Page 73 of The Alpha King's Fate

Gerald struggled, bringing his attention back to the drunk man.

“Stop. If you don’t want them to catch you and torture you, just keep your mouth shut and follow me,” he hissed.

It was hard enough to keep pushing Cain back without having to baby a grown human. Could he not use his logic? Or was he already drunk?

That wasn’t fair, though. Like any human, Gerald was unaware of the darkness that fell over the hotel.

He released Gerald and started walking down the stairwell. If both the hotel and the motel weren’t safe, did that mean they had their eyes on all his properties? The motel wasn’t under his real name, but it was common knowledge that Hunters had access to technology they had no business owning. If they found one link between the two properties, they could easily find another.

Or was all of it just dumb luck? Had the Hunters accidentally stumbled on his scouts while they were on their way to meet Ambrose? The hotel’s Head of Security had no idea how vast his business holdings were. If they looked up anything about him, they would only find the hotel and one house in the city in his name.

But then again, how would they have found Faith among a bunch of college kids?

Not knowing things sucked.

Cain rammed against the walls he put between them, showing his displeasure even though he understood doing anything would put Layla at risk. It was probably the only reason the beast hadn’t already taken over. Cain could take control of him so easily after marking Layla that it worried him.

Gerald’s footsteps were loud as he followed behind him. He’d forgotten how loud humans were; it was why they were so easy to hunt. Gerald was still polluting the air with his fear, teasing an agitated beast who craved fear and spilt blood as if it were his purpose in life.

Gerald stumbled and would have fallen the rest of the way down the flight of stairs if he hadn’t grabbed him by his collar and pulled him back.

“Sorry. I can’t see anything.”

He’d forgotten to account for his human eyesight, too. With a sigh, he placed Gerald’s hand back on the rail.

“Just keep walking.”

It didn’t take long to reach the ground floor. Instead of continuing to the basement, he put his palm on the security panel leading to the first room he walked into. The Hunters kept up with them, and several gathered in the staff hallway. Even more of them were outside.

There was only one thing he could do now, even if it put all the wolves in the city in danger.

He turned around to Gerald and handed him the car key.

“There’s an old blue car in the last parking spot on the right. When I open this door and make a way through for you, you must get to that car and start driving. I’ll find you.”

“I don’t understand. If it’s not Layla who sent you, what are we running from?” Gerald whispered.

“I can’t tell you. What I will say is, don’t look back. Drive as if your life depends on it because it does. I’ll find you.”

Trusting a drunk was never a good thing. He would have worried about putting Gerald on the Circle’s radar if he weren’t already on their shit list. But all that mattered now was getting out alive. They would worry about everything else later.

He pulled the revolver from his waistband and put it in Gerald’s hand. Hunters had evolved, but they still had some human vulnerabilities.

“Use it,” he ordered. “Shoot at anything that gets in your way. There are more bullets in the bag on the passenger seat.”

“Who are you, Mr King? What have you got my children into?” Gerald whispered.

It was funny how he was suddenly using the plural. The man never once showed any concern for Layla; it was always Britney that he’d been desperate to see.

“Just keep your head down and get to the car. Head north.”

He opened the security panel and looked back at Gerald. He’d stopped pushing Cain back, so he knew his eyes were already glowing. Layla’s dad stepped back and clutched the gun to his chest. His fear notched up, filling up the little hidden room.

Cain pushed forward, taking control as he took a deep breath and savoured it. If there was enough light in the room, Gerald would have seen the smirk that formed on his lips as the beast salivated. As his face tightened, and his jaw stretched, ready to do something he’d waited his whole life for.

“Stay alive, Gerald.”

The door slid open when he placed his hand on the panel. He rushed out and pressed the panel on the other side to close the door again. Gerald had already seen too much. If they survived this, it was possible Layla still wouldn’t want her father in her life. He didn’t want to expose any more secrets and risk another argument with her.

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