Page 131 of The Alpha King's Fate

The only indication she hid from the Hunters was the whispers among them as they were ordered to find her. Their footsteps were light when they spread out, but he couldn’t hear Layla. He could only feel her. His body tensed in anticipation as he sensed her just around the corner.

And then she stopped, just beyond his reach.

‘Hunters are blocking my path. I can’t get any closer.’

Would Fate be so cruel? Bring her so close only to snatch her away from him again?

‘I’ll attack them. When they come for me, use the distraction. Squeeze past them until you get to me.’

‘Wait! I can’t squeeze past them,’ Layla said quickly. ‘I shifted.’

Had she? It had been so long since he saw her beautiful wolf. The dangerous wolf that took on a witch full of dark magic. She could fight her way through without his help, but he wouldn’t take any chances with her life. Even though they were linked, he had more combat experience and a small army behind him. He had a better chance of surviving.

‘Shift back and wait for my signal—’

‘I’ll fight from my side, and you fight from there,’ Layla cut in.

‘Layla—’

‘I have my mother with me. She’s too weak to shift or fight. Meet me in the middle, Jax. Please.’

Rebecca was captured? Layla worried about that, and he’d dismissed her fears. He’d been a dick instead of trusting her intuition. He was still trying to process that when he heard the Hunters at the back start to scream. It was a long hallway; if he didn’t join in and get to her quickly, the Hunters she evaded would attack her from behind.

Without another thought, he lunged forward and attacked. These Hunters seemed better trained than the ones he fought atthe gates. Silver daggers came out of nowhere, and one stuck in his side before he could evade it. Another brought a silver chain from behind him and slung it over his head. The Hunter pulled and brought him down, giving his friends enough time to stab him again.

Fuckers. He would not let them kill him or his mate in the process. He rolled away from the daggers and got back to his feet, but the pain in his side didn’t stop. There was something wrong with the blades. They’d laced them with something.

‘Jax!’ Dylan mind-linked.

‘Stay back! Stay away from the weapons; there’s something wrong with them.’

Before he could explain, the Hunter pulled on the chain again, dragging his back towards them. He dug his heels in, but it was like trying to pull a train going in the opposite direction. What the hell were they feeding these Hunters?

Layla whined, and then the scent of her blood filled the air. He froze. And then his mind snapped. It emptied of everything except the one thought that had kept him going since the Hunter took Layla. The darkness washed over him and settled. He grabbed the chain around his neck and yanked it. The Hunter, who hadn’t budged before, came flying over with the chain still wrapped around his hand, and a second later, he lay in pieces.

A trance. A frenzy. Whatever it was made him stronger and faster as he laid waste to his enemies. He didn’t stop until only one Hunter stood between him and his mate.

And when that Hunter fell, he looked up and saw his red wolf—blood-stained, snarling and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Cain walked around her slowly, sniffing her and licking her wounds. He rubbed his body against the wolf he had only mentally bonded with but never met. They became whole again. The rage he and Cain carried melted away as their mate returnedwhere she belonged. His head cleared, and his heart started to beat normally again.

Though the red wolf rejected him many times, with her slap and her aggression before she was kidnapped, she also claimed him many times.

He shifted and put his arms around the wolf, taking his turn to be close to her. His fingers ran through her thick fur before he gripped it and held on, anchoring himself. Her scent wrapped around him, and he inhaled, finally restoring the piece missing from his heart.

‘I didn’t think I’d get to hold you again,’ he whispered in her head.

‘Me either. I thought they caught you,’ Layla answered.

He stood back and looked into her emerald eyes. They were different. Sadder. Perhaps that was to be expected after her ordeal, but a ripple in their bond told him there was more to it.

‘Layla?’

‘We still have work to do,’ she whispered. ‘Our people are half dead. He’s got children in here, Jax.’

He stepped back and sucked in a breath. Children? He knew of the Hunters’ cruelty and that they spared no one. But because of Hope, the thought angered and scared him more. He had to rid the world of such a threat.

He looked back at the others still in their wolf forms with their hackles raised because they sensed all the danger still around them.

---