60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

T he air shifted without her giving it a thought. It was as if Nia really became the master of the darkness.

Stuck in the whirlwind of fury in the wolf's head, Layla didn't think of anything else. Instead, she felt the surge of power surrounding her. It coursed through her veins, through every cell in her body and supercharged her.

Jax must have felt it all because he shifted back to his wolf form without a word.

The Commander stepped back, his eyes wide as he faced the Alpha King and his Queen.

The energy in the room changed. Instead of the wolves showing their fear, a wave of hope came from them.

But Nia saw nothing else except the monster in front of her.

"What the hell are you doing? I said I'd kill you all," the Commander hissed as he grabbed a gas mask from one of the Hunters. "Kill them!"

The Hunter nearest to Faith raised his sword.

Everything happened in slow motion. The shadows surrounded Nia as she lunged forward and snapped her teeth into the Hunter's torso. A second. It happened in a second like magic. By the time the Commander noticed what she had done, three Hunters lay dead at his feet, and Jax was already barrelling through the Hunters in one aisle.

"Kill them!" the Commander repeated.

And then the Hunters moved in unison, rushing forward with their weapons. But Nia moved again, blending into the shadows. One second she was there, and the next, the Hunters stopped dead in their tracks, looking around the room for her.

"You think that will scare me?" the Commander called out as he backed away.

His voice was still calm, but his emotions... Nia took a deep breath and sucked it all in. The Commander's terror was like an appetiser, triggering her hunger for the man's life.

‘Faith, take the girls to safety. You're too exposed,' Nia commanded.

Faith lifted her head as if she had been in a trance the whole time, accepting her death as a given. When she saw what was happening, her hope returned. She jumped to her feet and pulled the girls to a spot near the wall, away from immediate danger.

And then, one by one, she hunted them. Hidden in the shadows, they didn't see her coming. Like a ghost. A vengeful spirit. She didn't care if she got them from behind or if some had already dropped to their knees in surrender. They all fell lifeless to the cold concrete floor as she slowly followed the cowardly Commander.

And he was a coward. He sent countless Hunters to their deaths and experimented on some of them while he just watched from the sidelines.

"Gas them! Follow your orders," the Commander screamed.

A little panic rang through her, but Nia was still in control. She lifted her head and growled again. It was a different type of growl. It rumbled through the warehouse, and all the wolves in the cages lowered their gazes. The air shifted again, and the shadows moved away.

And all around her, Hunters stood frozen in their spot.

It took her a moment to realise what happened.

The bigger Hunters. The stronger ones. The ones who followed orders without a thought.

They were just like the hounds.

"What are you doing? Follow the plan and get me out of here," the Commander screamed. This time he didn't hide his fear.

The Commander turned to run to the end of the aisle but stumbled to a stop. The Alpha King stood at the end, his grey fur splattered with blood, his huge teeth bared, and his hackles raised. The Commander had nowhere to go.

"I order you to attack," the cowardly Hunter spluttered. He removed the gas mask and looked at the Hunters near him. His face paled, but his scars remained prominent. "Why aren't you moving?"

Because they were hers. It was a relief to know that, whatever the hunters decided to do, their creations would still have to follow their true masters.

‘Open the cages and free my people,' Nia commanded.

The Hunters turned to the cages with their weapons and started hitting the locks until the doors opened. The wolves inside quickly slid out to the floor, tears flowing down her cheeks as they finally stretched their legs without the risk of silver poisoning.

"What are you doing?" the Commander whispered repeatedly.

The monster's heart was still racing, and his breathing came out harshly as he looked around the darkened room.

The moment he surrendered showed in his beady eyes. Layla's relief was palpable as the Commander dropped to his knees.

"I worked my whole life for this. Why would you betray me," the Commander whispered.

Jax shifted and walked towards the monster.

"You think you can play God with no consequences? You will never win. Once you're dead and gone, I will destroy the rest of your people. I will not rest until I do," Jax growled.

He lifted his hand, ready to bring it down on the Commander.

‘Stop!'

The Commander was hers. For forcing her to betray her people, for putting them in cages and watching them die.

When Nia got the Commander, she didn't recoil as she did when they killed Hailey. She watched everything. Felt everything. Enjoyed everything.

When the lights flickered on a long time later, there was nothing identifiable left of the Commander. She lifted her head, breathing heavily, and realised she was surrounded.

One by one, the wolves lowered their heads.

