Page 20 of The Alpha King's Fate

“That’s very generous of you, Your Majesty, but most of them haven’t been exposed to anything like that out here.”

“Just take it. I’ll send someone over when it’s all clear.”

He picked up his empty coffee mug and headed back inside. The Night Walkers were isolated, but they chose that for themselves. They preferred to live without any modern comforts. But it was damn inconvenient for emergencies. While Layla got ready, he wrote simple instructions on a notepad and his secure number before wiping any sensitive information off his computers.

When they were ready to leave, Ryker’s scouts were still playing on his mind. One time was a coincidence. Two times? Not so much. He’d have to look into this. It looked like the honeymoon was well and truly over.

“Brit’s going to be so pissed at me,” Layla sighed.

Right. He’d forgotten they’d left a teenager locked in her room all that time.

“I’m sorry; I got caught up and didn’t think about her,” he said. “I’ll help you tell her tonight. After that scare tonight, we have to be ready for anything, and that includes Britney, too. She’ll start training with the others.”

A smile formed on his mate’s lips that grew wider with each second. It felt like she was handing him a ray of sunshine in the palm of her hand, and all of a sudden, everything felt better. The birds were chirping; the sun was out; his heart was whole. It had to mean that everything would be alright, that he would have redemption after all and do something to deserve Layla’s love.

“I love you, Layla Carlisle.”

“I love you, Jackson King.”

The smile didn’t leave his face as he drove out of the safe house. He’d solve the mystery of the missing scouts and then marry Layla as soon as possible.

Chapter 10

Layla felt a sense of relief when the main gates of their compound finally came into view. She didn’t know when the city became so scary, but she felt safer within those walls and Diedre’s protection wards.

“We’ll take her for a walk to our lookout point,” Jax said. “It will be okay; you’ll see.”

Jax seemed to have pulled himself out of his depression, so at least the time alone had been helpful to both of them.

But there were hundreds of missed calls on her phone. When she put it on, it dinged and vibrated with message notificationsfor quite some time. Brit could be dramatic sometimes but she couldn’t blame her sister for this. She’d stuck her with some strangers when she was feeling scared and then abandoned her.

The town wasn’t as busy as it usually was, and that brought back memories of when they all lived in fear and constantly camped on the packhouse grounds. The whole pack was more relaxed since the incident with the witch, and part of her believed it was because they all thought she could help protect them again if anything happened. They were relying on their beast of an Alpha and their red Queen.

But she was the weak link.

If she died, then Jax died. Then there would be no one to protect them at all.

The anxiety started gnawing at her again as Jax stopped the car in front of the packhouse. Dylan was already waiting on the front steps. Though he looked serious, she didn’t sense any anxiety from him when he came to open her door.

“The Hunters seemed to have been rookies,” Dylan told them. “They had a room for the weekend but checked out quickly; we think somebody called them to work. Our scouts followed them out of town to make sure, then headed back.”

“We still have to up the training,” Jax said as he took her hand and led her up the steps. “And make sure everyone is clear on the evacuation plans.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“I need to speak to you about something, but we’re going to talk to Britney first,” Jax said.

He probably wanted to speak about whatever Ryker saw him about that morning. She’d been trying to be respectful by not eavesdropping, but she hoped Jax would talk to her about it, too. He separated that part of his life from her as if she was just a trophy mate. Just good for sharing his bed and nothing else. After their time alone, she hoped that would change. They werea team, and there was a lot to do to prepare for an invasion. She couldn’t shift on command yet, but she could at least be useful in other ways.

“Yes, she’s... Britney’s been very upset.”

The way he said it made her believe that was an understatement.

“She seems more comfortable with the warriors she lived with, so maybe you can arrange a companion for her?” Dylan continued as they walked into the packhouse.

“Not Josh,” Jax added immediately.

“Why? You sent him home so she wouldn’t get attached to him when we didn’t know if she had a wolf. Surely it’s okay if they start talking again?”

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