Page 87 of The Alpha King's Fate

“What have you done to them?” she hissed.

There was no answer. She didn’t expect one, but her anger rose with each step towards the door.

The monster at the front banged twice on the door, and a lock turning echoed. And then, once again, the door scraped along the floor as it slid open.

The fresher air hit her immediately, but her heart sank when she looked around her. They weren’t outside. The warehouse seemed to be just one room in a huge facility. Similar doors lined the wide hallway as far as her eyes could see. Were there wolves in each of them, as well? Two Hunters guarded each entrance, fully strapped like the ones dragging her along. They kept their gazes forward even as they walked past them, unmoved by the fact that four huge men were manhandling her.

At the end of the hallway, the air was clean. Scented like flowers, with the air conditioner on. The whirring was quietenough that it didn’t overwhelm her muddled senses. And all around them were men and women in white coats.

Her jaw dropped when she saw them gathered in groups or walking into various rooms. The truth fell on her shoulders like a tonne of bricks. How could this be? How could anyone be so inhuman? They weren’t torturing wolves; they were experimenting.

A man walked into one room without looking at her, and before the door swung closed, she saw the woman strapped to a table in what looked like a glass prison. Her mouth was open as if she was screaming, but no sound came from her lips.

Why were they doing this? Death would have been a better option. But now the Hunters reduced them to nothing more than defenceless animals being led to the slaughter.

How was she supposed to help anyone get out? The place was too big and the Hunters were on every corner. And all the wolves were drugged, stripped of everything that made them who they were. They were nothing more than human. Only a miracle would save them.

A large door marked ‘Restricted’ loomed in front of her. Instead of two guards, eight huge men stood in front of it, four on either side. Her heels dug into the floor subconsciously, but it was no use against the men dragging her towards it.

What could be worse than what she saw them doing to the poor woman in the glass-walled prison that they needed eight men to guard? Was that where they took the scout? Somewhere where animals bit him?

The image of the Hunters’ hounds filled her mind as they got closer. She saw those monsters in the forest; if an animal made those marks on the scout, it would be one of those terrifying things.

Her heart beat loudly against her chest as she started to struggle.

“Why are you doing this? Let me go?” she screamed shakily.

She didn’t want to die. Her life was Jax’s and vice versa. She couldn’t be the reason Hope became an orphan.

But as they approached the end of the hallway, the Hunters turned, dragging her away from the restricted door. Her useless struggling lessened as she looked back at the ominous door. Maybe it wasn’t her turn in there yet. Something in the back of her mind told her that it was not somewhere she wanted to go.

Her heart rate just started to settle when another set of doors opened, and she was thrown to the ground inside. Her body scraped uselessly along the floor until she slammed against the wall. Hunters were a lot stronger than she imagined. Jax didn’t tell her they were stronger than wolves.

She brought her hand to her already injured head as she struggled to her feet. The Hunters lined up against the wall, and the door locked behind them.

“Welcome, Miss Carlisle. Shall we begin?”

The voice from her nightmares.

She turned too quickly and fell on her knees before the man who’d spoken. The leader. The man who would make Hope an orphan.

Chapter 40

Jax barely cleaned the blood off before rushing to the empty lobby with Dylan and Gavin on his heels. Dylan gave him the fresh clothes, but that was pointless as far as he was concerned. He didn’t need them for long.

“Alpha Chase is coming over to help,” Dylan said. “This needs all of us, Jax. You can’t find her by yourself.”

Chase was bound to Layla through the blood oath he’d made to protect her, so he wasn’t surprised by that news. But all the other Alphas knew to stay away. They’d never fucked withthe Hunters, and now wasn’t the time to start. Something had changed.

“He can help you with the pack while I’m gone. You’d stand a better chance if he brought the rest of his pack to our territory,” he growled as he switched on the computer at the front desk.

Outside, red and blue lights were flashing. The human emergency services responded to the fake call and secured the area, but it would take time until someone gave the hotel the all-clear. Even then, his doors would remain shut. He didn’t know what arrangements Dylan made for the guests, but they were much safer away from him. Cain was too unstable.Hewas too unstable. He couldn’t calm down enough to shift back to his completely human form.

“I’ll go with you, then,” Gavin offered.

“They’re stronger than they should be. It’s too dangerous for you.”

Besides, he couldn’t promise to watch anyone else’s back. His sole focus was Layla.

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