47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

J ax opened his eyes slowly and stretched. Sunlight filtered into the bedroom through the large windows. It had been a while since he'd slept in.

The sound of running water brought a smile to his face. Layla. She was the reason he slept in. She was the reason he was content. Fate had been a fucker until Layla walked into his life. It made his life hell so that he could appreciate the bond he shared with his chosen mate. It had been hard to accept at first, but he was glad Layla didn't hold it against him.

She was amazing. The air he breathed. He would gladly die when she did because life wasn't worth living without her.

The door opened, and Layla's sweet scent mixed with the smell of her floral shower gel filled the room. And when she walked out, his heart skipped a beat before it started to race. Still, after all this time, she brought out the same reaction.

"You're awake," she said with a smile.

The whole room lit up and his insides twisted. How did he get so fucking lucky? Her emerald eyes lit up, and even if he hadn't been able to feel it in their bond, he could see all her love for him in her eyes.

She loved him, despite knowing who and what he really was.

Despite knowing the darkness inside him.

Naked and barefoot, Layla threw the towel she was using on her hair to the floor as she strutted towards him. Her confidence had grown since they first started sleeping together. All their arguments and misunderstandings were a thing of the past. Layla would never leave him. She understood he was hers for the rest of their lives.

How did they resolve things? He couldn't remember.

He didn't want to, not when his mate pulled the covers off his body. He pushed up to his elbows and watched her eyes eat him up. His body was on fire, ready for whatever she wanted to do to him.

"Did you miss me that much?" Layla giggled.

Why would he miss her? She'd been with him all along.

But there was no time for questions as Layla crawled onto the bed and straddled him. Her eyes twinkled as she brought her head down to his. Her damp hair brushed against his cheeks, and its floral scent filled his nose.

"You're mine, Jax," she whispered, her full lips only a breath away from his.

"Always."

The moment she closed the distance felt like a gift from the Goddess. She tasted sweeter, far sweeter than before. His heart squeezed in his chest even as he deepened the kiss. He was starved of her. Famished. It felt like she had been gone forever, but she'd only been in the shower.

Layla positioned him and then sat back, pushing him deep inside her before she released his lips and sat back. Locks of damp red hair fell across her face, forming a picture he would keep in his head for the rest of his life. Were red wolves part succubi? Every inch of her was exquisite. Layla's sensuality rolled off her in waves. Her lips parted and her eyes closed as she took all of him without discomfort. A groan escaped his lips as the heat threatened to consume him. Even that felt different. Fuck, she was amazing.

"Did you miss me?" Layla asked breathlessly.

"You keep asking that."

Why would he miss her when she was right there?

Layla moved, stealing all his thoughts again. She threw her head back and moaned, and the sound shot up his body to his already incredibly hard cock.

He could die like this. He wanted to die like this. What better way to end a life of suffering than to be inside the woman who brought some light to his world?

"I love you, Jax," Layla moaned. "I love you so much."

He grunted and flipped them over, keeping them connected as he met her gaze. Her eyes were glowing now. He was sure his were, too.

"And I love you. Don't ever forget that, Layla," he whispered as he pushed in further.

He loved that she could take all of him. He loved that she was always so greedy for all of him. Layla threw her head back and her claws dug into his back as he expected. The one thing he didn't like about healing so quickly was that her marks never stayed on him long enough.

He thrust again and again. He rolled his hips and grazed against the spot he was aiming for. His little screamer got louder, and his eyes nearly rolled all the way back as her emotions overwhelmed him.

It was so fucking perfect.

"I missed you, Jax," Layla moaned.

Her words penetrated the horny fog in his head, forcing him to slow his movements and look down at the face of the woman he loved.

There it was again.

"Missed me?" he asked.

"Let's never be apart again," Layla said, pulling his head down.

He stopped before his lips met hers again to look into her eyes. Something was going on.

The room darkened, and all of a sudden, thunder rumbled outside. He looked out at the window and saw the raindrops slamming against it. A storm, only moments after the sun shone so brightly. He hadn't even smelled it coming.

He looked back down at the woman still underneath him and then stilled.

She was gone.

There was no one there.

"Layla?"

He jumped off the bed and looked around. He wasn't in their bedroom anymore. This was the room they used at the hotel during the trial. His heart hammered.

What the hell was going on?

Lightning struck and the glass door shattered. Before he could react, the stench of Hunters filled the room as they zoomed in with the speed of vampires and surrounded him.

He jumped out of the way a second before one of them grabbed his throat. When he turned to attack, he realised his claws had ripped through a leather seat.

He sat up with a jolt and looked around, ready to attack whoever was coming for him.

But it was Chase's face he saw, looking back at him from the passenger seat. And Dylan was driving.

His heart hammered even when he realised what happened.

A dream. It had all been a fucking dream. The love of his life was still gone, still in danger.

"It's alright, Your Majesty," Chase said. "Get some more sleep. We'll get to her soon."

Sleep? How could he do that now when all it did was bring him nightmares?

His heart stopped racing and the calm returned.

"You should have let me run ahead," he growled, sitting back in the seat, fists clenched on his lap. The tension in his body grew every second as it waited for an outlet.

"You have no idea where to go. We have to stay behind them until they stop," Dylan said.

The sun was almost setting again. Another day was gone without Layla. They'd been going at what felt like a snail's pace for hours, and Cain had been quietly stewing the whole time. He was surprised he'd fallen asleep with all the rage still building up inside him.

"You shouldn't have come," he said calmly, looking out the window at the houses they were driving past.

The moment the car stopped, their world was going to change. People always feared him because of what they saw him do in battles, but this was different. It was worse. There was nothing that would stop what was coming.

"Like I was going to let you fight a war by yourself," Dylan grunted.

"It's not that. You'll be safer away from me."

Chase looked back again, and their gazes met. There was no fear in the Alpha's gaze, even though they both had to be feeling some of his rage.

"My parents were fated mates," Chase said. "I know what I'm getting myself into."

Chase's parents were killed when he'd been a boy, not even shifted yet. It had been a while since anyone mentioned them or how Chase fought for his rightful place.

He'd never thought much about the politics in the Dark Moon pack. He'd been too busy trying to survive his father to worry about anyone else. He wasn't thinking much about it now, either. Only one thought took up all his focus as he sat still at the back of the SUV.

"Besides," Chase continued, "you said we're brothers now."

It was pointless to argue.

The car slowed as it approached a town a few towns away from Faith's university. Bluffhill. They'd come so far north that he had no actual dealings with any of the packs that lived there, but Dylan found out that some of their pack members were missing, too. There were hardly any forests for a pack to live comfortably in secret, so many lived in the town and only met for a run.

It was larger than Wolfdale and more modern. He had no idea why wolves would want to live there in the first place.

"They're slowing down," Dylan said.

Cain became more alert as the car pulled up at a small rest stop. He opened the car door before it stopped moving and stepped out.

The stench of Hunters hit his nose first.

And then the faint but sweet scent of his mate.

‘Kill them. Kill them all,' Cain growled.

The red haze covered his vision as his claws extended. They'd fucked with the wrong wolf.