74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

L ayla didn't sleep much. She'd alternated between having nightmares of Jax losing his wolf and watching her two girls sleep. She had her arm over them, content to soothe herself with their presence.

She didn't know where they had been and how far it was, but after dinner, Brit and Hope had been ready to go to bed. Faith prepared Britney's room next to Jax's and moved Hope's cot there because the girls bonded while away. The three of them snuggled on the bed together.

She imagined she heard someone outside the bedroom door a few times. She knew it was Jax. He'd told her the main bedroom was ready for her to return to, but she wasn't prepared for that.

It would be like accepting what he did—acknowledging that he ruined his life over her.

Her hand went back to the bite on her neck. Did that mean they were mated again? It hadn't felt the same as when he marked her the first time, even though it still caused the earth-shattering explosion. There had been no fire in her bones, and she hadn't felt his emotions. Their bond had been a true mate bond, different from others, but several wolves in the pack had chosen their mates. How did their bonds feel? Or was she even stupid for thinking like that because she was human? There was no such thing between wolves and humans.

"You're different."

She looked up to see Brit's eyes were open.

"Did it get worse while we were gone? Did someone hurt you?" Brit whispered.

Brit was bound to hear the stories about the Hunter base when she started interacting with everyone else. But she didn't want to talk about that on her first day back.

"We'll talk about it soon," she promised. "You need to rest tonight."

"That's your way of telling me that you think I can't handle the truth. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me what you are," Brit said. "But I'll be twenty soon. I'm not a child."

"I know you're not. And I'm not mad about things that happened in the past," she said, lifting her hand to brush Britney's hair out of her face. "I'm just exhausted. We should sleep."

"Is that all it is?"

Before she could answer, there was a soft knock on the door.

Brit rolled her eyes and cuddled Hope closer.

"You might as well go back to your room. I kept Hope with me the whole time, so she's used to sleeping next to me," Brit said.

It pleased her that Hope bonded with her aunt. She wanted to protest and stay next to the girls for as long as she could while she had the chance, but Brit would keep asking her what was wrong. Sighing, she slid off the bed and padded to the door. She'd avoided Jax long enough.

Jax stood outside the bedroom in his pyjama bottoms, and just like that, her heart slammed against her chest like the traitorous organ that it was. She had longed to return to him for two months, but not like this. Not with the guilt of Jax's choice hanging over her head.

Jax took her hand before she could say anything and pulled her to the main bedroom. It looked like it had a makeover. The bed was different, and they took out the heavy couches.

"We had bunk beds here for the children," Jax said. He shut the door behind him and turned to face her.

"Where have they gone now?"

"We reunited some of them with their packs, but others didn't feel safe enough to leave the packhouse. They've moved downstairs," he answered as he walked towards the bed, the only piece of furniture in the room. "You can do this room up however you want. I had it soundproofed this time."

She shook her head and looked away from him.

"What?" Jax asked.

"You know what. You say last night was your decision, and fair enough, but leaving the Packhouse was my decision. You shouldn't have done that without my consent."

Sure, she was a hypocrite. When Diedre told her there was a chance she could break his curse, she took it. But the situations were different. If they talked last night instead of fucking in the forest, she would have told him she didn't want to be apart anymore. She would have returned to the packhouse if that was what it took. Jax shouldn't have hurt Cain.

"I know. I'm sorry," Jax said. He patted the space next to him for her to sit down.

It was a trap. As if she could be that close to Jax on a bed without anything happening!

"I'm still mad at you."

"I know," Jax repeated.

Jax rubbed his chest above his heart and looked out of the window. The sky was starting to lighten, and exhaustion settled in her bones.

"After marking you the first time, I was so angry. I didn't want you to give up your life for me. But do you know what Cain said to me? It was your choice, and you were ours even before I gave you the mark," Jax said.

"I understand that, but how could you still do that knowing what will happen?"

Jax turned his head back to her.

"It was Cain's choice. He is desperate to have the bond back, Layla, and he is ready to face whatever comes. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't believe you love me, too."

She could believe that. Nia took the choice out of her hands, too.

"I don't think it worked. I think he's going to...." Her voice trailed off.

Jax looked away again and bit down on his jaw.

"No, I don't think it worked, either," he agreed after a lengthy silence.

