Page 108 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Do you actually believe the man has feelings for you?” Amber hissed. “Do you think you’re the first woman he’s fucked senseless? There are dozens out there, maybe even hundreds, who will tell you how great Jackson is in bed. How attentive he is. How he made love to them like they were the only women in the world. There's nothing special about you, Layla.”

The words hurt because they were probably true.

“The only reason he’s making all of this fuss is that you’re carrying his child,” Amber continued. “The moment you give him his heir, they will kill you. They already told you so when you got cornered in the garage.”

Layla took a step back. How had Amber known about the incident in the garage? She had already been kicked out of the pack at that time.

“Aww. Did I hurt your feelings?” Amber laughed. “I feel so sorry for you, Layla. You let yourself be used and let yourself believe so many lies. But this is my world, not yours. You know too much, so this is where your story will end. We never let outsiders in.”

And that was something Jackson already confirmed. They wouldn’t let her in even if she shifted.

Amber wasn’t telling her anything new. Jackson had already ended things with her when he’d brought her to this house. He had already shown her that she meant nothing to him.

But her heart still ached. All the pain she had been trying to hide started to push back up.

“Get out,” she hissed.

“I’m just here to watch the show,” Amber laughed.

What show?

A wave of pain hit her out of nowhere, and dread settled like lead in her stomach. She knew it was Jackson without having to concentrate. She sucked in a breath and rushed back to the window. Something was happening; someone was hurting him. She could sense chaos in the wind, but everyone was too far for her to figure out what was happening. It was only Jackson’s emotions she could feel at that distance.

“It has started,” Amber said.

“What? What are you doing to him?” she shouted.

And then the pain just stopped.

Blanked out as if Jackson was unconscious.

Or dead.

She sank to her knees as her heart ripped open and all the pain spilt out. He couldn’t be dead. It couldn’t be true.

The pain numbed her for a moment, and she didn’t realise she was sitting in a puddle until a sharp pain in her stomach took her breath away.

“No,” she cried, her voice cracked.

Amber laughed.

And then she disappeared as if she hadn’t been there.

Chapter 54

When Jackson opened his eyes, he was in a dank, dark little room.

His wrists were bound by chains suspended on some contraption on the ceiling, and his shoulders were on fire because they were supporting his weight. His fingers were numb and cold because the fuckers had chained him too tightly.

Was this how he died then? In the hands of his enemy, months before he held his child?

He felt lightheaded from the lack of circulation in his body. He tugged at the chains to test them out but could barely move his arms. It was the arrow that had weakened him. He could feel the dark magic burning through him as it had the other times, but this time he could still feel Cain.

Maybe the magic wasn’t as strong this time. His beast was weakened, but he was already working hard to heal them. Still, he didn’t see them getting out of this anytime soon. He was too weak to even command anyone to release him.

He looked at his feet and tried to wiggle his toes, but they were swollen. Both his feet were chained to the floor, spread wide open like his arms. And because he was naked, that wasn’t a great position to be in. Not in a torture chamber, anyway.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he looked at the rusty-looking tools lined up on a table and along the wall on the other side of the room. Dread filled him at the thought of where some of those tools would be used.

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