Page 64 of The Alpha King's Fate

‘Won’t she?’ Cain growled. ‘Do you feel how calm her heart is while yours is going like a jackhammer?’

Fucking bastard. What did he know? He shoved Cain aside and concentrated on his shower. A true mate was a true mate, even if the other half was a red wolf. She wouldn’t walk away after just a few arguments. He had to trust their bond. So she’d said things that hurt his feelings, and he’d been a dick and hurt her back. He could admit that was wrong and learn from it so it never happened again. They could talk about things like adults and get everything back to how it was supposed to be. There was no need to keep arguing when they would be together for the rest of their lives, however short or long that would be.

He’d drilled that into his head by the time he was dressed. Layla couldn’t go anywhere anyway, not when wolves were disappearing.

Until then, he had his Alpha duties to fulfil. He had to order some trackers. That had been a good idea, but he’d shut it down just to be a dick.

He paused outside Britney’s door. Layla wouldn’t welcome seeing his face since she’d left so early to avoid that. She was wide awake but hadn’t bothered to come to the door. It didn’t matter. They had time. He walked past and headed down the stairs.

The lobby was already busy. Alpha Erik’s children were awake but had to stay in the hall until someone could take them outside. He couldn’t allow them out alone because he wasn’t linked to them. They needed someone to watch them in case there was an attack.

His phone rang as he walked into his office. It was one of his security guys. What the fuck had happened now? More missing wolves?

“Alpha, I’ve had a call on a secure line from Miss Townsend.”

Who the fuck...

His eyes widened when he remembered Andrea’s little mole inside the hotel.

“What did she want?”

“She heard that the head of security is meeting the same men Miss Roberts met. I think she’s referring to the last hunting party.”

Chapter 29

There were holes in the arms of the chair where she'd gripped the fabric too hard to stop herself from going after Jax. She was a coward.

On the ride to meet the Circle, Jax had admitted that he thought something was wrong with her wolf. There had to be for her to have been so aggressive with him, even before she’d slapped him. She shouldn’t have made things worse by asking him to go and leave everything behind to protect Hope. Now he thought she was the type to abandon their child easily. He’d beenrightfully angry, even before they’d messed things up with the Circle.

And then what did she go and do? She’d been like a wolf in heat, further distracting him from what was important— saving the missing wolves and preparing for the Circle’s next move. She couldn’t face him again so soon after that. She’d let the Alphas deal with the logistics of mounting a rescue and only help once they had a plan. Her senses were superior even without her wolf’s aid. She would find a way to be helpful and bring Faith and Rebecca home.

Until then, she would stay out of Jax’s way.

Besides, she was still torn about whether she was still angry with him or feeling guilty about what she’d done.

Her role wasn’t just Hope’s mother; she was capable of more than that. She hadn’t raised Brit alone by being just her mother figure. She had been her protector, her defender. Her rock. She had been the one who’d suffered through all the bad things so Brit wouldn’t have to.

She could be Hope’s mother and still shoulder the burden of the pack.

Even if she was wolfless most of the time.

She sighed and looked outside again. Her thoughts returned to Faith and Rebecca. Her heart ached when she imagined what the Hunters were doing to them. They were cruel bastards; Faith and Rebecca would be suffering.

‘Evacuation procedures! This is not a drill. First group out in half an hour.’

She pulled herself out of her thoughts when Jax’s voice rang through her head. The pack had been anxious before, but a full panic started at those words. It thickened the air and made her feel sick to her stomach.

It was happening.

What she had been afraid of was finally happening while she still had no control over her wolf.

Her conflicted thoughts flew out of her head as she shot to her feet. Britney was still fast asleep, so she kept her steps quiet as she rushed out of the room. By the time she got downstairs, Omegas were taking supplies out of the pack house in boxes. All essential, non-perishable things had been loaded up on the planes months before, and only the perishables had remained.

She’d had no idea just how much money Jax had until he’d built several bunkers and camouflaged them in the depths of the forest before storing military-style jets inside them. Teams had been assigned to make sure the runways remained clear for take-off. Even the safehouses they were going to had been stocked and warded, and only a select few knew where those were.

She was not among those people, but that wasn’t something she had worried about before.

Now Britney— who knew nothing of their ways— would be among the first group, and she wouldn’t know where they would be.

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