75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

L ayla opened her eyes and stretched. And then she remembered what she had done.

She sat up and looked at the other side of the bed. Jackson hadn't come back, though she could sense he was close. And he was angry. Rightfully so.

She lay back and pulled the covers over her naked body. Her hand went to her neck, and she felt the grooves left by his teeth. She'd assumed his bite would heal like all her other injuries. Maybe that was why they called it marking. Would everyone be able to see it? It tingled when she ran her fingers on it, and though the way she had got it made her cheeks heat up with shame, she didn't regret it.

She had known he would react like that. She would have been livid in his shoes. If he never spoke to her again, then she would understand. But she would never have forgiven himself if he died and she could have saved him. She'd had no choice.

She sighed as she pushed the covers off again and slid off the bed. She started walking toward the bathroom, but her steps slowed, and she frowned.

Something was different.

She looked around the room. It was the same as it always was but still different. Or was she the different one?

She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt whole. Complete. Diedre had encouraged her to make Jax mark her but she hadn't explained what that was. She would have done it anyway, whatever the consequences, but perhaps she should have asked more questions.

She sighed and continued to the bathroom. The first thing she did was look in the mirror at the mark on her neck. It wasn't as big as she had imagined, but it was raised and in a weird shape. Like a brand of ownership. That thought shouldn't have got her excited but it did. She supposed there was nothing she could do except wait for Jackson to return so they could fight it out if they needed to.

The sun had just risen when she finished showering and dressing. Her first stop was downstairs, where Faith had already woken up and studied as Hope slept. In the past few days, she'd started expressing her milk so Hope could learn to use a bottle. She'd also started writing instructions with what Hope liked and what she didn't like. And the things she wanted them to teach her.

Just in case.

After she made sure Hope was okay, she went outside. They were still preparing breakfast but she didn't think she could eat anything until Jackson returned. Until they talked and she knew where he stood.

She could sense him in the woods, so she avoided walking there to give him privacy. Instead, she walked up and down the driveway—several times. Trainees came and went, and she was still walking. She kept her mind purposefully blank, so she wouldn't think of what she had made him do.

By lunchtime, she was fed up with walking in the same place. She watched a group of young kids talking among themselves as they walked out of the packhouse gates. They were about Britney's age and spoke about what they would do after their first shift. She felt a pang of guilt when she thought of her sister. But she had left instructions about her, too. Diedre would have to make sure Brit was taken care of, too.

She followed the group out of the gates and then looked back as the gates were closed behind her. It didn't look like Jax was ready to talk, but she would hear him when he came out.

When she had walked through the town before, she had been too busy fighting for her life to look around. She had never taken a moment just to stroll and look around. She remembered the first day she had driven through the gates; everything seemed strange and tidy. And everything had seemed scary. But as she walked down the streets, the residents bowed and greeted her.

Because she was their Luna. Their queen.

It felt strange to even think that.

A mate was not another term for friend, and a girlfriend was not the same as a Luna. Jax had told her what she meant to him long before Hope had been conceived.

The main gates loomed in the distance, with some warriors guarding them. They were still on alert even though there had been no more trouble since the Hunters left. She sighed and turned back. Maybe she would be better off waiting for Jackson in their bedroom. She had been gone too long; Faith had to be tired of babysitting.

She'd only taken a step back when something felt wrong in the air. She sucked in a breath and looked around. The back of her neck tingled as if to warn her of danger. But there was nothing. Everyone was still talking among themselves over their fences or on benches lined up on the streets. She looked back at the guards, who were still in the same position.

But there was still something.

She listened closely until the sound pricked her ears. The humming of an engine. Tyres crushing the dirt and gravel underneath them. Danger. She sensed the danger surrounding the engine. No, several engines. Several dangerous people.

"Get to the packhouse!" she called loudly.

She started to run towards the gates to warn the guards so they could warn everyone.

‘Evacuate to the packhouse!'

Jackson's loud voice in her head made her miss a step. She tripped over her feet and narrowly missed landing on her head.

What the... Was Jackson in her head now?

The people around her started to run. They'd heard him, too! When Jackson had marked her, she must have become part of the pack!

But there was no time to think about it as the darkness came closer and the warriors assembled. By the time she got to them, they could also hear the cars coming down the dirt road.

"It's the Circle," one of the guys said, and fear spread through them.

The last time they had been there, Jackson had killed one of them. And his lessons had included lengthy examples of why she was supposed to stay away from them and stay hidden. But several cars were coming, so she didn't think they were there for a friendly visit. Maybe they'd heard that the baby had been born, and like Zach, they thought it was the right time to get rid of her.

Or they had come for Jackson.

Her fists clenched at her side at that thought.

"Miss Layla, please go back to the packhouse. This could be dangerous."

She knew it would be. The last time she had sensed so much evil in the air, the Hunters had been involved. But Hope was in the packhouse. If they were there for her, she wouldn't be stupid enough to lead the danger to her child and the rest of the pack.

"Miss Layla..."

The cars screeched to a halt in front of the gates. She counted at least ten of them. She didn't know what she expected, maybe mean-looking people like the Hunters, but it wasn't the well-dressed people who came out of the cars. They smelled of money and evil, a dangerous combination.

The man at the front closed his door and put his hands in his pockets as he strolled to the gate. His long blond hair was tied at the back, and his blue eyes were ice cold. But she didn't show any fear. She didn't show any emotion, not when she knew they would cart her off the second they realised she was different.

"You must be Layla, the cleaner warming Mr King's bed," the man drawled. "You must be exceptionally good at it to have lasted this long."

She disliked the man instantly. She didn't bother lowering her gaze like Jax had told her to if she ever met them. What was the point? They had already come to start a fight.

"Ah. I recognise your voice. You're the one who cried and begged Jax to spare your friend's life."

The blue eyes became colder, and his face tightened.

"Where's Mr King."

"He's a little bit busy right now. I can pass on your message."

The guards behind her became anxious. She mentally sighed and finally lowered her gaze. She didn't want to antagonise them, just in case she had mistaken their intentions.

"You're not fit to speak to me," the man growled. "Tell Mr King we're here, and open the gates."

"There's no need for that."

She looked back when she heard Jackson's voice. He was dressed in shorts and nothing else and didn't look concerned about the men on the other side of the gate.

"Layla, go back home," Jax said.

"I'm surprised she's still here. The last time we spoke, you said she would leave when the baby was born. Congratulations, by the way."

"The last time we spoke, you had a day to tell me your decision, Hugo. I take it this is it? You've decided none of us will live?"

She whipped her head around to the man Jax called Hugo and saw the smirk on his face. None of them would live, as in her and Jax, or the whole pack?

"It was decided that you caused too many problems for the rest of us. There hasn't been a hunting party in Wolfdale in over a century, but you've led them to your doorstep. You know the rules. We will let the women and children relocate, except for this human. You have half an hour before we come in. Don't even think about telling them to escape because we still have control of the wards you graciously allowed us to put around your whole territory."

She figured out what had changed in her too late. It was the rage.

It reared up in her too quickly, like a fire in her soul. It was unlike any anger she had ever felt before. It consumed her until nothing else was left but the need to see the man bleeding at her feet.

She reached through the bars of the gate and grabbed the man who threatened her family and her pack by the throat with no thought of the consequences. She had to kill him. She had to kill all of them.