Page 69 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

There were just too many of them. Whichever way he looked at it, people were going to die. He wouldn’t be able to save everyone. He could already hear the children screaming in his pack.

He’d just thrown another lifeless wolf aside when he felt teeth clamping down on his thigh. A howl of pain left his lips before he could stop it.

Despite knowing they were outnumbered, he had become too cocky, too overconfident in his strengths. He had forgotten how easily that had snuck up on him the first time.

He gritted his teeth and turned back to see a giant black wolf preparing to rip his leg off, and his heart almost stopped when he realised this wolf could do it. He knew this wolf. Alpha Braxton. The wolf who preferred to keep to himself and stay out of anyone else’s business.

The biggest Alpha out of all the Alphas in his territory and the strongest.

He ignored the pain in his leg as he twisted his body to snap at the wolf. Brax sunk his teeth deeper and shook his head like a dog with a bone. He heard his bone snap and excruciating pain radiated through his whole body. And worse still, he could feel the dark magic already infecting his blood.

He snapped at the wolf again. And surprisingly, Brax let go of him and stepped back. Maybe that had been his order. To infect the Alpha King and then sit back and make sure he died this time.

The magic started to burn through him, forcing him to shift back into his human form. It felt nothing like before. It was much worse, as if the witch had thrown everything at him. He fell to his good knee and looked down at the blood pouring from the wound on his broken leg briefly before looking at the wolf that was now a lot bigger than him in this form.

But something occurred to him as the black wolf bared his teeth and lowered his head, ready to attack. He was still the Alpha King. He was at the top of the food chain. Did it still count on a wolf that was hexed? It was the only choice he had now.

“Shift!” he growled.

There was a flicker in the wolf’s eyes before his body started to morph and change. His bones cracked, and his fur receded. Moments later, Alpha Brax lay naked before him, throwing his guts up on the ground. He had welts that criss-crossed his back, which could only mean the witch had had to subdue the black wolf with a lot of silver to make him submit to her like this.

“Your Majesty...” Brax gasped.

Brax sounded like himself. The stench of death around him was weaker, like maybe the witch’s spell hadn’t been strong enough to hold him. He couldn’t get closer to check his theory. The wound on his thigh wasn’t closing, and his bone was sticking out. The loss of blood was making him weaker. He had to act now.

He opened up his senses to reach the attacking wolves and growled. The sound was low, but it came from the darkness deep within him and caught all the wolves.

“Shift!” he shouted, and the command ripped through the forest.

He had never done that on such a large scale and had no idea if it would work, but they had already breached his land. Layla was in danger. It was his only hope.

As Braxton sat up, he heard the other wolves begin to whine as the forced shift caused them pain. He heard their bones cracking and reforming as hundreds of wolves started shifting in unison.

And then there was silence in the forest.

Complete silence.

He felt for his bond with Layla, and only when he felt it burning brightly did he allow himself to lie down and close his eyes.

Chapter 36

Layla rushed into the house and saw Dylan speaking to Micah in the lobby. They both turned to smile at her when she closed the door.

She didn’t understand. Jackson had rushed off because there was something out there coming for him or the pack. Could they not feel that change in the air? Had Jackson just run off like a lunatic to fight by himself?

The smile died off Dylan’s face as he came forward.

“What happened? Why are you so scared?”

“Jackson... He told me to take the ladies to our bedroom and lock the door.”

The tension rose as both men looked at each other and rushed to open the door. There was silence in the air but she knew they were communicating.

Did Jackson have some sort of death wish? He’d let his pack brutally hit him without defending himself. He’d killed a man who’d come to do his job. And now he was off defending the pack by himself. Was this still about the guilt she felt consuming him every day? This wasn’t how to make amends! What good would he do for the pack if he got killed?

Her heart started to hammer as she walked back out of the house. Fear she had never known before clutched her heart as she tried to focus on her senses. The air was heavier now, and whatever it was made her want to curl up and hide. It felt intense and very dark, and Jackson was dealing with it alone.

“That stubborn shit,” Dylan growled.

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