Page 40 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

But all of this had started before she'd got pregnant. She'd seen the red wolf throughout her childhood.

So it was true? Would she turn into a beast like him? What would the pack do to her if they found out?

So many questions but she didn’t know what to ask first. Her whole life had changed at the drop of a hat. Some things made more sense now, while others became more confusing. Was Britney the same as her? Had she also grown up keeping all the weird things that happened to her to herself?

And the biggest question she had was if this meant her mother hadn’t abandoned them willingly. Had something forced her to leave her two little girls behind?

This thought stuck in her head even though she didn't want to have her hopes raised. Maybe her mother had her reasons for leaving but the impact on their lives had been devastating. She didn't know how to feel about that.

By the time she realised that she was in Jackson's room, not the little room in the basement, dawn was breaking. She'd been sitting on his couch all night, and Jackson hadn't returned to talk. She didn't even know if he had locked his door again, keeping her prisoner even after that bombshell he had dropped on her.

The house was silent, and for a change, the voice in her head was quiet as well. There were no whispers, even though she could pick up a little movement outside the house. She knew it was from the guards without having to get up to look outside. Their patrols were regular. When she’d been stuck in the basement, the sound of their footsteps had even been a little comforting.

Her ears picked up something else. The front door opening and closing. Jackson’s scent. His quiet footsteps coming up the stairs.

She stood quickly and faced the door to wait for him. When she heard the key in the door, her heart twisted. So she was still a prisoner after all. Nothing had changed for Jackson.

“You should be resting. You’re pregnant; you can’t be up all night,” Jackson said when he opened the door.

Which meant that he had sensed her just as easily as she had sensed him. They were the same, after all.

“How do you expect me to sleep after what you told me?”

Jackson sighed and headed towards the bathroom.

“I’m tired, so I can’t do this right now. I had to make sure we weren’t followed because, as I’ve told you before, the pack is my responsibility,” Jackson said. “We won’t survive another attack.”

And just like that, the guilt bubbled up in her again. A few hours away from the packhouse had lightened her burden for a little while but there was no escaping it. Jackson’s revelation made her forget everything else, and it made her feel selfish. How could she think of herself when other people had lost their lives because of her? How could this be the thing on her mind when Jackson had whisked her and Britney away from the hotel because they had been in danger?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Jackson stopped at the bathroom door and turned to look at her with a little frown on her face. She remembered when he had started to smile at her all the time, but she knew that wouldn’t happen again.

“Go to sleep. Things will look better when we’ve rested.”

He looked as tired as she felt. Layla nodded, walked over to the suitcase that had been carried in for her, and pulled out a set of pyjamas. She had every intention of waiting for Jackson to come out of the bathroom after she climbed onto his huge bed, but her eyes started to close the moment she put her head down.

When she opened her eyes again, Jackson was gone, the room was bright, and the sounds of the pack were all around her.

She sat up and listened. Only the day before, Dylan had been complaining that no one wanted to come to the packhouse to train anymore. Now, from all the activity, it seemed like that had changed. Was the threat of the Hunters that great? She would have thought fighting other wolves would be worse than fighting a bunch of humans, no matter what Jackson said about them. Why would anyone as ferocious as the beasts she had seen run from a human?

Someone had already brought her some food when she came out of the bathroom. She wolfed it all down even though she didn’t have much appetite and then waited for Jackson to return. Surely she would still be allowed out for some fresh air?

But when the sun set, she was still waiting by the window. And she kept waiting. Jackson didn’t come back to the bedroom until dawn.

“You can’t keep doing this, Layla. You need to rest,” Jackson growled, making a beeline to the bathroom again.

He looked even more tired than before.

“Am I still a prisoner here?” she asked.

Jackson stopped at the bathroom door but didn’t turn to face her. She sensed his hesitation, as if he didn’t want to speak to her. Was she the reason he was staying out all night?

“You’re not a prisoner, but it’s not safe for you out there,” he answered.

“You said this was the safest place,” she pointed out as she stood from the seat at the window to walk to him.

Jackson tensed visibly. He didn’t want her near him?

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