Page 9 of The Alpha King's Fate

Layla was determined to have her sister with them, like she had forgotten how she reacted to the life-altering news. She’d been in a zombie-like state for days. He understood that Britney, like Layla, liked to have all the facts to figure things out herself, but the timing wasn’t right. Brit still had to go and finish the semester so she could wrap up her first year in college.

“So... Did you sleep well?” Layla asked.

“I’m in a cult in the middle of a forest full of wolves. How do you think I slept?” Brit answered without looking away from Hope.

Layla put her mug down and pushed the food on her plate around. She hadn’t really eaten it, just as she hadn’t eaten much of her dinner.

“We’re not a cult, but you’ll see that for yourself soon,” Layla said. “But we need to talk about why you’re here. You sounded terrified when you called me.”

Britney’s eyes widened as she looked up at her sister and then at him.

That was another mistake Layla was making. Her sister didn’t like him, much less trust him. And she was still terrified of him, despite the jabs she took at him when they met. Layla could sense the same things. She should have had the conversation in private so Britney would feel more comfortable talking about it.

“It’s okay, Brit. You can trust him,” Layla urged gently.

“I’m fine, Layla,” Britney said, turning back to her food.

He sighed as he picked his coffee up and stood. He didn’t know why Layla wanted him there. It wasn’t like he could shift to demonstrate. His beast wouldn’t put Britney at ease; he was the worst one to pick for that. But he’d promised to spend time with them, so that was what he would do.

He frowned as he walked to the other end of the balcony to lean over the railing.

Spending time with Layla wasn’t a chore; he didn’t know why he thought like that. He’d have been over the moon to be stuck in a room with her any other day. But the past few days had been heavy; he needed a little more time to get over them.

And once his head was right, he'd take Layla away somewhere and propose as he'd planned. He needed to learn to live with what he had done to his people somehow so that life could go on.That plan had to get back on track; it would also give his people something to celebrate.

The sisters started to argue, Brit whispering because she didn't know he could still hear her. That was another thing Britney would hate once she found out. Layla knew she could take her to the conference room for privacy, but she was still doing it in the open.

He sighed and looked over the empty training fields. They all went back to hiding their nature because of Brit, so training was only being done at certain times.

His phone rang, and he found himself wishing it would be an emergency that would pull him away so Layla could speak with Brit properly. The screen said it was the Royal Hotel. They never called him directly for anything; the humans he hired to run the day-to-day things were quite capable.

“Yes?” he answered.

“Sir, this is Mr Ambrose, the Head of Security at the Royal Hotel,” the man started. “I’m sorry to bother you so early, but a man came in, causing a scene this morning. He was shouting in the lobby that you kidnapped his daughters.”

He turned around and looked at the bickering sisters with a sigh. Gerald Carlisle did the same thing at Britney’s school when he’d first taken her in, but his warriors dealt with him. It was funny how he’d been so concerned about Brit, but he backed off when they’d given him some money.

“Where is he now?”

“I’m holding him in one of the security rooms until he’s a bit sober. The PR department and Front Of House teams are handling any fallout from the disruption he caused. I need to know how you want me to handle him. He said his name is Gerald Carlisle.”

At the mention of her father’s name, Layla turned to look at him with a frown. She never spoke about her father, even thoughhe was directly responsible for the situation she and Britney had been in before he’d rescued them. But if anyone understood complicated father-child relationships, it was him.

“Keep him there. I’ll be right over.”

Maybe it was time he met his future father-in-law.

“Um, Brit, I’ve just remembered I have something to do today,” Layla said as she stood.

He hadn’t expected her to leave Britney. Did she realise that they would have to lock her in until they were sure she would be okay out with the pack?

“Layla—”

“It’s important,” Layla said.

‘I need to see him. He has no right to do that.’

“You said we were going to hang out all day,” Britney grumbled as she stood.

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