Page 150 of The Alpha King's Fate

“The bond—”

“I don’t give a fuck about the bond. You still belong to me, and I to you,” he hissed.

He closed the last inch of space between them, and his robe fell completely open. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, bringing his face only a breath away from hers.

The heart that had been full of nails started to beat again.

“I love you, Layla,” he whispered. “Nothing will change that.”

He brought his hand under her chin and forced her to face him.

“I know you need time to deal with what happened. I know you need time to heal,” Jax whispered. “I’m not a monster; I understand that. But don’t throw what we have away. Don’t walk away from me.”

“You haven’t thought this through,” she whispered. Tears fell to her cheeks but Jax gently thumbed them away.

“I have. I’ve done nothing but think today. The only conclusion I came up with was that my life is still not worth living without you next to me.”

Jax released her and stepped back, taking the heat of his body with him. Her eyes automatically lowered to his open robe. His body reacted to her gaze as it always did. It was something she'd taken for granted when he couldn't hide his emotions because of their bond. Now she felt like she was going in blind, and that was a little terrifying.

Instead of ripping her clothes off as he would have done, Jax fixed the robe and tightened the belt. She looked up and tried not to feel disappointed, but it was pointless. She could tell he knew.

“I know you won’t believe anything I’ve said, so I’ll show you,” Jax said. “The next time I have you in my arms, you will have no doubts about where you belong.”

His words cleared her head a little. If Jax wanted to try, she wouldn’t stop him. But he would start to see the differences, too.He would see her weakness. He would see the mess that her situation would cause. He would get tired of it all.

And when that happened, another wolf would come along and turn his head. A wolf he could mark and make the Queen. He would finally see that they were not fated after all.

That was assuming they survived the Hunters and the Circle.

“I’m still not going back,” she whispered.

“Not tonight anyway,” Jax said as he walked to the fridge. “The roads were flooding when I ran here, and some trees fell over and blocked the main road. I hope you have enough food.”

She watched him look through the surprisingly full fridge. It was strange to see her father spend money on necessities rather than his alcohol and gambling.

The chill in the air seeped through her bones again, forcing her to pull her hoodie tighter.

“Why did you even come out in this?” she sighed and walked over to their emergency box.

It was full of flashlights, extra blankets, and first aid kits. All the things they needed if they had to go without heat or water for days or if they had to leave in a hurry. Next to it was a cooler box and some thermal flasks.

“Because you’re out here unprotected,” Jax answered. “And I intend to take you back home.”

No one would let him do that, especially the wolves who were in the cages with her and called her a traitor.

“You should tell them first,” she suggested.

Then he would see for himself. The wolves might have accepted her as a half-blood but they would never accept this. No wolf in their right mind would submit to a human—or, in her case, half-human.

“Okay,” Jax said as he shut the fridge.

She took some food from the cooler and pulled a couple of mugs from the cabinet. The cold was getting worse. She wasstarting to shiver—something else she didn’t remember ever doing. Was it that cold? Or had she become too weak?

“Why’s your dad here,” Jax asked.

“I don’t know. I should be asking you that question,” she muttered.

The shivering became more apparent as she stirred the drinks. It was rather odd because she felt sweat forming on her forehead. A fever? She had never experienced one herself.

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