Page 29 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

Miss Roberts still hadn’t returned to the lobby when he walked back through the staff doors.

If Costas knew that he was with Layla, he had to know he was responsible for the nightmare he’d faced that night. And yet he had come back with fewer men. What was his angle?

He paused at the service elevator and saw it was open and empty. Instead of walking into it, he walked past it to a blind spot in the hallways and put his hand on a panel camouflaged in the design of the wall. It slid open, and his eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness as he walked in.

When it slid shut behind him, he slowly walked down many flights of stairs until he reached the bottom. Dylan thought he was crazy for having a dungeon under the hotel, but he’d never had to think about situations like this. As an Alpha, he had to stay two steps ahead. As the Alpha King, he had to be further. There was no such thing as being too cautious. Any mistake would be catastrophic not just for his pack but for wolves as a whole. He did all the dirty things that others couldn’t do just to make sure they all stayed alive. Many Alpha’s duties ended only with their pack, but his didn’t.

It was why the Circle was eager for him to have an heir.

Cells ran along one wall of the large space, and on the other side were rooms full of equipment. Josh was already in one of them, going through all the electronics Costas and his men had.

There were already screams coming from one of the rooms. He would have all the information he needed by the end of the day.

He followed his nose to the room he wanted and then placed his hand on the panel beside to unlock the door. Costas sat in the darkness, blindfolded and chained up in a chair in the middle of the room. His greasy hair was out of place, and he had lost a few buttons on his colourful shirt. He was already crying and trembling like a leaf.

“Hello, Costas.”

The man quickly turned his head in his direction.

“What is this? Who are you?” he screamed. “Do you know who I am?”

“I’m the one asking the questions here,” he drawled as he pulled a chair forward and sat in front of him.

As he watched the terrified man, it occurred to him that he would never have bothered with this if it hadn’t been for Layla. Any rumours or ‘sightings’ tended to die down after a little while with no intervention. He could have just put his head down and waited for it to blow over.

But Layla. Always Layla.

He had no time to wait things out. Everything had to be safe for when Layla returned.

“Tell me, Costas. Do you know who I am?”

“You’ve got me blindfolded. How the hell would I know that?”

Another scream rang through the air, and Costas’ trembling visibly increased. He had skipped out on the soundproofing in the cells for a reason. Answers tended to come quicker when people knew what they were in store for. They could scream all they wanted down here, and none of their noise would disturb the peace and tranquillity of his hotel.

“If you don’t know me, why were you looking for me?” he asked.

“King?” Costas asked. “Jackson King?”

Costas’ heart started beating faster like he would have a heart attack. He’d been terrified before, but now he had gone beyond that.

“You’re the monster that took the girls,” Costas whispered. “You ripped my men apart... Our bullets didn’t hurt you... What are you?”

He felt a little relieved at that question. Hunters would already know what they were dealing with. It meant Layla would be safe as long as she learned the rules.

“What do you think I am, Costas?” he asked as he crossed his legs. “Shall we play a little game?”

He felt his face start to tighten as his vision sharpened. Back when he was just a bastard without a mate, this used to be Cain’s favourite part. It seemed some things hadn’t changed.

Chapter 17

The dinner service had already started in the hotel when Jackson walked out of the elevator on his floor. The man guarding the girls was already on his feet, waiting for him.

‘I need you to keep an eye on Miss. Roberts. Follow her home and also get her phone records. I need to know who she’s been talking to,’ he ordered when he reached the door.

He had spent enough time with Costas and his men to know they were not associated with the Hunters, but he had to make sure he’d contained the situation. The more he’d spoken to him, the more he’d believed Andrea had fed Costas this information out of spite for being scorned, but he had to make sure.

‘Yes, Alpha.’

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