15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

J ax pushed his eggs around his plate while his eyes remained glued on the large, finger-shaped bruises forming on Layla's arm.

He had never had to fight Cain so hard to keep him caged.

Out of the entire pack, it was Dylan he had trusted to help him protect Layla, despite how he felt about her. His Beta knew the trouble he had gone through to get her to the packhouse.

He'd stalked her. Offered her money that should have gone to taking care of the pack. He'd killed for her and possibly started a war with the humans.

Dylan should not have dared.

Layla's fear hung in the air and spoiled his breakfast while the man responsible was shovelling his food into his mouth as if he couldn't sense the danger in the air. He pulled his gaze from the bruises to look at his Beta and Gamma.

Jon sat across the table from Layla and glared at her instead of eating. Cain was pissed off with him, too, but it was Dylan he wanted.

He gave up pretending to eat and put his fork down before turning his gaze to his friend.

‘Rip his balls off,' Cain growled. ‘Show him that she is mine.'

He wanted to. It felt like their lifelong friendship had ended just because of this bond. Layla had already taken root in places she didn't belong, and as much as that pissed him off, it was terrifying. Cain had always had Dylan's back, but now he had switched his loyalties so swiftly.

So completely.

He balled his fists under the table and waited for Dylan to look up.

Maybe his Beta finally sensed the danger because he paused in the middle of lifting his fork to his mouth and lifted his head. He immediately lowered his gaze, submitting to Cain, as he put his cutlery down.

‘Touch her again and I'll kill you.'

The shock was evident on Dylan's face when he lifted his head briefly to look at him.

‘Jax, she was disrespectful. She—'

‘Touch her again, and I. Will. Kill. You.'

His claws extended and dug into his palms. The scent of his blood mingled with the scent of Layla's fear. He knew Cain wouldn't calm down if Layla didn't calm down.

And he knew Dylan would start to question things. His secret wouldn't remain a secret much longer.

‘Yes, Alpha,' Dylan said in the mind link.

‘Take Jon out of the house before I snap his neck. We'll have that meeting later.'

Dylan stood straight away, and the sudden movement made Layla flinch. Cain pushed harder to get out so he could get his hands on Dylan before he escaped. He lowered his gaze to his hands and realised he had already partially shifted. Cain's dark grey fur covered the top of his hands. That meant his eyes were glowing, too.

‘You can't kill my best friend, Cain. Please.'

"Jon, let's go," Dylan said, already walking to the door.

Dylan moved quickly, but it still felt like he wasn't quick enough. Cain's rage was always something he struggled with, but it had gone up a level now.

"I haven't eaten—"

"Let's go!" Dylan repeated.

Jon's fear polluted the air. His Gamma had finally noticed what was happening and probably sensed the beast. Seconds later, only Layla remained, but she was still scared. Terrified, it seemed.

Of him? Could she tell how much he was struggling to rein in his beast? To control his anger?

‘You're scaring her,' he told Cain.

And only then did his wolf pay attention. Layla gripped her cutlery so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her heart thudded rapidly and loudly, and he could see how much she was trembling.

Cain retreated and took all his rage with him. The worry he sensed from the wolf was something new. It felt like Cain was suffering from a little bit of... humanity.

They hadn't even completed a whole day but he'd already had to stop a slaughter, and now he had to worry that something was wrong with Cain? He grabbed his napkin and wiped the blood from his hands before he looked at Layla again.

"You need to eat," he said.

"I'm not hungry," Layla mumbled.

Lies. He could hear her stomach grumbling from across the room, even with all the noise her heart was making.

"Dylan won't hurt you again."

Layla remained silent and hunched over the plate of food she wasn't eating. The bruise on her arm was more prominent now, but he knew it would heal quickly because she still had Diedre's potion in her system.

"I can ask someone to bring you some food in your room after we see the doctor if you prefer," he offered.

"Do I have a choice?" Layla asked.

"Of course. I said I would take care of you."

"By locking me in a room and threatening my sister. Yes, I'm sure you'll do a great job," Layla said, and this time she lifted her head to look directly at him.

