46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

J ackson looked at the two young men and their kid sister as they hung suspended on silver chains.

The girl had passed out before he could do anything to her. The boys had lasted a little longer. They were bloody, and he could smell their impending death as the silver poisoned them, but he wasn't satisfied. His rage still filled him and clouded his mind. It had been worse when he'd held Layla and listened to her talk in her sleep.

The hatch opened, and he caught Dylan's scent as he came down. Cain growled in his head at the intrusion. He knew why his Beta was there. Dylan thought the kids had had enough, but he and Cain begged to differ. It would be enough when he could no longer smell their scents or hear their heartbeats.

"Alpha Chase is still trying to get a hold of you," Dylan said as he came to stand beside him.

"I'm still busy," he growled.

"You killed their dad, Jax. I think they've learned their lesson."

"It's because I killed their dad that they must die. I don't need these little shits plotting revenge on top of everything else."

Because he wasn't as angry as he had been when he had seen Layla pinned down like that, he'd already thought about the repercussions of his actions. If he let them go, they would come for his defenceless child and Layla when he was dead.

"Then just exile then," Dylan said. "Please, Jax. Things aren't good out there. They're all saying you've lost your mind."

"And you, Dylan? What are you saying to them when they tell you this?" he asked, turning to his Beta.

Dylan dragged his eyes away from the wolves and swallowed. He couldn't hide his displeasure at what he was seeing.

"You said you would never use this room unless you really had to," Dylan said.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed again and looked back at the wolves.

"You showed more mercy to the rogues that attacked us by killing them quickly. They've suffered all night—"

"Why were you in my room?" he asked.

Dylan looked back at him at the sudden question.

"Ah... You asked me to go and check on her wounds," he answered.

"I asked you to send the doctor."

Dylan lowered his head.

"I didn't know if it would be safe for him," Dylan said. "You've changed. You're putting the human over your pack, over everything. How will you hide anything from her when the moon is full again? If the Circle told you to kill her, then I think we should. You can get another—"

He growled loudly and stepped up to Dylan, daring him to finish that sentence.

"Why is she more important than the pack? Than me?" Dylan asked.

‘Because she is my mate!' Cain shouted.

He almost repeated the beast's words but held himself back. Now wasn't the time for any bombshells.

"Because she will give me a child, Dylan. Why do I need to keep explaining myself for you just to do as I ask? While she's here, treat her like part of the pack. It doesn't matter what the Circle said or what the rogue said. She's staying until she gives birth to your future king."

One of the boys groaned as he came to, diverting his attention.

"Can I take them down now?" Dylan asked.

"No," he growled before he turned and walked through the dungeon to the stairs. "If anyone takes them down, they will join them."

He came up through the hatch to find a few warriors on their break from patrols, watching him. The apprehension and fear were thick in the air. These were the men he had been sure would follow him through hell and back, but because of what he had done, he wasn't so sure anymore.

And yet he couldn't bring himself to regret it. The bond with Layla had firmly settled even though he hadn't marked her; he couldn't deny that anymore. She was the driving force for all his actions. He could tell himself that he would put some distance between them once she was pregnant, but that would be a lie.

He was fucked. End of story.

"Any activity around our borders?" he asked.

"Not from the rogues, Alpha," one of the warriors said. "We've had scouts from Alpha Chase's pack sniffing around."

"Nobody gets in without my permission," he said before he walked out of the guardhouse.

If they hadn't let that girl, Monica, back in, then this shit probably wouldn't have happened. As if he didn't have enough to worry about with the Circle and the witch, he now had to worry about traitors in his pack. Were they even worth doing any of this for if they could so easily stab him in the back?

People kept out of his way as he walked back to the packhouse. The Circle had said his pack believed he'd been hexed. After he'd killed Laken, he was sure that belief had been cemented.

"Jax."

He only looked at Diedre briefly before he continued walking towards the stairs.

"I thought she was safe," Diedre said in a broken voice. He could feel her despair without even trying. "I didn't think anyone in this pack would ever..."

His fists clenched as he went up the first step. No one had ever warned him that the mate bond made people react so strongly to their mate's distress. Though Laken was dead, the urge to kill everyone was still strong.

"She didn't eat her breakfast, and she didn't talk to me. I'm making something else for lunch," Diedre continued. "Do you want me to give her something to calm her mind?"

He stopped and sighed. If anyone could get rid of that cloud hanging over Layla, it would be Diedre. He just couldn't bring himself to trust her again so soon.

"Maybe for tonight," he growled. "I need something to protect her from the pack, too."

The pendant only protected her from magic; he hadn't thought he would need to protect her from his own people.

"If you just tell them—"

"Stop it, Diedre," he growled before he continued up the stairs.

The witch knew better than anyone that proclaiming her as their queen would do more harm than good.

He hadn't stopped feeling all the emotions Layla was feeling, but the moment he stopped at his floor, all of it hit him again. He'd failed her.

When he walked in, Layla was sitting in the middle of the bed with her knees drawn up. Her eyes met his across the room, and all the emotions he saw in them tightened his chest again.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi."

He walked towards her slowly even though everything in him was pushing him to hold her tight and promise he would never let anyone hurt her again. But that was a promise he couldn't keep, and Layla would hardly let him touch her now after how disappointed she had been with him.

"I heard you didn't eat."

"Not hungry," Layla answered.

Her whole body screamed for him to leave her alone, but he couldn't. He needed to be close to her, and he knew she did too, even if she didn't understand why.

"Lunch will be here soon," he said as he walked over to the sofas and picked up a remote control. It had been a long time since he'd watched television.

"What are you doing?"

Layla's tension rose, but he didn't spare her another glance. He would stay here and not crowd her. Maybe it would help them both process the events of the previous day.

"Just hanging out. I have nothing to do today."

Layla didn't say anything else. He didn't know how long he sat there pretending to watch program after program in silence. He ignored Dylan and Micah's constant updates because something inside him wouldn't let him leave Layla alone. Diedre brought them lunch and dinner, with the little extra kick he had requested, and another protective spell in a ring. A ring of all things. When he gave it to Layla, he was sure she would think he was crazy because it looked like an engagement ring.

He pocketed the ring and forced Layla to try her dinner, the same way he'd had to force her to try her lunch.

He was just starting to think about how they would navigate bedtime when Dylan mind-linked him again.

‘Alpha, the Circle is at the first gate and asking for permission to... uh... set foot on your land?'