35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

J ax waited until the doctor closed the door behind him in the conference room before he spoke.

"Who else knows?" he growled.

There was a tightness in his chest as he waited for the answer. What was that?

Doctor Richards stepped back in fear and almost backed into the door.

"No one. I ran the tests myself as you ordered," he answered. "I'm sorry it took so long; I had to run the tests several times to be sure."

"I appreciate your discretion, doctor, but just spit it out. What's the emergency?"

Was it some incurable human disease? It was just like Fate to keep screwing him over. Kick him while he was already down. He couldn't catch a break lately.

"Alpha, she's..."

Doctor Richards cleared his throat as he hesitated. His fear clogged up his nostrils and pissed him off. Why couldn't the doctor just grow some balls and speak?

"With all due respect, Alpha, I don't think she's the one you should try to have a child with. I compiled a list of women who would be compatible—"

Cain growled so loudly he had to tighten his hold on the beast.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, doctor. What's the fucking emergency?"

"She's... She's a half-blood, Alpha," Richards answered, his voice barely a whisper. "She's almost completely human."

He stepped back until he hit the conference table and then leaned against it. Was that all? He'd panicked, for fuck's sake! He, a man who was level-headed even in a battle! He'd assumed his mate was about to die, and that had wrenched his heart from his chest.

He let out a breath and calmed himself. The tightness eased. How the hell did people think finding a mate was a good thing when it caused such instability?

"So her biology is human? Ovulation and all that crap?"

"You still intend to go through with it?"

"Yes. And you will take care of her yourself when she gets pregnant."

"Alpha—"

He stood quickly and walked to stand in front of the doctor. Richards had never been a fighting man; he had known his calling as the pack doctor before he had even shifted. The doctor preferred to let others fight for him while he remained safe behind the boundary walls.

"You will take this secret to your grave," he growled.

The doctor trembled as his Alpha tone ripped through him.

"Yes, Alpha," he squeaked.

A coward. Richards was a coward. But he was precisely what he needed. Layla's secret would not cross the doctor's lips again, even after he was dead.

"Any human illnesses?" He stepped away from the doctor to allow him to speak.

"None, Alpha."

"Good. Destroy all her results. I'll bring her to you when she's pregnant," he said as he went to open the door.

He caught Layla as she fell into the room. He'd known the second she had come up the hallway and tried to eavesdrop.

"What part of 'stay here' did you not understand?" he asked.

Layla pulled away from him as if he had burnt her. Cain whined in his head but he ignored him. This was good. They only needed to touch when they were fucking. Any other time was unnecessary.

"You're talking about me, aren't you? I have a right to know," she said.

"No, you don't."

Anger flashed briefly in her emerald eyes before she lowered her gaze.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

What? Layla had been a nervous wreck since she arrived, but that hadn't stopped her from challenging him. She had just rolled over without an argument, even though he could feel how annoyed she was.

He studied her face and listened to her steady heartbeat. For a change, it wasn't all over the place because of her fear.

"That will be all, doctor," he said without taking his eyes off Layla.

"Yes, of course," Doctor Richards said before quickly slipping out of the room.

"So what's the verdict? Have I got defects?" Layla asked with a snort.

It took him a moment to understand what she meant. Layla felt insulted when the doctor asked about her family history.

"Only your inability to follow instructions," he replied, shaking his head as he closed the door behind the doctor. "Things like that get people into trouble around here."

Layla's mood changed. Her heart skipped a beat, and he could tell by the rigid set of her shoulders that her body had tensed.

"You need to tell me how to stay safe here, Jackson," Layla whispered.

"I told you that you're safe now."

Or she would be once he got rid of the witch who wanted to get her hands on her.

"Should I call you Alpha, too?"

What? He stilled as something unfamiliar and cold inched down his spine.

"Why would you call me Alpha?" he asked carefully.

"Those girls..."

Layla stopped and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said.

But it did. So much. The last thing he wanted was for her to see or hear anything that would put her life at risk. Cassie and her friends should never have said anything in front of her.

"All I need to know is what not to say or do," Layla continued. "If I'm going to stay here for months, I can't keep putting my foot in it every time. You have to tell me your rules."