Though she was still scared, there was a hardness in her eyes. Determination. From what he had read of the information Dylan had given him, she had been taking care of herself and her sister from a young age. Trust wouldn't come easily to someone like her. It seemed they had that in common.

"It was necessary. You really can't run from me, Layla; it would be..." Fatal. It would be fatal. "You met a few of the people who live in this compound. All of this has happened so suddenly I haven't had a chance to explain why you're here. They need time to get used to you. I won't lock you in your room forever."

Now it was his turn to lie. He had to lock her in because she was a runner. She'd be getting herself killed before she could have his baby. He could have easily told the pack to leave her alone through the mind link, but he couldn't do that without telling them who she was.

His impending death had made him soft. He'd never worried about what anyone thought before, but his pack was his family, and they would be the ones to raise his child when he was gone.

If the circling vultures didn't destroy them first.

"Just take me back to my sister. I don't need to be here."

He shook his head and threw the bloody napkin onto his plate before he stood up. Who'd explain to Cain that his mate didn't want to be with him? That wasn't a conversation he wanted to have today.

"Others are waiting to eat. I made them wait so you would be comfortable, but that was obviously a waste of time. Let's go."

He turned to Layla at the door and caught a brief look on her face as she straightened and started to follow. Behind her on the table, the missing knife was glaringly obvious. That was two knives that she had now. Unless she managed to cut someone's head off, neither would do anything for her except to piss someone off.

But he was all for whatever she needed to do to feel safe, so he turned away without a word and walked down the hallway towards the entrance. The packhouse was open to whoever needed it, but besides his warriors, most people ate and slept in their own homes. Except for this morning. Curiosity about Layla had spread, and the lobby was crawling with people. It meant he had to introduce her sooner rather than later.

His pack lowered their gazes and parted for him to pass. Looking back at Layla, he saw the disbelief on her face. Submission was obviously not in her vocabulary, so it was a good thing she was human. She would have made a terrible wolf and probably gone rogue during her first shift.

"The car is outside," he said to her.

Layla went ahead of him, cautiously walking past the group of people and keeping her hand near her back pocket. Her heart was still hammering, and a cloud of fear followed her like perfume, which meant Cain was still on edge. She was making him too volatile. He would have to sort this out before she got pregnant because it wouldn't be good for the baby. And it wasn't good for anyone else in the pack.

Not because he feared he would become like his father. No, Dylan shouldn't have put that seed in his head. There were no similarities in the situations at all. He wasn't losing his mind; he was fighting the mating bond.

They made the short drive to the hospital in silence. He could have taken her back to Diedre, but he wasn't ready to have that conversation with the witch yet. Layla chose to sit in the back, and her heart calmed as they went further from the packhouse.

Maybe because she was planning her escape. He could see her eyes in the rearview mirror, so he noticed how she looked around and catalogued everything like she was planning an escape route.

He parked the car outside the hospital and looked in the mirror again.

"Do you know that Wolfdale has one of the largest wolf populations in the world?" he asked casually.

Layla met his gaze in the mirror.

"Yes," she answered.

"I think it's because there's a certain understanding between the beasts and humans, and as long as one doesn't mess with the other, there's some peace. We're right in the middle of several packs, Layla. Wolf territories. Please stay in the compound for your safety and your sister's."

Layla stilled as if she had realised she had given herself away.

"I don't think we'll be here long, and then hopefully, we'll have a baby in nine months," he continued. "You'll be reunited with your sister soon enough."

"The doctor will inseminate me today?!"

She sounded scared again. Her heart returned to its loud pounding, and she looked around again like she was ready to bolt.

"It's not the doctor who will inseminate you, Layla."

"Then who will?"

"Me," he answered easily.

"If you think I'm going to do some weird turkey baster shit, then I have news for you, Jackson King," Layla said sternly.

He looked away from the mirror to open his door so she couldn't see his expression. But Cain didn't have a problem rolling around with laughter in his head.

"We will discuss that later," he said as he got out of the car. "Hurry. We have a busy day today."

Very busy. They were going to make a baby.