Chapter 22 - Layla

"What's the matter?" Christian snarled, gripping hold of Layla's elbow just a little tighter than before.

They were barely beyond the border of pack territory when Layla started to drag her feet.

"I…I need to rest a minute," she stammered, placing her hand over her mouth to fake a gag.

Christian paused and raised his brow. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Morning sickness," Layla answered, burping and gagging again. "Just please, can I have one minute?"

Christian glanced back over his shoulder and sniffed the air. "One minute, then we carry on."

"Thank you so much," Layla said, battering her lashes a little as she dropped down onto a nearby tree stump. She made an effort to exaggerate her gratitude and her relief, rubbing her feet and calves as if they were sore.

"Sir, we shouldn't stay out in the open like this," one of Christian's men warned him. Layla struggled to stop from growling at him, recognizing him as the man whose balls she'd injured during the first attack in Pine Valley.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Christian demanded, and Layla saw even more of the old Christian, the one who was always right and didn't need to be told anything.

"Where are you planning to take me?" Layla asked, and when Christian turned on her, she cleared her throat and lowered her gaze innocently. "What I mean to say is, how far is it? Because at this rate, I'll only slow us down. I don't have the energy I used to."

When she looked up at Christian again, he was looking back at her with suspicion.

Biting the inside of her lip, she said, "I don't want to be caught out here any more than you do."

Christian's expression turned from suspicious to curious.

Maybe he really was as easy to manipulate as he had always been.

"Surely, with all these men we'd be better off finding somewhere to lay low? Somewhere we can defend if the need arises?" Layla suggested. "There's no way we can get far enough on foot to get away from pack territory before Jack and the others come looking."

Christian dropped down into a crouch in front of her, his eyes level with hers. He stared at her without blinking as he asked, "Why would you suggest something like that?"

"Because she wants us to get caught!" old no-balls growled. Layla ignored him, though she'd have liked to claw his face off for getting in her way. If he didn't shut up, her plan might not work. She had no way of knowing whether Christian would believe her over his men if it came to it.

"If I wanted that, don't you think I'd have made you drag me out of pack territory kicking and screaming?" she demanded, shooting a glare at the man. "I seem to remember putting up a damn good fight the last time we met."

She had to bite back laughter when she saw the way he closed his legs, as if he remembered all too well the injuries she had left him with.

"Layla's not stupid, Gary. She's always been loyal," Christian told his man. Gary looked back at him with suspicion clear on his face.

"How can you be so sure?"

Layla held her breath.

Christian didn't answer him. Instead, he looked to Layla again and asked, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Layla held her tongue a moment, hoping to appear thoughtful. Then, she leaned forward and whispered into Christian's ear, "Remember how much fun we used to have at granny's old cabin?"

The way Christian quivered suggested he remembered very well. Layla struggled not to cringe at the memories. It was the very place where he had taken her virginity all those years ago, the place where they'd had their first argument, the place where he had first hit her. There were so many bad memories there for her, and yet the night she had spent there with Zander almost made up for them.

Though all he had done was tend her wounds and encourage her to sleep, he had shown her more kindness in that single night than anyone had in her entire life.

"I remember," Christian breathed out. "Why there?"

Layla glanced back over her shoulder, pretending to listen for followers. When she looked back, she offered him a twinkling eye. "Nobody else knows about it. We'll be safe there if we cover our tracks well enough."

"She's lying!" Gary protested, and Layla's heart sank. Her entire plan rested on this single moment, on the split-second decision that Christian was about to make. If he didn't go along with her plan, she wasn't sure what she would do.

By the sounds of all the fighting she'd heard before Christian had called off his pack, her own needed a while to recover and regroup before they came looking for her. And besides, they had to realize she was even gone before that could happen.

There was only one thing she could do. Sucking in a deep breath, she reached out quick and grabbed Christian's hand. Taking him by surprise, she looked him dead in the eye and said, "You have to believe me, Christian. I don't want to go back there. I can't. Jack was even more of a brute than Karl ever could have been. Just look what he's done to me."

She placed her hand on her swelling stomach, showing the ring that Zander had given her as a wedding band. It was a simple gold band, nothing fancy, but she knew there was an engraving on the inside, their initials forever marked side by side. Zander was with her, even now. He was still alive. She could sense him. She just had to buy time.

And though it killed her, she could see Christian was buying her every word. She just had to reel him in. "He married me off and mated me to his beta to force pack allegiance. He's doing it with all his men and all of our women. We have to help them. Just think how much stronger our pack could be if all your men had mates of their own."

The spark in Christian's eye told her she had him. Power and strength were all Christian had ever cared about.

His gaze darkened as he asked, "What about what you said yesterday? You rejected me."

The way he cringed almost made Layla feel sorry for him. It was almost too painful to speak, not because of him, but because she hated what she was about to say. "I lied. They forced me to. They said they'd kill you there and then if I didn't. I had to act loyal to the mate they chose for me, but it"s you, Christian, it's always been you. Please, you have to believe me."

