72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

" W hat the hell have you done?!" Layla repeated, and this time her anger surged as her voice rose.

Jax gently pulled out of her before he straightened. He'd known how the night would end. It had been the same the first time he marked her. But her anger still hurt. It had been months, and every second of that had been torture. Did she not feel the same?

"I did what I had to do, Layla."

"How could you do that to Cain?" Layla shouted. She pushed him aside and got off the hood to look for her skimpy little night dress. "We don't know what they put in my blood, but we know damn well that it will kill him!"

Layla pulled her nightie on before she turned to face him. Her emerald eyes blazed at him. He'd been just as angry when she bit him the night before the blood moon on his birthday. Marking someone without their consent was a dick move, and as the Alpha King, he'd put down a few wolves for that exact reason.

But there he was. Being a dick.

"It was Cain's idea. And I completely agreed with him. There can be no life without you, Layla."

Unshed tears glinted in her eyes.

"You're the only one who can protect Hope. How could you...?"

Her voice trailed off, and she covered her mouth as she turned from him. Her pain returned, matching her anger in intensity.

"I've spent the last couple of months doing everything I can to ensure Hope will be safe until she can take care of herself."

"How?" Layla turned back to him, wiping her wet cheeks and almost snarling at him. It seemed she hadn't let go of some of her wolf's characteristics. Even her rage would make any wolf proud.

"I've destroyed all the Hunter bases that we found. If they didn't know after we rescued you, they know now that they can't fuck with us."

Layla's brows lifted in surprise.

"You got them?"

"Not all of them. And they'll be more born in every generation. But they know we will fight back now. We've heard the news of other regions taking the offensive for a change. Things will be different when Hope grows up."

"You don't know that! You can't know that!" Layla shouted. "There will always be another Hunter, another witch, another vampire assassin. And the Circle will always lord over all the packs."

She wiped her cheeks again and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I can't believe you'd just do that," she continued. "Do you have any idea how excruciating it would be for you without Cain?"

"Cain has accepted—"

"You should have fucking stopped him!" Layla snapped. "You will never be whole again. Neither wolf nor human! Just a shell of yourself. You will never be happy!"

Her anger was justifiable.

"Do you know what will happen to the packs now? Do you know how many people will come for them just to have the pleasure of destroying your pack?"

She was worried about the same things that he lost sleep over. Even after the curse, he'd worried about his enemies circling his pack. But Layla solved that problem, even if she didn't believe it. She'd brought all the packs together. She acted like a queen then and was doing the same now. Still thinking of their safety instead of herself.

"I've taken care of it," he said softly. "Besides, we could be okay. Maybe that poison is out of your system, and Cain will be okay. We could wake up tomorrow like we did after I marked you the first time. With our bond firmly in place."

"This isn't the same as that curse! This is because mad scientists wanted nothing more than to destroy our kind. They were going to make me their weapon, Jax. So who knows what they put in it."

"They had magic there, too, Layla. They had magic everywhere. That's how they messed with our bonds and kept their gates secure. Maybe that was just a hexed potion."

Layla's shoulders dropped as if the fight was leaving her body.

"I can't believe you're trying to justify this—"

"And I can't believe you're being such a hypocrite," he growled.

Layla gasped and took a step back from him. Her guilt resurfaced. He hadn't wanted to bring that time back up, especially since he knew how long it took for her to let go of that guilt in the first place. She had known it was wrong to force him to bite her, but she'd done it anyway.

And it turned out to be the best decision. Why couldn't Layla take a chance on him again?

"That was different," she whispered.

"How?"

"You were going to die."

"I am dying now, too, Layla," he snapped. "I'm sorry I did it this way. I know it wasn't right; I should be strung up by my balls and left to rot. But I don't regret it, not even a little bit. You didn't regret it the first time, either."

Layla didn't like that. He could tell by how she lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on. The beast in him would have taken that as a challenge before the Hunters messed up their bond, but now Cain sat back and watched.

"Take me home," she hissed before walking to the passenger side.

He sighed and looked around for his clothes. He'd gambled with his life the way Layla gambled with hers, so he understood her anger. If she was worried about Hope, he'd always had a plan for that, even before she'd been born. And that was before he'd met Rebecca, who was powerful enough to protect Hope on her own. But Rebecca wasn't alone. Besides Dylan and Diedre, she had Chase, Brax and even Ryker.

