66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

L ayla kept her senses alert as she sat on Jackson's lookout rock. The sounds of the forest below were soothing. There were no disturbances as far as she could reach, which was very far since she had started training.

From the rock, she could hear everything in Jackson's territory if she wanted to. Jackson knew that, which was why the day's lesson was a complete waste of time.

Her ears pricked at a sound in the forest behind her. She closed her eyes and focused. Jackson was teaching her how to combine all her senses and form an almost complete picture in her head. Any movement of sound caused vibrations in the air, which she could pick up.

But he told her that was another thing that the other wolves couldn't do. The list kept growing, and it was making her more anxious. How was she supposed to protect herself if she was going to stand out? Jackson told her she would be okay in his pack, but his earlier words kept playing in her head. They would never accept her. He had been so sure about that that he had separated her from all of them when he had sent her to the hideout and told her it was over between them.

Would they accept Hope, then?

The sound came again, and she concentrated on pushing her emotions away and thinking of hiding. Jackson called it masking.

Quietly, she slipped off the rock and took one last look at the dark forest before she turned back and slipped between the trees.

It had been odd when she had unconsciously done it when she had been trying to lure the Hunters away from the pack, but she was starting to get used to the feeling.

She felt as light as a feather. The shadows welcomed her as if she was their master. She felt like a ghost as she walked toward the sound. Whoever was coming for her this time was good. They were downwind so she couldn't get a scent, and they were treading very lightly. But she could still sense the movement in the air. Still feel the disturbances as if they were second nature.

‘We should go today,' the voice in her head said.

‘I'll try to bring it up, but he has too much on his plate.'

She stopped behind a tree trunk when she caught the movement in the trees.

‘Ask him now. We're wasting time doing this. You already know who's hunting us," the voice said again.

She did. She always knew when Jackson was near, even if she couldn't smell him. She had no idea how he had started doing that. Or maybe he had always done that; she didn't know how things worked yet. The more she trained with him, the more it seemed Jackson could do everything she could.

Jackson stepped out of the shadows stark naked. Her heart fluttered, and she sucked in a breath.

Jackson looked in her direction with a smirk on his face.

"Fucking cheater," she muttered before she turned and started running.

Her heart constantly fluttered when he was near. He always made her breathless. It had been a month since they returned to the packhouse, and Jackson had been the perfect boyfriend every day.

She hadn't thought it possible to fall deeper in love with him, but she had, which made her decision to give herself up if the Hunters returned even harder.

But it was what she had to do. If they figured things out and came for her, she would head to them first before they found Hope and Jackson. And this time, she would make sure Jackson couldn't follow her. Someone had to stay behind for Hope.

"You love it," Jackson whispered.

His whisper carried clearly in the air as he ran after her. Her body responded as it always did. He was right; she did love it. And he loved to chase her just as much.

The trees zoomed past but her steps remained silent. It felt exhilarating, as if she was untouchable. Moments like these made her long for the day she shifted so she could experience them with more heightened senses. But she knew that was a dangerous wish. The day she shifted would be the day the pack turned their back on her.

The treeline loomed closer, and she could hear some warriors getting ready to go out of the gates for their patrols. She had discovered the house she could see from Jackson's window was their base, and by the sounds she had heard several times since they returned, it was also where they tortured people.

Her steps faltered.

They tortured people because of her.

She was almost out of the woods when Jackson grabbed her from behind and rolled, so he took the full impact of their fall before he rolled on top of her.

"Got you," he growled.

His eyes were blood-red as he pressed himself between her legs. He was rock-hard and ready.

"You're distracted today," Jackson said. "You can't do that, Layla. You have to keep your focus, no matter what. Any momentary lapse will cost your life.

"If you want me to learn anything, keep your clothes on."

"That's also a lesson. Keep your focus even when I'm near you," Jax growled as he buried his nose in her neck and inhaled.

"You know that's impossible," she whispered back.

He turned her head even when he wasn't near her. Her craving for him had become too unbearable. She couldn't understand it. She had him whenever she wanted. Jackson never hid his desire for her or denied her anything. All she had to do was call him and he came. He satisfied her every need.

