Page 18 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“One hour,” Jackson repeated, walking past Britney without acknowledging her and heading out the door.

“What’s going on?” Brit asked.

She put a smile on her face and walked to sit back next to her sister. What was she supposed to tell her? That she’d sold her soul for the chance to have a better life? Jackson should have given her more time.

“Well, Jackson has agreed to help us,” she started. “You’ll stay in this room, all expenses paid, and keep going to school while I... I’m going back to work for him.”

Britney’s mouth dropped open.

“Work? What kind of work?” she asked with alarm.

“No, no, not like that man who hurt Dad. Jackson is gay,” she assured her sister. “I’ll be cleaning for him and saving up.”

The lie fell so easily out of her mouth.

“We’ll be okay, Brit,” she continued. “As long as you stay away from Dad, and make sure you have someone with you everywhere you go, you’ll be okay until I... finish my work contract. I’ll see you as often as I can.”

She pulled Brit into her arms and blinked back her tears again. They would be fine. They wouldn’t be separated forever. As long as Brit was safe, she could deal with anything else.

Even that annoying attraction to the obviously gay Jackson King.

Chapter 10

Layla sat in the back of the car exactly an hour later, feeling like Jackson King had bulldozed her. Everything had happened too quickly.

Jackson had come back into the room with a gigantic man dressed in all black, who he’d introduced as the head of Brit’s security. Who was Jackson to pull something like this that fast? Why did he have bodyguards on call? His earlier statement about needing to keep her safe went around in her head until it dawned on her that she’d dropped herself into some deeper shit than merely Costas Markopoulos.

When she imagined someone in the Mafia or other criminal organisations, they looked just like Jackson. An air of authority around them and expensive suits that were a world beyond Costas’ cheesy suit, hairstyle, and gold chains. Though Costas had turned their lives upside down, it felt like he was nothing compared to Jackson King. She'd screwed herself over by agreeing to this. She could feel it in her bones.

Fear seeped through her whole body as she remembered Britney’s teary face when they were leaving. She’d left her precious baby sister with strangers. What the hell had she done? Was it too late to head back? She had no proof that Jackson could give her anything he promised. The money he had already transferred to her account wouldn’t really break anyone’s bank if they could afford to stay in the penthouse suite of the Royal Hotel, but anyone could write a cheque that couldn’t be cashed. She may have fallen for a con.

She turned her head and watched the city lights disappearing through the back window. Where were they even going? She should have asked all these questions before agreeing to go with them. The two men in the front seats hadn’t spoken to her, but she could feel Jackson’s lover’s irritation as if he was hitting her head with it.

But wasn’t she doing them a favour? Didn’t he want a child? Or was that just a con, too?

Maybe Jackson was forcing this on him, too. Jackson seemed like a bully, like someone people couldn’t say no to. If he wanted a child and his boyfriend didn’t, that minor issue wouldn’t stop him.

They had been driving for about half an hour—though it seemed like forever because her anxiousness had shot her nerves to pieces—when the car turned into an obscure dirt road. They had turned into the forest! Into the forest that no one ever went into!

She gasped, and her hand automatically went to the door handle. Her heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest as the forest canopy loomed closer. It was already late, but even with the moonlight, the forest was so inky dark through the trees that she couldn’t see far, even with the car headlights.

She didn’t stop to think. As the car slowed to navigate the bumpy dirt trail, she instinctively knew this was her only chance. The moment she pushed the door open, she jumped out and rolled, ignoring the pain in her back and all over her body as she protected her head. She rolled further than she thought and slammed against a thick tree trunk with her back.

She would bleed again, and the tree trunk would leave a bruise, but there was no time to check on her injuries. It took a moment to steady herself when she got to her feet, but she started running back to the main road the second she did.

Crazy people. Wild animals were not something to be trifled with, and the wolves in Wolfdale were as territorial as fuck. Had they not seen the wolves attacking Costas and his people? This was a suicide mission, even if they remained in the car. There had been enough stories about that when she was growing up. Search parties that had discovered mutilated bodies and abandoned vehicles. The wolves had defeated Costas with all his gun power and cars—they didn’t stand a chance. She hadn’t agreed to be a surrogate just to die and leave Brit alone.

She was almost out of the forest when something grabbed her from behind, lifted her off her feet, and slammed her against the tree trunk. It knocked the wind out of her lungs and aggravated her wound as fear clawed its way up her throat. She had assumed it was some sort of animal tackling her, but when she realised it was Jackson who pressed himself against her, imprisoning her, her fear increased.

He had a snarl on his face that made him seem inhuman, and for a moment, she saw a flash of red in his eyes in the moonlight. Maybe it was the fear playing tricks on her mind or the thought of being in wolf territory making her see things because when Jackson brought his face an inch from hers, there was nothing but anger in his eyes.

She could feel that anger burning her as her body started to tremble.

“Do not run from me, Layla,” Jackson growled.

He brought his head down to the crook of her neck and... inhaled? Was he sniffing her? The warmth of his breath shot electricity down her body despite how terrified she was, but she was still hyper-aware of the danger.

Only now, she wasn’t sure if the danger was in the forest or standing right in front of her.

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