Page 113 of The Alpha King's Fate

“I knew it. You can communicate in this form, can’t you?”

The Commander’s face lit up at that revelation.

“What have you done to her?” she whispered.

“I’ll do a lot more if you don’t do exactly as I say,” the Commander said with a sinister smile. “And I’ll do it to those children you seem so fond of, too.”

The man looked at the other side, and his excitement was almost tangible.

“I’ll do it to her, too. I don’t need her anymore,” the Commander chuckled.

She turned her head to the panel that opened first, and the anger that built up in her instantly wilted. Ice returned to her veins and fear to her heart. Rebecca was tied down the same way she was, with more heavy chains around her body. Her face was almost unrecognisable, but no one could mistake her red hair. The Hunters put a muzzle over her mouth and another chain around her neck.

And her eyes were closed.

“She’s been more trouble than she’s worth,” the Commander continued. “I could slit her throat right now, and she wouldn’t even know it.”

“Why are you doing this?” she shouted.

“I’m glad you asked,” the Commander said, indicating something behind her.

The sound of the door opening again filled her ears, and the scent of more Hunters polluted the air. A man dressed in only a pair of shorts came forward and stood beside the Commander with his arms behind his back. He looked larger than the others, and the air around him felt different, like the men who guarded the restricted area.

There was nothing in his eyes as he waited.

“I will let everyone go back to their cages if you work with me, Layla,” the Commander said. “I want you to bite him.”

What?

She looked from the Hunter to the Commander, wondering if she heard him correctly. Why would she bite him? Jax told her that werewolves were born that way; they couldn’t be created.

But what if they could? What if the Commander found a way? Was this how she was going to become responsible for killing her people? Was she going to turn the enemy into one of them?

“One little bite and you and your friends can go back,” the Commander continued as he walked back to stand next to her. “It’s a small price to pay, isn’t it? Or should I just end it all now?”

As if they could hear everything happening in the room, the doors opened in the rooms on either side of her, and two Hunters walked in. Both had their weapons drawn.

The fear from the girls turned to terror. Their soundless sobs became more frantic. The youngest girl tried to run, but the chains held her in place. And in her mother’s room, there was silence because Rebecca was unconscious and vulnerable.

“Say the word,” the Commander urged as the Hunters lifted their weapons.

“I’ll do it!” she screamed.

What other choice was there to make? Even if the Hunters got what they wanted, she couldn’t risk Faith’s and Rebecca’s lives.

“I knew you were the reasonable one,” the Commander said as the Hunters stepped back and left the rooms.

The panels started to lower, hiding the prisoners from her view again. She bought them a little more time.

As the two shutters came down, the one in front of her started to go up. She was right about the Hunters on the other side. Row by row, the shutter revealed them. Hunters in all shapes and sizes sitting in chairs as if they were about to watch a show.

The Commander turned to face them, his hands behind his back.

“Welcome to the new era,” he said. “Today will be known in history as the day we won.”

Chapter 51

Layla didn’t fight when the Hunters wheeled back to the warehouse. She’d spat a few times, but the metallic taste and scent of blood still overwhelmed her senses. It made her nauseous. And she could still hear the Hunters' applause when they finally forced her teeth away from their guinea pig’s flesh.

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