Page 22 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“What theory?”

“Nothing really,” Dylan answered, but she could sense the lie. “I just want to see how skilled you are.”

“I really don’t know if I can,” she answered, putting her hand over her stomach. It was still flat, but it felt firmer these days.

Dylan’s eyes followed her movements and then widened.

“You’re—”

“Shh.”

If Jackson hadn’t told anyone, she wasn’t going to advertise it. Besides, she hoped to stay in her little bubble for a while longer. Thinking about the baby meant thinking about the day she had to abandon him, and she wasn’t ready to do that.

“You know,” Dylan started with a big smile on his face, “I always thought Jackson would end up with a bitchy, entitled ma... uh, girlfriend. Now that I’ve gotten to know you a little, I’m glad it’s you.”

“Miss Layla.”

She turned around at the sound of Micah’s voice.

“I have to take you back to your room to pack. You’re going away for a few days.”

If anything was bound to lift her spirits, it was hearing those words. She didn’t even ask Micah where she was going as she started to follow him out of the field. Her head was already full of all the possibilities as she waved at Dylan and the children.

Had Jackson finally seen sense and realised he couldn’t keep her confined any longer? It didn’t matter. She wanted a break from everything. From all the hate and stress and whispered words. She wanted to be somewhere she could be herself.

When Micah put her bag into the back of the car and opened the back door for her, she realised Jackson was in the car, too. They would be in the same space for the first time since the red wolf incident. Though her heart beat hard and her body tingled, she met his icy gaze head-on.

She would finally get the answers she had been looking for.

But before she could open her mouth, two men entered the car, one in the driver’s seat and the other in the passenger seat. Since she wasn’t supposed to know about werewolves, she knew Jackson had done that intentionally.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” Jackson drawled.

Was he jealous? His tone suggested he was but she didn’t question it. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway.

“Where are we going?”

“To see your sister,” Jackson answered. “I promised I’d take you, and unlike you, I keep my word.”

That was even better than she had expected. Brit’s calls and texts sounded suspicious of all the lies she had told her, and nothing but a visit in person would appease her. And in the hotel, Jackson couldn’t escape from her. He would have to tell her the truth, one way or another.

Chapter 13

Jackson walked ahead of Layla into the lobby of his hotel and headed straight for the elevator.

That had been the longest car ride of his life. He should have thought about what being close to her did to him and gone in a different car. It didn’t matter that he loathed her; his body had other ideas.

'Loathe her? Say it louder for those in the back. Maybe they'll believe you.'

And then Cain had decided to speak just because Layla was next to him. He had focused on nothing else except Layla and that title heartbeat.

He punched the button to call the elevator harder than necessary and then looked back at the lobby.

He frowned and sniffed the air. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. That feeling that something was going to go wrong intensified even though he was away from his territory and treasonous pack.

It was early afternoon and a weekend, so the lobby was busy. All human, though, and none of them looked out of place. He didn't sense any danger in the air. Every time he left the territory, he had to be on the lookout for Hunters, even if they hadn’t been in the city for years. One mistake or oversight could wipe out his whole pack. The hotel was neutral ground for all the packs, but hunters had no such codes of honour.

At the front desk, speaking to another employee, stood Miss Roberts. Had he managed to go past her without her noticing him, for a change?

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