Page 89 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

Cain lowered his head, bared his teeth, and his hackles rose as he approached the wolves who had ordered his mate’s death. A low, menacing growl left his lips as he emerged from the shadows. They had all sensed him coming, but their fear increased when they saw him.

Talking to him was one thing. Dealing with Cain was another.

“We came to apologise, Your Majesty. By the time you told us about the human, we had already sent out the order,” Hugo started quickly. “But we were relieved to hear that the human is alive and well.”

Cain lowered his hind legs and launched himself towards them. Hugo flew back with the force while Finn fell in front of him. Finn. The arrogant little shit who thought his balls were bigger just because he’d made it into the Circle. The wolf was already shaking as he held himself still on the ground and offered his neck in submission. He didn’t dare to try to use his magic this time.

Cain snarled and lowered his head to look the young man in the eye. He understood now where Finn’s guilt had come from after he had revealed that Layla was pregnant. And yet he had said nothing. They had let him leave the hotel knowing he would get the bad news as soon as he got home.

At the reminder of what he had seen, he caught the exposed neck in his jaws. His sharp teeth nicked the wolf’s skin- he could already taste the metallic tang of his filthy blood.

“We came to make amends, Your Highness,” Lincoln said quickly from beside their car. “We recognise the error we made in acting without questioning you first. We want to ensure the human will be properly received in your pack while she is here.”

All that did was serve as a reminder that his pack needed the Circle’s permission to do something he had already asked them to do. They wouldn't have dared to touch her if they had any regard for his orders. And he wouldn't be down a pack member or four.

He lifted his head and growled at the wolf who had interrupted him.

“For this human, we have made an exception. She will live and work among you freely until... well, until the time comes when she will not be useful to you,” Lincoln continued. “And to show how much we regret this unfortunate event, we will offer our services to secure your land from this new threat you’re facing.”

New threat. So Laken had told them about the possessed rogues as well? Or was that someone else? Either way, they were all untrustworthy little shits. He didn’t want them on his land.

He stepped away from Finn and shifted back to his human form. He stepped closer to Lincoln and watched how the wolf swallowed and shrank back. Dylan would have something to say about this. The Circle was a sacred entity to most people, despite the shit they did. No one treated them like this. Dylan would see this as another sign of his madness.

“What services?” he growled.

“We will help your witch ward the whole compound,” Lincoln answered. “I know she’s strong, but you have a large territory. It would take too much from her to protect everyone.”

True. Diedre had said so herself. And it would give him peace of mind if the witch couldn’t breach his territory at all to get close to Layla.

“Who’s been giving you information about my territory?” he asked calmly.

“I believe he said his name was Laken? He was trying to get his daughter back into the pack,” Hugo answered from the other side of their car. “I believe you’ve taken care of that problem now.”

As if he would believe that Laken was the only one.

He turned back from the Circle and walked towards his gates. The expressions on his wolves’ faces ranged from horror to fear. And In Dylan’s eyes, he saw what he had known he would see. So many questions. So much sadness.

So many emotions that confirmed his best friend didn’t trust him anymore, either.

“Do what you need to do and get off my property after breakfast,” he growled without looking back.

He didn’t speak to anyone else as he ran back to the house. Back to his mate. He would keep her in his room until the Circle was gone.

Chapter 48

Layla was sprawled on top of Jackson when she woke up the second morning after her traumatising walk with Diedre.

Right on top, as if she had been climbing all over his naked body in her sleep.

She didn’t get off him straight away. Her head was on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. It was oddly soothing. His arms were around her back, securing her in place, and her feet were tangled with his. The warmth of his body once again sent her on a weird, secure, fluffy cloud where the thoughts in her head were just a distant, unpleasant memory. His arms felt like a cocoon. She didn’t want to move.

She felt safe with him.

Despite knowing what he was, and the fact that he blamed her for being attacked, she felt safe. If that didn’t say she’d been drugged, then she didn’t know what did.

“Good morning.”

The sound of his husky voice brought her back down to earth instantly. She lifted her head and met his alert, icy-blue eyes. He looked like he had been awake for a while, and something told her he had been watching her sleep.

---