74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

E verything felt different.

The longer he lay on the rock, the more he sensed the differences. Everything was sharper, almost as if there had been a veil on his vision before. The stars were so clear he felt like he could touch them. The air was sweeter. The chirping of the birds as they woke up to get the worm... Beautiful. Fucking beautiful.

And the rage in his heart eclipsed it all.

He'd told her. He'd said no over and over again, even before she had known what his bite would do. And she'd gone ahead and violated his trust. Violated him.

‘She was never going to give us up without a fight,' Cain stated.

‘Stop talking like you knew it was going to happen. This isn't Romeo and Juliet. We don't have to die together!'

‘What would you have done in her shoes?'

That question cooled some of his anger. He knew what he would have done for his love. He'd have moved heaven and earth to save her. He'd have crossed any ocean, climbed any mountain. But this wasn't about him!

"I've killed her," he whispered.

‘She chose this, Jax.'

It was very rare for his beast to be the calm one, the logical one. But Cain was stretched out like a cat that had just had a big meal, basking in the glow of the changes happening to them. And he had to admit, it was an unequalled feeling. He felt invincible like he could walk on air and nothing could stop him. Like the shadows would welcome him if he asked them to. Like his damned soul could be cleansed.

He and Layla were one.

He'd failed her. His one job as her mate was to protect her, and he was the one who would cause her death.

She shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have taken that choice from him.

His rage built up again, and he sat up. He needed a run. No, he needed to hunt to take his anger out on something. So he could try to stop blaming Layla for doing something he knew he would have done.

Because there would be no life after Layla. He would have died right along with her even if he hadn't marked her.

He stood on the rock and looked out over the waking forest. The sky was starting to lighten; he'd been out all night. He'd passed out on the rock the second he'd got to it, barely able to function. And then he'd woken up like this. Different. Stronger. He'd fought with himself not to go back to check on her because no good would come out of their conversation if he was still angry.

If he hadn't been cursed, he would have marked Layla their first time together. He would have spent the rest of the night soothing and taking care of her. Others spoke of mating as if it was a gentle bonding, but the reality was different. It was a jarring experience. A violent joining of souls as they bonded to their missing half. Pleasure and pain combined. He'd seen stars as he'd bitten Layla, but he'd been unable to stop himself. He'd given in.

She'd made him give in.

He growled and jumped off the rock. Every thought kept coming back to that.

She'd made him do it.

He shifted and then let Cain take the lead. Killing something would be the only way to soothe himself. But instead of hunting and calling on his killer instincts, Cain stopped to smell a bunch of wildflowers. Flowers! The fuck?

‘What are you doing?'

‘Have you ever noticed how many colours these have?' Cain asked.

‘For fuck's sake, Cain. Go and kill something.'

‘I'm a lover, not a fighter.'

He mentally screamed, frustration getting the better of him. He tried to wrest control back from Cain, but the beast held on to it without much effort.

‘This is amazing, Jax. Don't you feel that? I feel... free. Maybe Diedre was right.'

‘It was not Layla's decision to make!' He cut the beast off before he started to plant those seeds of hope in him. He would never be okay with the decision Layla had made.

‘Maybe not. But she chose you over anything else. With Hope here now, it wouldn't have been an easy decision. Maybe you should calm down a little and then go and hear her out.'

‘Stop being sensible and kill something. You have my permission.'

Cain flopped under a tree trunk and put his head down on his paws. A rabbit came out of the bushes in front of him. And he let it nibble on something right by his head before it hopped away unharmed.

The whole morning went by like that. Cain acted mellow, like a little kitten, and ignored all the abuse he threw at him as he tried to take control back from him. The beast rolled over in the sun and drank at a watering hole beside other animals. He watched some deer grazing nearby and didn't attempt to hunt them. And he chased butterflies. He chased fucking butterflies.

And then he went for a run, just for the fuck of it. He felt the wind through his fur and the sun on his face with his tongue hanging out like he was a puppy.

By the time the afternoon rolled by and he walked back to their lookout rock, Jax had given up. He'd fought his beast and lost. Cain was determined to enjoy the high cause by claiming his mate after being denied for so long. Cain sighed as he hopped onto the rock and rolled onto his back to enjoy the sunshine.

‘Do you remember how it was the day you left her at the hideout? It was a little bit like this,' Cain said. ‘Giving her the mark was just a formality, but she was already ours, Jax. Maybe we should stop wasting time and go back to her. What other choice do you have?'

It looked like no one was giving him a choice at all. His anger faded even though he hadn't killed anything.

Cain was right, though. He'd tried not to think about it every time the bond got stronger, but that thought had constantly been at the back of his mind. Still, Layla had gone against his wishes. They needed to discuss that before they could move on with the rest of their lives. All two weeks of it. They didn't have time to waste.

Cain gave him back control without another fight when he sensed he had surrendered, and he shifted instantly. He was drained as he started the walk back to the packhouse. The anger was gone, but a big hole remained where his heart should have been.

"Why, Layla? Why would you give up your life for someone like me? You know how fucked up I am."

He was almost out of the woods when he sensed something. He looked back and focused his senses, and the clarity made him take a step back. He would have to get used to that. Was that how Layla saw everything? Was that how she'd figured out what was happening around her back when he'd kept her locked up in the bedroom?

The sound got closer, and his ears pricked. Several cars. They were speeding as they headed for the main gates. The closer they got, the more ominous the feeling. His first thought was the witch had found something else to fuck him up with before he died. But as the wheels turned on the dirt roads, the darkness they carried became clearer.

The Circle.

It looked like it was time for his punishment.