49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

T here was a lot of shit happening in his territory.

But there he was, getting ready to go jogging with a half-blood.

Jackson opened up his senses and scanned as far as he could reach. He'd sensed the Circle in the area when they'd been having breakfast, but they'd left as he had ordered.

They wouldn't have gone too far, though. They'd probably only gone back to the city. Those three were the most arrogant people he had ever met, so they wouldn't take kindly to being reminded that he was more powerful than them, and they still meant nothing to him. They would try to find a way to bring him down a peg or two, despite having come to ask for forgiveness.

He would need to find Diedre to find out how they had done the wards. He was relying on the fact that they wanted him to provide heirs, but he didn't know who was behind the attacks. Letting them anywhere near his protective magic was a significant risk.

Black magic wasn't Diedre's thing, but she could handle herself against it if she had to. He would have to trust her for this. If letting them in to do the wards had been the wrong move, Diedre would have told him before they had started. She hadn't seen his future since the curse, but she could still see everyone else. She would have known if they were trying to fuck with him.

He looked back at the woman still stretching behind him. Layla had found workout gear in the wardrobe that he regretted having bought in the first place. The leggings hugged and shaped everything, and the tank top exposed too much skin. He would have told her to change into something else, but he had seen her hesitation when she chose what to wear and felt that little bit of anxiety that she projected. It looked like she'd had to carefully consider what she wore because of Laken and his sons.

He hadn't wanted her to feel as if her choice of clothing had anything to do with why she had been attacked, so he'd let her pick what she was comfortable with. He could live with the blue balls for as long as needed. What was surprising was Cain was going along with it, too. He hadn't had to hold the beast back from Layla, even when she had wrapped herself around him in her sleep. The beast was content just to be close to her while she came to terms with what had almost happened to her.

He'd have to suck it up and deal with his possessiveness another way. No one was on the packhouse grounds to see Layla like that, anyway.

It was like a ghost town. They'd all disappeared, probably to avoid their ‘mad king'. Maybe they wondered which of them he would string up next in his dungeon like the traitors still waiting for their fate.

He'd fucked up there, he could see that now. No one would ever forget that he had killed one of his own. He was supposed to bring them closer to him so they would happily raise his kid, but he'd pushed them away with that one act.

His child wouldn't thrive on his land.

He pushed those depressing thoughts aside and concentrated on Layla. It was funny how, only days ago, that had been the last thing he had wanted to do. He would have been terrified that they were already so strongly bonded. But as long as he didn't mark her, he was sure he could still walk away when the time came. Cain would see sense by then.

"We'll come back in time for lunch," he said.

Maybe the afternoon trainees wouldn't be as chickenshit as the morning ones and would actually show up. He'd get her back to his room before then.

Diedre's potion was working well, but not completely. He still had to tread lightly. Layla still felt a little anxious even though she looked excited to be outside, but he still didn't want her to meet anyone. The ring Diedre had given him was still in his room because he couldn't think of a way to give it to her without her thinking he wanted to marry her.

Layla finished stretching and then jogged over to join him. He had to look away to stop his mind from going straight to the gutter.

"Where are we running?" Layla asked.

"There's a trail in the woods that is fairly even," he started, pointing through the trees where he had caught her during the storm.

Layla stepped back with a frown.

"Would we be safe?" she asked, a little of her apprehension returning.

"Yes. I run through there all the time. The wolves don't go down that trail," he lied. "And I won't leave your side."

Layla looked towards the trees and then gave him a little nod. Diedre's potion had taken the edge off her fear, but he could still sense it within her. He'd seen the potion work before—Layla would be as good as new in another day or so.

He turned and started jogging towards the trees slower than he would have if he had been on a run with his pack or by himself. When Layla easily kept the pace, he increased his speed. The trail through the woods was wide enough to allow the wolves to run together during the full moon runs, even enough that Layla didn't trip on anything. Though a bit of light made its way through the trees on this side of the woods, it was still dark. Maybe a little too dark for human eyes. He hadn't thought of that.

But Layla didn't complain. He wasn't sure she'd even noticed. She jogged next to him with sure steps and increased the speed herself.

She'd shown him how fast she could run the night in the storm. Maybe her wolf blood also gave her better vision.

Unless this was a side effect of their bond.

He frowned as he watched the smile on her face as she ran faster and faster. If their bond was responsible for that, would it settle down after he died? He hoped so. The extra abilities would get her noticed by Hunters or the Circle quicker than anything once she was back among the humans.

An hour later, Layla didn't seem like she would stop anytime soon.

"Let's take a break," he called out. "We need to hydrate."

Layla turned back to look at him and had the most amazing smile he'd ever seen. She looked like a carefree young girl without the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Are you already tired old man?" she laughed.

And she didn't stop. She increased her speed again, and the beast within him reared his ugly head. The chase. It was always about the hunt with Cain. But he couldn't have her this time. He couldn't pin her down somewhere and fuck her until she passed out. Layla wasn't okay; that would be taking advantage of a vulnerable person.

There was already a tent in front of his running shorts, but he couldn't look away from her perfect form. The way her ass moved as she ran. The way her feet hit the ground and pushed her forward. Her graceful steps as she effortlessly navigated the few obstacles in their way.

How did anyone get to be so fucking perfect and still be human?

He was so lost in watching her that he didn't sense the danger until they were already in it. A strange scent filled his nose and took his attention away from Layla.

A wolf. Someone outside his pack.

"Stop!" he called out to Layla.

She must have sensed the urgency in his voice because she did so without arguing and turned to face him.

"Okay, I'll hydrate," she said with irritation as she pulled out her water bottle.

The wolf came even closer. He didn't sense any malice in it, and if the wolf had made it past the magic wards, then he was sure it didn't want to hurt them. But the last thing he wanted was for Layla to see it.

It was only metres away when he took Layla's hand and started jogging back.

"Can't we stay out a little longer?" Layla asked.

"No."

The wolf was following them. What the hell did it want?

He started to run faster, still pulling Layla along. It was only when she dropped the water bottle she'd still held in her other hand that she forced him to stop.

"I don't know what's got into you, but you're starting to scare me," Layla said as she turned back to pick up her bottle.

When she straightened, her whole body froze. She was face to face with the big red wolf.

Fuck.