Page 117 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Where’s the doctor?” he asked, rushing to them to look at the fragile little thing in Layla’s arms. “He should be monitored around the clock. He’s not strong enough yet.”

“She. She’s early,” Layla said, and then a small smile formed on her lips. “And she’s perfect.”

He felt the wave of protectiveness from Layla and something else as she held the baby against her body. The baby stopped crying, and her little face settled into a peaceful sleep. And Layla... she didn’t mask anything at all as she smiled down at her baby.

He looked over at Faith and saw the fascination in her eyes, and he knew that the young Omega had already figured it out. Would she keep that secret? Or was that another thing he had to sort out before he died?

Layla looked up at him, drawing his thoughts away from the dark direction they had turned to. The corners of her swollen lips turned up as the biggest smile he had ever seen filled her face.

“This is Hope,” Layla whispered.

The bond between mother and child was like a beacon. The only way anyone would take that child away from her was from her cold, lifeless hands. Diedre had been right after all.

But as he looked down at the little face, he felt that feeling in his chest and pushed all those thoughts aside.

He had a daughter.

Hope. Hope King.

And he had three months to hold her before he died.

Chapter 58

Jackson had washed the blood and dirt from his body before he’d finally held Hope in his arms, but she would never forget the look in his eyes when he met his child for the first time.

The huge, cold man had melted. His emotions had shown in his eyes and on his face so brightly that she would have known how he felt even if she hadn’t sensed it herself.

It had been hours, but he still held the little girl. They had moved back to her smaller bedroom because the big one was full of dead bodies. She hoped someone had at least taken care of them, but she doubted she would ever use that bedroom again because of that. She couldn’t get over how quickly Jackson had killed them. They had been alive one second and then bleeding and lifeless the next.

She lifted her head from the pillow to watch Jackson watching his daughter. For some reason, Jackson had held her hand over Hope’s little foot as they had both napped. Labour had taken a toll on her but resting seemed to have done the trick. She felt a lot better. She supposed healing so quickly was one of the perks of being a werewolf.

When he noticed she was awake, Jackson looked down at her and smiled. She hadn’t seen such a warm smile from him since they had locked themselves away from the rest of the world.

“She’s the spitting image of you,” Jackson whispered. “You were right; she’s perfect.”

Layla smiled back and then moved her hand from Hope’s foot so she could sit up. She didn’t know how long she had slept, but even her face didn’t feel bruised anymore. Jackson had told her to wash the blood off herself if she didn’t want him to go and hunt down the people who’d been involved in hurting her, and by the time she had done that, he had already settled on the bed with Hope.

“I think she’s ready for another change and feed,” Jackson said when Hope started to whimper.

He seemed reluctant to let her go. For a second, her heart pounded. This was where she was supposed to hand over the baby and then walk out of their lives. With everything that had happened, that had not been brought up, but she knew they would have to have that conversation.

How would she tell him that he could have either both of them or no one at all? And since she wasn’t going to leave either of them, she was hoping he would choose both of them so she didn’t have to look like a crazy bitch when she refused to leave.

Jackson carefully carried Hope to a changing station at the top of the room. The picture of him cooing at Hope as he figured out how to change her warmed her heart. This was how it was supposed to be.

When he finished, he carried Hope back to the bed and handed her over before he arranged her pillows. He was as attentive as Faith had been during the birth, being the man she had hoped to have by her side. When he dropped a soft kiss on Hope’s red curls, he did the same to her. Like a real lover. Did he know what he was doing to her? That was exactly what she had dreamed about for months, even when she hadn’t wanted to admit her feelings for Jackson.

She opened her mouth to tell him what she wanted from him but closed it again. What if nothing had changed for him? What if he told her she still had to leave, despite the amazing child they had created together?

She turned to look at the door at the same time Jackson did when someone started to walk up the stairs. She caught Dylan’s scent, and his sense of urgency made her realise their bonding time was over. Jackson hadn’t left her side, but there had to be things he needed to do as their Alpha.

Jackson returned to his side of the bed and put his arm around her shoulders just as Dylan knocked.

“Can’t I have one night?” Jackson sighed. He buried his face in her hair and tightened his hold on her. And her heart warmed even more.

“You know it’s urgent, Jax,” Dylan said from the other side of the door.

Jackson must have consented because the door opened and his friend walked in. Only he looked very different from the last time she had seen him. He was harder somehow. Colder. Maybe he was still affected by Jackson being taken. It had been quite traumatic for her, and she hadn’t known Jackson as long as Dylan had.

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