77. Chapter 77

Chapter 77

L ayla struggled to breathe. She could feel Lincoln's large hand crushing her windpipe, even though part of him was twitching on the floor in front of her. Her mind was foggy with the lack of oxygen, but the fear that crippled her disappeared.

Jax had taken charge now. Everything would be okay.

Her eyes fluttered and then closed even with all the commotion around her. The cut-off screams. The scent of blood that even her nose could pick up.

And when she heard her mother's voice, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rebecca's wolf was stronger than Nia. She would never allow anyone to hurt her family.

She relaxed entirely until Britney's scream brought her back to the present.

Her heart lurched as she sat up and saw Alpha Cole drag her and Hope towards him. Maybe Cole didn't have a wolf, or he wasn't shifting because he knew he was outnumbered. But there was no denying he had enough dark magic to follow through with his threats. She could almost smell it even though she was less than human.

Her child. Britney. Her family was in danger.

Something snapped inside her as her rage ripped through her body. She rose to her feet, her gaze focused on the threat in the room. Her vision sharpened. She saw Cole's pulse in his neck as he scrambled to his feet. Her ears picked out his heartbeat—faint at first and then louder, like a beacon calling her.

She smelled him. Desperation and fear. She took a deep breath of the sweet scent and let it feed her. She was starving, and nothing but the Alpha's flesh would do.

A growl echoed in the silent room, and then another. Both called to something inside her until she had no choice but to answer. She felt it deep in her chest as she let it out. And then a fire raged through her body, matching her fury.

How dare he! How dare he threaten the people she loved!

All her thoughts disappeared as she leapt over Alpha Lincoln's body. When she landed on the other side, huge red paws replaced her feet. Alpha Cole stumbled back, his eyes as wide as saucers. Her snout lowered to the ground, and she bared her teeth in a snarl. Her hackles rose as she stalked her prey.

That was what he was. Prey. To be hunted and disposed of so he would never touch her family again.

Someone came beside her, a paw as red and as huge as her own. And then, on her other side, a dark grey one, even bigger than hers.

Cole dropped Brit and Hope and tried to run into the crowd behind him. But Chase shoved him back and blocked him. He tried to go another way, but Dylan was there.

"You can't do that to me! I'm a Circle member! You should submit to me and beg for my forgiveness before my people descend on you," Cole shouted.

She looked at Britney, who still had Hope in her arms, and then at the children in the room. They had seen too much already—they didn't need to see anymore.

‘Britney, take the children away, she ordered.

In the mindlink. With Brit. But that realisation was fleeting as she kept her focus on Cole.

Brit's eyes flashed green, and then she nodded. They walked carefully around the carnage, Omegas covering the younger children's eyes. And then only the Alphas and the warriors remained.

She waited until the young ones were far away from the hall before launching at Cole and nipping at his arm. Cole shrieked and chanted something, holding out his uninjured arm, but his magic bounced off her as if it were nothing.

Rebecca came from the other side and nipped his thigh. And then it was Jax's turn.

They were playing with their food, and Cole knew that.

"Please," he whispered. "I understand now. I know I stepped out of line."

Way out of line. There was no way he could ever get back across it. There would be no mercy. No redemption. Like the Commander, Cole would wreak havoc on them if he walked out of their territory alive.

They nipped at him until he sobbed. Until he was a bloody mess and all the fight left his body. Until he was on his knees with his head lowered, submitting to his king and queen.

And only then did they rip into him.

Piece by piece.

Scream by scream.

Until no sound remained, not even a heartbeat.

When she shifted back, her thirst for vengeance and anger drained from her body until her head cleared. And only then did she realise what had just happened.

Nia was back.

The wolf she murdered came back to her.

And she saved her once again.

‘Nia?'

‘I don't know how.'

The wolf answered her unasked question. She clutched her heart when she heard her. Every cell in her body lit up as the sound washed over her.

‘I'm still healing. I need to rest.'

