Page 37 of The Alpha King's Fate

There had to be something that justified the horrible things the adults in the pack did. The day her mother left was still burned in her heart, and those children were going through the same thing.

Jackson turned to her and met her gaze. She saw the hesitation in his eyes. This was the part where he told her not to worry about it and then shut her out. She sighed and looked away from him. She shouldn’t have believed that he would change so quickly.

‘I think so,’ Jackson said quietly. ‘There have been many wolves going missing lately. I think they've been taken.’

She looked back at Jax, her eyes widening at his revelation.

And then a horrible thought crossed her mind.

Where was Rebecca?

Chapter 17

It took them the rest of the day to ensure their guests were fed and settled. The children refused to be separated, so they settled in the packhouse hall. His Omegas spent the better part of the afternoon moving mattresses and other essentials for them, some of them donated from the pack because he couldn’t risk anyone going out for a supply run.

The children were still scared, making everyone else around them anxious. The pack was still on edge since the scare with the Hunters.

But Layla seemed more anxious than the rest of them.

Jackson looked at his mate as they went up the last flight of stairs and gently squeezed her hand.

“Are you okay?”

“I... I’m not sure. Rebecca hasn’t come back yet,” she answered. “I’m probably just being a bit paranoid because of those children. She disappears all the time and comes back as if nothing’s happened.”

“It hasn’t been that long since the memorial. The last person I’d worry about right now is your mother,” he answered. “She can take care of herself better than most of us.”

A wolf who could hide for months from his most experienced warriors would be able to tell if an enemy was approaching from miles away. He only had a glimpse of what a red wolf could do through his bond with Layla, but if she kept training, she would harness all her power like Rebecca.

“You’re right,” Layla said with a nod. “She’ll turn up when she feels like it.”

They reached their floor but Layla tensed. Her anxiety increased as she slowed down. He looked up the hall at Britney’s door and sensed the young girl’s fear.

“I can go in and apologise,” he offered quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“It wasn’t you,” Layla said with a sigh. “I messed up. I scared her.”

He waited for Layla’s explanation. He knew she was on the verge of telling him what she was hiding from him; the last thing he wanted to do was open his mouth and mess things up.

‘Don’t get mad,’ Layla said in his head.

Cain was instantly on alert because that meant this was something he would get mad about. Or someone he would have to kill. He reigned the over-emotional beast in and turned to face Layla, studying the look on her face. She looked guilty as fuck. As if they needed any more complications right now.

‘I won’t get mad. Tell me what happened?’

‘Britney lied to me. I don’t know what made her suspicious of her bodyguards and you, and I have no idea how she figured out that she just had to say she was hearing voices and I’d jump to help her.’

He took a step back from Layla to look at the locked door. So Britney put herself in this situation without knowing how dangerous it was. That was bad, especially considering how his pack felt about humans.

But was that really the reason Layla had gone for him? She should have known without him reminding her that he would never do anything to hurt her. Why couldn’t she have just told him?

That hurt more than he wanted to admit.

‘We can’t just take her back to college now; I’ve put everyone on lockdown.’

It was easier to deal with the facts than how Layla made him feel.

‘You’re upset with me.’ Layla said, stepping forward and taking his hand.

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