Page 43 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Do not worry about me,” he said, pulling her back against him. “You know your powers will return once I’m gone, so I need you to rest and get better so you can look after my child.”

Diedre sat up and put her hands to her mouth.

“She’s pregnant?” she whispered before she hugged him. “Oh, Jax, that gives me so much hope. If Layla can do that for you when many others failed—”

“It doesn’t mean she’s the answer. Let this go now, Diedre, and help me make plans to protect my family when I’m gone.”

Diedre wiped some tears and shook her head.

“You’re too stubborn, Jax. We’ve tried everything—”

“I can’t risk her. I won’t,” he whispered.

Just the thought...

He let go of Diedre and picked up his beer from the table, ignoring Diedre’s probing gaze. He prayed to the Goddess that Diedre had been too preoccupied after the attack to understand what had happened right under this roof when all the critically injured people had healed by the morning. If she suspected Layla was involved, she would never stop nagging him to mark her.

“I have to go. I have a wolf to find,” he sighed as he stood up.

He’d just thrown his empty can into the trash when Micah’s panicked voice rang through his head.

‘Alpha. Three Circle members have just come through the main gate.’

Great. Just what he fucking needed.

Chapter 24

Cain took control the moment Micah finished speaking.

It was like the day he’d killed Kendrick. The extent of Cain’s anger took him by surprise as he marched out of the packhouse. It burnt through him instantly as the red haze of his rage tinted his vision. He’d wrested control from him as if it was nothing. As if it was something he could now do at any time.

That was concerning.

‘Calm down!’ he ordered the beast.

‘It’s their fault. Their wards failed because they thought they were some sort of gods capable of anything. They killed my people and put Layla in danger.’

He couldn’t argue with that. The Circle had always been full of people who had big egos. Much like Zach and his friends, who considered themselves higher ranked in his pack when they were nothing but parasites. But as much as he wanted to deal with everyone, he had to think about what they would do to Layla and his child when he was gone. The Circle was much bigger than the three who liked to bother him.

‘Cain, this isn’t how we’ll fix this situation.’

There was hardly anyone around the packhouse since Dylan had said they were training in the forest, but the few there moved out of his way as he marched to the gates.

His face tightened, and his teeth started to push through his gums. The elastic around the waist of his sweatpants began to dig into him as his body morphed. The day had barely started, and already it had gone to shit. The realisation that this visit from the Circle would prompt his pack to make a move sooner rather than later played in the back of his mind as he felt all their emotions towards him.

The warrior in the gatehouse opened the gate as he approached.

“Do not open the gate to them,” Cain growled.

His voice was low and strained with the effort of holding this form. It was something the other wolves couldn’t do, another thing that put him above everyone else. They only had their two forms, nothing in between. The warrior nodded as his fear rolled off him in waves. And because Cain was such a sadistic fuck, he took a deep breath to savour it. It was what fed his soul. Fear. Death. Destruction.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

They knew. They always knew who they were talking to. He had never insisted that his pack call him anything other than Alpha, but Cain demanded that respect.

The gate closed behind him and Cain looked towards the main entrance. The stench of dark magic was already assaulting his nose, and he could sense his pack’s collective fear. It was never good news for a pack whenever the Circle showed up after a report of a Hunter sighting.

‘I’ll rip them apart before they touch anyone.’

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