Page 127 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

Dogs growled in the background.

And then she took a deep breath. And she growled.

The sound was deep and drawn out and echoed through the trees.

“That way!”

Their footsteps were still as quiet as before, but she sensed them turning towards her, heading away from the packs.

And then she started to run. She shut off all her emotions so she wouldn’t talk herself out of the dangerous mission she had embarked on to save the two most important people in her life. Focusing on staying hidden became easier. Maybe her mind started to play tricks on her because it looked like the shadows began to part for her, and then they started to swallow her up as if she became a part of them.

Still, she continued running, just fast enough that the hounds could still hear and smell her.

Her plan was working. The hunters had split into groups, but she could sense them all silently heading toward her. And she had never felt such darkness. It was as if they had nothing on their hearts and minds except to kill. Ice flowed down her spine at the thought of being caught by them.

Because she would have to be caught.

They had been tracking wolves all along, so she would give them a wolf.

All around her, she heard other animals scurrying away. Jackson had told her the forest was full of deadly animals, but she was sure the werewolves were still the most lethal, and all the other creatures could sense it. She zoomed past their dens and their nest until the canopy of the trees started to get thinner. Until the sun began to trickle through and light her way.

Only then did she realise she hadn’t even thought of hiding the fact that she could see as well as any of them in the dark. But that didn’t matter now. She was doing what she had to do to save them.

She blinked against the sun when she ran out of the dense forest and tried to get her bearings. She was still far into the woods, but the city was close. She could see the signs of it around her. Abandoned tents, litter. Graffiti from kids who dared each other to go into the creepy woods.

The hounds barked again, very close to her, and she started to jog. What would they do when they caught her? Would they kill her outright or take her and experiment on her? Her mother had been on the run all her life because of them, so that had to mean they—

Her thoughts were cut short when something burrowed into her from the side.

Pain shot up her back as she landed next to a tent, and then she rolled, ending up on top of...

“Jackson?”

She looked down at the fury in his eyes. He had been angry with her before but never like this.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed.

No. No, no, no!

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said weakly.

The first hound burst through the trees. And then the second. Jackson’s fury disappeared and was replaced by resignation.

And then he pulled her head down. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss that made her tears fall onto him.

It was a goodbye kiss.

Chapter 63

What had she done?

As Jackson deepened the kiss, his heart hurt for the little girl they had left behind. Whatever Layla was thinking of doing wouldn’t work. After the Hunters killed them, they would still hunt the others.

It didn’t matter to them how long it took. Once they confirmed werewolves in the forest, they would tear the whole place down if they had to.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Layla repeated in a whisper against his lips.

“Where else would I be?”

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