81. Chapter 81

Chapter 81

T his was happening.

She was leaving.

Layla paced the bedroom as she waited and tried not to think of who she was leaving behind. It was better to concentrate on what she had to do once she left, how she would stay ahead of Jackson if he tried to look for her and protect her sister. It was the only thing that mattered now.

She didn't recognise herself anymore, and that was all because she was in this strange place, living among beasts. Once she got away, she would return to normal.

She would no longer hear things she wasn't supposed to hear. She wouldn't smell things she wasn't supposed to smell. She wouldn't fight people with such horrific violence.

And she wouldn't speak or behave like another person was thinking and speaking for her.

That was terrifying. Her school counsellor would have had her locked up if this had happened when she had been in school.

Could she trust Dylan with this? He wanted her gone but there was that nagging thought in the back of her mind that he was going to kill her the moment he took her out of this place. It was what he had asked Jackson to do. Why was she being stupid and putting her trust in him when he hadn't even told her what the plan was? He hadn't told her how he would get her sister away from her bodyguards and how they were supposed to leave town before Jackson discovered they were gone.

Thinking of Jackson again brought an ache to her chest. The pain spread through her body, forcing her to sit and breathe through it. But she had to stay calm. She had to make sure Jackson couldn't sense anything that would make him rush back.

Her fingers played with her pendant as she tried to refocus her thoughts.

She had to make plans. She only had the money Jackson had put in her account the night he had persuaded her to make the biggest mistake of her life. Since she hadn't had her phone since the night of the storm, she didn't know if he had made any other payments as promised. But even the first payment would be enough to buy one-way tickets to a different city. A big city that would be easy to disappear in. If they got lucky, Brit could still sit her exams once they settled down.

She was leaving.

And Jackson was going to lose his shit.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to herself.

How could she think she could go against a beast like Jackson? This was too risky. He would find her before they even left the forest.

The door handle rattled and made her jump. It was too late. She couldn't back out now.

"It's me," Dylan said quietly.

She sucked in a breath and rushed to the door. Her heart started to pound so hard she was sure Jackson would come crashing into the room like he had done the day he had shown her his real face.

"He locked it," she called back.

"Stand back. We don't have much time."

She did as she was told, and then a second later, the door frame cracked as the door was shoved open. Dylan stepped in and looked around quickly. He was topless and breathing hard like he had run to get to her. His heart beat harder than when he had cornered her downstairs to make this deal. Scared. He was terrified.

And that only made her second guess everything again.

"Let's go," he growled as he turned back to the door.

"Wait," she said quickly. "My sister?"

"I've already made arrangements for her in the city. I'll tell her where to go once we're moving," Dylan answered. "Now move. I have to take you to the edge of the forest and come back to the compound before Jax returns."

She quickly picked up the backpack with everything she had brought with her and followed the werewolf. Dylan's heart grew louder the further they walked from the bedroom, and she wondered if he could hear hers, too.

There was no one in the lobby when they walked down, and Dylan quickened his step as he headed towards the hallway that Monica had led her down when they had beaten her up. Her steps faltered. She had been too trusting then and had ended up in that position. Hadn't she learned her lesson?

Dylan looked back at her and frowned when he noticed she had slowed down.

"This is your only chance," he whispered before he gestured with his head for her to follow.

Her only chance to go back to how she had been. Her only chance to get her sanity back. He was right.

She hurried to catch up with him and faltered again when he opened the door to the basement. The last time she had been down there, no one had heard her screaming. Or they had, but they just hadn't wanted to help her. What would happen this time when Jackson wasn't around? Who would save her?

Dylan put a light on, and the place where she had almost died was illuminated. Images of those girls assaulted her mind. She didn't want to be in that position again. And she didn't want to be in a situation where she would be overpowered and pinned down again.

"I have to do this," she whispered before she walked down the steps into the basement.

Dylan had already crossed the room and was waiting at an open door. When she approached him, she saw the next room was a multi-car garage. There were so many cars that showed just how wealthy Jackson was if she had doubted that before. Dylan walked over to a rough terrain SUV with tinted windows and unlocked the car.

She walked to the passenger seat, but he shook his head and pressed a button to open the back. There were boxes and bags in it labelled ‘The Royal Hotel', and the smell made her scrunch her nose. Was it cheese? The stench was worse because she had been able to pick up the oddest scents lately. Would it stop the other wolves from smelling her?

Dylan pushed her and she stumbled forward.

"We have no time. I can't keep speaking to you; they'll hear me. Hide in there if you want us to make it out alive," he whispered again. "I'll let you out when we're at a safe distance."

She took a deep breath and got into the back before she changed her mind.

Because she could feel she was on the verge of changing her mind. That part of her that didn't want to leave Jackson was getting louder than her common sense. It reminded her that the red wolf had said she would be safer with him. It reminded her of how gentle Jackson had been with her despite what he was. It reminded her of that look in his eyes when he made love to her—as if she was the only woman in the world for him.

And it reminded her of how she felt when he was in the same room, that pull towards him, that feeling that nothing else mattered except being with Jackson.

But none of it was real, and none of it was normal. She was just a baby-making machine to him.

When the trunk closed, and she was stuck in the darkness, she put her hand on the pendant again. Everything would be fine. She would be fine.

The car started moving, and her heart began to beat faster. Her heart started to hurt more. It felt like something was trying to pull her back so she wouldn't hurt Jackson's feelings. But would it hurt him? Or would he just find someone else to replace her?

The thought made everything unbearable, and tears started falling down her cheeks unbidden. Like the time Jackson had been unconscious, she was aware that her feelings were contradictory. Her mind was twisted; if she stayed any longer, it would be twisted beyond repair.

The car stopped briefly and then started again. The first gate. She was out of the place that had imprisoned her for so long.

She imagined they were driving through the town she had never walked through, among the residents she would never meet. After a while, the car stopped again. The main gates. From there, she would be free.

When it started moving again, she couldn't help the quiet sobs that wrenched through her. She clutched her chest and rested her head on one of the stinky boxes. Was this a mistake? Would she ever be okay again?

No. Probably not. How would she ever forget a man like Jackson King? She would remember everything for the rest of her life.

They had driven only a little while when the car slammed to a stop. Some boxes were tipped over, pinning to the back. A part of her knew what was happening before the trunk opened.

Above her stood Jackson King.

Fists clenched, eyes red. And angry enough to kill her.