50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

N o.

No, this couldn't be happening again.

With all the shit that had happened on her walk with Diedre, she had pushed this to the side. But there it was—the big red wolf.

The mother that her sick mind had created. The one that used to speak to her all the time.

Layla hugged the water bottle to her chest without taking her eyes off the wolf. It was still as magnificent as she remembered. The silkiest fur she'd ever seen, the greenest eyes. Her mother's hair and eyes. Her hair and eyes.

No wolves in the world were that big or red—she had researched this thoroughly when she was younger. Anything bigger was only pure fiction—werewolves and monsters, shit like that. It was why her dad and counsellor had known immediately that it wasn't real.

The only thing that would make the whole messed up situation worse was if the imaginary wolf spoke to her again.

‘Hello, Layla.'

Shit.

No. No, she would not break down now. She'd woken up fine for the first time in days. She'd just had the most exhilarating run through the trees, at one with nature in a way she hadn't been in a long time. Her mind had been lighter, despite what had happened and the fact that she'd been looking at possible escape routes the whole time.

She wouldn't allow this shit to happen today. Take control. That was what her counsellor had always told her to do. Take control of her thoughts and remind herself of her reality.

She turned around quickly and faced Jackson.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go back," she said to him. "We can run as fast as you want."

Jackson frowned and cocked his head.

"Ah... Okay," he said.

But he stood there with a confused look on his face. Had she noticeably reacted to her hallucination? It had been a while since she had seen this wolf. Though she's felt her mind slowly going under since the day she'd heard the growl after Jackson had fucked her on the table, she hadn't thought it would reach this far when her head felt so clear.

Her mind was not breaking again today.

"I'm getting hungry. It must be close to lunchtime now," she said as she walked past him. "We should head back."

"Yes. Yes, let's head back," Jackson said quickly.

'Stay with him, Layla. You'll be safe here.'

It was just her subconscious. There wasn't a voice in her head.

‘Come back here when you need me. But stay here. Brit is okay.'

She started to jog and ignored the fact that she could sense that Jackson was looking at her again as he ran beside her.

Eyes forward. One foot in front of the other. Do not look back. Don't do it!

But as she ran, she couldn't help herself. She looked back. The wolf was still there, just watching her.

"Are you okay, Layla?"

Jackson's voice brought her back to reality. She gave him a small smile before she increased her speed.

"Of course. Just hungry."

It took less time to get back. There had been no people when she and Jackson had started jogging, but when she stepped out of the woods, she saw a line of huge men waiting. She ground to a halt and tensed. These men looked fierce and life-hardened, and all of them had scars of some sort on their bodies or faces. They stood in an orderly formation as if they were doing military drills. Were these the security guards she always saw doing patrols around the grounds? She'd never seen them this close. They were only wearing cotton shorts, which was very odd.

She recognised that her mind was still on that fluffy little cloud because the men didn't scare her as much as before, even though they had surrounded her and Jackson.

Jackson merely nodded at them before he jogged past them.

"Come, Layla."

She didn't wait to be told twice. She followed him towards the house but couldn't help looking back. The men were all rushing into the woods on the trail they had just left.

"What's going on?" she asked Jackson.

"Training," Jackson grunted.

Training? Was that why they were all muscular and intimidating like Jackson? Maybe she did need to get in on that before she left. That incident had shaken her, and working on her self-defence again would rebuild her confidence. She didn't want to freeze if she was ever attacked again.

Her subconscious told her that freezing like that had nothing to do with her ability to defend herself. She wanted to believe it, but she wasn't there yet.

"When can I start working out?" she asked as they approached the front doors. "I need to work on my defence skills."

Jackson studied her face as he held the door open for her. He still had a look on his face as if he was still trying to figure her out. Well, he would be trying forever. Even she wasn't any closer to finding out how her mind worked sometimes.

"We can start tomorrow if you like," Jackson said.

"Thank you."

"Um... Let's get you a drink and see what's for lunch."

Jackson led her down a different hallway than usual, the same one Monica had dragged her down. She was surprised she didn't even react to that, either. Not an ounce of fear, even when the images of Monica punching the side of her head filled her mind.

Maybe this was the next stage of her trying to process what she had gone through. Perhaps she was still numb, and it would hit her all at once when she wasn't expecting it.

A mouth-watering smell came from a room at the end, pushing those thoughts aside. Her stomach growled as if she hadn't eaten a good breakfast. She had told Jackson she was hungry just to hurry him out of the forest, but now the hunger came out of nowhere.

When Jackson pushed the door and walked in, she realised it was the kitchen. It was huge, almost as big as the hotel kitchen, and several men and women were running around cooking.

They all stopped and lowered their heads when they saw Jackson, reminding her that she had said she would act the same so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. But these men and women were terrified. She could see it on their faces and in how they held themselves. One young girl dropped a plate, startling everyone, and a few of the cooks flinched at the loud noise.

The signs of abuse were everywhere. Maybe these people were prisoners like she was.

"Layla is hungry and thirsty," Jackson said gruffly.

She could tell he was pissed off with them. He'd been so gentle with her since they had woken up that she had forgotten what he was like.

A tray full of food and a bottle of water was placed on the counter in front of them in record time, and Jackson picked it up and walked out of the room without looking back.

"Thank you," she said, smiling at the young woman who'd given her the food.

Instead of smiling back, the woman ignored her and walked away. Rude. She shook her head and followed Jackson out. She was walking behind him and going up the stairs when she noticed how tense he was. His shoulders were set, and he was vibrating with something she couldn't put her finger on.

It wasn't anger but...

She cocked her head as she studied him. When Jackson reached the landing on their floor, he turned back, and something flashed in his eyes. Something red.

Her steps faltered. This wasn't the first time she'd imagined seeing something in his eyes. She'd also seen it in the mean girls and put it down to drugs.

"Are you coming?" Jackson asked.

His eyes looked completely fine.

She offered him a tight smile as she caught up with him.

No, her mind would not break today.