Page 134 of The Alpha King's Fate

She came out from behind Jax, and behind them was the cloud of darkness that followed in their wake as commanded. Just knowing they were there made her skin crawl.

“Come into the warehouse, Layla. Alone. Come and see what I’ll do to these little girls before I do it to you.”

Jax growled and lowered his head. A burst of his rage mixed with hers through their bond, and another unbridled thought crossed her mind. Was it the last time she would be connected to him like that? Would their bond break when Nia was gone?

Would Jax be free to mate with someone else?

‘Focus! No one will mate with anyone if you get Jax killed here.’

She shook her head to clear it and latched on to Nia’s voice again, anchoring herself back in the situation.

‘I can’t do this,’ she whispered to Nia. ‘I can’t concentrate.’

‘Then leave it to me. Let me show you why they fear you, Layla.’

The air shifted, just as it had at the hotel. Nia stepped closer to Jax, and for the first time, she saw a reaction in the Hunters’ eyes. They looked right through her, and she knew immediately that the shadows in the darkness were messing with them.

But she couldn’t control it. Once again, she was just a passenger in her body, but she welcomed it. Nia was more capable than she was of dealing with a monster like the Commander.

‘Good girl,’ Jax whispered. His wolf licked Nia’s face, and a frisson of pride washed over Nia. It seemed she liked being called a good girl.

‘Are you ready?’ Jax asked, turning his attention back to the Hunters.

She took a breath and lied, ‘Yes.’

Jax’s wolf met her gaze as if he knew that was a lie. But whether she was ready or not didn’t matter. She looked back at the hounds following her like loyal puppies.

‘Attack!’ Nia commanded.

She accidentally commanded people several times, but Nia knew what she was doing. With that assurance, she gave up all control.

The hounds hurled past them and ripped into their previous masters. They were effective killing machines and probably the pride of the Commander. She could imagine him watching how easy it was for them to bring a wolf down and deciding he needed to give Hunters the same ability.

Gnashing teeth. Snarls and growls. Screams as Hunter after Hunter went down. They didn’t back down or run. They took their weapons out and fought the creatures they created, just as they were trained to do. Like the heartless, soulless bastards they were.

She walked through the carnage as the hounds cleared the way until the warehouse door was right in front of her.

‘Let me go in first,’ Jax said.

He shifted instantly, and his hand was on the door handle before she could warn him to prepare him again for what he would see.

The door slid open with the same loud sound that tortured the wolves’ senses when the Hunters came in to get one of them. The stench in the warehouse hit them first. There were no words she could use to describe the smell of dead or dying wolves who lived with their waste for months; or the smell of burning flesh from the ones who succumbed to their exhaustion or torture of the Hunters. Jax stepped back and froze, his nose flaring.

And then the sound of weapons being cocked echoed through the warehouse.

“Mr King. It’s so good of you to join us,” the Commander said. “Please come in.”

As if he wasn’t shitting himself. She could smell the Commander’s fear when Jackson walked in. All the Hunters’ fear.

And then, when Nia stepped in behind him, larger than life, the fear turned to terror. She sensed the Commander’s disappointment mixed in with all of that.

Nia looked around the room slowly. Hunters were down every aisle of her former prison, their weapons trained into the cages. And they had gas masks on.

“I guess you really are useless to me,” the Commander sneered. He was the only Hunter without a mask. His expression remained neutral despite his accelerated heartbeat. “Stupid girl. Such a shame. What a magnificent beast you are, and you’ve just thrown it all away for nothing. You’ll still die here today.’

Jax didn’t look back at her, but his worry burned through their bond.

‘The fuck does he mean?’

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