23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

L ayla sensed the darkest, most oppressive aura pressing down on her as they walked down the hallway. Several cars had arrived since she had woken up, but she could feel the new arrival was different.

Darker. The cruellest.

When they entered the lobby, her muscles stiffened involuntarily as she looked towards the hotel entrance. Hotel staff were lined up on either side of the doors as a limousine stopped just outside.

Someone rushed to open the car door, and her heart skipped a beat as she waited to see who would come out. Something in the back of her mind told her that, somehow, her life was about to change forever. She was about to come face to face with evil.

Perhaps the face of the person who'd tried to have them killed while they were sleeping.

A man in a dark suit and sunglasses stepped out of the car. He brushed imaginary lint off his jacket and straightened his clothes before looking up. Though the sunglasses hid his eyes, she felt he could see through her. And that dark aura she had felt pressed into her some more.

She took a step back and would have taken another, but Jackson took her arm and linked it with his. It pulled her focus back to her mate.

‘The Circle is supposed to share their power equally, but this man believes himself their leader because he's the strongest,' Jax said in her head. ‘Don't piss him off.'

‘We're going to let them get away with trying to kill us?'

The muscle in his jaw ticked, and his eyes flashed briefly.

‘Yes. As strong as we are, we still can't touch them. Especially at a trial. That's a death sentence.'

She looked back at the entrance as the door opened and the man stepped through. He was tall and lean, but she could tell from how his expensive-looking dark blue suit moulded his body that he was muscular. His blond hair was neatly combed back, and his skin had that radiance that came with being something other than human. He was so handsome he probably had women falling all over him wherever he went, but the closer he got to her, the more she sensed that disturbing aura around him. She wouldn't touch him even if her life depended on it.

Two men in similar clothing walked behind him, and she guessed these were his Second and Third. Jax has explained the structure of the little circles that made the whole. Because they used so much dark magic, three people were required on each team to control the magic. The power of three, like a witch triangle. They were supposed to be equally important, but she could see Jax was right. She could sense the power from the man walking in front; the other two only had a fraction of it. She couldn't mess with him even if she wanted to.

They didn't slow down as they walked past them, but the man looked at her and smirked. She only saw it briefly before Jax's massive frame blocked her from the man's view.

Their footsteps stopped. She felt Jax's tension rise but couldn't see the cause of it. Jax only relaxed when the steps resumed.

When she finally had the guts to look around him, the men were disappearing through a doorway at the back that she hadn't seen when they had checked in.

‘I told you to keep your head down.'

And yet he'd not done the same.

But this wasn't the time to start arguing with Jax about his blatant ignorance of her feelings. Maybe he was right, though. She'd had no idea that vampires existed until one had snuck into their room, so the Circle was capable of much more than she could imagine.

There was a soft ding, and some elevator doors opened beside the hallway that led to their room. She looked back and watched the three men who walked out of it. Lincoln, Hugo, and someone who'd replaced Finn, if she had heard Jax right. She didn't miss the way they paused when they saw her. The shock had been so clear on their faces that she didn't have to guess where their late-night present had come from.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," the one called Lincoln said as they walked towards them.

Like with the mysterious trio that had just walked in, she knew he was the strongest of the three.

"I trust you slept well?" Lincoln continued.

"Like a baby," Jax replied.

Someone's heart started racing, and she realised it was the third man, the only one with his head lowered.

"That's great news. I wouldn't want you to be tired when the trial begins. It's your life on the line."

"Thank you for your concern... Lincoln," Jax said.

And this time, it was Lincoln's heart that raced when his anger rose. Lincoln clearly resented being called by his name. Jax told her to keep her head down, but he antagonised them left, right and centre.

Lincoln looked away from Jax and met her gaze. He tilted his head to the side as if he had forgotten his anger and was studying her.

"Did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"We're not breakfast people. But thank you for sending it to us," Jax answered in her place.

And that seemed to anger Lincoln more. He didn't look away from her when his lips started to turn up into a snarl. Once again, Jax moved and blocked her from them.

"Oh, don't worry, Your Majesty. I have no interest in your human."

"I'm sure you don't. That's why you didn't tell them what she did to you when you tried to attack my pack."

Her eyes widened, and she looked around Jax at the three wolves in front of them. Was that true? The rest of the Circle didn't know she'd choked Hugo and ordered them to leave?

Lincoln's heart didn't miss a beat when he said, "Of course we did. Why else would she be here?"

"There was no mention of it on the summons, but my ‘transgressions' were listed clearly."

Lincoln's eyes widened as he looked back at Hugo. He must not have known that. When he turned back to them, he wasn't even trying to hide his anger. He continued walking without another word. Hugo bowed slightly before he followed, and the man who'd had his head down during the whole exchange rushed after him as if he didn't want to be left alone with them.

They disappeared through the same doors the other Circle members had gone through.

‘I think I'm right about this. Lincoln told them what you did, but they still referred to you as human and ignored his report. They're curious about you, Layla. They want you under their thumb.'

So why had they sent a killer to their room?

Her brows furrowed with irritation because she was caught in a game she didn't understand. Why couldn't they just state what they wanted directly and stop all the guessing?

Jax linked their arms again and walked towards what had to be the restaurant on the other side of the large lobby. The scents of pastries and meat filled her nose and made her stomach growl.

‘I'll get you something to eat as soon as I can. I'm sorry, Layla. I can't trust even a glass of water from them. We'll meet our counsel in the restaurant, and after that, we'll drive to—'

"Mr King."

They turned around to see the young man from the front desk standing behind them with his hands clasped in front of him. He still had that creepy smile that made her take a small step back from him. It was bizarre, the feelings he brought up in her. She had never been so blatantly rude to anyone, yet she couldn't stop feeling disgusted that he was even standing so close to her.

The man noticed, and his smile faltered a little.

"They're ready for you."

"We haven't seen our counsel yet," Jax growled.

"The Circle will consider that when they make their ruling," the man said.

Jax put his arm around her and growled.

"No! You keep changing the rules, disregarding the sanctity of a process that has been in place for generations," Jax said. "I won't let you take my mate in before our counsel properly briefs her."

The man's smile brightened again, and he looked her in the eyes.

The next thing she knew, someone grabbed her arm from the back. She turned to fight them off, but when she looked around, she was no longer in the hotel lobby. And she was alone.

Her heart hammered against her chest as she looked around the room. Stark-white walls and a high ceiling. It was only about a couple of square metres with no windows, and she could see the lines on one of the walls that showed where the door was, but there was no handle on it. Though the walls didn't move, she felt suffocated.

"Jax!"

She banged on the door and called his name, but she knew he wouldn't come for her. The Circle had done what they'd tried to do from when they had arrived.

They had separated them.

She was going to face the Circle alone.