Page 141 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

She wished she could trust that, but she had to admit, it was nice to hear. She had been starved of affection for so long that her heart thawed a little even though she wasn’t ready.

“I have to go. Hope needs a change,” she said.

“That’s a beautiful name,” Rebecca smiled. “Maybe one day you’ll introduce me to her.”

She didn’t know if she would go that far.

She turned away from Rebecca without another word and walked back into the house. Jackson was sitting at the island, looking sombre. It was obvious he had heard the conversation.

“Where’s Britney?”

“She went upstairs the moment I came into the house,” Jackson answered.

He stood and looked down at his baby before he met her gaze.

“We will figure it out,” he whispered. “Why don’t I take Hope, and you can start mending fences with your sister. We have an eighteenth birthday party to plan, after all.”

It was great that Jackson could walk around as if anything in their situation was normal. She knew she would never be able to really sleep again. But she handed over the baby and nodded. She couldn’t control any of the things that were happening, but she could fix things with Brit.

Upstairs was just as impressive as the ground floor. Layla only peeked through the doors that were open as she followed her nose to Brit’s room and then knocked gently.

“I’m too upset to speak with you right now,” Brit said, her voice muffled as though she had her face buried in her pillow.

“I know. I’m sorry I’ve changed our plans without discussing things with you. You were right; you’ll be eighteen in a few days, so I can’t make decisions for you.”

She heard the sound of the mattress dipping, but Brit didn’t give her permission to enter.

“I fell in love, Brit. I never thought I would find anything like this, so I won’t apologise for that,” she said honestly. If Jackson was listening, he would have heard that, but she was pretty sure she hadn’t been hiding her feelings. “Can I come in?”

There was silence on the other side of the door, and then Brit finally told her she could go in. She walked in to find her sister sitting on the edge of a big bed. The room was spotless and smelled clean, so she had to wonder if the insomnia her mother had spoken of was why she’d cleaned so well.

“Why him? I told you they’re all weird, but he seems...”

“He’s a big softie,” she smiled as she walked across the ample space to sit beside her sister. “You’ll like him once you get to know him.”

If the threats somehow disappeared, they could be like a real family. She knew Jackson would be as nice to her as he was to all the kids in his pack.

“I don’t know. He makes me uncomfortable,” Brit said with a resigned sigh. “When did you see Mum?”

“I spoke to her after I saw you at the hotel, but I didn’t want to get your hopes high in case she disappeared again.”

“It wasn’t your decision to make.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

If Brit shifted, she would be able to explain things better. All she could do until then was hope that Rebecca understood that she had to give them time to process things.

She put her arm over Brit’s shoulder and put her head against hers.

“It will be okay,” she assured her gently.

“I don’t know. Dad stopped trying to see me at school, and you went off and got pregnant and had a baby without telling me. I feel like things are just spiralling out of my control.”

“Do you feel anything else? Do you hear voices in your head?”

Brit pulled out of her arms and pulled a face.

“If this is your way of asking if I’ve got suicidal thoughts, then no,” she answered.

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