She redeemed herself. She'd saved them. There was no one left to fight. Nia did the job she was born to do.

Her pain surged back up when she looked back at Jax and saw the worry in his eyes. She felt it. They were so deeply connected that he could tell something wasn't right.

‘I need everyone able-bodied to come and tend to the injured,' Jax commanded in the pack link. ‘I need to tend to the Queen.'

She turned away from him and walked out of the warehouse. The hounds were standing still outside, the same way the Hunters were. She walked past them, following her nose and ears to the front door.

The other wolves stopped and lowered their gazes when she walked past. Two giant wolves that she knew were Ryker and Brax whined and waged their tails like excited puppies. They were enamoured with her the most when they learned what she was.

But she would never be the red wolf again.

The fresh air outside the main entrance cleared her head. She couldn't even remember how long she was stuck inside without the sun on her face.

"What's wrong, Layla? Why are you feeling so... lost?"

She turned back to the man who walked out behind her.

‘Run with me, Jax,' she pleaded.

For the first and last time.

She could give Nia that, at the very least, for her sacrifice.

She didn't have to ask twice. The sun was shining, so the risk of being discovered was very high. But Jax shifted and came to stand beside her. He briefly licked her bloody face before leading the way out of the base. There were bodies littered everywhere, both wolf and Hunter, but Jax didn't stop. He walked out of the front gates that looked broken beyond repair and headed for the woods beyond.

And he didn't say a word.

He jogged at first, looking back at her now and again. And then, after a while, he pushed both of them, going faster until the trees were just a blur.

She never knew such freedom. It felt sweeter after the horror at the Hunter base. She ran extremely fast in her human form but running as her wolf was a different level. The wind and sun on her face, the scents of nature all around her, and the sounds of the animals that scurried away. She felt at home in her skin for the first time.

She ran for hours. Her breaks were few and far between and consisted of only short drinks in any streams she found. Even when the trees started to look and smell familiar, Jax still didn't ask any questions. Even when the darkness of their forest embraced them and welcomed them home, he remained silent.

When she stopped for another drink, she lay on the dense forest floor to catch her breath, finally completely exhausted. Her heart didn't stop hurting the whole time.

‘It's okay, Layla. I chose this,' Nia said.

Nia only chose it out of necessity. If she hadn't made the stupid decisions that got her caught in the first place...

‘Then everyone would still be locked up in their cages,' Nia said.

‘But how could he just take you away from me? Maybe I can stay like this and try to find a solution.'

‘You have Hope to raise. It's our fate, Layla. I don't regret any of it.'

She put her head down on her paws and sensed Jax's gaze.

‘You should speak up next time he orders you around. Show him that you're his equal, not his subordinate,' Nia said.

‘I won't be his equal without you.'

‘You're still the Queen. Trust yourself.'

She felt the change start to happen and tried to fight it. She wasn't ready. Nia would have lived a longer life if she hadn't had the misfortune of being paired with her.

But Nia was stronger than she was. Moments later, she lay naked on the ground with tears flowing down her cheeks. Jax shifted and was beside her straight away.

"Talk to me, Layla. What happened?"

But she couldn't speak. The pain in her heart was unbearable and threatened to carry her away until she reached for her mate and held onto him like an anchor. Jax's strong arms pulled her against him, and he buried his face in her hair, offering her comfort while he comforted himself.

At that moment, everything hit her. Her body trembled with all the emotions she held back, and a loud sob escaped her mouth.

"Shh," Jax whispered. "You're safe now. I've got you. Let it all out. I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

In her mate's arms, her heart shattered a million times. She remembered every moment she cursed Nia. Every moment she thought of her as a monster, and during the months of silence, part of her didn't want Nia to return. Had she wished this into existence?

Jax sat up and kissed her cheeks, trailing her tears until they stopped. His touch soothed her, as it always did. And then he brought his lips down to hers. He was gentle as if he feared she would break apart. She felt like she would. Like even a gust of wind could knock her over and kill her.

But he didn't stop. He kissed her until the pain faded to a dull ache. Until her body started to warm up. Until her lips parted, and she responded.

Everything else melted away as she focused on his touch, his fingers bringing her to life. When a loud moan escaped her lips, he pulled her onto his lap and lowered her down onto him. Her eyes rolled back because of how quickly she came apart. How completely.

Deep in the forest where he ruled, the Alpha King thrust into her until she called out his name.

It was only when she lay spent in his arms that she noticed that she could not sense their bond anymore.

Nia was gone.