But it wasn't enough. If she could crawl inside him somehow and forever be joined to Jax, then she would. It was insane.

Jackson lifted his head to meet her gaze. She knew her eyes were glowing, too. It was always that way when her emotions were heightened, which was all the time lately. It was a miracle that no one else had seen her like that.

He brought his lips down to hers and trailed her lips before he nibbled her bottom lip.

"Don't tease me," she demanded.

Jackson smiled against her lips and then took her mouth the way she wanted him to. But the kiss was too brief. Jackson groaned and then off her.

"Rain check. Our guests are here," he said.

Shit. She'd forgotten about that. But her body was on fire; she couldn't host anyone if Jackson didn't take care of it. And she would likely give herself away. Revealing herself to the pack was one thing. Slipping up in front of the two Alphas was another.

"They're still at the main gates. We'll be quick," she promised as she brought her lips down to his.

Her love for Jackson turned her into a nymphomaniac, and she was okay with that. Jackson helped her out of her leggings and then crashed her lips back down to swallow her screams as he filled her up. It never worked; she always made too much noise, but Jackson tried his best anyway.

By the time she walked out of the woods, the warriors had disappeared from the vicinity, and Jackson laughed out loud.

"I don't know how you'll hold your head up at lunch. I'm sure everyone heard you."

Her cheeks flushed as she shook the leaves from her hair and adjusted her clothes. The downside of being a wolf was there was no privacy. If people wanted to listen, they would. She still wasn't used to that.

"I'm going to shower quickly and get Hope ready," she said as she started to jog to the packhouse. "I'll see you at lunch."

The packhouse was busy as people prepared for their guests. The smell of food made her stomach grumble even though she had stuffed her face before training. She'd been eating a lot even though she wasn't pregnant anymore.

"Miss Layla."

She stopped at the second-floor landing when Faith called her name. And her mood plummeted. The young girl was with her mother, and judging by the uneaten tray of food she carried, it had been a bad morning.

"She's refused everything?" she asked.

"She won't even drink water," Faith's mother answered with a frown.

Diedre had been getting worse since they had returned to the packhouse. Jackson told her she had done some magic that was too much for her to protect their home. She'd watched them together and realised they were very close. It felt like a mother-son relationship even though Diedre was not his mother.

"I'll go and try," she said, taking the tray.

"I heard the guests have arrived. Maybe—"

"Tell them to start without me."

The older woman bowed her head. It was always mortifying when they did that. She was only twenty-one years old and in no way commanded such respect from them.

She took the tray and asked Faith to get Hope ready before she walked down to the end of the hallway. She knocked before she walked in, even though she knew there would be no answer. Diedre's room was directly under Jackson's, so it had the same layout. The older woman lay under the covers in the middle of her bed.

Her heart jolted when she saw how frail she was. She couldn't tell if Diedre was breathing.

"Diedre?" she whispered, putting the food tray on the nightstand. "Diedre, you have to wake up and eat. You need to get your strength back."

She sat on the edge of the bed and took Diedre's hand. It was ice cold.

Her heart hammered again as she focused on Diedre. Her heart was still beating, but very faintly. She was slipping away.

"Oh, Dee," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "You can't do this to him; you have to get better."

She rubbed Diedre's cold hands and tried to blink the tears away.

"Jackson told me stories about you," she said with a sniff. "You're a badass. The strongest in the world. Why are you letting this beat you?"

She brought the witch's hand to her face. There was no reaction on Diedre's face. Her mouth hung slightly open as if she was already dead. Jackson's heart was going to break if anything happened.

"Dee," she whispered, using the pet name she'd heard Jackson use. "You need to get better. They need you here. Come back to us, please."

She didn't know how long she sat with her, how long she was lost in her thoughts. She only remembered they had guests when someone opened Diedre's bedroom door and their scents carried into the room.

She wiped her eyes and stood before she turned.

And then she heard Jackson's heart racing as he met her gaze. His body tensed, and his eyes flashed briefly.

"What happened?" she asked.

Jackson didn't respond. He marched into the room and grabbed her hand before pulling her behind him.

Chase and Braxton stood near the doorway, their emotions all over the place as they looked at her.

It was only when she walked past a mirror in the hallway that she saw her eyes.