Page 6 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“Get out of the way,” someone snarled behind her just before he shoved her against the wall.

She was too drained and depressed to react. Besides, they had every right to hate her now.

The smell of food led her past the dining room to the wide doors of the large hall where they had had dinner. She could hear the loud chatter and the clinking of plates and cutlery as if that was where they had set up meals for the whole town. There were too many voices inside, and by the tones of their voices, she knew emotions were running too high for her to be anywhere near them.

With a sigh, she turned away. She was almost back in the lobby when she heard a voice that stopped her.

“Now isn’t the time, Zach. Wait for Jackson if you want to discuss his guest.” Dylan's voice sounded as clear as he was standing beside her.

“Now is the only time,” another voice said. It sounded a little familiar but she couldn’t think where she had heard it before.

“If we kill her now, she will be just another casualty of this war. She was safe within these walls while we lost so many of our own,” the man continued.

The words speared her heart because they were true. Even though she had snuck around in the shadows and done what she could, she hadn’t been in as much danger as those actively fighting.

She walked slowly towards the doorway where the voices drifted from and peeked around the frame. It looked like a den or lounge but there was no one else in it except the two. Dylan looked through a pile of paperwork in his arms while an older man stood beside him. She recognised him as the one Jackson had sat next to at the dinner. He hadn’t seemed to like her much then, either.

“You know as well as I do that she’s the cause of this. She weakened our King, and a pack we would have normally wiped out managed to sneak in and kill us. It’s not right, Beta. She needs to die. At the very least, throw her in the dungeon. Don’t let everyone suffer by watching her walk around as if she is our Luna.”

“I agree.”

The sound of that voice had her sucking in a breath and turning to look behind her.

Jackson.

His icy-blue gaze burnt through her and pinned her to her spot. Though her heart soared because he was alive, her head knew she was in trouble. She had never seen that much fury in his eyes, even in the beginning.

“Jax!” Dylan said as he came to the doorway, and then he must have noticed her standing there. “Layla, I told you to stay in your room.”

“See. She’s walking around down here, and we didn’t even know she was there,” the older man mumbled. “We must send her to the dungeons until we sort out the mess she’s caused.”

Jackson stepped forward slowly, his eyes not leaving hers for a second.

“Don’t worry, Zach. I’ll fix my mess. She won’t be a problem to anyone again.”

Chapter 4

Jackson realised his mistake the moment he reconnected with his pack after letting Cain roam and lick his wounds. So many bonds had been severed as his pack was slaughtered, and he’d felt them all at once. The pain had been crippling.

All of that had happened because he had allowed the bond with Layla to get the better of him. He’d let her break him. He’d allowed her to trample on his heart and play him for a fool, and his pack had paid the price.

He would never trust the half-blood again.

How could she stand there looking as if nothing had happened? How could she still have that look in her eyes as if she was happy to see him? How could she still... feel all of that? She’d tried to leave! The bond obviously didn’t affect them the same way.

He looked over her head to meet Dylan’s gaze. His former friend lowered his eyes.

“Lock her up in the basement,” he said.

The cells in the basement were nothing like the dungeon in the woods. They had the basics and that was it. Nothing luxurious about them. She wouldn’t live like a queen and take him for a fool under his roof again.

“Jax?” Dylan questioned.

His confusion coloured the air while Zach smiled gleefully. Maybe the old advisor assumed he was finally listening to the shit he had to say. This had nothing to do with them, but he was taking responsibility for his actions.

“Three meals a day and some water. No visitors.”

He turned away after that instruction without looking at Layla again. His pack had to come first, as it should have before. If he had done that instead of giving in, Cain wouldn’t have been such an emotional wreck in his head, howling in pain because their world had caved in.

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