Now she really did feel sick, and she struggled to hold it back even as she cupped Christian's face in her hands. Please, don't make me kiss you to make you believe.

Hoping to avoid it, she continued, "Please, let's just go and get secured at the cabin. It's where we started, isn't it? Maybe our future as alpha and alpha's mate should start there too?"

For several seconds, Layla wasn't at all sure she had convinced him.

"You aren't seriously believing this shit, are you?" Gary demanded. He glowered at Layla as if he'd shut her up all too happily, but when Layla saw Christian's face darken, she knew she had him. She had seen that look a thousand times before.

"Are you questioning me?" Christian demanded. He rose to his feet, turning on Gary.

Though they were of similar height and build, Christian's power over the man was clear. Gary dipped his head and clasped his hands behind his back.

All around them, the other pack members lurking in the shadows started to murmur. There was almost excitement in the air, as though they actually liked the thought of one of their packmates getting shredded by their alpha.

These wolves were feral. That much was for sure.

Still glowering at Gary, Christian held out his hand to Layla and said, "Let's get you somewhere safe."

Once they reached the cabin, it wasn't difficult for Layla to convince Christian to get his men to give them some space, some time alone. Though Gary and some of the others didn't look best pleased by the way Christian was being manipulated, they didn't argue as they left the cabin to set up a guard perimeter all around the building.

Layla wasn't sure how she might get away with them all around, but first things first, she had to get herself away from Christian, even if that meant subduing him herself before she came up with a plan to avoid the others.

Almost the moment the cabin door shut behind Gary and they were left alone, Christian started in.

He approached Layla where she stood beside the empty fireplace and brushed her hair back from her face. She struggled not to flinch away when his fingertips brushed her cheek.

"I always knew we were meant to be. I knew you couldn't really reject me," Christian said confidently. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

Nausea filled Layla's throat and she struggled to keep it down.

"You couldn't even begin to imagine the things I had to do to get where I am now," Christian snarled venomously and with great triumph. "The people I had to challenge to become alpha."

Layla could imagine all too well. There were a great many wolves who had left Nightstar when Jack took over. What had become of them, she hadn't known until now.

"First there was Dennis. He was the easiest to kill," Christian scoffed. "Then Mark, he put up more of a fight. A couple of the she-wolves tried their luck, but who"s ever heard of a female alpha?"

The way he sneered only made Layla feel worse. Life seemed to mean so little to Christian. He was even further gone than she had realized, and yet she knew she had to play along.

"You're so strong and powerful," she said, gripping his biceps as if she were admiring them. "I only wish you had come for me sooner."

She glanced down at her stomach, the only thing stopping him from pulling her chest to chest.

"Don't you worry about that," Christian snarled, glaring down at her stomach. "Once all of this is over and I've killed those Blackwell bastards, we'll get rid of that trash in your belly and put a real alpha pup in you."

Layla's throat constricted, but she forced a smile. "Tell me, Christian, please, what else do you plan to do?"

She forced excitement into her voice and bounced a little on her tiptoes.

Christian's hands traveled from her lower back down to her buttocks and he squeezed. "Well, once I've taken care of Jack and his little mate and children, I'll kill every last one of his men, leaving yours till last."

Layla struggled to hold it together. "You mean Zander?" she gulped.

"Is that his name? I had quite forgotten. Yes, Zander. I'll leave him for last, and I'll torture him, let him heal, and torture him again until he begs me for death for what he has done to you! He has sullied you, and he must pay for that."

Layla's face twisted. She couldn't stop it. What he was describing was simply too horrid to bear.

"What's the matter?" Christian demanded when she instinctively pulled away. When he grabbed hold of her wrists, she knew what was coming. He always did that when he was going to do something and didn't want her to fight back. "Don't you like the thought of me sinking my teeth into that fool over and over again? Don't you want me to claw out his eyes for ever seeing you naked or rip off his prick for putting that filth inside you?"

He shoved her backwards, and Layla screamed out in pain as the backs of her knees hit the frame of the cot bed.

He came at her again quickly, forcing her down onto the mattress as he reached for something on his belt.

Layla gasped when she saw the glint of a knife.

"Maybe I'll just cut that thing out of you here and now and save us all some trouble."

"No! No!" Layla screamed, fighting back. She hammered at his chest with her fists, but he was bigger, stronger than he ever had been before. Being alpha had strengthened him tenfold. She wasn't sure she stood a chance against him, but she was going to fight with all she had. "Stop! Get off me!"

"You didn't really think I believed you, did you?" Christian demanded as he yanked up the skirt of her dress to expose her stomach. "You didn't actually think you'd fooled me into bringing you here because I thought you wanted me, did you?"

