Page 75 of The Alpha King's Fate

The lobby was as busy as she expected. The last group of people was supposed to head out at the end of the day, and then only the warrior would be left to defend the territory and try to get the missing wolves back.

Things felt like they were heading back on track with Jackson. They could sit down and talk things through when he returned from his duties. She didn’t like that the bond made him feel as if they had to stay together even after she hit him. She didn’t like that he kept acting like she was in his way, making decisions for her and telling her her job was to look after Hope. But after that morning, she was sure they could talk things out. He had to have his reasons for being that way. After what Jax said about his dad, she was convinced he had a significant part to play in it.

They both needed to go a little easier on themselves. Take things one day at a time. If they came out of it all alive, then that vacation Jax mentioned would be the perfect place to reconnect.

But first, they needed to survive. They had to get Faith back. And to do that, she had to trust herself as Diedre told her to.

She knew her wolf could potentially be as strong as Rebecca’s. Her mother calmed and protected everyone who took refuge in the packhouse the night Hailey attacked them. Faith said it felt like being in a bubble, confident that nothing could penetrate it and hurt them.

She wanted to do that for everyone. She wanted to feel as if their faith in her wasn’t misplaced.

She looked at the door as a group of warriors walked in with some boxes. That was odd. Were they not supposed to be going to the plane with them? More warriors came in, and then Dylan with a group of women. Max’s mother, Marjorie, was among them, her eyes puffy and swollen. Had she been crying for her children all night as well?

She was lucky that she and Jax had each other to lean on, even if feeling all of Jax’s pain was heartbreaking.

“We have to do as he says. It was an order, Marjorie,” Dylan said as he walked across the lobby. He didn’t sound pleased with whatever order he was following.

“But I promised them that I would come,” Marjorie said. Her voice was raspy and desperate. “I’m all they have, Beta. I can’t leave them alone again.”

She frowned as she came down the last step and followed them. What did she mean? What the hell was going on?

“I will announce it to everyone when I hear back from Jackson. It’s just a precaution,” Dylan said. “If the Hunters track the air, they will know where we are the second the planes land. Just give me time; we might have to get everyone here first so you can all go the moment we give the pilots the all-clear to come back.”

She could see Dylan was just trying to hold it together. He couldn’t entirely hide the worry he was projecting.

“But you haven’t heard from him in hours. What if—”

“Alpha Jackson is fine. You can feel that as well as I can,” Dylan said as he reached the conference room door.

Her heart stopped.

What... Where was Jax?

“I can feel that he’s not dead, but that doesn’t mean he’s fine,” Marjorie said.

“What would you have me do? Break a direct order and put everyone else in danger?” Dylan asked. “Just be ready to do whatever our Alpha commands when he returns. I have more calls to make; I promise I’ll do everything possible to get everyone out of here. But you know how it was last time. We won’t stand a chance without Alpha and Diedre. We’re safer here with Diedre’s wards.”

Her limbs weakened. She placed her hand on the wall to support herself as Dylan entered the conference room and closed the door.

The Hunters arrived in town, just as his informant said.

The Hunters who’d taken Faith and possibly her mother.

And Jackson was out there alone.

A harsh breath escaped her lips as she looked at the women crying for their children and the closed door. Knowing that she would also suffer the same consequences, Jackson would never have put himself in danger. He would never have gone to town alone if he’d known the Hunters were there. He had all those getaway cars and superior senses; he would never have gone anywhere near them.

But what if he had?

She turned away from the group of women and slowly walked to the door. Fear she hadn’t felt since she’d discovered Jackson’s curse reared up inside her. She could feel her bond with Jackson, but because of the distance between them, she didn’t know if he was okay.

She walked out of the door and paused when she saw the tents being set up, just as they did the other times they were attacked. People gathered in groups, whispering.

“...captured by Hunters...”

“...we can’t do anything...”

“...he would have been back by now...”

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