Page 93 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

"I don't know what's got into you, but you're starting to scare me," Layla said as she turned back to pick up her bottle.

When she straightened, her whole body froze. She was face to face with the big red wolf.

Fuck.

Chapter 50

No.

No, this couldn’t be happening again.

With all the shit that had happened on her walk with Diedre, she had pushed this to the side. But there it was—the big red wolf.

The mother that her sick mind had created. The one that used to speak to her all the time.

Layla hugged the water bottle to her chest without taking her eyes off the wolf. It was still as magnificent as she remembered. The silkiest fur she’d ever seen, the greenest eyes. Her mother’s hair and eyes. Her hair and eyes.

No wolves in the world were that big or red—she had researched this thoroughly when she was younger. Anything bigger was only pure fiction—werewolves and monsters, shit like that. It was why her dad and counsellor had known immediately that it wasn't real.

The only thing that would make the whole messed up situation worse was if the imaginary wolf spoke to her again.

‘Hello, Layla.’

Shit.

No. No, she would not break down now. She’d woken up fine for the first time in days. She’d just had the most exhilarating run through the trees, at one with nature in a way she hadn’t been in a long time. Her mind had been lighter, despite what had happened and the fact that she’d been looking at possible escape routes the whole time.

She wouldn’t allow this shit to happen today. Take control. That was what her counsellor had always told her to do. Take control of her thoughts and remind herself of her reality.

She turned around quickly and faced Jackson.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go back,” she said to him. “We can run as fast as you want.”

Jackson frowned and cocked his head.

“Ah... Okay,” he said.

But he stood there with a confused look on his face. Had she noticeably reacted to her hallucination? It had been a while since she had seen this wolf. Though she's felt her mind slowly going under since the day she'd heard the growl after Jackson had fucked her on the table, she hadn't thought it would reach this far when her head felt so clear.

Her mind was not breaking again today.

"I'm getting hungry. It must be close to lunchtime now," she said as she walked past him. "We should head back."

"Yes. Yes, let's head back," Jackson said quickly.

'Stay with him, Layla. You'll be safe here.'

It was just her subconscious. There wasn't a voice in her head.

‘Come back here when you need me. But stay here. Brit is okay.’

She started to jog and ignored the fact that she could sense that Jackson was looking at her again as he ran beside her.

Eyes forward. One foot in front of the other. Do not look back. Don’t do it!

But as she ran, she couldn’t help herself. She looked back. The wolf was still there, just watching her.

“Are you okay, Layla?”

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