He sliced open her dress with his blade then. "It doesn't really matter what you want. This place just gave me somewhere to have my way with you while my men take care of the rest."

The malice and satisfaction in Christian's eyes was too much. Layla fought harder than ever before, kicking and screaming, chomping at him with her fangs but never quite able to get him.

Then, she managed to plant one knee right between his legs.

"Fuck!" he snarled as he reeled backwards, cupping his manhood.

Layla didn't falter. She flipped off the bed and raced for the bathroom.

Just as her hands reached for the door frame to yank herself through, Christian appeared before her, slamming her arms down to her sides and gripping them tight around her waist. The knife still glistened in his hand, and Layla gulped at how close it was to her stomach.

She slammed her heel down as hard as she could on the top of Christian's foot. The force of it sent pain lancing up her leg, but she struggled forward, headed for the nearest shuttered window.

"You fucking bitch! You will be my mate whether you like it or not! I'll break you. I'll tear that baby out of you with my bare hands and break your spirit any way I have to. I'll kill your mate, bury your best friend and make sure there's nobody left to care about you but me!" Christian yelled at her as he rubbed his foot while she tried desperately to remove the shutters from the window.

Why isn't he attacking me? she thought, but deep down she knew the truth. It was because there wasn't really anywhere for her to go.

She had just managed to clear the window of its shutters when he charged at her again, the knife dropping from his hand as if he no longer cared to bother with it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders from behind and yanked her away from the window, wrapping one arm around her to hold her arms down while he forced her head to the side with his free hand. His fangs grazed the side of her throat and he moaned, "You still taste as sweet as before."

He pulled her back around to face him, his hand cupping her throat, and she knew what was coming next. He was going to kiss her.

She remained still, waiting while he leaned toward her. Waiting, waiting, waiting, and then she slammed her forehead into his, so hard it made her head spin.

It gave her just enough time to drop to her knees and crawl for the knife that had landed near the door. And when he came down on top of her again, she twisted onto her back just in time to jam the knife into his eye.

"Ah! You crazy bitch!" he cried, cupping both hands over the knife in his eye as she kicked him away with a foot square in the center of his chest.

When it became clear he meant to pull it out, Layla didn't stop to think. The sooner he pulled it, the quicker he'd heal. She had only a few seconds to get on her feet and get out of the front door.

And that's what she did. She threw open the door, not caring who might be on the other side to stop her. What Gary and the others might do to her was nothing compared to what Christian had been describing. She would fight every one of them if she had to in order to protect her baby.

But it never came to that.

Fingers grabbed the roots of her hair at the back of her head and yanked her backwards, almost carrying her off her feet. Christian pinned her back against him, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ruin of his face. The knife was gone from his eye, but the socket was nothing but a bloody mess. Crimson fluid leaked down his cheek and dripped onto her shoulder.

"I'll make you pay for this, bitch," he snarled in her ear.

"You'll do no such thing!"

Layla's heart swelled to hear Jack's voice.

"You're surrounded, Christian. Give it up!" Zander's voice sounded seconds later from the trees.

Layla glanced all around them. She couldn't see anyone, not even Christian's men.

"Come out here! Show yourselves!" Christian yelled back at them. "My men will get you before too long."

"You mean these men?" Kane's voice sounded to Layla's left, and a second later a body appeared—not Kane's, but the lifeless body of one of Christian's men, flung like a ragdoll into the clearing.

One after another, more were thrown forward. Some were dead, some dying, some looked as if they might live if they healed fast enough, but all were most definitely down for the count. How they had managed to kill and subdue them without even a sound, Layla didn't know, but Jack, Zander, Kane, Eddie, Will and Hanson all stepped into the clearing, looking as strong and confident as the day Layla had first seen them take over Nightstar.

It was a true sight to behold.

"Not one step closer," Christian warned, glowering at the men with only his good eye, "or I'll rip her throat out. If I can't have her, nobody can!"

"No, don't hurt her!"

Layla was astonished when she saw Darwin dart from the trees. He was covered in blood, and yet one sniff told Layla that most of it wasn't his own.

He was only stopped by Zander, who barred his way with an arm. He didn't so much as look at Darwin as he growled, "I'll handle this."

Instead, he glared at Christian, and Layla felt horror course through her body. She knew all too well what he was thinking.

His friends had stopped the fight last time, but by the looks on their faces, they wouldn't get involved this time.

"Why don't you come down here, Christian, and we'll settle this like real men? I won't sneak up on you like we did your friends. I'll at least give you a chance to win this fair and square."

Zander's confidence was clear, but Layla couldn't help but think of the last time they'd gone head-to-head. Christian had overpowered him easily. She had felt the alpha's strength for herself. Only a couple of lucky shots had given her any chance at all.

"Zander, no!" she exclaimed, but that only seemed to entice Christian. He shoved her forward out of the door, still gripping her by the hair.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" he demanded. "One against seven is no fair fight!"