Page 48 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

He sounded defeated. He was their king, and he’d said he was stronger than all of them. So why did she sense his fear?

“We’re the ones who should be asking you that,” the man, Zach, spat out. “Come out and face the consequences of your actions.”

“Let me take Layla—”

“It’s too late for that. You’ve condemned us all just because of the human,” Zach said. “Come out.”

Jackson looked over at her and then lowered his gaze to her stomach.

“I’ll fix this. Whatever happens, stay in the car and control your emotions,” he said.

“What?” she asked, grabbing his arm as her fear took her over. “You can’t go out there.”

“It will be much worse if I don’t deal with this,” Jackson said. “Lock the doors, and drive out of here if you see a chance. Don’t stop for anything. I’ll find you.”

They wanted to kill them! How could it possibly be worse than that? But Jackson prised her fingers from his arm and placed the car key in her palm before he got out of the car without another glance at her.

“Don’t bother calling for help. No one will come,” Zach said as Jackson reached him.

That made Jackson tense. Had they got to the people on Jackson’s side before coming to him?

“If I take Layla—”

“You’ve just killed a Circle member,” Zach hissed. But she heard it as clear as day, even above the sound of her rapid heartbeat.

“He threatened to kill the pack—”

“He wanted the girl!” Zach shouted. “All you had to do was give her to them.”

“Look, I understand your anger. I’ve been angry with myself lately, too,” Jackson said. “If I’d been here, then maybe we wouldn't have lost so many people—”

“Maybe?” a woman standing behind Zach asked as she walked over to him. “You know they would never have tried it if you’d been here. I lost my parents, Alpha.”

Tears started falling down the woman’s cheeks, and Layla felt her pain, too.

“Bring the human out so we can end this before the Circle comes to take their revenge. I won’t lose any more people for you,” the woman hissed.

The air was charged with so many emotions, but it was Jackson’s she felt the most. She felt his guilt, his remorse. He blamed himself for something she had caused, and it broke her heart. If it weren’t for the baby, she would have given herself to them.

“I’m sorry. I know that will never make up for it or bring them back,” Jackson said softly. “They were my family, too. I feel the missing pieces of myself every day. I promise I will protect you all from whatever is coming, even if I have to lay down my life for yours. It’s my duty as your Alpha.”

“You’re not fit to be King. You’re not even fit to be our Alpha,” Zach spat out as he came to stand right in front of Jackson. “You’re like your father, leading everyone down a destructive path on your whims.”

The older man then smirked again, and she sensed so much satisfaction from him.

“I’m the Alpha, now. You and your human are sentenced to death for your crimes against the pack.”

Chapter 27

None of them had lowered their gazes or shown any other deference to his rank as their King. They were openly challenging him.

He’d suffered from his guilt for weeks. Slaughtering the people who killed his pack members hadn’t been enough; he should have tried to make amends. But their whispers about him and Layla had held him back.

And his guilt was holding him back now.

Though Cain was still on alert, even he recognised a wounded animal and the need to grieve. The woman who demanded he give Layla to them was projecting as much pain as most of them. Zach had used their vulnerabilities to get them on his side, like the asshole he was.

His declaration didn’t scare him as much as the emotions his pack members were projecting. The amount of pain they were in was enough to tip them over into doing anything to make it go away.

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