Page 125 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Let’s move. Don’t stop for anything,” Jackson growled, and then she felt the subtle waves in the air.

She heard the popping bones, the whines and the growls. And then, almost in an instant, there were so many wolves in front of her. Even in the darkness of the forest, she could tell their coats had different colours. They looked magnificent.

They were nothing like the wolf that had attacked her in the forest, but smaller versions of Jackson’s wolf. Perhaps less evil versions, too. Jackson’s wolf was in a league of its own.

The wolves picked up the bundles at their feet, and then she noticed the children coming forward and climbing up the backs of some of them. She remembered they couldn’t shift yet. Would they be okay? They looked terrified as other adults went around, strapping the younger ones down so they were more secure. One strapped Diedre down, but the woman couldn't hold on like the kids.

And once the clearing was nothing but a sea of wolves, they started to run in one direction. It took seconds for the clearing to empty.

“Go, too,” Dylan said. “I’ll stay behind and throw a few of Diedre’s potions to buy us some time.”

“Stop doing that. Go and lead your people, Dylan,” Jackson growled, shoving his friend towards everyone else.

But Dylan just threw him a look before he started throwing vials of something in all directions around the clearing.

Jackson shook his head and then looked at her.

“You have to hold on to me,” he said. “I won’t do any dangerous jumps and will stay as steady as possible for Hope’s sake.”

She nodded, and a moment later, Jax was naked and stuffing his clothes into the rucksack. Once he checked that she strapped Hope securely in front of her, he stepped back.

And then there he was. Jackson’s wolf. Cain. He was still the most terrifying creature she had ever seen, but she wasn’t scared of him this time. It was hard to be afraid when she knew he was a part of Jackson, and therefore, he was a part of everything they had done together.

Cain lowered his head to only inches from her, and then he sniffed Hope and licked her. Because Hope was a part of the beast, too.

The wolf lowered his body, pulling her back into the situation. They were not safe anymore. Amber had betrayed them, so the chances of them dying had gone up by a lot.

Once she settled on the wolf’s broad back, she checked that Hope was secure one more time before she grabbed the tufts of the wolf’s back. Cain walked into the trees and turned back just as Dylan shifted and picked up his clothes.

She sniffed the air. A hint of something fruity dissipated as they stood at the sidelines. Somehow, there were no signs that anyone had been there. The footprints were gone. There weren’t any lingering scents.

But in the distance, very close to their position, she heard the stealthy footsteps approaching. Hundreds of them from different angles, hardly making any noise. They were much closer than the last time she checked on them.

Cain and Dylan must have heard them, too, because they turned around and started running.

The hunt had started.

Chapter 62

In the hours that they had been running, Layla had learned that the Hunters were relentless.

The magical barrier Jackson had told her about had only held them back for a little while. They had passed through it somehow. And they had not become disoriented or cursed in any way.

They had been hot on their tails for hours, even with the potions thrown to cover their tracks.

They were like machines.

The packs were tired. In that time, they had run into two other packs and joined forces. She had no idea how many wolves they were running with now. And all of them were tired.

As she drank the last of her water and then put the empty bottle back in the rucksack so there wouldn’t be a rubbish trail for the Hunters to follow, she looked at the miserable faces of the kids who were stretching their legs and being given quick snacks. Even the food was running out.

They could not hunt because the carcasses would give them away even if they buried them. The Hunters had hounds that seemed to have powerful senses of smell. But even if they could hunt, they couldn’t feed the kids raw meat. Fires would only give their position away quicker.

How would they stop an enemy that seemed unstoppable?

She looked over at Jackson, who was speaking to two huge men. She assumed they were the Alphas of the other packs. He had Hope in his arms, and the baby was sound asleep straight after a feed.

“We’ll be heading back out again in a few minutes. Are you okay?”

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