Page 38 of The Alpha King's Fate

He looked down at their entwined fingers instead of her eyes.

‘You could have just told me instead of putting me through all that.’

‘You told me it was too soon to bring her over. I should have listened to you.’

He sighed and pulled her into his arms. What was done was done. He’d deal with his feelings and move on. There were so many other things to worry about now; having a human among them would complicate many things.

‘There’s nothing we can do about Britney now except warn her to keep her mouth shut. Since she’s new to our world, a certain amount of fear and surprise is expected; she won’t looksuspicious. But we have to keep her interactions to a minimum in case they figure it out while we’re gone.’

Layla stepped out of his arms and met his gaze.

‘Gone where? I can’t leave Britney now; they’ll pounce on her.’

It was time to tell her the truth so they could start working on strengthening their bond. Being out of sync with her fucked everything else up; he couldn’t do that anymore.

‘We’ve been summoned to stand before the Circle. We have to stand trial for what we’ve done.’

Layla took another step back.

“I physically assaulted one of them,” she said out loud.

He nodded. Layla’s anxiety ramped up.

“You killed one of them.”

He nodded again.

Layla raked her fingers through her fiery red hair and turned away from him. Her anxiety turned to fear.

“You said they’re more dangerous than Hunters. We might not come back from this,” Layla whispered. “Hope and Britney...”

“We’ll be back. I think they’re more curious than anything because Finn has been dead and buried for a long time. They’ve probably heard what you did to the witch and want to see you. I won’t let them hurt you. Layla,” he said as he pulled her back into his arms. “I’ll keep you safe. Okay?”

Layla nodded but she was growing more anxious by the second.

“We only have tonight to teach Britney the rules. The Circle gave us seven days to present ourselves, so we leave tomorrow morning.”

Layla stepped out of his arms again, and this time there was a frown on her face when she looked up at him.

“How long have you known about this, Jax?”

He sensed disappointment through their bond as if she already knew the answer.

“I was just trying to protect you.”

Layla’s eyes flashed and her body tensed.

“And you thought giving me one day to prepare to meet an organisation that can make me disappear is the best way to protect me?” Layla snarled.

“You won’t have to say anything. I’ll—”

“I’m not a fucking child, Jackson,” she hissed. “It’s one thing for you to keep all your secrets, but if they involve me, you can’t decide what’s best for me.”

“You don’t know the Circle,” he said. “You’d have spent the week getting more anxious. You can’t defend yourself from them because you don’t know what they’re capable of yet; you haven’t even been able to talk to your wolf or shift for over a year. There’s nothing you can do.”

He knew the moment he finished speaking that he’d fucked up.

But he was only stating the truth. Layla was still a new wolf; it would take her some time to figure herself out, even though she was more powerful than most wolves would ever become.

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