75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

W here did the vampire come from? How did he go through Diedre's wards?

Layla backed up until she felt Jax's car behind her. The vampire grinned, showing his teeth, and she froze in place.

Fear filled her body.

This was her worst nightmare come to life. She was vulnerable, and her child was in the hall. She couldn't protect her.

"Breach!"

Someone shouted behind the vampire. But she would never have outrun him even if the fear didn't paralyse her. Their speed was unmatched.

There were screams. Something zoomed past at such speeds she realised there were more of them. And if the vampires were there, the Circle was making its move.

And that was the twist—the final nail in the coffin full of all her hopes for a future with Jax.

Something snapped around her, some invisible force that pulled her forward. It was magic. How did it even get past Diedre's wards? She tried to lift her arms and drag her feet, but it was futile. Wolves around her were hauled towards the hall like rag dolls.

There were screams, growls and yelps—snarls from the beasts that were brave enough to try to fight. Children started to cry, and others shouted. The magic dragged her into the large hall, and the sight before her made her gasp. Tables and chairs were upturned, and decorations were strewn over the floor. Everyone was squashed in the middle of the room, including Jax. She could see him straining, trying to break out of the invisible hold on him. And when their eyes met across the room, she saw the resignation in his eyes.

He knew it, too. He knew this was their end.

The vampires surrounded the room— more than she saw at the trial. And figures in black hoods stood next to them with their hands outstretched. She saw Diedre cast spells enough times to know they were the ones who imprisoned the packs. There was no way they could get out of this.

"What the fuck is going on?" Alpha Brax shouted.

Beside him were Ryker and some of the Night Walker warriors. They were some of the strongest Alphas in the world, caught up in the mess she and Jax made. Their love had been ill-fated from the beginning.

"I'll tell you what's going on."

The familiar voice behind her made everyone stop struggling. The hall quietened, and a chill filled the room. She had felt the Circle's dark presence as a wolf, but it was even more terrifying without Nia. The cold seeped into her bones, into her head as the nightmare unfolded.

"Well, hello there, Layla."

Alpha Lincoln came up beside her, dressed in one of his usual expensive suits and with a shit-eating grin. Her stomach dropped. The Circle was already pissed off with her. Once they found out she was wolfless, she had no doubt they would punish her for what she did to them.

Alpha Hugo and the other guy came up on the other side. She still didn't know the guy's name, but he was still the only one who'd lowered his head. If Nia was still present, she would have heard his heart beating as loudly as hers.

"I can't believe you're having a party and you didn't invite us," Lincoln said to her.

"Did you forget what I said to you the last time I saw you?" Jax growled.

The expression on Lincoln's face changed to one of pure hatred. Cold, unhinged hatred that changed his handsome face to something ugly.

"How could I forget that, Jackson? You defied the Circle's order and dared to put your hands on me. And now everyone else will pay the price," Alpha Lincoln growled.

She must have missed something. They came to the territory while she was away? And Jax laid a hand on Lincoln, even knowing they were already in too much shit with them?

But whatever happened made Lincoln angry enough to kill them all. Why else would they bring assassins?

"Stop doing Cole's dirty work and start doing your job," Jax snarled. "There are children here."

She searched around the room until she found who she was looking for. Brit had Hope in her arms behind Jax, and she looked terrified.

"Ah, yes. The children. I'm sure they will learn their lesson here today. The ones that survive, anyway. The Circle is bigger than all of us; we must obey the rules," Lincoln said. "We are not the same. No matter what you are and what you did, we will never be the same."

"You're talking too much, Lincoln."

The voice in the doorway behind her wiped the smile off Lincoln's face. A few whimpers went around the room as something oppressive filled the room. She didn't have a wolf, yet she could sense the evil in the man who walked in.

The man stopped once he stood beside Lincoln, and the two Alphas faced each other. Alpha Cole. The man Jax warned her never to cross. From where she was standing, it looked more like a standoff. It took only seconds for Lincoln to lower his gaze. If they were equals, would Lincoln submit to Alpha Cole?

Or was Cole so powerful that he could do whatever he wanted, despite their rules?

Cole walked further into the room and slowly looked around.

"Maybe we should have waited," Cole said. "You guys worked so hard the last few months that I feel a little bad doing this now. I should have let you celebrate your achievements first."

