Page 51 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

Chapter 28

Blood. There was blood.

Jackson froze, unable to fathom that such a horrible thing was happening.

All the noise around him faded to the background as he tried to concentrate on the little heartbeat. Still there. But was it fainter?

He sucked in a breath and tried to concentrate. Everything in him went numb. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t think.

Someone grabbed Layla’s arm from the side. Cain reared forward, his whole body filling with rage as a growl left his lips. The sound was low and guttural, a warning that promised death if anyone defied him. Immediately they all fell back as the tables turned. They hadn’t had any power over him from the beginning.

“Stop! For fuck’s sake, stop! Have you lost your damn minds?”

Dylan’s voice pulled him from the horror going through his mind as he focused on the little heartbeat hiding behind Layla’s.

His Beta appeared beside his mate and then Micah on her other side. The scent of their blood mixed with his and Layla’s. Both men were bloody, and their clothes were torn. They were also covered in welts, likely from being chained in silver.

But even that failed to get a reaction from him as he looked back at Layla. The moment felt surreal—as if he was watching the horror out of someone else’s eyes.

And then the howling. Cain’s howls grew louder the longer they listened to that heartbeat. His beast's pain mixed with his, crippling him, almost bringing him to his knees.

He’d never felt so useless in his life.

“Do you seriously think Zach has your best interests at heart?” Dylan hissed at the pack.

He had never felt that much anger from his friend before. It was so fiery it momentarily pulled his focus. Though Dylan was calm, he could sense his wolf ready to take control.

“We have already decided—” Zach started.

“You don’t become Alpha by a fucking public vote,” Dylan growled. “Say—by some dumb luck—you succeed in killing Jax, and then what? You think you can stand up to any other Alpha or the Circle? I could snap your neck right now without even trying. You can’t be the Alpha of anybody.”

He didn’t have to turn around to know Zach’s confidence had tanked. Fear was swirling all around him, and he sensed the pack outside starting to retreat.

“It doesn’t matter who becomes Alpha. We don’t want Jackson anymore.”

The group started to murmur, but he still couldn’t react. His gaze was still on the patch of blood growing bigger by the second.

“Jax?”

He realised Dylan was still speaking when he felt his Beta’s hand on his shoulder.

“Head back inside. I’ll try to calm things...”

Dylan followed his gaze and his voice trailed off. The murmuring didn’t stop. The fear and anger whirling in the air around him didn’t stop. His pack still wanted to hurt him even though his whole world had tipped on its axis.

His whole fucking world.

They needed to shut up so he could think.

“Stop,” he snarled.

Even though he hadn't shouted, the command rolled through everyone in the garage. The room quietened, but he still couldn’t... What the hell was he supposed to do?

And then Layla finally looked down and saw what he was looking at. Her breath hitched, her emotions pummelling him at once. Fear. Anger. Guilt. Pain. He had never felt so much from her before.

“Look at what you’ve done,” Dylan hissed as he and Micah started to push them all back. “You heard the Circle say she’s pregnant, but you're still acting like assholes. Get the doctor.”

No one moved.

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