Page 166 of The Alpha King's Fate

“Someone’s found you,” he answered.

Chapter 73

Layla smoothed her summer dress and adjusted the straps before she took a fortifying breath. Not that the expensive clothes would make a difference. Compared to how vibrant she’d looked when Nia manifested, she looked like crap now. No amount of makeup could hide the bags under her eyes or how lifeless her eyes had become. And she couldn’t tame the frizz, no matter what she did. She'd tied her hair up in a puff— the same style she used to have before she’d met Jax.

She tilted her head to see the angry red mark on her neck.

Her stomach churned, almost bringing up the few bites of food she’d managed to eat. Images of her night with Jax returned, and her nostrils flared. What did he think would happen now? The bite wasn’t healing as it did the first time; it was starting to look infected.

Jax poisoned himself for nothing.

She ripped out the hair band and the millions of pins holding her hair up and fluffed her hair, covering the mark again. No one else needed to know what Jax did. They would find out by themselves soon enough.

There was a gentle knock on the bathroom door.

“Miss Layla? Are you okay?”

She closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten. With Nia, she had taken things like privacy for granted. She could no longer shield her emotions.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

With a last look in the mirror, she opened the door and smiled at Faith. Her roommate for the day.

It was long past breakfast time when they drove up to the house after dropping Gerald off at a secure motel. The training fields had been fuller than she had ever seen, and their drills looked more intense. As if they were still training for war. It hadn’t been just the warriors training but other pack members. And other packs, it seemed. Chase and Ryker were among them, already sweaty as if they had been going at it hard.

And she recognised some of the wolves. She had seen them in the cages around her.

They all stopped to stare when Jax stopped the car. She couldn’t tell if they were happy to see her or if they despised her. Did they still think she was a traitor?

It was clear from how they all turned back to their training that Jax ordered them to stop. Jax led her into the house and told her their room wasn’t ready because he had given it up to some ofthe kids they rescued. Faith was the one to come forward and tell her she could rest in her room.

“They’ll be here soon. Are you ready?” Faith asked.

And the young woman smiled the same smile she’d always had before being kidnapped. How was it that Faith seemed to be okay? She was in the cages longer; she saw more of the Hunters’ depravity. And being so empathetic, she would have felt more. So how did the young girl still walk around as if everything was still the same?

“Yes,” she lied.

Her emotions were all over the place. Would Hope sense that something was different? What about Britney? How would she have that conversation with her, that she was uprooting her life again? There was no way to get ready for that.

Faith smiled at her again and started walking out of her room. Her mother sat at a corner table, reviewing some paperwork. She smiled up at her briefly before going back to her work. Faith and her mother were the only ones she interacted with since that morning. Grace had pulled her into a tight hug, and her eyes were teary when she welcomed her home, but the two women hadn’t talked about the Hunters.

Faith’s room was on the second floor of the packhouse, and it seemed all the rooms along the hallway were full of wolves. She couldn’t hear or smell them, but the dead silence that filled the house as she walked was telling.

“Everyone will be back tonight,” Faith said as they walked down the stairs. “We’ve housed the rescued wolves who wanted to stay; some have moved to the Dark Moon Pack with Alpha Chase. With everything going on, most people wanted to stay close to you and Alpha Jackson.”

She ignored the implication that the wolves still relied on her and concentrated on the rest of Faith’s revelation. Everythinggoing on? Did the Hunters breach their territory? The Circle? Was it really safe for the kids to return?

She had so many questions but no right to ask them.

“We’re preparing all the rooms, and tomorrow, we’ll have a welcome home party,” Faith continued. “I think things will finally start getting back to normal.”

Faith continued to babble as they walked out of the packhouse when the sun began to set. And then she stopped, a big smile lighting up her face.

“They’re coming,” Faith said. “Will you be alright?”

“Of course. Go,” she answered with a smile.

Faith ran down the steps and headed for the gate. A group of people were already waiting there. She couldn’t sense their emotions or see that far to judge them, but even without Nia, the excitement in the air was almost palpable.

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