22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

J ackson watched the morning light start to spill into the room. He shifted his weight slightly to get more comfortable against the headboard, and Layla's grip tightened around his torso as she burrowed into his chest.

She hadn't let go of him all night.

He looked down at her sleeping face and felt the raw, unguarded power radiate from her. They were still shrouded in darkness. It was the strangest thing he'd ever experienced. He had no idea if he would ever be able to share that much of Layla's strength, but it was amazing to experience first-hand how red wolves hid under people's noses so easily. They had been able to go around the whole room to break all the hidden cameras they could find, and no one had knocked on their door yet to ask what was happening.

Maybe they were scared.

Or they already knew what Layla could do.

It was like they blended into the darkness. Vampires had the same sensitivity as wolves, but that assassin hadn't heard their heartbeats or caught their scents. There had to be some sort of magic in a red wolf's blood, too. She was truly Cain's equal.

Was that why the Circle wanted her there?

They turned the tables on the usual trial procedures by trying to separate them and then sending an assassin into their room. Whether it was to kill them or take Layla, he wasn't sure yet.

But they hadn't returned to the room even though he could still hear them in the woods.

He pressed his cheek against Layla's hair and drew in her scent to calm his nerves. It was all fucked up. He'd been counting on the Circle's need to look like they had at least a bit of honour that he'd so easily brought his mate into the line of fire. Running away wasn't an answer, but maybe he could have negotiated something else.

Layla stirred in his arms, and seconds later, she jolted awake. She looked up at him and then down at the way she'd snaked her legs around him.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

When she untangled herself from him, he bit his lip to stop himself from saying anything. She was his mate, and she was apologising for holding him. For seeking his comfort when they both needed it.

How the hell were they going to get past that?

Layla looked around the room, and the power she radiated disappeared as if it had never been there. The room became a little brighter. Whatever she'd done to hide them was gone, and he knew Layla didn't know she had been doing that in her sleep. Her wolf still came out to protect her while she was vulnerable.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she said. "Did they come back?"

He shook his head and stretched. His arm was a little dead from her lying on it all night.

"Let's get ready and find something to eat."

He slid off the bed and waited for her to join him before they walked to the bathroom together. He wasn't going to risk leaving her alone in the room when he knew what was out there, so he carried their bags in from the dressing room.

The wet room was spacious, and all the fittings were of the highest quality, as expected. On any other day, his only thought would have been to get her up against the wall and himself between her legs under the shower spray, but he didn't feel he had the right to touch her anymore. He'd felt like shit when he'd fucked her the last time, knowing how trapped she felt with him.

It was something they needed to talk about properly. The slap, the angry sex, Britney, everything. He didn't know where all her anger came from and hated that he was the cause. But he had to get them out of the mess with the Circle first so they could deal with that properly.

For the first time since he'd met her, he showered beside her without touching her. The hardest thing he ever had to do. He kept his back to her while trying to control his body but knew she saw and felt what she did to him, anyway. He would always react that way, even if she didn't.

He showered quickly and walked out of the large cubicle while she was still washing her hair. By the time she stepped out of the shower, he was already dressed and brushing his teeth. Layla hovered behind him, awkwardness filling the room.

"I'll wait in the bedroom," he said as he zipped up his toiletry bag and put it back in his bag.

He put his suit jacket on and then picked his bag up.

"Okay," Layla whispered, looking at the floor.

He'd only stepped out of the bathroom when he sensed something was different. Someone had been in the room. A slight scent filled the air, but it was muted as if the person was trying to hide. They slipped in while he was distracted by his mate.

Even if his bond with Layla hadn't enhanced his senses, he would have caught that scent. It was like they didn't know him at all, or they did it on purpose.

There was also the strong scent of fresh coffee and food. Breakfast? They hadn't ordered any, and he wasn't planning on eating anywhere other than the restaurant where he knew they served buffet meals. They couldn't poison him or Layla if they didn't know what he would eat.

Cain unfurled, and this time he didn't restrain him. The Circle broke the rules first; he had the right to defend himself and his mate.

‘We should just kill them and get out of here,' Cain growled.

It had been a while since his beast went on a rampage. Layla tamed him, but with all the shit happening between them, Cain became unstable again.

‘Let's find out who it is first.'

He was already tracking someone down the hallway. He could hear the footsteps rushing away from the room, almost as silent as the vampire's. He could hear the rapid heartbeat, the harsh breathing. That ruled out the vampire assassins. And the person wasn't very fast; if he ran out, he could easily catch them.

But maybe that was the plan. To leave Layla unattended?

Cain growled. The room became his territory the moment they assigned it to him, and anyone in the hotel would know to avoid stepping in uninvited. And yet they did that twice.

The bathroom door opened and Layla stepped out, dressed formally in a black trouser suit but with her hair still wrapped in a towel.

He sucked in a breath when she brushed against him to put her bag down next to his, and all thoughts of the intruder were pushed to the back of his mind.

His mate was the most beautiful woman in the world. He was biased, but no one would ever convince him otherwise.

She drove him fucking crazy, and he couldn't touch her.

Fuck.

His fists clenched at his sides. Fate was fucking with him once again. Why bond them for eternity if they could still make each other feel like shit? Was there something else he was supposed to do to make Layla want to stay with him?

Layla unwrapped the towel from her hair and shook it out before gathering it to put in a braid. Her hair was redder than before, her face smoother, and her eyes permanently brighter. He had no idea why she couldn't shift, but she was undeniably a red wolf. It would be obvious to the Circle, who probably knew more about her than he did.

She turned to face him when she finished. Maybe she realised he had been watching her the whole time because she looked away quickly.

He ignored the tightening of his chest and Cain's whine in his head as he memorised the picture before him.

He hadn't taken his mate out to many formal places, so he'd seen her in a dress less than a handful of times. The trousers looked better on her and were probably a deliberate outfit choice. A power move. She looked like she could handle anything the Circle threw at her, even if she smelled entirely human.

"You ordered breakfast?" she asked when the silence stretched too long.

The intruder returned to the front of his mind, and he mentally kicked himself for getting distracted again. Layla started walking towards the door, but he grabbed her arm and held her back.

‘I didn't,' he said in her head. ‘Don't eat it.'

Layla nodded and stepped back, and a little of her anxiety returned. The trolley was near the front door with the food covered in the middle of it.

He walked towards the tray slowly, using his nose and ears. Poison? A bomb? He couldn't put anything past them after the move they tried in the middle of the night. He didn't hear anything or smell anything suspicious, but these people used dark magic; they could hex him without much effort.

He lifted the cover, and a single sheet of paper fell to the floor. He didn't have to pick it up to see what was written.

‘Don't eat. Get out before tonight.'