She sighed and walked to the bed to sit beside him, ensuring a gap between them. Jax looked down at the space she'd left and then at her. But she was still upset about how things turned out and knew this was on her, too. If she hadn't left in the first place, then Cain may not have felt the need to mark her again.

"So what do we do now?"

"I just want to be with you, Layla. No matter what comes. I want to grow old with you. Have more children. This doesn't need to be the end of us."

The future he painted sounded beautiful, but she didn't know if they would get that. Fate always messed with them.

"Don't shift. You can keep Cain alive if you don't shift," she said. "Maybe we'll find a way to stop it."

"That's not always up to me," Jax sighed. "But I'll have our doctors start looking into it now that they're back."

That was true. After killing Hailey, Nia decided to keep to herself, but she could have come out anytime if she wanted. Their wolves did as they pleased half the time.

She yawned, exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt before. It was starting to feel like she would never get enough rest again.

"Didn't you sleep? You look more tired than when I left you this morning."

"I have too many things on my mind," she admitted.

Jax stood and walked around to the side of the bed. He pulled the covers down and stood back.

"I think I should return to the girls," she said regretfully. "We have to talk about things properly and decide what we do from here before we..."

"I won't touch you. You look ready to drop," Jax said. "And if you go back to the girls, Brit may ask questions you're not ready to answer."

And that was true, as well. It was disgusting how easily she gave in to Jax's suggestion. She slid into bed and watched Jax pull the covers over her before he switched off the lamp on the nightstand. Then, when the bed dipped on his side, she didn't turn to him as she would have, but knowing he was beside her was comforting. Right where he belonged.

When she opened her eyes, the sun was streaming into the bedroom. There was a lot of activity outside—laughter, children screaming and running around. It looked like it was already very late in the afternoon, though she didn't feel like she slept at all. She still felt drained.

The other side of the bed was already empty. Why did Jax let her sleep so long?

She shot out of bed and rushed to freshen up before she headed to the girls' room. It was empty, as she expected. She made her way down the stairs to the busy lobby. Memories of her first days resurfaced. Everyone had been intimidating back then, and they were once again. But no one paid attention to her when she stood at the bottom of the stairs. They carried things in and out of the packhouse, talking among themselves.

"Layla!"

She turned and saw Diedre rushing to her from the offices, a big smile on her face. Her hair was rainbow-coloured this time, and it suited her perfectly. The older woman pulled her into a hug and held on for a little while.

"I knew you could do it," Diedre said when she pulled away.

Someone must have already filled her in. But she hadn't done anything. And when she left, it was the pack that fought alone against the Hunters.

She smiled at Diedre without responding to her statement.

"What's going on?"

"We're preparing for the party. Come help me take some of these things," Diedre said, pointing to some boxes by the door. "The kids are already there, setting things up. We'll be eating in an hour, so let's hurry."

The boxes looked heavy. Whoever filled Diedre in obviously hadn't told her everything. The old her would have carried the boxes with no problem.

"I'll do it."

Jax entered the lobby and headed for the boxes without looking at her. They would have to tell the new arrivals the truth about what happened as soon as possible. Rip the bandaid off so she could deal with it as quickly as possible.

"I'm heading to the Town Hall anyway. The car's outside."

Diedre didn't notice that Jax carried all the boxes himself as she sat in the back and told her about the hideout.

"It was like running a summer camp with all those kids," she grumbled, but she had a smile on her face.

There were more people once they got to the hall. She saw Chase speaking with a group of children and Gavin standing with Josh. Her breath caught. The last time she saw Gavin, he had been on the brink of death. It was her fault that he'd been there in the first place. The Gamma turned and met her gaze. And then he smiled.

She released a breath and smiled back.

"Looks like the other packs are already here. We should head back and change so we don't keep them waiting," Jax said as he got out of the car.

She got out to follow Diedre and Jax, but a wave of dizziness hit her. It was the exhaustion. She was still learning her limitations, so getting that second job was probably the wrong decision.

She pushed away from the car and stepped towards the hall, only to stop again. There was someone in front of her who wasn't there before. Someone with sharp fangs and pale skin who shouldn't have been in Jax's territory.

A vampire.

A vampire was blocking her way into the hall.