22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

J ax tracked the scents to one of the lounges. It was where the younger wolves liked to hang out after they'd finished training.

He stood still at the door and listened to the loud, obnoxious conversations of teenagers who thought they knew better. Cassie was among them- Cassie and the two other wolves he had scented on Layla's clothes.

His fists clenched at his sides, but it wasn't Cain's anger he was reacting to. This was all him and the stupid bond. Layla's emotions were all over the place, but the ones getting to him were the fear and the desperation, the same feelings he had felt when he'd gone for a run. Something had happened. Had she seen something? Or had Dylan lied to him about what had happened?

His skin felt too tight, and his gums itched. Whatever the story was, Layla had been hurt. She wasn't faking her emotions or the small bump on her head. Why hadn't he seen that the moment he had walked into her room? Why hadn't he checked on her after his run? He would have gotten to the bottom of this sooner if he hadn't been too focused on ignoring the bond and pushing Cain back.

Someone had dared to lay their hands on his mate.

His beast had gone beyond rage, so there was silence in his head. Dead silence. It was more terrifying than when Cain tried to claw his way out because this was the calm before the storm. He knew his wolf's mind. The beast had made up his mind and was just waiting for his moment. He wanted blood. He wanted to rip some heads off and line them in front of the packhouse like trophies.

Cain was hunting, and nothing good would come from that.

His logic told him he needed to stop this. Cain wasn't level-headed when it came to Layla, so it was up to him to find out what happened. But the bond pushed him to do the opposite- protect Layla at all costs, even if the price was his pack. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He had brought Layla here to continue his bloodline and protect the pack, but how would he do that if Cain's overprotectiveness made him kill the pack?

What good would his heir be to anyone if he had no pack to raise and protect him?

He had to control himself. He had to be the levelheaded one for everyone's sake.

But why were there two other scents on Layla's clothes? How had she got that concussion? They were trained wolves; they could have stopped any attack without hurting Layla. He didn't want to believe that Dylan had lied to him, but when Layla asked if anyone else had a key to her room, he started paying attention. She'd held out that vase like a weapon as if she was prepared for an attack. Another attack. Things hadn't gone down the way Dylan had explained.

He had to find out the truth before people got hurt.

He walked into the room, and the chatter died down immediately. The boys and girls in the room were gossiping in groups or gaming in front of the TV. They were all still very young; they had not gone through their first shifts yet. If they'd had their wolves, they would have sensed him before he stopped outside the room. Their wolves would have warned them of the danger.

His gaze landed on Cassie and saw the coy smile on her lips before she lowered her eyes. The girl was annoying and had been infatuated with him for a while. Her father was the head warrior, so he usually ignored her out of respect, but she always found another way to get under his feet. She was like the younger version of the human supervisor at the hotel. His gut told him she had gone to Layla's room with a purpose.

"Cassandra, a word. Bring your two friends."

He walked out and crossed the hall to an unused office. When he leaned on the desk and crossed his arms, the three girls walked in with their gazes lowered and lined up in front of him.

"What happened?" he growled.

"I was injured, Alpha," Cassie pouted. "The human had a knife and stabbed me."

"Why were you in her room? I asked the Omegas in the kitchen to take her food."

"I was curious, Alpha."

He looked at the two girls on either side of her. Their heartbeats had spiked, but Cassie remained calm. She was always calm because she had an overinflated sense of her importance.

"About what?"

"We just wanted to see what she was like," Cassie said.

"So all three of you went to her room, and she attacked you unprovoked?"

"Yes, Alpha," Cassie answered. "We tried to catch her, but she ran down the stairs. Beta Dylan brought her back up."

Lies. He could sense the lies even without the gaping holes in their story. A human wouldn't have gone past wolves trained since they could walk. The knife wouldn't have slowed them down at all.

Had they all forgotten who he was? Did they think he'd gone soft just because Dylan was running things?

He rose to his full height, and the girls' heartbeats hammered faster. The smaller of them whimpered and took a step back. The weak link. If he pressed a little harder, she would crack wide open.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," he growled, stepping closer to the small girl. "And I want the truth this time. What happened?"

The door opened, and Dylan walked in, diverting his attention. His Beta, his friend. The one he was supposed to be able to trust with everything. He didn't look surprised to see the girls in front of him, and if he were to guess, he'd say Dylan had purposely chosen that moment to walk in.

"What's going on?" Dylan asked as he walked to stand beside him.

"You tell me."

Dylan looked at him briefly before he spoke to the girls.

"Go and do your homework or find out if they need help with dinner," Dylan said.

The girls rushed out without another word, leaving him unsatisfied with his interrogation. He sensed their relief, especially the one he had singled out. But they weren't safe yet. He would get to the bottom of this.

"That wasn't your call to make," he said quietly.

"They're kids, Jax. They're not going to understand until you explain—"

He turned on Dylan before he finished speaking, his anger boiling over as he put his face an inch from his friend's.

"I am your fucking Alpha. I don't have to explain anything," he hissed. "I brought her here, so she's my guest. That's all anybody needs to know to leave her the fuck alone."

Dylan kept his gaze lowered and stepped back until he hit the desk behind him.

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Dylan said. "They were just messing around and wanted to see what the fuss was about. They don't know why she's here, but we all know how dangerous that is for us. Maybe if they understand—"

"I know how dangerous it is for her to be here! I know the rules, Dylan. Why are you acting as if I haven't thought this through?"

He hadn't, but Dylan didn't need to know that. He was already worried that he would end up like his father. The last Alpha King had also made impulsive decisions that endangered the pack.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Dylan said. "After what you said this morning, I assumed you would hurt the girls. I didn't mean to imply you would put the needs of the human above the pack's."

He stepped away from Dylan and tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach that felt like guilt. That was already what was happening. Cain was prepared to raze the place to the ground for what had happened, and with how angry he was, he wasn't sure he would stop him.

He stilled when a terrible, unwelcome thought invaded his mind. He was losing his fight with Fate.

Worry replaced his anger. Layla's roots had dug deeper inside him faster than he had expected. From the time he'd tasted her, he'd known he'd have to fight the bond much harder, but he thought he'd have a little more time.

How long until they figured out she was his mate and a half-blood? How long until his enemies realised she was the only way to hurt him?

"I'll protect her myself if I can't trust you."

"Of course, you can trust me, Jax," Dylan said. "Why would you even think otherwise? I know having this baby is important to you, and it's important to me, even if I don't understand why you picked the human."

"Instead of who?" he grunted, shaking his head as he walked to the door. They'd already had this argument many times.

"Someone who won't expose us and put us at risk," Dylan answered.

"Just keep those girls away from me," he growled as he opened the door. "Call a meeting after dinner."

There was only one way to stop anyone from touching Layla, and that was to tell the pack why she was there. Dylan was right about that. He'd already decided to introduce her to the pack after coming from his run earlier; he'd put it off long enough. The sooner they accepted a human was having his baby, the better. He'd just have to make sure that that was all they knew.

He walked into the hallway, and the first thing he heard was Cassie's giggle. It made his blood heat up again. He was supposed to leave them alone because ‘they were just kids', but his authority was being challenged. He couldn't let this go.

"...a few more weeks," Cassie whispered. "When I'm eighteen, you'll see. Don't worry."

He forced his feet to move away from them and was going up the first flight of stairs when the head warrior burst into the packhouse, barefoot and in only a pair of sweats. Cassie's father stopped when he saw him and lowered his gaze.

"Alpha, we caught the rogue that breached the boundary and put him in the cells. I think you have to come and see this."