31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

J ackson took another moment to regain his strength before he started walking home. Blood oaths required powerful magic; they tended to take a lot out of the people who did them.

It had taken too long to convince Chase that it was the right thing to do, and in doing so, he may have said too much. Chase probably thought he'd gone mad, but there had also been a small amount of pity in the air. At least it was done now. Layla and his child would have someone else protecting them besides Dylan, Diedre and Micah.

But he'd been out too long. His anxiety had been a bitch lately, especially with him waiting for the doom he was sure was coming. He didn't like being away from Layla.

It took him longer than he wanted to walk back to his territory. He'd never done a blood oath with anyone before, so he hadn't expected it to knock Cain off his feet and make him feel weak. He was about to walk out of the forest when he caught a weak scent in the breeze.

He tensed and sniffed the air. With Cain out of commission, his senses weren't as strong as they were supposed to be.

Nothing. There was nothing in the breeze, but he'd been sure... Had Amber tried to enter his territory again? He'd slaughtered most of her old pack, so had she come to look for revenge?

More strength drained from him, reminding him he was still out of his territory and open game to anyone who decided to challenge or attack him. He needed to get back to Layla and rest until he recovered. If Amber was the one sniffing around, she wouldn't make it past his gates.

The guard opened the gate for him without a word again, and he started the long trek back to the packhouse. He forced himself to stay upright because he was still in enemy territory. Even Zach could sneak up on him and hurt him if he sensed any weakness. Because until he fixed this mess, they were all still his enemy. By now, the whole pack had to realise they had done and said some messed-up shit in front of Layla. If he didn't fix things, his pack would be the first to rip her apart so she wouldn't take their secrets back to her world.

It was only when he closed the packhouse gates that he allowed himself to lean on them for a moment and catch his breath.

Had he done the right thing? Chase wasn't an enemy, but if he decided to take over the pack when he died, there would be nothing he could do about it from his grave. That Alpha was just as capable of fucking up his pack as his enemies were. All he had to do was make sure the people he had named were safe so he wouldn't break his blood oath.

Still, that was only the first step. He had more than enough money to hide Layla and Britney away anywhere in the world. It was time he started preparing for that, even if the thought brought him pain.

By the time he opened the door to his bedroom, he was ready to drop. He vaguely sensed some uneasiness in the air. Layla had a book on her lap, but she was tense and didn't look like she was actually reading it. Dylan sat beside the bed, arms crossed, his gaze on Layla.

"What's going on?"

Layla looked up at him with a tight smile.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, as always," she answered.

Dylan sighed and stood.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Layla. And the day after and the one after that," Dylan said.

It sounded like a warning.

He watched his Beta walk towards him and cursed that he couldn't pick up anything besides the basic emotions. What the hell had happened while he was gone?

"Can we talk later, Alpha?"

They needed to, especially after what he had just done. He'd told someone else something he should have confided to Dylan first.

But Chase wasn't going to run himself ragged trying to find a way to break the curse. Chase wouldn't break down just because he knew his King was dying. Despite the wall between them, Dylan would still give his life for him. He didn't want to watch that for the next few months. It was bad enough watching Diedre.

"Maybe later. I need to rest."

Dylan sniffed the air and frowned. He knew he had Chase's scent all over him. The Alpha had gone down like a sack of beans when their blood had bound, and he'd had to use his limited energy to carry him back to his gates first.

"What did you do?" Dylan asked.

"He's fine," he answered.

Did Dylan still think he was killing people for no reason? Even if he was going a little bit mad like his father, there was a method to his madness. Finn wasn't the last person who would meet his end at his hands.

Dylan's head cocked to the side as if he was trying to read him.

"Don't you have the training to do or something?"

"No. No one comes here anymore," Dylan answered. "I'm going to hang out with Diedre."

Dylan looked back at Layla and gave her another pointed look before he walked out of the bedroom.

"Was he stressing you?"

Layla snorted as she threw the book aside and crossed her arms.

"I want to go outside," she said without answering.

"I told you—"

"But there's no one here."

"I'll carry you to the balcon—"

"Fuck's sake," Layla muttered before she lay down and faced the other way.

He wasn't being unreasonable. Layla had no idea there was magic in their world. Even if no one was around outside, she wouldn't be one hundred per cent safe. She wasn't safe even in his bedroom, but the odds of survival were greater behind these four walls.

He shuffled closer to the longest sofa, his exhaustion finally winning. Layla would only go outside when he'd eliminated all the threats. And to do that, he had to sleep.

"We'll talk about it later. I need to rest a little while before we start today's lessons."

Layla turned over. A frown marred her beautiful face, but he looked away before she could pull him in. It hurt too much to look at her. How it hurt.

For over a month, his guilt, lust and the urge to mark her had all balled up in a bitter pill wrapped up in her intoxicating scent that he had to swallow several times a day. Being near her was pleasure and pain combined. His guilt over almost losing the baby kept him from doing anything stupid, but that was wearing thin. If she looked at him like she had done in the hotel, he wouldn't be able to hold himself back.

"Why do you need to rest? It's barely lunchtime?" Layla asked. He heard the bed move as if she had sat up.

"I lost track of time."

"You're lying to me."

Could she tell? Had her senses advanced that much?

"I do keep things from you, Layla," he sighed as he lowered himself onto the sofa.

His body hurt like an old man, and his muscles were stiff. He stretched out but his feet still dangled over the side. The joys of being taller than everyone. He'd been sleeping on the sofa for weeks, so he was sure some of that pain resulted from resting uncomfortably. One of Diedre's potions would have gone down well, but he didn't want Diedre to ask him too many questions.

"But you still expect me to lie here and pretend everything is okay and I'm safe?" Layla asked.

"You are safe."

He sensed her annoyance before he heard the bed move again.

But annoyance was better than feeling her fear every day. That couldn't be good for the baby, either.

"When I wake up, we'll take up your training a notch. I think you're ready."

"For what?"

"You'll see."

"Then why the hell did you tell me about it if you're not going to say what it is?" Layla snapped. "I swear, you're the most infuriating man I have ever known, and I lived with Gerald Carlisle."

Her annoyance turned up a notch.

"If you go outside and lose control of your emotions, they kill you on the spot. You barely held yourself together last time," he stated gently. "So please, let me do this. Let me make sure you learn everything you need to keep yourself safe because I can't lose... I can't lose the baby."

He'd almost slipped up. Even if his actions said otherwise, he would never be vulnerable to Layla again.

But her annoyance turned to pain just before he gave up the fight and his eyes closed.