57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

J ackson gently wiped the tears off Layla's reddened cheek. The scent of her blood filled the air as it dripped from her nose and mouth. Her eyes were already swelling shut.

But she was alive.

His heart was still in his mouth, drowning out the sound of anything else. He'd thought Ryker had done something to her. He'd thought he wouldn't make it to her on time. His body was still trembling with the shock of it.

If he'd lost her...

The red haze covered his vision again as he looked at the people behind her. He'd ordered them to stay, and they'd fallen to their knees. They shook visibly, their eyes glued to their fallen comrades. Gina was among them. The woman was still grieving her parents but should not have gotten involved with Zach. The consequences were on her. He would defend what was his until the day he died.

A growl came from deep within him, from the place his vengeance lay, and made the traitors whimper and lower their gazes.

"Shh. I'm okay," Layla whispered, even as the tears continued to fall down her cheeks. "And you're okay. I thought you were dead..."

She wasn't masking herself anymore. He could feel everything, and it floored him. Her emotions, her wolf's and Cain's emotions all mixed in with his, and he didn't have the strength to stop them.

His mate was alive.

He pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes as he buried his nose in her neck. Her scent was back. He inhaled it as if it were his life force, and perhaps it was. He'd lost his battle with Fate long before the day he'd failed to reject her.

"Tell them to go back home," Layla whispered.

He tightened his hold around her and scraped his teeth against the spot he'd dreamed of marking since the day he'd met her. Layla shivered in his arms and brought her arms around his neck.

"They're scared," Layla whispered again.

"They should be," he growled. "They've forgotten who I am. Traitors have no place in my pack."

More whimpers. More fear in the air, overpowering Layla's sweet scent and ruining the moment for him. He'd fought a great battle to return to his mate. The dark magic still lingered within him even though Cain was fighting hard to destroy it.

"They were scared even before you came. They didn't want to be here."

He opened his eyes and looked at the people behind his mate. She was doing it again. She was saving people who didn't deserve to be saved, protecting them like she already had a bond with them as their Queen.

"They stood by and let you get hurt, Layla. I can't let them leave."

Cain was waiting to avenge his mate, and he wouldn't stop him. There were already enough people he had let go who would become a problem for Layla when he died.

Layla put her hands on either side of his face and looked him right in the eyes. Looked Cain right in the eyes. The beast took his attention from the traitors and concentrated on the woman they loved.

"You've done enough," she repeated. "Give them a chance to show you they are not traitors. Please. I won't be able to live with myself if you killed anyone else just because of me."

Just because of her?

After what he had done to Zack and his men, did she still believe she was insignificant? He would raze the whole world to keep her safe.

But it was a request from his mate, and he was powerless to deny her.

‘Foolish woman,' Cain grumbled, but even he retreated.

He pulled her back into his arms and looked at the people his mate had spared. There were ten of them there, but he knew the group had grown bigger over the months. He knew them all. Between chasing down the witch and watching Layla, he'd kept an eye on the enemies in his pack. He would still have to punish them for their actions.

In the distance, he sensed Dylan and the other warriors finally approaching. He'd left them behind at the edge of the woods in his haste to reach Layla. Dylan would vote to execute them all. He'd been waiting for any excuse since they had chained him and Micah.

"Go," he growled. "This is the last chance I'm giving you."

The traitors rose to their feet immediately and rushed out of the room. He didn't release Layla until he'd heard the last car drive off the property just as Dylan and the warriors ran out of the woods behind the house. He ordered them to stand down and told them he would come out when he was ready. He needed to make sure Layla was okay before he planned his revenge.

"We should have killed them," he told her. "The wards here won't protect you from anyone in my pack because I never thought I'd have to protect myself against them. We have to get you somewhere safer until the baby is born."

Layla swallowed and then put her arms around herself as she stepped back from him.

"And then what will happen after the baby is born?" she asked. "You've been vague about everything and haven't taught me anything about your world except what I need to do to hide my nature. Will you kill me?

He stepped back as if she'd just punched him in the gut.

"After everything I have done, how could you even ask that?" he asked. "Have I not shown you..."

How much he loved her.

He left that part unsaid as he turned away from her. Fuck. He couldn't do that anymore. He couldn't pretend she meant nothing to him, even if his situation was still the same. Telling her how much she meant would hurt her in the long run.

"I know the baby is important to you," Layla said. "But I know you weren't going to see me again until the baby was born."

"To protect you, Layla," he growled, turning back to her. "Everything I have done has been to protect you. You don't know half the things I've had to do and still have to do to secure your future."

It hurt. He couldn't lie. He'd put distance between them and tried not to strengthen their bond anymore, but how could she not have sensed how he felt? He wasn't as good at masking himself as she was, for fuck's sake.

"What if I don't want you to protect me? What if I just want..."

Layla's voice trailed off, but she was still wide open, projecting everything she wanted. Everything he wanted but couldn't have. He closed his eyes because he knew he'd already lost the fight. He wanted her to finish that sentence. He wanted to hear those words even though there was no future for them.

"What were you going to say? What do you want, Layla?" he whispered.

She took too long to answer. All he heard was her heart, beating in perfect sync with his. He wanted to hear those words, just once, for the first time in his miserable life. That someone loved him. That he was more than just an Alpha, more than just a King.

"I want..."

He opened his eyes and met her gaze. And the love in them pulled him in.

He sucked in a breath as he felt their bond strengthening. Tightening up and drawing her deeper into his soul. It pulled him back towards her like a rope, and his teeth ached to give her what she wanted from him, even if she didn't understand what it was.

"Say it," he whispered, closing the distance between them.

Her lips opened, and he zoomed in on them, waiting for those magic words. The words men made fools of themselves over. The words that had sailed a thousand ships and started wars.

"Say it, Layla."

A wail broke his concentration. He frowned, unable to process it for a moment as his eyes lowered to her stomach. It was smaller than when he'd left her. And she was bleeding.

The wail came again, and he took another step back. All thoughts of war and vengeance disappeared from his mind.

It couldn't be.

His eyes went to the still-open door as the little cry came closer. He didn't know why his heart started beating so hard. Why his limbs weakened and his chest filled with something he could not comprehend.

But Faith appeared in the open doorway with a small bundle in her arms. Layla went to her and took the bundle from her arms before she turned around to face him. Mother and child. The two reasons for his existence. The reasons he would burn the world to the ground so they could live.

"He's early," he whispered.

And then his eyes widened. The baby was too early.

"Where's the doctor?" he asked, rushing to them to look at the fragile little thing in Layla's arms. "He should be monitored around the clock. He's not strong enough yet."

"She. She's early," Layla said, and then a small smile formed on her lips. "And she's perfect."

He felt the wave of protectiveness from Layla and something else as she held the baby against her body. The baby stopped crying, and her little face settled into a peaceful sleep. And Layla... she didn't mask anything at all as she smiled down at her baby.

He looked over at Faith and saw the fascination in her eyes, and he knew that the young Omega had already figured it out. Would she keep that secret? Or was that another thing he had to sort out before he died?

Layla looked up at him, drawing his thoughts away from the dark direction they had turned to. The corners of her swollen lips turned up as the biggest smile he had ever seen filled her face.

"This is Hope," Layla whispered.

The bond between mother and child was like a beacon. The only way anyone would take that child away from her was from her cold, lifeless hands. Diedre had been right after all.

But as he looked down at the little face, he felt that feeling in his chest and pushed all those thoughts aside.

He had a daughter.

Hope. Hope King.

And he had three months to hold her before he died.