29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

L ayla wiped the steam off the mirror to look at her face. It was rounder than usual, but that was expected with pregnancy, she supposed.

It was also to be expected that she wasn't allowed out of bed.

She rolled her eyes just before the knock came on the bathroom door. Wasn't she allowed to soak in the tub in peace? She wrapped a towel around her hair and then grabbed another to dry her body. She stopped at her slightly rounded stomach and put her hand over it. As she did every morning, she silently begged for forgiveness from her unborn child.

And like every morning, she wasn't sure what she was apologising for. From all the whispers she heard around the pack, she knew this child was causing waves. The future king or queen. Jackson's heir. But she still couldn't wholly reconcile with the fact that they expected her just to leave her baby.

The knock came again, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Layla? Are you ready?"

She sighed and wrapped the towel around herself.

"Yes."

The door opened, and Jackson walked in. He didn't even look at her as he walked over to pick her up like a bride.

"You know when the doctor said bed rest—"

"I'm not arguing about this again," Jackson said.

"I'm allowed to walk to the bathroom by myself. He even said I can go for walks now and again—"

"Layla."

She stopped speaking as Jackson put her down on the bed. He was so gentle, as if he thought any jarring movements would knock the baby out of her.

"I've put your clothes over there. Do you want me to dry your hair first? I don't want you to catch a chill."

Never had there ever been a more attentive man. He took care of everything and thought bed rest meant he had to carry her everywhere, which was extremely embarrassing and suffocating. He gave her tonics and supplements to make sure she and the baby stayed healthy and brought her all her meals.

She looked up at the huge man hovering over her as he had done daily for over a month. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt because he would go out briefly once she was settled with her breakfast. It was their routine. When he wasn't fussing over her, he was out training. And then he would work at the other end of the bedroom, keeping her in his sight the rest of the day. Most evenings, he sat on the bed with her for an hour or two to teach her how to focus her senses.

He'd trained so much that his muscles were more defined, and he looked more lethal than before. Every day the sight of him made her heart flutter, and every day they both pretended it wasn't happening.

Because even though he was acting like an overprotective but devoted lover, he was still cold towards her.

"I can dry my own hair. But thank you," she answered.

Jackson's brows furrowed before he reached over for the blow dryer and brush. Like he did every morning, he started to dry her hair as if she hadn't spoken.

She sighed and let him do what he needed to do. It had been over a month, and the guilt she sensed in him still hadn't stopped.

When her hair finally fell in dry, soft waves down her back, Jackson stopped and started unplugging the hairdryer to put it away. Her hair still looked and felt silkier, though now she was sure it wasn't because of the shampoo.

"You missed your true calling. You should have been a hairdresser."

Jackson stopped and gave her a pointed look without cracking a smile. She sighed and reached for her clothes.

"The doctor said everything is okay, Jackson," she reminded him gently.

"I'm going to get your breakfast. Any special requests?" Jackson said, completely ignoring her statement.

"No," she answered with another sigh.

Jackson left the room before she stood and dropped the towel. He always did that. He wasn't interested in seeing her naked at all. After that night at the hotel, she hadn't expected him to stop looking at her like she was his next meal. The scare with the baby had put a stop to all of that. And unless he was carrying her to and from the bathroom, he didn't touch her at all.

It was an odd thing to focus on after everything that had happened but she couldn't help herself. Or the wolf blood in her couldn't help itself. Whatever. She'd gotten used to ignoring the stupid voice in her head telling her to just throw herself at him and see what happened. She wasn't that stupid to set herself up for heartbreak like that. It was clear that Jackson was over the whole situation.

When she was dressed, she sat back on the bed to wait. She could already sense that Jackson was on his way up. Focusing her senses was much easier after all the nights Jackson had sat with her to teach her how to do it. He hadn't taught her everything yet, but she was more confident that she wouldn't let her eyes glow in public again.

Jackson walked into the bedroom with a large tray of food and set it beside her on the nightstand before he pulled over the overbed table he'd had brought in the first day she'd been on bed rest.

"I'll be out a little longer today," he said without looking at her. "Call me if you need anything."

And then, like he did every morning, he started to walk out of the room.

"Jackson, wait. Talk to me," she pleaded.

Jackson turned to look in her direction but he didn't walk back.

"You heard what the doctor said. You have to avoid stressful situations."

"What's more stressful than not knowing what the hell is going on? You told me I'm this thing and then talked about my mother. And then we were almost killed because no one wants me here. Am I supposed to wait until the baby is born before you tell me anything?"

"And all of those things will stress you. The baby comes first, Layla," Jackson growled.

"I know that, but—"

"Then trust me to take care of both of you," Jackson cut in. "I won't let either of you die."

She sensed his guilt flare up again, and her chest tightened. Besides getting the answers to all the questions, she wanted Jackson to open up and let go of whatever troubled him. But she knew he wouldn't do that with her, not when he agreed with everyone else that she would leave after the baby was born.

The first time they had slept together, he had warned her not to get attached to him. She still had no idea why she had. Besides the time they'd spent locked away from the rest of the world, he'd always been cold and distant with her.

"I just want..."

She didn't finish that sentence as she looked away from the man who brought such confusing and conflicting emotions out of her.

"What we want isn't a priority right now. I'll see you later. Dylan's coming up."

She sighed and looked outside the window. Something had to give. She had just over six months left until she was due. That was too long to go with no answers.

Dylan knocked and she called for him to enter. It was his turn to play bodyguard. She hadn't seen anyone else besides Jackson, Dylan, Micah and the doctor since the incident in the garage.

"Why are you letting your food get cold? You know the baby needs it."

She sighed again.

"Good morning to you, too," she said sarcastically.

Jackson had ordered Dylan and Micah to move into the packhouse. From little bits of conversations she'd picked up, the pack had attacked and tied them up first before they had come after Jackson. Micah had moved in with his wife, whom she hadn't yet met, but there was no one else in the house for security reasons.

"Hey, none of that attitude. I'm the kid's uncle; I have to look out for the pup," Dylan said as he put a selection of food from the tray onto the table and moved it over her.

"I wish all of you would stop acting like I don't know I'm growing a child," she huffed as she made herself comfortable on the pillows behind her and picked up her cutlery. "I'm not going to intentionally do anything to hurt her."

Dylan pulled up a chair beside the bed and then sprawled on it.

"He said no again, didn't he?"

She dropped her cutlery back on the plate and made a face.

"He shut me down before I could even ask. I mean, five minutes outside isn't going to hurt anyone. He can even carry me out like a baby if he wants to."

Dylan chuckled and then stopped when she glared at him.

"I don't know what to tell you, Layla. I haven't seen him like this before, but then again, he's never got a woman pregnant before," Dylan shrugged. "And things out there are still kind of hostile. He's got a lot to do."

"Maybe he wouldn't have much to do if he didn't spend all day in here with me," she grumbled as she picked her cutlery up again and stabbed at her food.

"He has his reasons. Just cut him some slack."

She looked over at the man who used to scare the shit out of her.

"He's talked to you?

"No. Jax isn't much of a talker. Let him deal with this his way; I'm sure things will change when he's more confident that you and the baby are okay."

She was about to make another sarcastic remark when her sensitive ears picked up an argument at the gate.

And then a deep growl that made the hair on the back of her neck stand.

"What's that?"

She looked at Dylan, but he was already looking at her with a thoughtful frown.

"You heard that?"

Shit.