69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

J ax counted some notes into the handyman's palm and then a few more. The guy did a great job at short notice while considerably swamped with other repair jobs after the storm. He deserved the tip.

"Thank you," he smiled toothily before jumping into his truck, where his team was already waiting.

Jax waved them off before he looked at the side of the trailer. The dent was gone, and the whole exterior had a facelift.

"That will last a good few years."

He looked over at the man who'd introduced himself as Adam. He and Dylan sat on some old garden chairs, drinking beers while Gerald manned the barbeque. Gerald didn't grumble about cooking for them.

"You think so?" he asked. "I didn't like how much it shook during the storm. I think I should have someone come and look at that."

Or he could convince Layla to move out of the trailer park to somewhere safer. But Layla wasn't open to that conversation yet.

He looked at the door and saw the love of his life standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. The frown hadn't left her face since he had brought his clothes a few days ago. She made a face and then turned back into the trailer.

He didn't need Cain to tell him that she was pissed off. The beast whined when his mate turned away, but they couldn't rush Layla. She needed to return to him on her own—with a few nudges.

"What did you do?" Adam laughed.

"Nothing."

"Really?" Dylan laughed.

He looked at the warrior fixing a door two trailers down and the ones playing some sort of poker game with a shady-looking young man at the corner. And then he watched Brax strolling with old Mrs. O'Brady's arm linked through his, listening intently as the woman told him about her grandchildren. There also seemed to be some sort of football game happening in the space they cleared behind the trailers. They took over the place.

Gerald's neighbours were suspicious when they first drove over, but when they said they were Layla's friends, they became welcoming.

He hadn't thought much of the neighbourhood when he first met Layla, but he knew now they probably watched over her and Brit when they were children. They were like a family.

"She's probably tired of being cooped up inside," Adam said. "You should take her out on a date. Women love that. I take my Bertha into town once a month and do whatever she wants. Keeps the flames burning."

He looked back at the trailer. A date, huh? Maybe that was what they needed. It had been two years since he'd met Layla, and the only dates they'd been on had been in the little town on his territory. With the threat of Hunters over their heads all the time, he couldn't take her anywhere else.

The threat was still there, but things were changing now. He could taste it in the wind. It wasn't just about his broken bond or the threat of the Circle coming after them on top of everything. For the first time in history, the wolves stepped up and defended themselves, bolstering the packs in a way he hadn't seen before. It felt like they could take on anything.

"She's been sick. I should let her recover," he mused.

He gave her a shot of Diedre's potion the day he returned, and while her colouring improved, he wasn't sure if she was completely healed. It was one of the things he would have to get used to. Layla used to heal faster than any other wolf, and she'd passed that gift on to him. It was ironic that he kept that gift when she hadn't.

"It was just a little bug. She looks perfectly fine to me," Adam said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Gerald didn't say anything, but there was a frown on his face. If he'd figured out what Layla was, he knew what a big problem her illness was.

"Go. You both need a night out," Dylan said quietly.

Chase walked out of the trailer with plates and cutlery in his hands. He surprised him the most out of all his people, from volunteering to go with him to rescue Layla to declaring that it didn't matter that Layla lost her wolf, she would always be his Queen.

The word spread quickly when he and Rebecca revealed what had happened to her. He'd been prepared to fight for her as he did in the beginning, but that was unnecessary.

Now if only Layla could see it that way.

"Yes, please, take her out somewhere. She'll just shut herself in her room again. A change of scenery will do her some good."

Maybe the blood oath Chase took to always protect Layla and Hope had something to do with his attitude, but he doubted it.

‘If we go—'

‘Don't worry about anything. You'll have someone close at all times,' Dylan said in the mindlink.

It was a little worrying that Layla couldn't defend herself if they got attacked, but if he thought about it, he'd always been like that with her. He always had his warriors close to her because her wolf disappeared after destroying the dark witch, Hailey.

"Fine. We're going on a date, then."

Layla's heartbeat thumped. He looked at the doorway and realised she had heard him, but he couldn't figure out if she was excited or pissed off.

When he walked into the trailer, she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed.

"We're going on a date, are we?"

Right. So she was still pissed off.

"Only if you want to. I won't force you to spend time with me if you hate it that much."

