Page 121 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“They checked into our hotel. I had to sneak in the back to use the phone.”

His blood ran colder and felt like ice in his veins.

“Get out of there, Dylan. You should have run the second you saw them—”

“I have to go cover my tracks. I don’t want to lead them to you.”

“Dylan!”

But his Beta had already cut the line. He re-dialled it immediately, but it rang through until a hotel employee picked it up. He hung up and looked back at Layla.

“Just pack the things we need,” he told her. “We have to leave straight away.”

The warriors who had come to rescue Layla were asleep in any spot they could find in the house. He ran down the stairs and put the lights on.

“Hunters!” he called out loud and in the pack link before dialling Micah’s phone. “We move in ten. Help Gavin; I don’t think he’s fully recovered.”

Micah answered at the first ring as the warriors around him shot into action.

“Evacuate,” he told Micah. “There’s a hunting party in Wolfdale, but I’m not sure where they are going. Call Alpha Chase and Brax and tell them to move.”

How to avoid a Hunter was lesson one in a werewolf’s life. They would head deep into the forest, deeper than where the witch’s old pack used to live. Even Hunters didn’t dare head out that far. It was why they had flourished for generations. But there was no telling how determined the hunting party would be. They would have to keep moving and covering their tracks until someone told them it was safe to return.

“Yes, Alpha. I’ll raise the alert.”

When he returned upstairs, Layla was already dressed and throwing baby supplies into her rucksack. Hope was fast asleep on the bed.

“How long do we have?” Layla asked.

“They move quickly. Remember I told you their hatred of us had turned them into something more than human? Greater speed is one of the differences,” he answered as he looked around the room to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything that would identify them.

One of the warriors would come in after they all went outside to use one of Diedre’s potions to mask their scents. Hunters always had hounds that were probably on the same level as hellhounds. They had to thoroughly cleanse the house in case they got past the wards. They normally did. He didn’t know how they always knew how to break a ward, but it never stopped them. And if it did, they had long-range weapons to fix that problem.

Ten minutes later, they were all outside the house, piling into cars that they would leave in different directions.

As he drove out first with his mate, baby, and Faith in the car, his hands tightened on the wheel.

Fate, that fucker! He wasn’t allowed even five minutes to enjoy his family. He’d just made a plan, for fuck’s sake. Now instead of hiding on an island somewhere, he was running for his life.

He glanced in the mirror and watched Layla make sure Hope was strapped in properly in the car seat. She couldn’t hide how worried she was. Maybe because he couldn’t hide it.

Was his family going to survive a hunting party?

Chapter 60

Jackson looked back the way they had come and listened. There was nothing but the sound of the forest animals and the wind howling through the trees. They had already walked far enough into the forest that it was too dark for human eyes unless they brought their torches.

The Hunters would have torches. They’d have heat sensors and night vision. They’d have military-grade weapons to wipe them out.

He sighed and held Hope closer to his chest. Layla hadn’t complained yet even though they had been walking for hours, only stopping when the baby wanted to feed. Faith led the way because she knew where the meeting point was, and Layla followed her without stumbling. If anyone else had come with them, they would have been asking why Layla could see so well in the dark.

They were about an hour away from where they would meet the pack when Hope started to cry. Her little voice echoed in the darkness, and it made him worry. Layla rushed back to him and took her from his arms. Faith stayed ahead and became the lookout, as she had done before.

“Sit here,” he instructed Layla, brushing some dead leaves and twigs off a fallen tree trunk.

Hope quietened the moment she started to feed. There was still nothing for miles behind them, but he wouldn’t relax until they were safe with the pack. He had only covered their tracks in the first hour, and beyond that, they’d had to tread as lightly as possible.

Dylan was a skilled warrior, so he wouldn’t have left tracks to begin with. Why had he gone back? Why was that idiot deviating from the plan? It wouldn't have mattered if there were any odd tracks near the city. All he’d had to do was get as far away from the town before he entered the woods and then ran for his life. Who the hell was going to look after Hope if he got himself killed?

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