Page 24 of The Alpha King's Fate

They knew she wasn’t human and was more than under his protection. What the fuck were they playing at?

Cain unfurled inside him when he recognised the threat to his mate. His beast knew what this was as well as he did. It was an attempt to control him through his mate.

“Disrespect toward any Circle Member is not tolerated and is punishable to the full extent of our laws. Present yourselves at the given address and time or face the consequences.”

The consequences would involve his whole pack, perhaps even all the packs he ruled over as King.

He threw the paper on the table and grabbed the bottle before sitting back and resting his head on the back of the couch. They wanted to talk about disrespect but had not addressed him by rank. They knew Cain hated that. Anyone else could get away with it, but not the Circle.

“I think they just want to look at her,” Dylan said. “She’s the Queen; they know they can’t touch her.”

His gut told him otherwise.

They were going to try to clip his wings. To punish him because they could not get him to bow to them as the others did. From the moment he’d met Layla, he’d known his enemies would try to get to him through her. He’d known he’d put a target on her back.

“Something big is coming, Dylan. I feel it in my bones.”

“There’s nothing bigger than you and Layla together. Just have faith in that.”

Everyone assumed they could face anything because they stopped the Hunters and ended the witch’s reign of terror. But that had been just dumb luck. They hadn’t even begun to test the limits of what they could do together.

“Layla and I will be training from tomorrow. I need you to train her sister and keep her occupied so Layla can give all her attention to this. We need to be ready.”

“You really won’t consider Josh training Britney?” Dylan asked.

“I can smell the lust on him a mile away. That boy will not train her, at least not in what matters,” he grunted as he stood up.“Make the arrangements. I’ll see a few packs along the way to the meeting with the Circle and introduce Layla.”

He looked down at the paper on the table again and felt his chest tighten. The Circle was a bigger threat than the Hunters because they had access to everything he held dear. And they wore the face of a friend when, underneath, they were the biggest monster out there. He couldn’t trust them with his mate.

“Where’s Diedre?”

“She and Hope went on a picnic. I think Diedre was picking herbs.”

“I want to see her when she returns. We need to fortify the wards.”

“Our wards are the strongest they have ever been,” Dylan said. “Before Layla, Dee was only strong enough to ward the packhouse, but she can easily manage the whole territory now. I don’t think we need to worr—”

“Do it, Dylan.”

He couldn’t ignore his gut feelings or how restless Cain became since they read the summons.

“I have to see Layla and make up for whatever I did wrong.”

He left the room and closed the door on Dylan’s laughter. One day Dylan would find a mate and realise it wasn’t all fun and games. He still had to put all the work in to keep his mate happy.

By the time he walked up to their floor, he’d put the summons to the back of his mind. There was no point in worrying Layla now. They would train a little first until she felt more confident in herself, and he’d work his way to that just before they left for the meeting. She was already on edge because of the Hunters. His gut told him she’d been ready to flee; the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel like she should run from him again.

He slowed down when he saw the warrior outside Britney’s room. Why did she need a guard? Did something happen while they’d been away?

Layla came out of her sister's room and turned the lock quickly. He stopped in his tracks when he sensed her panic, and when the pounding started on the other side of the door, everything made sense. Layla went ahead and tried to explain the situation to Britney without him. She’d not taken his advice to do things a little bit differently.

“Open the door, Layla! You can’t keep me locked up in here!”

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Layla turned around to face him, her guilt clear on her face.

“Nothing. Nothing,” Layla repeated. “Let’s go and find Hope.”

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