61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

J ax looked down at Layla's sleeping form. Her hair sprawled out on her pillow, and she was tangled up in his sheets, something he hadn't thought he would see again.

She looked just the same, despite what she had been through.

But something had changed.

Was she blocking him the way she used to do in the beginning? He'd felt all her pain in the forest, and it broke him. Was she trying to protect him?

He pushed back strands of hair from her face and put his head down next to hers on the pillow. Cain retreated after they consoled his mate in the forest, but he didn't need that beast to know something was wrong. His alarm bells were ringing despite how exhausted he still was.

He couldn't feel her.

Layla could never shield herself well in her sleep, but now she was completely shut off. Was it because of her trauma? Layla had been involved in the pack wars but never to such an extent. Taking someone's life took a toll on anybody with even an ounce of empathy. Layla had a shitload of that. She forced him to forgive Riker even after that fucker kidnapped him while she was pregnant. And she fought for the pack when they wanted her dead.

Layla whimpered and moved close in her sleep. She threw her leg over his and burrowed into his chest. Her heartbeat accelerated as she whimpered again. Was she having a nightmare? If Diedre had been home, she would have whipped up a potion to help her relax.

He sighed as he pulled her closer and lay back so she was half on top of him. It was late morning already, but he didn't plan on leaving her side, even for a minute. His day wouldn't start until Layla woke up.

He looked out his window and watched dark clouds rolling across the sky. Fitting. They rescued everyone, but a dark cloud still hung over them. Maybe Layla would talk about it.

But who was he to even ask that of her? After Micah died, he'd bottle everything up. He'd kept all the pack problems away from her and possibly alienated her. He couldn't ask her to do what he'd failed to do.

Or maybe that was the answer. Layla was unhappy before Hunters took her; he was a major part of that. Maybe communication was the key this time around. He didn't want to ever lose her again. He didn't want to feel the distance that built up between them. So she slapped him and was disgusted by what he did at the trial, but after what happened at the warehouse, she had to understand there were some things they had to do as the king and queen.

Layla's arm tightened around his chest, and she breathed in deeply.

‘Are you awake?'

There was hardly anyone around because the rest of the pack members went to help out in Bluffhill. The kidnapped wolves were too ill and dehydrated to move straight away, and there was the matter of a whole base that needed burning down without leaving anything behind for the human authorities. He didn't know why he didn't speak aloud when they were practically in their own little world. But any words would sound harsh and vulgar in the perfect silence around them.

He didn't want to shatter that silence. It would break soon enough when the rescued wolves returned. He'd instructed Dylan and the other Alphas to move everyone back to the packhouse so they could monitor everyone in the same place. They were moving slowly in small groups to avoid bringing more attention to themselves from the humans and resting in motels along the way. It would take them another day to arrive. Once Layla rested a little, he was sure she would ease their suffering. Without Diedre around, that task would likely fall on her shoulders.

Layla nuzzled his neck without opening her eyes. His body instantly heated up. It had been many days since he'd touched her, and the moment they shared in the forest had been too quick. But now his mate wasn't covered in blood and the Hunters' scent and she wasn't crying her heart out.

‘Layla?'

What was he doing? Layla had been through too much for him to think about ravishing her like an animal. What they did in the forest was just a response to being reunited again, just something to comfort each other. She must have seen too much to break down the way she did. A good mate would wait for her to come to him when she was ready. Sex wasn't always the answer, even if his body demanded it. He was going to be different now.

Layla's breathing changed. She was waking up. He moved his hips a little so she wouldn't feel how hard he was against her thigh.

‘Shall I run you a bath?'

Layla didn't answer, and she kept her emotions hidden from him. He felt a hint of frustration, but he quickly brushed it aside. Layla could take as long as she needed to open up to him. He wasn't going anywhere.

He buried his face in her hair and inhaled.

‘I lost my mind without you, Layla. I abandoned everything and everyone. I'm surprised they still came to help me.'

Layla rolled off him and stretched before turning her sleepy gaze on him. A hint of a smile appeared on her lips, but it disappeared quickly. He didn't need to be a genius to know why. All the people they rescued would likely carry the trauma with them for the rest of their lives.

‘I'll wait until you're ready,' he whispered. ‘You don't have to talk about it today.'

Layla didn't respond, but he didn't feel like an idiot talking to himself. He was grateful Fate gave her back to him, so he wouldn't worry about the little things.

Layla brought her hand back to his chest and trailed his tattoos.

"I thought I would die without you," she whispered.

His heart squeezed in his chest at the slight tremble in her voice. But Layla still kept herself shielded.

"I'll never leave your side again," he vowed. "It was all my fault you got taken. I should have told you what I was doing. I shouldn't have made you worry."

Layla rose to her elbow and frowned. She shook her head to deny his statement.

"None of it was your fault," she said. "If we had known what the Hunters were doing, everyone would have stayed locked in until the threat passed. I was the stupid one for thinking I could even do anything on my own."

‘I think you handled things quite well on your own,' he mind-linked, a small smile on his lips as the image of his red wolf crossed his mind.

It was only his second time seeing his magnificent red wolf, but the reaction was the same. He'd been turned on by the violence, by the unhindered darkness packaged inside his mate.

Layla didn't respond or smile back. He wiped the smile off his face, but his gaze remained on hers. Her emerald eyes held a sadness that he hadn't seen since the days he forced her to live with him among the wolves who wanted her dead. They lost their shine in only a few days away from him. His heart broke for his mate.

He pulled her over and crashed his lips into hers without stopping to think it through. He couldn't contain any of his emotions, not like she was doing. How she even shielded herself with how much he was projecting into their bond was beyond him.

Layla didn't push him away. Her lips parted without any resistance, allowing him to finally kiss her as he wanted. His tongue duelled hers as he tasted every inch of her mouth. It was a rush that made his head swim a little. It didn't take long for Layla to start making the little sounds he loved and for the scent of her arousal to fill the room.

He groaned and rolled on top of her without moving his lips from hers. Like a starved man, he took everything she offered him. His fevered body was ready to explode before he even filled her. He couldn't let that happen.

He forced his lips away from hers and trailed them down her neck to her breasts. Layla arched her back and grabbed his hair with a moan pushing him closer to the edge. He went lower, licking her defined stomach before latching on to what he really wanted.

He didn't tease her. There was no time for games when the only thing both of them wanted was to be soothed and reassured that none of this was a dream. Like their very first time together, Layla was lost before he had enough. Her thighs pressed on either side of his head as she screamed his name and pulled at his hair. She was still trembling when he lifted himself above her and eased himself into her.

Inch by inch.

Layla began to mutter incoherently as she always did. And her body tightened around him as it always did. Until he was balls deep. Until his eyes rolled back from the overwhelming feelings. Layla's nails dug into his back when he started to move, uncaring that his movements were frantic. The second her muscles began to tremble and tighten around him, she tumbled.

"Jax! Jax... Fuck, yes!"

He roared and followed. It was too quick, but his mate made him feel like a rockstar. Like he gave her the fucking world.

Only one other thing would make that better.

He pushed her hair to the side to expose her neck and lowered his head.

But he froze with his lips just a breath away from her skin, even though he was still throbbing and spilling his seed inside her.

His mark.

The mark he was proud of—the one everyone saw when they looked at her.

It was gone.