When he pulled his t-shirt back on, he looked back at the car and the woman looking out of her window, arms crossed and stewing, ready to explode.

His guilt resurfaced. There was another thing Layla didn't consider about what he did. It was Nia who had been the healer. There was a chance that Layla was only alive because she was a— had been a red wolf. That sick bastard Commander Walters had been obsessed with Rebecca and Layla's genetics, and whatever they gave her was likely made specifically for them. It could have a different effect on him. It could kill him.

He got into the passenger side and looked at her. His bite mark peeked through from behind her silky locks, and even with his guilt, he couldn't stop the deep sense of satisfaction that filled him. She would always bear that mark whether the bond returned between them or not. She would always belong to him, as he belonged to her.

But Layla would resent him for the rest of her life if his gamble didn't pay off and he ended up six feet under.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know that's not enough, but I couldn't lose you, Layla. You ripped my heart open when you left, and Cain has been slowly losing himself, just like my father's wolf did. I was dead either way. I will live without Cain as long as I'm next to you."

Layla shook her head without looking at him.

"Take me back, Jax. I need to think."

He bit his lip to stop himself from saying any more. If what he did worked, he would spend the rest of his life apologising and making it up to her. If it didn't work, he would die, and it wouldn't matter. Layla seemed ready to live without him anyway.

Dawn was breaking when he slowly drove back up the main road from town. His warriors told him Layla had a couple of jobs in town and refused the money he offered her. Her work didn't bother him as much as that she was exposed all day with no one protecting her. He'd called back all the warriors guarding her because it had been all hands on deck to fight the Hunters.

But that was over now. Layla could return where she belonged.

"The kids are coming back today."

Layla whipped around to face him.

"What? What time?" she asked.

"As soon as they have breakfast, they'll start loading the planes."

He didn't look at her, but he sensed her relief. They cried together in the forest when they said goodbye to Hope and Britney because they didn't believe they would never see them again.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see, but you should come home. I'll stay out of your way. You need to be there when they land. Hope won't understand if you're not there, and I'm not sure what the situation with Britney is like now. If they found out she lied, your sister will need you there, too."

Layla didn't answer him, but she didn't need to. Whatever her decision about his actions, she would want to see Hope immediately.

He turned the car into her road and drove slowly. Some of Layla's neighbours were already up, and so was Gerald. To get ready for work, maybe. That was surprising. Layla's father lasted longer than he expected at his dead-end job.

When he stopped the car, he realised why Gerald was up so early. The older man stood in front of the open doorway in his pyjamas. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. He followed the line of vision and saw the fiery red hair of the woman standing in front of Layla's car.

It had been two years since Rebecca showed herself in his forest. How often did she make this journey to be close to her former lover?

"Mum?" Layla whispered.

Rebecca didn't even turn.

Layla went for her door handle, but he put his hand on her arm to stop her.

"I think you should give them a moment," he suggested. "And you're kinda naked right now."

Anyone who saw Layla wouldn't have to guess what she had been doing. It was evident in her flushed face and her messy hair. And the lack of underwear.

Layla let go and shook his hand off. It stung, even though he had known that was coming.

"She looks thinner," Layla whispered.

"We've been through some hard times," he admitted.

Layla looked at him for an explanation. But there was nothing he could say. Layla knew what a Hunter base looked like and was probably still traumatised by it. Telling her what they'd gone through and who they'd lost would bring it all back.

"Maybe I should just go and pack a bag for you," he said, turning the subject around. "Those two look like they will stare at each other forever. Tell me—"

Someone was there.

He scanned the area just as Rebecca turned to face the woods behind her. And before he knew it, Layla's mother rushed over to Gerald and grabbed his hand. Gerald was deposited into the backseat of his truck before he could say anything.

His fingers tightened around the wheel when Rebecca disappeared into the woods. He was the one who should have gone on the hunt and caught the fucker who dared to come too close. Wolf or vampire? He couldn't be sure. Whoever it was wasn't close enough.

But it wasn't his place anymore. His place was next to Layla.

"What... That was Rebecca," Gerald whispered. "How could it... She looks..."

He started the car and looked in the rearview mirror. Gerald's face lost all its colour. He was probably in shock.

"What's going on, Jax?" Layla asked when he started to back out

"Someone's found you," he answered.