41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

L ayla had just helped him out of his boxers when Cain started to unfurl and wake up.

Every part of him started to rejuvenate along with him as his beast's strength coursed through his veins. It felt like a shot of adrenaline going straight through his already overactive heart.

Layla was naked in front of him for the first time in a long time, and he felt like a kid at Christmas. His gaze wandered greedily over every inch of her until it stopped at her stomach. He'd seen her bump through her clothes, but seeing her naked brought a sense of pride that he couldn't hide. She was carrying the future of his pack within her. She was carrying a part of him.

Their paths had been destined to cross for a reason because he couldn't imagine anyone else better suited for that role. He could admit that now, despite their rocky start. In only a few months, Layla had shown him what real strength looked like. She'd been scared shitless but still jumped in front of him and Dylan to protect them. She'd gone out twice to fight a war she could have just hidden from. She'd stood up for herself when he'd been a dick to her. She'd known who and what he was but had still challenged him.

And she had brought a beast to his knees simply because she was strong enough to walk away from him.

She had no wolf yet, and yet she had humbled him, the Alpha King. No one else in the world would have been able to do that, bond or no bond.

For the first time since he met her, he wouldn't hold anything back because he wanted to feel everything. He wanted to give her everything except his mark. Because when the pain of the broken bond eased, and he was dead and buried, he wanted her to have good memories of him, too.

Layla looked at the open window on the other side of the room with the sounds of the pack still drifting in.

"Leave it."

He wanted to watch her try to contain herself until she couldn't. Because he knew she wouldn't. His little screamer felt too much.

And maybe that was what he wanted. He could claim her a different way without giving her his mark. The pack would know who she belonged to.

"Are you sure?" Layla asked, looking at his leg. It was propped up on pillows and still sore, but Cain was on it now.

His beast practically vibrated inside him like someone had just given him a bowl of sugar. Cain's eagerness to finally have Layla again matched his; it made him lightheaded as his heart almost beat out of his chest.

Instead of answering, he lay back and put his hands behind his head. Layla's eyes were still glowing when they settled on his dick.

"Take me, Layla."

His mate didn't hesitate again. She came to the side with his uninjured leg and knelt beside him on the bed. Her gaze roamed every inch of him, making the fire inside him burn brighter. She looked at him like he was a feast, and that almost set him off because he'd been ready to explode for months. Mates were not meant to go that long without touching each other.

Layla's cheeks were flushed, and her mouth parted. She slowly brought her trembling hand to his chest and trailed her fingers over his abs. Her touch was soft but it made every nerve in his body react. Her scent wrapped around him and his mouth watered. Goddess. She was going to kill him before they even did anything.

His heart was beating so hard and loud, but so was hers. Somehow their hearts were beating in sync as if it was another sign from Fate that their bond was already cemented without the mark. It would hurt like hell to break it.

He met her gaze and felt the pull, more potent than it had ever been.

"Let me kiss you," he growled.

His voice was strained as his beast surged forward. He knew Cain was done waiting.

Layla leaned forward and put her lips on his. His heart skipped several beats, and his dick twitched in anticipation. But it wasn't that kiss he wanted. He devoured her mouth only for a few seconds because that was how much he could handle, and then he gently pushed her away.

Layla knew exactly what he wanted when he grabbed her thigh and pulled it across his chest so she was straddling his chest.

"Let me kiss you," he repeated.

Layla's breath hitched. Her heart skipped a beat, too. But she moved forward and allowed him to position her how he wanted while she steadied herself with her hands on the headboard.

The first taste had him howling along with Cain in his head.

She was like the sweetest wine. Like the purest drug. He groaned and tightened his grip on her round cheeks as all the emotions hit him at once.

He'd missed that. He feasted on his mate, gripping her to keep her in place. Layla whimpered, but he could tell by the sounds she made that she was struggling to muffle the sound. She actually thought she could stop herself from making noise. He took that as a challenge. In and out. Swirls. Every stroke was carefully calculated to wring out the most pleasure, just how she liked it.

He lapped her up until the whimpers turned to moans. Until her emotions mixed with his and had him barely holding on. Until she started to ride his face with no inhibitions.

Until she came on his face and called out his name for the whole fucking world to hear. Chanted it repeatedly.

When she stopped twitching, he lifted her off and positioned her over his unbearably hard dick. And then slowly, so slowly, she slid down him. He threw his head back and bucked his hips when she started to move.

"Keep still," she whispered. "Your leg."

As if he could.

He ground his teeth when she started twitching straight away and calling out his name again. He'd waited far too long for this to end prematurely.

He didn't allow her a moment to catch her breath. The moment she started coming down from that wave, he gripped her hips and took all the control, despite her being on top.

Layla's muscles were still twitching and milking him when he felt the difference.

Fucking Layla always involved extreme emotions, but as he watched her bounce on him with her lips parted, her eyes closed, a surge of emotions hit him out of nowhere. His emotions. Layla's. Cain's.

And Layla's wolf.

It was like a piece of him that had been missing all his life finally returned. Layla opened her eyes, and he fell into her beautiful glowing eyes as if seeing her for the first time. He hadn't known he hadn't been whole until that moment.

Somehow, Layla had bound herself to him without the mark. That had to be the only explanation.

His world shook, but he was too far gone to do anything about it.

"Jax," she whispered.

She could feel it, too. The rawness. The lust. The depth of his love. His emotions were exposed in great detail, and he could do nothing to stop it.

When Layla started to call out again, his heart stopped. And hers stopped. For a moment, they were stuck in that place, neither dead nor alive, until his load started to shoot from him into her welcoming heat. And then their hearts beat together.

As if they were finally one.

His head swirled and his mouth dried. When he tried to swallow, he realised Layla hadn't been the only one making noise. He should have closed the damn window.

Layla lifted herself off him to lie at his side. Aftershocks went through both of them, and he felt like he would never be able to catch his breath again.

"What... What was that?" Layla asked.

The part where she would have felt how much he loved her or when their souls seemed to have melded together?

"Nothing," he lied.

It didn't matter, though. Even if Layla's wolf was making herself known or their bond was stronger, the result would be the same.

Especially since whatever the hell that was had given Cain a boost. He'd never felt more powerful in his life. Like his mate was sharing her gifts with him.

The time to go to war would come quicker than he'd expected. He'd be saying goodbye to his mate for good in days.