73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73

L ayla could hardly walk when Jackson led her out of the woods. He had carried her most of the way, and now she clung to his side for support.

He smiled at her smugly before the weight of what he had done settled on his shoulders.

He'd openly chosen his mate over the pack.

There were warriors on patrol and trainees who'd finished for the day walking around the packhouse grounds when he walked towards the house. They all stopped and lowered their heads to show respect, but he could feel their judgment.

Not only had he been ill, but he'd also hidden away with someone they all thought was a rogue. His reputation had taken a big hit lately.

The moment he opened the door, Dylan was waiting with Micah in the lobby.

"Alp... Jax," Dylan said. "We really need to talk."

"I'll go and find something to eat before I go back to our room," Layla said quietly.

Our room.

How right that sounded.

He smiled down at her but tightened his hold on her. He would take care of her like a mate was supposed to. If he only had months left to do that, he would do it right. He would live the rest of his life the way he wanted to.

"I'll take you up and have some lunch brought up."

Looking back at Dylan, he didn't miss the glare he gave Layla or the way she tensed beside him. Dylan was still the one he had to keep an eye on. Layla wouldn't be safe as long as his Beta considered her a threat. Maybe they had to talk after all.

"I'll be back down shortly."

He kept Layla at his side as they walked to the stairway, and at the foot of the stairs, he picked her up, bridal style.

"I can walk, Jackson," Layla whispered.

He didn't have to read her emotions to know she was mortified, but when he did, he couldn't stop the smile on his face. Whatever discontent she had been feeling before was gone. There was nothing within her to suggest she was thinking of running away again. He had thoroughly soothed her for hours; she was nothing but sated and content.

"Let me take care of you, Layla," he said, ignoring the people behind him who were probably looking at him as if he had grown two heads.

The Alpha King had never been gentle. The Alpha King was never swayed by a pretty face, and he most certainly never put anything above his duty to the pack.

And yet there he was.

Once he was in his room, he walked over to their bed and set her down.

"How will you pretend you're still not well when you carried me up the stairs?" Layla laughed.

A beautiful sound. It tugged at something inside him that he had realised only she could touch.

"Oh, you know how these things work. You think you're fine and overdo things, and that gets you right back to feeling like shit again," he said as he stepped back from her. "I'm pretty sure I'll need your expert care from the moment I get back from speaking to Dylan. I'll send Faith with our lunch."

It was surprising how hard it was to put some distance between them.

"You said he's your best friend," Layla said. She sat up on the bed, and her emerald gaze stopped him in his tracks. "You still don't trust him?"

"Dylan's my only friend," he admitted. "We were raised together. Everyone else is scared of me, but Dylan is never afraid to speak his mind. I can trust him with everything else, but not with you, Layla. Keep away from him, okay?"

She nodded, and he turned to walk out.

"I'm going to have to lock you in—"

"What? I thought I wasn't a prisoner anymore," Layla cut in.

"It's for your protection."

He shut the door and pulled the key from his pocket to lock it before he changed his mind. As the key turned, he felt her sadness pushing out all the positive emotions he had spent hours building up. And his mood dropped right alongside hers.

Layla knew the dangers outside, so he was sure she wouldn't try going into the forest by herself again. Why the hell couldn't Dylan let that be? She wouldn't feel like this if she could walk around the packhouse without feeling like a prisoner.

He forced himself to walk away and headed down the stairs. The sooner he spoke to Dylan, the sooner he'd be able to soothe Layla again.

His Beta was waiting with Micah at the foot of the stairs, and the animosity was coming out from him in waves. It had been Micah he had relied on since he'd woken so his Beta's emotions were understandable.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to trust his friend again just yet.

He walked past both of them and headed towards the soundproofed conference room. He sat down at the head of the table before he turned his attention back to Dylan and Micah. They remained standing next to the table, their heads lowered.

Micah always did that, but seeing Dylan doing it when they were not in public was a little disconcerting. Was their friendship truly over now?

"What's so urgent that you can't deal with it yourself?" he asked Dylan.

"The messengers wouldn't speak to me."

"Well, if they can't speak to you, what made them think they had a right to request to speak to me?" he growled. "You still speak on my behalf, do you not?"

"Do I? I wasn't sure," Dylan answered.

"Stop being a smartass," he sighed. "Micah, what do you need to report?"

"One of the patrols reported seeing a red wolf on the east side of our boundary," Micah said. "There was no trace when they arrived at the spot."

Had she returned? He and Layla had been over on the east side, but he hadn't sensed anything. Whatever her intentions were, it was worrying that she could get so close without him being aware.

"I'm worried about why a creature so rare would suddenly be seen two times," Micah continued. "If we are under attack..."

If they were under attack, they wouldn't know it until it was happening. He could understand the warrior's worry, but he had come face to face with the wolf and sensed its intentions. She was more interested in Layla. More interested in her daughter.

"The only thing that's changed since all this shit started happening is Layla," Dylan said. "She's involved in all of this even if you don't want to admit it."

His eyes narrowed on Dylan, and he felt his beast rising to defend his mate. But the dangers that had been there when he brought Layla to the pack were still there now. If they all knew about Layla, it would be chaos.

"Micah, there's no need to worry. Keep the patrols up and keep updating me, even if I'm indisposed. For any other matter, report to your Beta," he said without taking his eyes off Dylan.

"Yes, Alpha," he said with a bow before he walked out of the room.

"You know I'm right, Jax," Dylan continued. "With all this magic flying around and talk of rogues, we have no idea what she's capable of," he said. "She's a half-blood. She can't be here. If the Circle knew this, they would agree and kill her themselves."

"It's been ten years since they stopped killing half-bloods. And Layla is still in her right mind."

"But how can you seriously consider having a child with that thing—"

He moved before he was aware of it and slammed Dylan against the wall by his neck.

"That ‘thing' is the woman who will bear your future king," he growled against Dylan's ear. "She will warm my bed as long as she wants, and then she will walk out of here to live out the rest of her life, no matter how long that may be."

"She's changed you, Jax," Dylan hissed. "You would never have said that before you met her."

"But I'm saying it now. You've taken over my duties for a reason, Dylan. Do your fucking job and leave me be, or I will rip your throat out."

He stepped back and allowed Dylan to fall to his feet before he walked back to sit at the table. That had to be it. The final nail in their friendship. How could they ever recover from this, even if he told Dylan the truth?

"I've asked you to trust me, Dylan," he said, "But you keep showing me that I can't trust you. Stay away from Layla."

"Jax—"

"Go and tell those messengers they can speak to you or wait until I feel like summoning them. Send scouts to find out what's happening in their pack."

There was a silence in the room before Dylan said, "Yes, Alpha."

The door closed quietly behind Dylan, but he might as well have slammed it. His emotions were loud, almost as loud as Layla's.

He sighed and got to his feet. At least he knew how to tame Layla. Dylan was a lost cause and would just have to wait.

He was almost at the door when Diedre rushed in. She looked terrible. In all the years he had known the witch, she had never once shown her age, but she looked older now. Thinner, too.

"I'm so sorry, Jackson. I think my magic is gone, and I've made things worse," she whispered. "I don't know how to save you. I don't know how to save anyone."