Page 16 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Suit yourself,” Faith said as she walked back towards her.

“Why are you being like this? Out of everyone here, I thought you...”

Faith had an aura around her that made her approachable and safe. But now she was so closed off and icy that she wondered if there was more to it.

“When Alp... When Mr King was sick, and I took you back to his room, I didn’t expect you to do this to him. To us,” Faith said. “I’d rather you stop acting as if we were friends.”

When the girl walked past her, she stopped in her tracks suddenly and lowered her head. When Layla turned around, she saw Jackson standing behind them.

“It’s okay, Faith. I’ll take her from here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Faith was gone before she could protest. She would have much rather walked down this path a million times than spend more time with Jackson. Especially since his eyes were still so cold and his fists were balled up at his sides. If he was still so angry, why was he volunteering? He was the one who had said he wouldn’t see her again.

“Are you just going to stand there and look at me all day?” Jackson growled. “Come.”

Her mind was split about whether to follow him or head back inside, but the decision was made for her when she saw him going up one of the paths into the woods. Any respite from the noise causing her head to ache would be welcome.

Jackson walked ahead of her the whole time and she struggled to keep up, but the further they went from the house, the less the noise became. Jackson didn’t stop until he reached the place he had said was his favourite. The smooth rock on which he had made her lose her mind several times.

He didn’t sit but stood next to the rock, watching the view with his arms crossed. She sat and took a deep breath again. It was still noisy there, but they were the soothing sounds of the forest rather than the noise surrounding the house. The birds... animals foraging under the canopy of the trees... The careful footsteps of an animal that was likely hunting... Her mind eased, and she almost cried that she could finally hear herself think again.

“What’s wrong with you?”

She looked up to see Jackson had been looking at her.

“You don’t really care, Jackson, so don’t even ask.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Jackson said. “You’re carrying my child. That’s the only reason your health is important to me.”

She tried not to let his words hurt her. She was already feeling too raw, and trying to stop that noise had been exhausting. Jackson was entitled to his feelings. It didn’t matter anyway. At the end of it all, she would leave him.

With her baby. Fuck.

‘What have you done, child?’

The sound of that voice in her head made her turn around quickly. And right behind her was the familiar big red wolf that had been the first sign of the instability in her head.

‘You’re supposed to stay with him,’ the wolf continued.

She wasn’t going to bother to respond to a figment of her imagination. She slowly lifted her gaze to Jackson because he must have noticed how quickly she had turned back.

And then her breath hitched.

Jackson wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the wolf. The hallucination. The product of her twisted mind.

He could see it!

Chapter 10

The red wolf didn’t shift to reveal her identity to her daughter.

The last time he had spoken to Rebecca, she had been cryptic and explained a whole bunch of nothing. She’d wasted his time, and he was the gullible fool who had believed her.

Protect her daughter? He was the one who needed protection from her!

He had no interest in whatever she had to say now because Layla was on her own after she gave birth. She had been resourceful before he’d found her; he was sure she would do the same after. And now she knew about their world, she would know what was happening to her when the changes didn’t go away.

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