Page 129 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Hold your hand out,” the leader barked.

“Excuse me?”

Another shot, this time from the other side. He knocked into Layla as they fell, and Cain thrashed around inside him. But he didn’t try to take control. Perhaps his beast now understood the gravity of the situation.

He spit blood from his mouth and pushed himself up before he put Layla behind him again.

“What do you want? I own a hotel; I have mon—”

“Hold your fucking hands out!” the leader spat out again.

Layla was first to do as the Hunter ordered. Her hands shook, and she looked like a terrified, weak human. But he could sense none of that from her. He felt her anxiety, but Layla seemed to have accepted their fate. It felt like she was okay with sacrificing herself for the others.

He frowned as he held his hands out, too. He was the one who should have sacrificed himself. Layla had her whole life ahead of her.

The man with the rucksack unzipped it and pulled out two silver chains. And that was when he felt a little hope for the first time since that morning.

The man put one chain across Layla’s wrists and stepped back. Nothing happened. The man looked over at Miss Roberts as if waiting for an explanation.

“She’s... She might not be one of them; she used to work at the hotel before she became his girlfriend,” Andrea stammered. “But she’s changed. Her hair... She looks like them.”

A muscle ticked in the leader’s jaw. He sensed his annoyance—the first emotion he’d got from him since they had surrounded them.

The other man put the second chain across his wrists. Again, there was nothing—no sizzling flesh. No burning. He looked down at the chain, the little thing that could seal his fate, and decided to give the performance of his life. Would this be the first time he’d used his wits instead of Cain’s strength to escape sticky situations? Possibly.

“What do you want us to do with these, sir?” he asked.

Amber splattered and tried to rush forward, but two men crossed their rifles in front of her to block her.

“But that’s impossible!” Amber said. “He’s one of them. He’s an Alpha.”

What was her motivation? Was this because he had not responded to her advances? Because she felt slighted when he picked a human over her? The subtle scent of dark magic clung to her, but not like it had stuck to Brax or any of the wolves the witch had taken over. Amber looked like she was in control of herself. Like she had chosen her side.

The man’s jaw ticked again, and he looked from Amber to Miss Roberts. Miss Roberts looked away, and she started to tremble. Her fear wafted to his nose, like a little snack for his darkest side.

“Costas said they were attacked by wolves, sir. I played you the recording,” Andrea stammered. “And then he just disappeared in the hotel.’

“The same hotel you have been fired from?” the man asked with a growl.

“Yes,” Miss Roberts whispered. “But the man you sent to visit me, he sensed them in the hotel—”

“Just because there was one there at the time, it does not mean it’s this one,” the man snarled. “If you can’t tell yet, then you have failed. You will never be one of us.”

“But sir—”

“There are many of them in the woods! I don’t know what magic Jackson has used, but if we catch another—” Amber shouted desperately.

“You’ve had us running through that forest for hours, following nothing but your haunches. You’re not a good enough witch to join us, either.”

Witch? That was the story she’d told them?

“No!” Amber said, pushing the guns away and closing the distance. “Try another way. Wolfsbane, or threaten his girlfriend. He’s the worst of them all.”

Amber grabbed the silver from his wrist and froze when her fingers started sizzling. He'd never sensed so much fear from anyone in his life.

She threw the chain and backed away.

Something whizzed through the air.

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