Page 13 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

Another blow to her heart.

“I’m a man of my word, so I will compensate you as promised despite you trying to break your word. Goodbye, Layla.”

The door slammed shut, and the lock slid into place.

Chapter 8

Jackson stood in front of the basement door with his fists balled up. Everything in him ached to go back and tell her he hadn’t meant anything he’d said.

Not seeing her again? The very thought of it was breaking him, even though it was what had to happen in the end. But Layla didn't give a shit about him, so he was the one who would suffer being so close to her. He should have sent her away.

‘No, it’s me! I’m the one who will suffer the most!’ Cain cried dramatically. He could imagine the beast swooning to the ground. ‘If you just listen to me and mark her, she won’t be able to leave.’

‘Oh, believe me, I’m tempted right now. There’s something satisfying about imagining her dying the moment I do.’

But, of course, that was a lie, and Cain knew it. Despite everything, he still didn’t want her to die. He still wanted to protect her. How fucked up was that?

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

He looked up at the man who interrupted his thoughts and his mood soured further. Dylan lowered his head, and there was a hint of fear in him because he knew he had done something dangerous.

“Can we talk?” Dylan asked.

He was still so angry with his former friend that he didn’t think he could have a conversation with him without ripping him apart.

“Probably safer not to,” he said as he forced himself to walk away from the basement door. “Layla isn’t here to save you this time.”

He couldn’t afford to do anything else that would hurt his pack when they had already been devastated by their losses.

“Okay. Fair enough,” Dylan said. “Diedre wants to see you. We’ve had some... recoveries that she can’t explain.”

He stopped and turned back to Dylan with a questioning frown.

“I can’t explain them either,” Dylan shrugged. “Diedre is convinced none of her potions worked. We moved the seriously injured people into the house and brought equipment from the hospital, but it didn’t look like anything the doctors were doing was helping. When I went around to see them, I thought they wouldn’t make it through the night.”

He started walking down the hallway and opened up his senses to try to find Diedre. When she had gone on that spirit quest, he had assumed she would figure out where the problem with her magic was and fix it. It didn’t work on him and Layla anymore, but she was supposed to be able to take care of everyone else. What was happening to her? Diedre wasn’t just his friend; she was the closest thing to a mother that he had. He needed her to be okay.

“We’re going to start clearing the forest and see if we can find any clues to help us figure out what the hell happened,” Dylan said as he followed behind him. “I’ll take some food to Layla after tha—”

“No. You’ll stay the fuck away from her from now on. Worry about all the duties I gave you and taking care of everyone else,” he growled without looking back.

He followed Diedre’s scent to the infirmary. There was a queue outside of people waiting to be treated. Someone had been thoughtful enough to provide seats, and most looked exhausted rather than injured. The healing process tended to take a lot out of someone, so he was confident all they needed was some rest.

Relief filled him as he walked past them to knock at Diedre’s door.

He could feel all the sets of eyes on the back of his head and all the disappointment they felt. He couldn’t blame them.

Diedre called out for him to enter and he did so quickly to escape the judgement. A young girl sat on the examination table while Diedre threw some herbs and potions together for her from her special cabinet. The girl tensed and lowered her gaze when he walked in and mumbled a greeting.

“Drink this once a day in a warm drink,” Diedre said and handed the little bottle to her. “It will help you sleep.”

The girl thanked Diedre as she hopped off the table, and then she left the room quickly as if she couldn’t stand being too close to him.

Diedre would probably see many people having trouble sleeping after being attacked, especially the younger ones. When his father had been the King, most of the pack members had been on a battlefield by the time they became teenagers, despite not shifting until they were eighteen. But he wanted kids to be kids and for them to enjoy their lives and choose their paths. He wanted them educated and able to earn a living and become independent. Though he trained them to defend themselves efficiently, he didn’t want them fighting in stupid wars. His father had believed that giving them a choice would weaken the pack, but he knew it was the opposite. Before Layla, his pack had probably been the most content in all the territories.

Before Layla.

Why did he have to even think about her?

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