Page 56 of The Alpha King's Fate

“Are... Are you sure?” she whispered.

“There were Hunters spotted up north near her college.”

She sucked in a breath. Hunters. Hunters were going after her family again. The thought whirled around in her head, along with images of the face she would never forget—the merciless Hunter who’d killed Amber with no remorse right in front of her.

“Layla?”

“We’re coming,” she whispered.

She cut the connection and tried to slip the phone back into her pocket, but it clattered on the floor again. Her hands shook too much when she tried to pick it back up. Her whole body shook. She’d encouraged Faith to go out of her comfort zone to pursue her dreams when she’d known how dangerous it was out there. A gentle Omega who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

And now...

She couldn’t even finish the thought. Her mind shut down, overtaken by overwhelming emotions.

She had to get Faith back. She had to get Rebecca back. She should have gone looking for her the second she’d wondered if her mother had been taken, too. That was the only reason Rebecca would have stayed away from her grandchild that long.

Something sparked up inside her, a fire to match Jax’s rage. It rose so quickly inside her that it pushed everything else aside.

And it was completely separate from her terrifying emotions that she knew that it was her wolf. The wolf that had abandoned her after brutally murdering the witch that had attacked her pack.

Her eyesight became sharper the way it did when her eyes glowed, and somehow she was on her feet. It took her a moment to realise that the wolf had gone further than just invading her mind. Her body had been hijacked. The fear and anxiety were gone, leaving only the wolf’s anger.

She had forgotten how it felt to be at the mercy of a monster, to watch herself do something as if she was watching someone else. It still felt strange and a complete violation, but for the first time since she had realised what that voice in her head was, she welcomed it.

The door she had been uselessly banging on broke off its hinges and fell forward after only a few well-aimed punches. She could smell the metallic scent of her blood and feel it dripping from her fingers as she stepped over the door and looked inthe direction she sensed Jax. She was in an unfamiliar hallway with several doors close together that probably led into rooms as small as the one she had broken out of. Maybe they were all prison cells, too.

With her wolf leading her, she sensed what she knew was dark magic all around her. It seemed to come alive as she walked past it, almost as if it was trying to get her. But her wolf didn’t seem concerned.

It was only when she got to the end of the hallway that she realised that was where they had intended to take her when she’d checked in. The young man sat at the front desk smiling even though no one was waiting to be served. The lobby was empty. She could sense that something was off with him even more now that the wolf had enhanced her senses. He was not human; he was something even her wolf didn’t want to get close to.

He turned his head in her direction as if he’d known she was thinking about him.

“You are a fascinating little thing,” he drawled. “Come closer, little wolf.”

As if. She bared her teeth, ready to fight through him to get to Jackson if she had to.

And then the scent of blood assaulted her nose. A lot of blood. She forgot about the weird man and rushed to the door the Circle members had gone through. When she touched the door handle, a great force pushed her back, knocking across the lobby. She’d never been hit by lightning, but she imagined that was how it felt. The jolts continued to go through her body, making her body twitch as she lay with her limbs at an angle in the middle of the lobby.

And then the screams started.

She pushed herself to her elbow and watched the man as his smile widened. It was almost as if he was getting off on that pain—what the hell was he? And he didn’t make a move to investigate the commotion.

The screams became louder, forcing her back to her feet. She was too late. Jackson had broken the rules, so the Circle was within its rights to retaliate.

‘Not today.’

The voice in her head startled her. It had been over a year since she’d heard it, but she had no chance to process that when it forced her back to the doors.

‘Stop!’ she screamed, but her hand was already on the handle again.

And nothing happened.

It was almost as if the wolf allowed the magic to flow through her, charging her up from the inside as she easily turned the handle and shoved the door open.

It took her a moment to register what she was looking at. There were so many limbs and so much blood... It made her feel nauseous, but not her wolf. The monster loved what she saw. It had loved what she had done to Hailey, too.

It still scared the shit out of her.

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