Page 27 of The Alpha King's Fate

When she came out of the woods, the trainees had gathered in front of the trail as if they had still been paying attention to their match.

“Who won?” one of them asked.

“She did,” Jax said from behind her.

If only. That was a lie, and it made her feel more shit about herself.

She walked through the group of people and headed to the packhouse before Jax could stop her.

Her first stop was to check on Hope playing in one of the rooms on the ground floor with a couple of other children, watched over by their mothers and Hope’s nanny. When she gave her daughter enough kisses to make herself feel less guilty about the time she was spending away from her lately, she went to the kitchen to collect a tray of snacks for Britney. Everyone was forbidden from entering her bedroom, just in case Britney revealed what she had done. And she sent the guard away.

There was no shouting when she walked up to the door, but she knew Brit would be shouting the moment she got in. She didn’t even recognise her baby sister anymore. What happened to the quiet girl she raised? Maybe the drastic change was what made her easily believe her sister was about to shift.

“Take it back; you’re wasting your food. Just send me back to the trailer, and we never have to see each other again.”

Brit’s words cut her as she put the tray on the side table beside the door. The lunch tray was untouched while Brit was back in her spot by the window.

“You need to eat, Brit, or you’ll make yourself ill.”

“You’re making me ill. I never thought you’d fall for this bullshit, Layla. You found people as crazy as you and put them above me and Dad.”

Crazy?

Her sister never called her that, but she heard it many times. Besides having to become the breadwinner, the bullying had been one of the reasons that she’d dropped out of school.

“You’re here for your own good, Brit. If you don’t calm down, I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”

“Protect me from Jackson?” Brit snorted. “Just take me back to Dad; I’ll be fine without you.”

The words lit the flames back inside her body. After everything she did for Brit? After going hungry so Brit could eat? After dropping out of school so Brit could have a roof over her head and an education?

That was what her sister thought of her? Was she that easy to discard?

Her fists clenched at her side, and her eyesight sharpened as she looked at her sister. Brit gasped and stepped back. Her fear filled the room; she could almost taste it. She knew it meant her eyes changed. She’d given herself away.

“If you don’t do as I tell you, they will kill you, Britney,” she growled. “If you want to go back to the man who almost sold you as a sex worker, then I’ll help you do that by all means. Just eat your damn food, and let me think of how to get us out of this shit you dropped us in.”

She turned and left without another word. Her hand shook as she turned the key in the lock. Brit wasn’t shouting anymore, but her fear turned to terror. She’d done that to her.

She froze when she sensed who was behind her.

“What shit did Britney drop you in, Layla?”

Chapter 13

Jax pushed his frustration down as he watched his mate walk—no, run away from him to avoid a confrontation. It had been a long time since she’d masked her emotions from him, but he could still sense the underlying panic because they were forever bound. What the fuck was she hiding?

“Can I train with you, Alpha?”

He looked back at the trainees and saw Josh among them. The young wolf was already a warrior because his skills had been impressive even before he shifted. Micah trained Josh himself, so he would always be one of the special ones. He had themost potential out of all the young wolves to be ranked higher, perhaps even to Beta, because his wolf was more dominant.

He was right to make him focus on his training instead of a girl. If Britney was his mate, that would have been different. He wouldn’t have been able to keep them apart anyway. But she wasn’t. Josh’s place was with the warriors, learning how to keep the pack safe. Something in the air didn’t feel right; he needed his best people on top of their game.

“I’ll spar with you tomorrow morning; I just have something I need to do.”

Josh would appreciate the training more than Layla. One minute she was on him for not doing it enough, and the next—when he was desperate to see her improve her fighting skills—she was tapping out and running away.

He was about to turn and walk away when he remembered what Layla said. He wasn’t imposing his will on Josh. No one was forced to train beyond being able to defend themselves. Those who chose to become warriors did so with the understanding that he would ask a lot from them, physically and mentally.

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