Page 55 of The Alpha King's Fate

Chapter 25

Layla stopped banging on the door and screaming when there was no response. She turned and leaned against the door to look around again. The room felt even smaller.

Her throat started to close up, making it harder to breathe.

Was she still at the hotel? Did Jax know where she was?

“Breathe, Layla,” she gasped.

Her knees gave out, and she slid to the floor. So much for being the queen, the woman worthy to stand beside Jackson. She couldn’t even get out of the room. Jax had been right—shewas not ready. She was a liability and should never have come with him.

If she had left when she’d wanted to...

Pain lanced through her chest, but she forced herself to breathe through it. She had to think. She was still alive, which meant Jax was also alive. He would move heaven and earth to find her.

Her heart calmed down as her panic started to dissipate. She pushed her fear to the back of her mind and focused on her link to Jax.

‘Jax?’

No response. She couldn’t even tell if he could hear her. Was he still conscious? She knew he was alive but had no idea what was happening to him. He was close, though; that much she was sure of.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. No one was outside her room, but there was a lot of that oppressive aura. And Jax was somewhere in the middle of it. Her relief at finding him was short-lived when she realised he was surrounded. And he was angry. His rage came through clearly as if he was right next to her.

She shot to her feet again and faced the door. She had to somehow get out of the room before Jax hurt anyone. He’d told her many times that they couldn’t fight the Circle but must have known what separating them would do to him. Was this a trap?

Her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She fumbled as she dug through her pockets for it and saw Dylan’s name on the screen. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of calling him? Dylan knew the Circle better than she did; he would know what she was supposed to do.

“Layla, I can’t reach Jax. Has the trial started?”

She’d opened her mouth to tell him what had happened when the tone of his voice registered. He was anxious.

Dylan wouldn’t have called unless it was urgent. Was it an attack on the pack?

“What happened?”

There was a pause on the other end.

“Dylan!”

“I don’t know if I should say anything when you guys are facing the Circle, but I don’t know what to do.”

“Spit it out,” she ordered.

Was it Hope? Britney? Had her sister succeeded in running away?

“Faith hasn’t called her mother for over a week,” Dylan said. “We called her college, and they confirmed she hasn’t been in her classes. She’s missing.”

The phone clattered to the floor.

Fear filled her body as she imagined the worst. Taken? Like all the wolves that were missing in the other packs? Like her mother?

Was it the Hunters?

Her fear turned to terror. If Hunters had Faith and her mother...

“Layla!”

Dylan’s voice echoed through the small room, snapping her out of her thoughts. She fell to her knees and picked the phone back up.

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