"Well, first, you can't call me Alpha. Never. Do you understand?"

Layla nodded.

"And if anyone says or does anything to scare you, you need to tell me immediately. I'll deal with them."

He felt another wave of fear come from her. Maybe taking her out was a bad idea. She'd tried to escape only hours ago, and she didn't seem like the type to give up on that so quickly. If she ran again now, there was no telling what she would see. They had rescheduled a training session just to allow her to walk outside.

But on the other hand, if he kept her locked up, he would never get her to trust him. He'd pinned all his hopes for his legacy on her—he wanted... No, he needed her to feel safe here.

"We'll take a quick walk around. I'm sorry I cut into your time, but we'll walk again tomorrow," he said as he pulled the pendant Diedre had given him from his pocket.

He felt the magic coursing through it, reassuring him that Diedre would have done her best work on it to protect his mate.

"And I got you something."

Layla lifted her head. Her eyes widened when she looked at the jewellery in his palm.

"Why?" she asked.

"To thank you. I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm very grateful for what you agreed to do for me."

"That looks expensive," Layla said, shaking her head. "You're already paying me; I can't accept anything—"

"It's one of the rules," he lied. Most women accepted jewellery with no problems. What was wrong with this one?

"Wearing this will keep me safe?" she asked with a sceptical frown.

"Yes. Because it's from me, it's a family heirloom," he lied as he undid the clasp and gestured for her to turn around. "And everyone here will know it's from me and keep away from you."

She turned hesitantly and moved her thick braid out of the way. Since the day he'd seen her, she'd kept her glorious mane confined one way or another, which was a shame. He liked running his fingers through it. He liked grabbing it. He liked_

Fuck, he had to stop. Now wasn't the time for any of this shit, not only because of the threat over her head but because he knew how much he had worked her body after the storm.

Without touching her, he put the chain around her neck. The moment he clasped it behind her, he felt the magic rise, prickling at his skin as the protective spell did its job.

Layla turned back to him, running her fingers over the emerald.

"It's very nice. Thank you," she said with a little smile.

It was nice. It made her eyes stand out more. For a moment, they looked like they were glowing as they met his head-on.

It felt like a challenge and an invitation at the same time.

His heart did that thing again, and all he wanted to do was rip all the clothes from her body and undo that braid. She would look amazing with nothing but that emerald pendant on.

He looked away, not focusing on anything except trying to break this bold she had on him. He hadn't even touched her. It wasn't supposed to be this strong. And only hours before, he'd ripped a man's throat out for making his pack believe she was rogue. He was supposed to be fixing that situation.

"Jackson?"

His heart skipped a beat when he looked back into her eyes. Did she know how she looked at him? Did she know how much her eyes begged him to touch her?

Did she know how much it made the beast inside him want to claim her for good?

"Are you still sore?"

His voice was lower and husky with his efforts to rein in his wolf.

"No," Layla whispered.

She didn't stop him when he closed the distance between them to undo her jeans. She didn't stop him when he pulled them down with her panties.

And when he finally picked her up and sat her on the edge of the conference table, she didn't stop him from stuffing her full of his dick.

Layla wrapped her legs around him and her head fell back. Lust took over him so quickly, so completely, as he started to move.

It was quick. Seconds and she was calling out his name, taking him over the edge along with her.

"Jackson..." Layla moaned.

His name on her lips was like a symphony to his ears. He held himself inside her as deep as he could go while he rode out the waves. He'd never felt anything so intense, not even the first time with Layla. As he coated her walls, marking her inside, he felt like he was melding himself to her, melding himself to her very soul.

This was dangerous territory, but he couldn't bring himself to care, not when she held onto him like that. Not when she looked so satiated, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes glazed over. Not when she looked at him as if he was a freaking god.

The door burst open, breaking the moment.

"Alpha, we have a—"

He couldn't help himself. He didn't know if it came from him or Cain, but something inside him didn't want another man to see Layla like this. She was his.

He turned his head and growled in warning. One more step, and he would have his Beta's head.

"Sorry," Dylan said, leaving as quickly as he had come in.

It was only after the door closed that he turned back to the woman he was still deep inside of.

And she was no longer looking at him as if he'd put the stars in the sky.