The wolf shut herself off, but not entirely as she did before. There was still a link between them that reassured her that she wasn't dreaming. It wasn't a fluke. Nia was there, even if she was a little weaker than usual. She had used up whatever strength she had to return to her and take care of the people she loved.

Her heart pounded with the adrenaline that rushed through her body, and for the first time, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she enjoyed what her wolf did.

What she did with her mate and her mother.

Her mate?

Her breath hitched as she turned to Jax, who stood blood and naked behind her. His mouth had dropped open, and his heart pounded as fast as hers. She heard it. She felt it—his love, his overwhelming gratefulness.

The bond snapped back into place as if the Commander had never broken it.

"How?" she whispered.

Was it the bite? She'd felt tired all day, nothing like her awakening when she'd first met Jax. Was it Brit? If her sister's wolf was anything like Nia, then she would have been able to heal her when they shared the bed. But how did someone heal something that wasn't there? Or was it the rage she felt? The need to protect the people she loved?

Jax stepped forward, his breath ragged as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He lifted a shaky hand to her face and brushed strands of her bloody hair out of her face.

"I feel you," he whispered. "I feel everything."

His head lowered until his lips met hers. Her eyes closed as relief flooded her. Cain was safe; Jax wouldn't have to live as just a shell of himself.

Tears fell down her cheeks and mixed with Jackson's.

‘Can you hear me?'

His voice sounded beautiful in her head. She sobbed against his lips while nodding. Losing Nia blindsided her, but she never once believed she would have her back. She never thought she would bond with the man she loved again.

‘Cain is going to be okay,' she whispered in his head. ‘We're going to be okay.'

Jax wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. She didn't care about the blood or the bodies on the floor as the link with Jax strengthened. She could feel it differently like they had reached a different level in their relationship.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought her back to the present, and she pulled away despite Jax's protest. She turned around and saw the whole room full of wolves on their knees. Rescued wolves and warriors alike. Alphas and Betas. Their heads were lowered, and though they knelt in the blood of their enemies, there wasn't an ounce of fear in the air.

There was respect. There was gratitude. There was love.

She had believed the opposite to be true when Nia hadn't been there, but now the extent of their emotions overwhelmed her.

Rebecca stood a little away from everyone else as always, but tears fell down her cheeks.

‘I knew you were strong,' Rebecca whispered in her head. ‘I knew Fate couldn't be so cruel to you.'

She walked over to her mother and embraced her. Fate was the cruellest, and she didn't trust that she could believe in a happy ever after. But for now, this was enough. Being with Jax and protecting Hope was everything she needed.

"If you're quite done, we still have some business to take care of," Chase said, looking over at the Alphas who knelt in the corner.

The new Circle member shook so hard she felt sorry for him. But Alpha Hugo kept looking up and stealing glances. His fascination was evident even without having to call on Nia to help her.

"Hugo," Jax called.

The Alpha stood and helped his teammate to his feet before they came to stand in front of them.

"I swear I didn't want to be here. I was just doing what Alpha Lincoln told me," the new Circle member said first. His voice was so shaky it was barely audible.

Jax snorted and pulled her to his side.

"Do you have a name, New Finn?" he asked.

"Keith."

"Well, Keith, we'll leave you to sort out all your friends here," Jax said. "Sorry about the mess."

Jax started to pull her towards the door.

"Is that it?" Hugo asked.

Jax stopped and looked back.

"Why? Do you want me to kill you, too?"

Hugo quickly shook his head.

"Okay then, I have things to do."

She didn't need to guess what those things were. She wanted to get close to Jax, too. She wanted him to soothe her. To love her as only he could.

Jax took her hand and ran down the main road towards the forest. When they just passed the tree line, he turned around and backed her up against a tree trunk. His mouth crashed into her, and the fire that had been missing when their bond broke consumed her.

There was no need for Jax to prepare her before he hooked her leg around his waist and bent his knees. And then he swiftly entered her without releasing her mouth.

Just like before, she felt Cain, and she felt Nia. Two wolves that lived for chaos and darkness. Perhaps it was fate, after all, that nothing could break their bond.