, she’d been walking around in a ‘packhouse’ surrounded by werewolves, and she hadn’t had the good sense to feel afraid. She felt like a zombie, and trying to understand anything around her was futile.
Trying to understand how she felt and why she felt it was also futile. It was like she was thinking someone else’s thoughts and feeling someone else’s emotions, as insane as that sounded.
She would probably need therapy when she went back home because none of that was normal.
Faith had fed her, and she’d felt calmer in the girl’s presence, but her anxiety had returned and forced her to leave the kitchen. Diedre was taking too long. Maybe everything was her fault for waiting too long to get him to a hospital.
But something else had occurred to her as she’d eaten with Faith.