Page 15 of The Alpha King's Fate

He didn’t like where the conversation was heading, but they didn’t have time to argue. He dialled the hotel number while starting the car. He was put through to Mr Ambrose when he stated who he was.

“Send me the security footage of the lobby from when Mr Carlisle came in, to about half an hour after we left.”

If he could put a face to the Hunters, he could figure things out quickly. And his security team wouldn’t think anything about his asking for the footage after Gerald's incident. If there were still Hunter spies in his hotel, then that wouldn’t look too suspicious.

“Get Mr Carlisle cleaned up and give him a room and supplies. He’s not allowed out of it until I say so.”

Layla whipped her head around to face him again.

“Yes, sir,” Mr Ambrose said before he hung up.

“Why are you giving him a room?” she asked.

‘Do you want him to make another scene right now? Do you want him to tell everyone what he saw?’

Layla looked away from him again without answering. He let out a breath to relieve some of his tension before he drove the car to the highway that would take them out of the city. The further they went without a tail, the more his anxiety subsided.

But Layla's tension remained. Her thoughts remained in turmoil, but he could do nothing for her until there was more information. No assurances he could give beyond what he already said.

Why was she worrying about fighting the Hunters when there was a deadly wolf inside her that would fight for their survival? Everything she knew how to do, she learned by herself. He’d never met another wolf like her, so he couldn’t train her beyond developing the skills she already manifested.

A few hours later, he drove down the driveway to the safehouse where Hope was born. No one was around them for miles; Ryker’s pack was the closest. He believed Amber hadn’t disclosed the location of this hideout because she had hoped to somehow return to the packs after he and Layla were dead. If she told them, they would have already swarmed the place.

Layla got out of the car, her shoulders still showing how tense she was, and waited for him to unlock the door.

“Why are you angry with me?” he asked when she walked into the house ahead of him.

“I’m not angry. I’m just frustrated,” Layla sighed. “I knew they would come for me; I shouldn’t have relaxed. I shouldn’t have even shown my face in town.”

He locked the door behind him and walked over to his mate.

“Let's not worry just yet,” he said, rubbing her arms. “We’ll check the footage and see who they are. Dylan would already have sent a small team to watch them; they know what to do if it looks like they are making a move.”

“They almost caught us last time. That forest is huge, but it’s not infinite. They’ll—”

“Every pack has a backup plan after last time. When there's any movement, all the children and elderly will be moved to safety. No one will run around in circles this time; you know that."

Past the meeting point, deep in the woods, all the witches came together to hide the cargo planes he stored there for emergencies. What good was all his money if he couldn’t get the vulnerable people to safety? It wasn’t something he thoughtof before the Hunters got past the first wards with Hailey’s and Amber’s help.

Layla sighed and then leaned into him. When he put his arms around her, he felt some of her tension leave her body.

“We’ll be okay, Layla. We just have to stick together,” he said as he took in her sweet scent.

He allowed it to soothe him only for a moment before releasing her.

“I have a laptop here. Let’s check the security footage.”

And then afterwards, he would decide if they were going home or going to war.

Chapter 8

Layla couldn’t relax as she watched the videos playing simultaneously on the screen.

The last time she was at this house, Jax told her it was entirely off the grid. He hadn’t once mentioned that he had a room hidden behind the pantry where he could communicate with people without any problems with the network. It was probably how Gavin warned them about Amber when they caught her scent before Hope was born.

She couldn’t stop her foot from bouncing as she sat next to Jax at a desk full of computer screens and software. The scene withher father was hard to watch. She had assumed he had gotten into that filthy state when he’d been locked up in the security room, but he went into the hotel like that.

Filthy. Spouting bullshit. And repeatedly asking for her by name.

---