He closed the door behind him, but that was only to stop the human ears from catching their conversation.

"You know that's not what this is about," Layla hissed. "You can't just move everyone here, take over everything, and throw orders around."

"I have nothing to do with them following me here. I'm pretty sure they would stay even if I went back home," he shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the counter opposite her.

Layla's gaze roamed lowered, and her cheeks coloured a little. Even without her wolf or his mark, Layla still responded to him. Getting her into his bed wouldn't take much, but that wouldn't achieve anything. She would still want space between them to work out how to leave him.

That wasn't happening.

"You're making this very hard for me, Jax."

"That's not my intention," he admitted. "The bond might be gone, but you're in my blood, Layla. It kills me to be away from you. I promised you space, and I'm giving it to you. I sleep outside with everyone else; I'm keeping myself busy clearing up after the storm... But that's as much space as I can give you. What I said to you before still stands. I intend to take you back home because you're mine."

"I can't think when you're here. You should be at home—I'm sure there are many other things you need to stay on top of after what we did to the Hunters."

"I can do those things from here as well as at the packhouse."

Layla sighed and uncrossed her arms. She started to walk past him, but he took a chance and gently pulled her back.

"I understand everything you're afraid of," he whispered, "but trust me, Layla. You're the woman I love and the mother of my child. There will be no one else for me. Don't rip my heart out before you've given me a chance."

As if he could ever look at another woman. The fact that she thought like that made Cain whine again at the loss of the bond that had kept such insecurities out of their relationship.

"I'm not trying to be difficult," Layla said. Tears shimmered in her eyes. "You know everything that happened is my fault."

"How could it be your fault that you were born a red wolf? How could it be your fault that Hunters exist?" he asked as he pulled her against him and put his arms around her. "Things happened the way they were meant to happen. All we can do now is deal with that together and move on with our lives. You're still my life, Layla, bond or no bond. I would still die without you."

He kissed the top of her head and breathed in her scent. The beast within him reared his head, eager to mark her again and end his misery. That happened a lot when he was close to Layla. His body tightened, and Cain was ready to go. He forced the beast down and concentrated on how she felt in his arms. Cain wasn't thinking of the consequences.

The chances that the Hunters' drug was still in Layla's body were very high, and he didn't know if that would kill Cain, too.

"You told me to tell them what happened, and I did, but they're all here anyway, waiting to take you home. Let's go home, Layla," he whispered.

She pushed out of his arms and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"They know?"

He nodded. Layla wrapped her arms around herself again, and a frown formed on her face.

"They don't count. They're all my friends," she mumbled.

"I heard that!" Dylan shouted from outside.

Layla rolled her eyes and then sighed.

"Let's go out then. We need to talk about this privately," she said.

She wanted a chance to give him more reasons why they couldn't be together, but all he heard was he'd have her all to himself for the first time in days.

"I'll make reservations—"

"No. Let's just pack some food or something and go for a drive. I don't feel like dressing up."

"I prefer picnics anyway," he answered with a grin.

He found some Tupperware quickly and opened the fridge. By the time Layla came back out of the bedroom with a light jacket and her mass of red hair tied back, he'd already packed a basket.

He knew the perfect spot to have one.

Layla got into the passenger seat of his truck and they set off. It didn't take her long to realise where he was headed because she sat up and glared at him.

"Where are you going?"

"Trust me."

She didn't argue, but he knew that wouldn't last long.

Once he drove through the Packhouse gates, Layla's heart started to beat a little harder. He sensed her uneasiness and her pain. Then why was she doing this to both of them? Why was she choosing to be alone? He took the car as close to the trail as possible and commanded the curious pack to give Layla space.

Walking up the trail took a little longer than before, and Layla became breathless quickly. He had to keep reminding himself to slow down. But once their lookout spot came into view, he smiled down at Layla, putting all other thoughts out of his head. It was time to remind Layla why she had to come back home.

He set the basket down on the smooth rock where he'd made love to Layla several times before. His vision sharpened as his eyes glowed at that reminder. Caine surged forward and took control, drowning him in a pool of all his emotions. The pain tore him into pieces. All Cain wanted was Layla, at whatever cost.

Being alone with her wasn't a good idea after all.