Page 39 of The Alpha King's Fate

Layla sucked in a breath and her eyes became watery as she held his gaze. And then she turned and walked to her sister’s door.

“Layla...”

“Tell me what time to be ready. I’ll spend the night with my sister teaching her what to do so she doesn’t get trapped here, too.”

And that was the most significant blow to his heart.

Trapped?

Did his mate feel trapped with him?

Layla walked into Britney’s room, and the loud click as the key turned in the lock, echoed in the hallway. It felt like someone threw a tonne of bricks at him as his mate cut herself off from him once again.

How the fuck was this happening again? They’d just spoken about this. They’d just agreed to tell each other the truth and start afresh. She’d said she knew what he was like and loved him anyway! But now she was walking away. Was he the only one who felt like everything he did depended on the state of their bond? Was she not as invested in their relationship because they were different?

Was he the only one who felt like his whole fucking world was ending?

If Layla’s truth was that she felt trapped in his home, in his world, then...

Cain whined in his head. His fists clenched as he tried to hold everything in. He turned back and marched down the stairs.

The lobby was still busy as the Omegas went above and beyond their duties to care for their young guests, and a few warriors gathered near the door to discuss extra security measures. They all stepped out of his way as he pulled his t-shirt off. They all lowered their heads and didn’t dare breathe.

It had been a while since anyone reacted to him like that. It was like he’d gone back to being the monster who’d rip their heads off or string them up in his dungeon if they even looked at him. Maybe he would. Too much was going on in his head that he felt ready to explode. He ignored them as he stepped out of the packhouse.

Dylan was coming up the steps with Gavin, but they stopped as he marched past them.

“Alpha, what happened?” Dylan called out.

He was the only one brave enough to speak to him when he could see Cain so close to the surface. The beast surged within him, ready to head back and break Britney’s door down. Ready to drag his mate to his room and not let her go until she understood that there was no getting out of this bond.

Not with either of them alive.

He kicked his shoes off and commanded the gatehouse guard to let him through. And then he started running. There was no escape; he was well aware of that. But he still ran until he was in the forest outside his compound. Until the darkness in the forest ate him up. He ran even as the sweat started to drip down his body, and his heartbeat accelerated. Even as the sharp stones and pebbles cut into his feet.

But it didn’t help with the pain or stop the beast thrashing inside him.

It was almost dawn when he gave up and kicked off his sweatpants. Cain took over immediately as he shifted and started racing back to his mate. The beast’s emotions swallowed him up. The pain. The anger. The fear and anxiousness. It dragged him under until he drowned in emotions he’d fought to hold at bay.

The closer they got to the packhouse, the more determined Cain got to get his mate back by whatever means necessary.

Maybe it was time he let his beast do that because he was so damn tired of walking on eggshells.

Layla said she loved him.

This was him, warts and all.

And ‘till death do us part’ wasn’t just a phrase. Cain was going to make sure she understood that.

Chapter 18

Layla didn’t sleep a wink since Jackson ran out of the packhouse.

She looked back at the bed where her sister passed out, fully dressed. Britney had been too exhausted to take in anything she tried to tell her. Not that she’d made much sense. She’d been too worked up to say much more than ‘keep your damn mouth shut’. She didn’t know if Britney understood anything.

Why the hell did Jackson keep something so important from her? The summons had nothing to do with the pack; he should have told her the moment he knew the Circle wanted to see her.

She’d almost choked one of them to death at the main gates! In the human world, that was similar to attacking someone high-ranked. Maybe even a president! Humans got life sentences for that.

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