58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

J ackson had washed the blood and dirt from his body before he'd finally held Hope in his arms, but she would never forget the look in his eyes when he met his child for the first time.

The huge, cold man had melted. His emotions had shown in his eyes and on his face so brightly that she would have known how he felt even if she hadn't sensed it herself.

It had been hours, but he still held the little girl. They had moved back to her smaller bedroom because the big one was full of dead bodies. She hoped someone had at least taken care of them, but she doubted she would ever use that bedroom again because of that. She couldn't get over how quickly Jackson had killed them. They had been alive one second and then bleeding and lifeless the next.

She lifted her head from the pillow to watch Jackson watching his daughter. For some reason, Jackson had held her hand over Hope's little foot as they had both napped. Labour had taken a toll on her but resting seemed to have done the trick. She felt a lot better. She supposed healing so quickly was one of the perks of being a werewolf.

When he noticed she was awake, Jackson looked down at her and smiled. She hadn't seen such a warm smile from him since they had locked themselves away from the rest of the world.

"She's the spitting image of you," Jackson whispered. "You were right; she's perfect."

Layla smiled back and then moved her hand from Hope's foot so she could sit up. She didn't know how long she had slept, but even her face didn't feel bruised anymore. Jackson had told her to wash the blood off herself if she didn't want him to go and hunt down the people who'd been involved in hurting her, and by the time she had done that, he had already settled on the bed with Hope.

"I think she's ready for another change and feed," Jackson said when Hope started to whimper.

He seemed reluctant to let her go. For a second, her heart pounded. This was where she was supposed to hand over the baby and then walk out of their lives. With everything that had happened, that had not been brought up, but she knew they would have to have that conversation.

How would she tell him that he could have either both of them or no one at all? And since she wasn't going to leave either of them, she was hoping he would choose both of them so she didn't have to look like a crazy bitch when she refused to leave.

Jackson carefully carried Hope to a changing station at the top of the room. The picture of him cooing at Hope as he figured out how to change her warmed her heart. This was how it was supposed to be.

When he finished, he carried Hope back to the bed and handed her over before he arranged her pillows. He was as attentive as Faith had been during the birth, being the man she had hoped to have by her side. When he dropped a soft kiss on Hope's red curls, he did the same to her. Like a real lover. Did he know what he was doing to her? That was exactly what she had dreamed about for months, even when she hadn't wanted to admit her feelings for Jackson.

She opened her mouth to tell him what she wanted from him but closed it again. What if nothing had changed for him? What if he told her she still had to leave, despite the amazing child they had created together?

She turned to look at the door at the same time Jackson did when someone started to walk up the stairs. She caught Dylan's scent, and his sense of urgency made her realise their bonding time was over. Jackson hadn't left her side, but there had to be things he needed to do as their Alpha.

Jackson returned to his side of the bed and put his arm around her shoulders just as Dylan knocked.

"Can't I have one night?" Jackson sighed. He buried his face in her hair and tightened his hold on her. And her heart warmed even more.

"You know it's urgent, Jax," Dylan said from the other side of the door.

Jackson must have consented because the door opened and his friend walked in. Only he looked very different from the last time she had seen him. He was harder somehow. Colder. Maybe he was still affected by Jackson being taken. It had been quite traumatic for her, and she hadn't known Jackson as long as Dylan had.

Dylan stopped at the foot of the bed and looked at the baby nursing in her arms. His emotions became mixed. She sensed a little happiness, but Dylan was also in a lot of pain.

"Her name is Hope," Jackson said softly. "Do you want to hold her?"

Dylan shook his head and looked away from the baby.

"I have work to do. Maybe another time," Dylan answered with a slight frown. "But congratulations to you both."

Maybe something had happened between the two of them while she had been away. Jackson seemed disappointed with that response.

"You shouldn't have told us not to go after Zach's people; they could have led us to the witch," Dylan continued. "They knocked Gavin out so he couldn't warn us and tied him up in silver. Those fuckers should be strung up."

"Is Gavin okay?" she asked.

She'd resented his role as her guard, but he was a good guy, and they'd lived together for months. One of Jackson's lessons had been about silver poisoning, but she had no idea how much it damaged them.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry, Layla. I'll take care of you and the little princess," Dylan said gruffly.

What had happened to the man who used to sneak her out of her basement prison cell or visit her late at night to keep her company?

"I don't understand how they knew the baby had been born. Micah handpicked the warriors himself; they're not traitors," Dylan continued.

"It was Amber."

Both men turned to look at her. She knew no one else had seen her the first time because Faith hadn't even heard them talking when she had walked in and found her in labour on the floor. But surely they'd smelled her the second time?

"She was here?" Jackson growled.

"It was very strange. The first time she walked into the bedroom when you were all looking for her, but she didn't have a scent. She knew what was about to happen to you. She waited until it started, and that's when my waters broke. She just disappeared like a ghost and went to tell them."

"Did she hurt you?" Jackson growled again, his whole body tensing as his anger returned.

That was what worried him? What about the part where she'd disappeared like a ghost?

"Not the first time. She came back with Zack, and they were quite friendly with each other. She claimed she would be Luna when Zach became Alpha."

"And then she hurt you?"

That was the only part Jackson fixated on.

"It didn't hurt," she lied. "But I couldn't fight back. Then she threatened Hope, and I was about to fight her when you showed up. She jumped out of the window."

The muscle in Jackson's jaw ticked as he gently released her. He met Dylan's gaze before he got off the bed.

"I'll go. I'll track her," Dylan said. "You need to keep your family safe and recover. This shit isn't going to stop."

His family.

A warm glow filled her with those words. Jackson turned back to her as if he could sense it, and some of his anger melted away.

"Let me do this for you, Jax. Let me try to fix this."

Dylan's voice was raw, and the emotion that accompanied it brought her attention back to him. Why was her friend so sad?

"Okay," Jackson said after a pause. "I trust you. Find that bitch, and I'll stay with my girls."

His girls.

The glow returned.

"I'll also tell Micah to interrogate Zach's people. The fuckers think they can just go back home with no consequences," Dylan growled.

"Oh, there'll be consequences. But yes, Micah should find out if they know anything about the witch or Amber's whereabouts," Jackson said.

Dylan bowed his head at him and was about to walk out when he stopped and looked at her again. And then he bowed at her the same way.

When she sensed him walk out of the house, she looked back at Jackson and found him watching her. Like the first time she had almost blurted out how she felt, something pulled her towards him, and it was a lot stronger than any other time since she had met him. She knew it was because she had almost lost him. She couldn't lie to herself anymore that she could have any sort of life without him.

"Our first night together as a family," Jackson said."Let's make the most of it before something else comes around to fuck things up."

The way he said it made it seem like he was sure something would happen. But she wanted time with him and Hope, too. Just in case she ended up out in the cold, whether she liked it or not.

Jackson took the sleeping baby from her arms and set her down in the little cot set up on her side of the bed. When he got back into bed, he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck again. Her body shivered in reaction.

"Get some rest, Layla. Let me just hold you."

She put her head against his and sighed in contentment. Everything outside the room was messed up, but inside was perfect. She felt the other part of her relax, and the last effects of their traumatic separation from Jackson started to melt away.

"Thank you, Layla. I never knew how much I wanted this until I met you. I think this is the perfect ending."

Ending?

Her heart shattered again.