Page 35 of The Alpha King's Fate

Diedre’s voice was low as she came to sit next to her on the picnic blanket. The older woman put a small basket between them and stretched her legs. Her hair was coloured a vibrant pink, and her face was smooth as if she was in her twenties. No one would ever believe she had looked like a corpse the year before. It still freaked her out when she thought about it.

“Yes. No. I don’t know,” she answered with a sigh. “I don’t think he understands why this whole situation is frustrating for me.”

And he was being a hypocrite about keeping secrets.

“He’s just used to making all the decisions,” Diedre said, brushing it off as if it was something she accepted. “Just sit down and talk about it. I’m sure you can work things out.”

She hadn’t been in their world that long but knew what being an Alpha meant. Jackson’s word was the law. Being the Alpha King meant she couldn’t go against him at all. But where did that put her as their Luna and Queen?

Not that it mattered now. There was a bad feeling in her stomach since the close call with the Hunters at the hotel. Something was going to happen, and she would have to go on the run. So she needed to solve the problem with Britney as soon as possible.

“Maybe,” she said.

“You’re true mates. Of course, you’ll work it out. You don’t have much of a choice,” Diedre pointed out.

Hope ran over to them with another bug. She fussed over her daughter for a little while before she watched her run into the garden again.

“Have you seen my mother?”

“Not since before all the guests started arriving for Jackson’s party,” Diedre answered. “She’s probably waiting to make sure Alpha Braxton is gone.”

That could be one reason. Her mother was a regular visitor but kept her distance when Alpha Braxton was around. And she probably didn’t know Britney was home early from college, so she had no reason to rush from wherever she was.

Anxiety shot through her for a moment, but she brushed it away. Her mother had been on the run from Hunters for a long time; she knew how to keep herself safe. She was probably just caught up wherever she was.

“I’m going to run through the woods to make sure she’s not hiding in there again. Can you watch Hope?”

“Sure. The little princess and I have a picnic date,” Diedre smiled as she patted the basket she brought over. “It’s nice being able to do that instead of spending every waking moment trying to break a curse.”

She hoped that was true. Since Faith left for college, Diedre spent more time with Hope than anyone else. She thanked Diedre as she stood and kissed Hope on top of her red curls. Her gaze went up to Britney’s window. Her sister had watched them all morning, and part of her felt guilty. But Britney was still terrified; she couldn't bring her outside without attracting attention.

Her sister moved away from the window when she noticed her. With a sigh, she focused on her surroundings as she headed toward her mother’s favourite trail. Over the months, she’d learned how to focus on finding individual people. Ever since Jackson marked her, she could mindlink with everyone in the pack, and she suspected that was how she could find them.

There was still no sign of her mother. She went as far into the woods as she could and still couldn’t sense anyone. But she did sense Jackson approaching. The closer her mate got, something came alive inside her, and Diedre’s words came back to the forefront. They were mates; they had no choice but to make up. The alternative was to stay miserable.

She walked through the woods, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she cut across to reach the driveway. The five trucks that drove away after Jackson left came through the gates first.

Her senses picked up several people inside, many scared as they drove past her. And then Jackson’s car drove through the gates behind them. It stopped in front of her, and her mate came out of the back seat.

Her heart fluttered. Jax’s piercing, ice-blue gaze met hers, and she had to remind herself to breathe. Jax could still affect her like that even after all that time.

The car drove towards the packhouse, leaving Jackson several feet away from her.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

Jackson remained on the spot. She could hear his heart beating in sync with hers even from that distance.

“I’d never hurt Britney or anyone else that you love,” Jackson said gruffly.

“I know. I’m sorry; I don’t know why I reacted like that.”

The silence stretched between them again, but she could feel his pain bubbling under the surface, just like hers.

“I don’t want to fight with you,” he said after a while. “Tell me what I’m doing wrong and I’ll fix it.”

The thing that squeezed her chest since their fight unbound itself. She let out a breath and took a step toward her mate.

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