51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

J ackson knew getting that close to Layla would mess him up again.

He stopped at the front door and closed his eyes as her scent wrapped around him, making his beast whimper. The sweet scent killed them but brought them back to life at the same time. He had checked on her from a safe distance for months because he'd known this would happen. The bond he had been trying to ignore flared to life and pulled him towards his mate.

He should have kept away, but he couldn't avoid this meeting.

Layla would have heard more than Gavin; he was almost sure of that. The warrior said she'd started acting strangely on their walk, and then when he'd caught the intruder's scent, Layla had rushed into the house without him having to tell her to.

It had been three months of dead ends; this was his first real lead to the problem keeping him up at night. He'd already scanned the area for miles and sensed nothing, but he had caught a hint of a scent just as he had at the hotel. Amber was somehow masking herself. Which meant she was his ticket to finally catching that slippery witch.

And since Gavin hadn't seen or heard anything, he had to walk into the house to ask Layla what she had heard.

"I'll organise the hunt from this end," Dylan said behind him.

His Beta didn't wait for orders. It had taken Dylan a month to realise there was no favour he could call or any amount of money he could pay to fix his problem. Instead, he'd shaped the warriors into better fighters, better killers. A war was coming, and his Beta wanted everyone in the pack to work like a well-oiled machine. He was more assertive than before as if he had finally grown into the role he would inherit in a few months.

"Sure," he said.

But Dylan was already walking around the house to the back, leading three warriors. Three more teams had already started hunting from different directions. When Gavin had called, he'd been ready to hunt by himself, but Dylan had insisted on helping. He didn't seem surprised about the secret hideout.

He took another breath and then opened the door.

The house looked more lived-in than it had ever done since he'd bought it. It was clean, had vases full of colourful flowers on many surfaces, and someone had rearranged the furniture. It felt like home.

He steeled his heart and looked at the Omega standing at the entrance to the lounge with her head lowered.

"She's in her room, Alpha. I don't think she knows what's happening but has been acting... strange."

He nodded and started heading up the stairs. The quicker he got out of the house, the better for everyone.

"I need some privacy," he said to Faith. He didn't need to look back to know Faith was already obediently leaving the house.

There were four large bedrooms upstairs, and Layla appeared to have chosen the smallest one of them. He followed her scent to the door and knocked.

She didn't respond. Of course, she didn't. He walked in and wasn't surprised to find her sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the door as if she knew he would have come in anyway.

The sight of her almost knocked him off his feet. His mate was heavy with his child, but he had missed most of it. The first kicks, catering to Layla's cravings, rubbing her feet and her back. He'd missed all of it and would never have that chance again.

Layla was glowing. Her changes had been more subtle at the start, but now there was no denying there was something ‘other' about her. Her red hair was piled on top of her head and looked thicker and shinier, and the curls more stretched as some of them framed her face. Her eyes were brighter than before, and her skin tone had changed. She looked like a goddess sent by Fate to torment his every waking moment.

There was no way Gavin and Faith wouldn't have noticed all these things about her.

Layla's lip curled into a snarl that was most certainly wolf-like. They would have noticed that, too.

"She's gone. You wasted your time," Layla snapped. "You can take your people and leave."

He'd known he'd have his heart stomped on in several different ways, but he was still unprepared for how sharp that pain was. He looked away from his mate under the guise of finding a chair to sit on.

"You don't need to sit," Layla added.

He put the chair opposite where she sat and lowered himself onto it. Layla's lips twitched, but she didn't argue.

Her mask seemed impenetrable. He knew the bond was affecting her in some way, but she didn't let even a little of her emotions out. He felt like she had put a brick wall between them, and that cut him up.

But it was what had to happen so she could stay alive.

He looked around the room just so he wouldn't have to look directly at Layla, and when he shoved all of his emotions further down, he looked at her again.

"She's not gone. She's working with a witch and knows how to mask herself."

Layla's eyes widened. He hadn't had much time to teach her about their world but he wanted to believe Layla was resourceful enough to discover things on her own once she left the hideout. Or that her mother would step up for the first time in her life.

"Yes, this witch can do that," he stated, answering her unasked question. "Someone could walk right up to the front door, and you wouldn't know they were there if you didn't know what to look for."

"But... But they can't get past the boundary, can they?"

"I don't think so. It's been hours since Gavin called. I don't think Amber would have missed her chance for payback if she could have got in before we arrived."

He'd still felt the magic of the wards when he'd crossed the boundary. Layla was safe, at least for a while longer, but he knew he had to get her out of there. He had no idea how Amber had tracked Layla down in the first place, and that was worrying him more than anything else. The witch had found a way to get into his territory, she could find a way to get past the hideout wards, too.

"You don't think so?" Layla asked, lifting her brows. "That's not very reassuring."

Layla put her hand over her stomach, and a frown marred her face. Again, his chest tightened. She looked so protective of the child in her belly that Diedre's words returned to haunt him again. But Layla was logical. She understood that she was not yet equipped to take care of a pup. She would give him up because it was the right thing to do.

"Don't worry about that right now. I have my best men hunting her; she'll be caught by sundown," he promised. "I just need you to tell me what you heard. Gavin's account was too vague."

Layla sighed and looked out of her window. She had a view of the backyard from her room and of the woods beyond it.

"And then what will you do? Are you going to fight again? Because I'm not coming out there to save you again if you get into trouble."

She said it casually, but for the first time since he'd walked into the room, he sensed a hint of emotion in her. She was worried.

Hope immediately sprang forward, and he shoved it back just as fast. It was a useless emotion. Unless hope could hand him the cure or antidote for his curse, he was better off shutting everything off the way Layla did.

Cain whined and cowered down further.

"I don't expect you to do anything other than what we agreed. Be careful, Layla. I might think you formed an attachment to me when you knew what our arrangement was."

Layla looked back at him. There was no emotion in her eyes. None that he could sense. Her face was blank. Whatever he'd felt was long gone.

"How could I possibly form an attachment to someone like you?" Layla said calmly.

And Cain whined again.

"I'll tell you what you need to know, and then I hope you keep your word and stay the hell away from me forever."

Brutal.

Cain howled as if their world had ended. As if they had just died a million painful deaths.

How was he meant to last much longer like this?