Page 46 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

‘Yes.’

“Please, Your Majesty,” Hugo whispered as he fell to his knees behind him.

Cain turned to face the Alpha who had stopped attacking him. He’d never seen Hugo less than perfect before, but the man had his friend’s blood splattered on his face and clothes, and he’d dropped himself into the blood still flowing down the tarmac.

‘We have to hide Layla,’ Cain said.

The red haze that was over his vision faded.

‘There is nowhere to hide,” he sighed as his anger faded.

‘She’s a red wolf. She can hide anywhere.’

Cain dropped the Alpha that was still in his mouth and stepped back. Hugo immediately rushed to Lincoln’s side to put pressure on his wounds. As an Alpha, he would stop bleeding before they even drove through his gates. As an Alpha who’d sold his soul, Lincoln would be as good as new before they left his forest.

Cain retreated, forcing the shift and once again leaving him to deal with the consequences alone. But he had made this decision with Cain. They were his consequences, too.

“I will always protect what’s mine,” he said.

Hugo looked up, and relief filled his eyes when he realised the beast was gone.

“We have rules... How am I supposed to explain this?” Hugo whispered, gesturing over their deceased friend’s remains.

“There is a reason that out of everyone in the Circle, only you and Lincoln are sent to me. You’ve never challenged me. Perhaps when you get another third, you will teach them not to start a fight he can’t win.”

Excuses. They were all just excuses. He’d just killed a man; he should have been full of remorse. But his emotions were still mixed with Cain’s, still sunk deep in that vortex that he had worked hard to pull himself out of when he had accepted his looming death.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Tell the Circle I will make any reparation necessary. Please take them both and go.”

With that, he stepped back and watched Hugo load his friend into the car before he started to deal with Finn. If he had any loved ones, closure would come quicker if they could bury him.

By the time the flashy car sped back up the main street, he could feel the anger and disappointment around him. It was worse than when he hadn’t been there to defend them.

There had been people that Zach had been speaking to who had been unsure if they would join him in his mutiny. They were probably sure now.

He started to walk back slowly, his ears and eyes open. There were no whispers, but he was sure hundreds of private conversations were happening in the mind links. He’d made his bed. He’d fucked up. There was only one thing he could do now.

The packhouse gate opened before he approached it, and the warrior inside the gatehouse was a trembling mess, and his emotions mirrored the rest of the pack.

He couldn’t blame them. He’d put them all in danger. Again.

No one was left on the grounds and he knew the packhouse was empty before he walked in. The sense of impending doom increased as he went up the stairs. He could hear Layla’s heartbeat going faster than it should have, so he knew she had heard it all.

When he opened the door, his mate stood in front of it, eyes wide and hugging herself. Her gaze lowered to his body, and only then did he remember he was naked and covered in blood. But Layla didn’t show any fear or recoil from him. She didn’t react like the rest of his pack.

But that was because she had no idea who he had killed. She had no idea about his world, but he had thrust her into it anyway. It wouldn’t matter now if she left after she gave birth; she would always be on the Circle’s radar.

He closed the door and stepped close to her. He lowered his head to her ear and whispered softly enough for any other ears not to pick it up.

“Pack a bag quietly. I fucked up. We have to leave before they kill us.”

Chapter 26

What the hell was happening?

Layla tried to keep her footsteps light as she found the old rucksack she had come with and stuffed some essentials into it. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute.

Breathe. She just had to breathe and focus on the task at hand so she wouldn't draw attention to herself.

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