Page 170 of The Alpha King's Fate

She sighed and walked to the bed to sit beside him, ensuring a gap between them. Jax looked down at the space she’d left and then at her. But she was still upset about how things turned out and knew this was on her, too. If she hadn’t left in the first place, then Cain may not have felt the need to mark her again.

“So what do we do now?”

“I just want to be with you, Layla. No matter what comes. I want to grow old with you. Have more children. This doesn't need to be the end of us.”

The future he painted sounded beautiful, but she didn't know if they would get that. Fate always messed with them.

“Don't shift. You can keep Cain alive if you don't shift,” she said. “Maybe we’ll find a way to stop it.”

“That's not always up to me,” Jax sighed. “But I’ll have our doctors start looking into it now that they’re back.”

That was true. After killing Hailey, Nia decided to keep to herself, but she could have come out anytime if she wanted. Their wolves did as they pleased half the time.

She yawned, exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt before. It was starting to feel like she would never get enough rest again.

“Didn't you sleep? You look more tired than when I left you this morning.”

“I have too many things on my mind,” she admitted.

Jax stood and walked around to the side of the bed. He pulled the covers down and stood back.

“I think I should return to the girls,” she said regretfully. “We have to talk about things properly and decide what we do from here before we...”

“I won’t touch you. You look ready to drop,” Jax said. “And if you go back to the girls, Brit may ask questions you’re not ready to answer.”

And that was true, as well. It was disgusting how easily she gave in to Jax’s suggestion. She slid into bed and watched Jax pull the covers over her before he switched off the lamp on the nightstand. Then, when the bed dipped on his side, she didn’t turn to him as she would have, but knowing he was beside her was comforting. Right where he belonged.

When she opened her eyes, the sun was streaming into the bedroom. There was a lot of activity outside—laughter, children screaming and running around. It looked like it was already very late in the afternoon, though she didn’t feel like she slept at all. She still felt drained.

The other side of the bed was already empty. Why did Jax let her sleep so long?

She shot out of bed and rushed to freshen up before she headed to the girls’ room. It was empty, as she expected. She made her way down the stairs to the busy lobby. Memories of her first days resurfaced. Everyone had been intimidating back then, and they were once again. But no one paid attention to her when she stood at the bottom of the stairs. They carried things in and out of the packhouse, talking among themselves.

“Layla!”

She turned and saw Diedre rushing to her from the offices, a big smile on her face. Her hair was rainbow-coloured this time, and it suited her perfectly. The older woman pulled her into a hug and held on for a little while.

“I knew you could do it,” Diedre said when she pulled away.

Someone must have already filled her in. But she hadn’t done anything. And when she left, it was the pack that fought alone against the Hunters.

She smiled at Diedre without responding to her statement.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re preparing for the party. Come help me take some of these things,” Diedre said, pointing to some boxes by the door. “The kids are already there, setting things up. We’ll be eating in an hour, so let’s hurry.”

The boxes looked heavy. Whoever filled Diedre in obviously hadn’t told her everything. The old her would have carried the boxes with no problem.

“I’ll do it.”

Jax entered the lobby and headed for the boxes without looking at her. They would have to tell the new arrivals the truth about what happened as soon as possible. Rip the bandaid off so she could deal with it as quickly as possible.

“I’m heading to the Town Hall anyway. The car’s outside.”

Diedre didn’t notice that Jax carried all the boxes himself as she sat in the back and told her about the hideout.

“It was like running a summer camp with all those kids,” she grumbled, but she had a smile on her face.

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