47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

J ax looked over at the woman still sitting on the bed, in the same spot she'd been in all day. She was in no state to be put through anything else.

Those fuckers. They should have listened to him.

‘Keep them at the gate. I'm coming.'

He stood and stretched, paying attention to Layla's emotions. At least she'd gotten used to him being in the room; she hadn't flinched at any movement for a while.

"I'm going to check on a few things before I sleep," he said as he walked over to her. "You should get some rest."

He didn't like the look she had in her eyes as they followed his movements. She was still looking at him as if he were the enemy, and that was crushing him. He was in an uncharted place with his emotions, stuck somewhere between his rage and his need to protect her. Protect her from his pack, from the Circle, from the witch coming after her. From himself.

Because while he'd had nothing but his thoughts to accompany him, he had realised he was dangerously close to marking her, and that was something he couldn't allow himself to do. It wasn't just because he didn't want to kill the mother of his child. It had nothing to do with his child anymore.

This was all Layla. He didn't want her to die at all.

He picked up her empty plates from the bedside table and carried them back to pile on his at the coffee table. When Layla still hadn't responded, he walked to the door.

"It won't ever happen again, Layla," he said with his hand on the handle, not daring to look back at her.

When he closed the door behind him and turned the key in the lock, he closed his eyes and breathed. He didn't want to leave her. Everything in him wanted to be by her side. But the Circle was a danger he couldn't have around Layla. He'd thought he had got rid of them by telling them she was pregnant, but it would be obvious she wasn't if they came close enough to her.

But on the other hand, they had asked someone to kill her and then had the guts to show up on his doorstep.

On that thought, he jogged down to the lobby and stripped off his clothes. Perhaps it was time they got reacquainted with Cain.

He shifted the moment he stepped outside and gave Cain the lead. The sun had long set, so no one was on the packhouse grounds except the warriors on duty. The rest of them were on high alert around the pack boundary and would have already sensed the Circle at the gates. Even from a distance, he could scent their magic.

Cain didn't wait for the packhouse gates to be opened- he vaulted over them and the terrified little boy who was still somehow on gate duty. His beast was the only one large enough to jump that high, and that fact terrified most packs. It meant they were never truly safe from him behind their walls.

When he reached the compound gates, he slowed down when he saw they were wide open. Dylan, Jon and Micah stood beside them with their heads lowered, while Hugo, Finn and Lincoln stood in front of their car, idling with the headlights on.

He could already guess what had happened without Dylan having to tell him. The Circle was allowed entry anywhere they pleased, so the gates would have been open for them immediately. But since Cain had ordered them to stay away, they couldn't go against his wishes.

Cain lowered his head, bared his teeth, and his hackles rose as he approached the wolves who had ordered his mate's death. A low, menacing growl left his lips as he emerged from the shadows. They had all sensed him coming, but their fear increased when they saw him.

Talking to him was one thing. Dealing with Cain was another.

"We came to apologise, Your Majesty. By the time you told us about the human, we had already sent out the order," Hugo started quickly. "But we were relieved to hear that the human is alive and well."

Cain lowered his hind legs and launched himself towards them. Hugo flew back with the force while Finn fell in front of him. Finn. The arrogant little shit who thought his balls were bigger just because he'd made it into the Circle. The wolf was already shaking as he held himself still on the ground and offered his neck in submission. He didn't dare to try to use his magic this time.

Cain snarled and lowered his head to look the young man in the eye. He understood now where Finn's guilt had come from after he had revealed that Layla was pregnant. And yet he had said nothing. They had let him leave the hotel knowing he would get the bad news as soon as he got home.

At the reminder of what he had seen, he caught the exposed neck in his jaws. His sharp teeth nicked the wolf's skin- he could already taste the metallic tang of his filthy blood.

"We came to make amends, Your Highness," Lincoln said quickly from beside their car. "We recognise the error we made in acting without questioning you first. We want to ensure the human will be properly received in your pack while she is here."

All that did was serve as a reminder that his pack needed the Circle's permission to do something he had already asked them to do. They wouldn't have dared to touch her if they had any regard for his orders. And he wouldn't be down a pack member or four.

He lifted his head and growled at the wolf who had interrupted him.

"For this human, we have made an exception. She will live and work among you freely until... well, until the time comes when she will not be useful to you," Lincoln continued. "And to show how much we regret this unfortunate event, we will offer our services to secure your land from this new threat you're facing."

New threat. So Laken had told them about the possessed rogues as well? Or was that someone else? Either way, they were all untrustworthy little shits. He didn't want them on his land.

He stepped away from Finn and shifted back to his human form. He stepped closer to Lincoln and watched how the wolf swallowed and shrank back. Dylan would have something to say about this. The Circle was a sacred entity to most people, despite the shit they did. No one treated them like this. Dylan would see this as another sign of his madness.

"What services?" he growled.

"We will help your witch ward the whole compound," Lincoln answered. "I know she's strong, but you have a large territory. It would take too much from her to protect everyone."

True. Diedre had said so herself. And it would give him peace of mind if the witch couldn't breach his territory at all to get close to Layla.

"Who's been giving you information about my territory?" he asked calmly.

"I believe he said his name was Laken? He was trying to get his daughter back into the pack," Hugo answered from the other side of their car. "I believe you've taken care of that problem now."

As if he would believe that Laken was the only one.

He turned back from the Circle and walked towards his gates. The expressions on his wolves' faces ranged from horror to fear. And In Dylan's eyes, he saw what he had known he would see. So many questions. So much sadness.

So many emotions that confirmed his best friend didn't trust him anymore, either.

"Do what you need to do and get off my property after breakfast," he growled without looking back.

He didn't speak to anyone else as he ran back to the house. Back to his mate. He would keep her in his room until the Circle was gone.