Page 116 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

In the distance, he sensed Dylan and the other warriors finally approaching. He’d left them behind at the edge of the woods in his haste to reach Layla. Dylan would vote to execute them all. He’d been waiting for any excuse since they had chained him and Micah.

“Go,” he growled. “This is the last chance I’m giving you.”

The traitors rose to their feet immediately and rushed out of the room. He didn’t release Layla until he’d heard the last car drive off the property just as Dylan and the warriors ran out of the woods behind the house. He ordered them to stand down and told them he would come out when he was ready. He needed to make sure Layla was okay before he planned his revenge.

“We should have killed them,” he told her. “The wards here won’t protect you from anyone in my pack because I never thought I’d have to protect myself against them. We have to get you somewhere safer until the baby is born.”

Layla swallowed and then put her arms around herself as she stepped back from him.

“And then what will happen after the baby is born?” she asked. “You’ve been vague about everything and haven’t taught me anything about your world except what I need to do to hide my nature. Will you kill me?

He stepped back as if she’d just punched him in the gut.

“After everything I have done, how could you even ask that?” he asked. “Have I not shown you...”

How much he loved her.

He left that part unsaid as he turned away from her. Fuck. He couldn’t do that anymore. He couldn’t pretend she meant nothing to him, even if his situation was still the same. Telling her how much she meant would hurt her in the long run.

“I know the baby is important to you,” Layla said. “But I know you weren’t going to see me again until the baby was born.”

“To protect you, Layla,” he growled, turning back to her. “Everything I have done has been to protect you. You don’t know half the things I’ve had to do and still have to do to secure your future.”

It hurt. He couldn’t lie. He’d put distance between them and tried not to strengthen their bond anymore, but how could she not have sensed how he felt? He wasn’t as good at masking himself as she was, for fuck’s sake.

“What if I don’t want you to protect me? What if I just want...”

Layla’s voice trailed off, but she was still wide open, projecting everything she wanted. Everything he wanted but couldn’t have. He closed his eyes because he knew he’d already lost the fight. He wanted her to finish that sentence. He wanted to hear those words even though there was no future for them.

“What were you going to say? What do you want, Layla?” he whispered.

She took too long to answer. All he heard was her heart, beating in perfect sync with his. He wanted to hear those words, just once, for the first time in his miserable life. That someone loved him. That he was more than just an Alpha, more than just a King.

“I want...”

He opened his eyes and met her gaze. And the love in them pulled him in.

He sucked in a breath as he felt their bond strengthening. Tightening up and drawing her deeper into his soul. It pulled him back towards her like a rope, and his teeth ached to give her what she wanted from him, even if she didn’t understand what it was.

“Say it,” he whispered, closing the distance between them.

Her lips opened, and he zoomed in on them, waiting for those magic words. The words men made fools of themselves over. The words that had sailed a thousand ships and started wars.

“Say it, Layla.”

A wail broke his concentration. He frowned, unable to process it for a moment as his eyes lowered to her stomach. It was smaller than when he’d left her. And she was bleeding.

The wail came again, and he took another step back. All thoughts of war and vengeance disappeared from his mind.

It couldn’t be.

His eyes went to the still-open door as the little cry came closer. He didn’t know why his heart started beating so hard. Why his limbs weakened and his chest filled with something he could not comprehend.

But Faith appeared in the open doorway with a small bundle in her arms. Layla went to her and took the bundle from her arms before she turned around to face him. Mother and child. The two reasons for his existence. The reasons he would burn the world to the ground so they could live.

“He’s early,” he whispered.

And then his eyes widened. The baby was too early.

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