"If you're here for me, let the others go and fight me man to man," Jax growled.

What? No! Her heart hammered more, and the wave of dizziness returned. She would have passed out if she stood upright under her own steam.

Cole turned and smiled at her. He'd tied his long hair back as it had been the first time she saw him, but he didn't have glasses on this time. His eyes were startling. One blue and one green, and the coldest she had ever seen. A shiver went down her spine at the evil reflected in them. He must have noticed because his smile widened.

And just like that, she knew the stories Jax told her about the Circle were true. They were very capable of killing a whole pack to suit their agenda. They wouldn't spare the children.

"We meet again, Layla," Alpha Cole said. "And it appears what I heard is true. You're nothing but a wolfless bitch now."

There were gasps in the room. She looked at the group of people behind Jax and saw the expressions on their faces. The wolves who had just returned had not yet heard her fate. How many of them expected her to save them?

Tears filled her eyes. She looked away from the judgemental looks to stare at her feet. What a queen she turned out to be. She'd condemned all of them.

"What are you doing here, Cole?" Jax growled.

"Alpha Cole!" Cole snarled, his eyes darkening as he turned back to Jax. "I'm glad I don't have to endure your insolence any longer."

"If you want to prove you're stronger than an Alpha King, release me and fight," Jax growled again.

Cole laughed.

"I don't have to prove anything. I'm not here to get my hands dirty. I can just kill you like that and be done with it."

He must have done something with his magic because Jax grunted, and his shoulders tensed. A vein popped up at the side of his neck as he strained against it. His eyes started glowing as if he was trying to shift, but it didn't seem to make a difference. And then, in the blink of an eye, Jax was on his knees.

The Alpha King was on his knees in front of the Circle.

"I'll make it painless for everyone else but not for you, Jax. We can't have people like you in this world. You go against the natural order of things and cause chaos," Cole said. "Our world is in chaos because you decided to fight the Hunters. Humans are very close to discovering the real truth about their world, and what do you think would happen then?"

Cole flicked his wrist, and a loud snap echoed in the room. She didn't understand what happened until she saw Jax grind his teeth and his arms fall to his side, hanging uselessly.

"No!" she cried.

"Oh, don't worry, Layla. You'll join him soon," Lincoln laughed beside her.

Cole glanced at Lincoln until he lowered his head again.

"Just take me," she cried. "All of this was my fault. No one else needs to suffer."

"Layla, stop," Jax said through his teeth.

She didn't need the bond to see he was in excruciating pain. Was the magic stopping his healing?

"You'll watch your people die, and then I'll kill you last," Cole said as he flicked his wrist again.

There was complete silence in the room. And then a thud. The warrior standing next to Jax fell to his knees and then flat on his face. A pool of blood formed under his chest.

The screams started again. The children cried. But everyone was still held in place, unable to defend themselves. Brit's eyes were on the fallen warrior, her mouth open. Brit hadn't experienced any battles, so she had never seen anyone killed in front of her eyes before. Her heart went out to her sister.

That was her fault, as well. Her sister would never have been a part of this world if she had just told her the truth and kept her away in the first place.

She looked down at the man who finally stopped twitching on the floor, and made up her mind. The children couldn't see this. Most of them already had traumas they would carry their whole lives if they made it out of the hall.

"Stop!" she screamed. "You don't have to do this. The fight with the Hunters was inevitable. You can't say you liked how things were—being oppressed? Having to run and hide? You're a powerful Alpha, so I know you would have fought them, too, if you had been in our position."

"Don't presume to know how I would act," Cole growled. "I have to think one hundred steps ahead; that's the difference between you and me. In Jax's position, I would have let you rot in that cage and found myself a new mate."

Another thud. Another warrior went down. More screams.

"Silence!" Cole shouted.

Judging by how everyone zipped their mouths, that had been an order.

The air turned chillier, and Cole's eyes changed. She expected them to glow blue, maybe even green. But when she looked into his black eyes, she knew there was nothing she could do.

"You were right about one thing, though. All of this is your fault," Cole growled.

He nodded to Lincoln, and the Alpha turned to her and grabbed her by her throat. His clawed fingers cut off the air from her lungs as he lifted her off the ground.

With the magic stopping her from struggling, the end had come. She was going to die right in front of Hope and Brit.