Layla opened her eyes and realised she was now in her bedroom prison. Dylan and those girls hadn’t killed her.A sense of relief flooded her body, and then she felt nauseated that she had ended up in that position in the first place. For two days in a row, her life had been in peril. How the hell had she ended up like this?She sat up gingerly so she wouldn't aggravate anything. Her head had hit the concrete pretty hard; she was surprised it wasn’t hurting more than it was. Even her ribs felt only slightly tender. There was blood on her hand from when she stabbed one of them, and despite everything, it made her feel horrible. She wasn’t a murderer. She only had weapons for self-defence but had never used them against anyone before. And those girls had been pretty messed up in the head, so she wasn’t sure she could blame them for what was happening. She tried to wipe the blood on her already ruined clothes but it was pointless. There was no saving them. With her meagre wardrobe, she w

Jackson walked through the trees to the secluded guardhouse behind the training grounds. Dylan and Micah, Cassie’s father, followed behind. “Has he said anything at all?” Dylan asked.“He’s saying many things, but none of them make any sense. And he’s...” Micah stopped and sighed. “You’ll see for yourselves.”Jax looked back at the warrior with a frown. Micah had been the head warrior when his father had been the Alpha King, so he had seen and dealt with many dangerous and unusual things. What was he about to walk into that had made Micah so agitated?They walked into the guardhouse, and the warriors on duty were already standing on alert with their gazes lowered. He walked past them to the room at the back, where the hatch on the floor was already open.He could smell the prisoner from there. He smelled of the earthy scent of his wolf and then the pungent, unbearable scent of death and decay. It was the scent of dark magic. He’d had that scent stuck up his nose for a long time afte

Layla smoothed the front of the dress as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was by far the most expensive thing she had ever worn. The soft silky fabric felt sensual against her skin as it skimmed against her curves and fell to her feet with a slit at the front. The round neckline made it look classy, and it draped at the back, showing more skin than she was comfortable with around Jackson.With her height, shopping was a chore most days, so she knew she would have struggled to find something that fit her so well if she’d had to shop for herself. It was gorgeous.But it was hardly the type of clothing to wear when running through the woods at night. And she wouldn’t be able to hide her knife under it.With a sigh, she fluffed out her curly hair and then slipped her phone into her cleavage before leaving the bathroom. Not the classiest of places, but she needed to get in touch with Brit once she was on the move. Jackson stood by the windows, but he turned when she closed the doo

“Shit!” Layla leaned against the wall and rubbed her foot. She’d known going barefoot was a bad idea, but she hadn’t expected it to be an obstacle so soon in her escape. There was something sharp in the bushes. She couldn't see what she had stepped on. But there was no time to worry about the pain now. At any moment, Jackson would realise she hadn’t returned to the table. It was darker than usual because of the storm clouds, and the rain was pouring down faster than she’d expected. The light from the bathroom window showed it was already forming puddles and flowing in rivulets. She had been drenched in seconds. Her hair was plastered down her face and getting in her way. She did a quick braid before she pushed the sides of her dress up and tucked them into her panties to allow her more movement. Her dress felt like a second skin and would not protect her against the elements, but it would have to do.She felt around the ground for the knife she had taken from the table and made sure

Jax stood by the windows overlooking the front of the packhouse as he watched his warriors return from a long night out. The storm had died down but it was still drizzling. They would have been miserable being in it all night, but he knew they wouldn’t complain.He should have been with them. Instead, he’d been stuck between Layla’s legs. He turned and sat on the ledge as he watched the woman sleep. Last night had been different. It wasn’t just because of the chase but everything else. Her scent, the emotions, everything. It felt like he had already marked her even though he’d had to push Cain back several times in the night to stop him.Having her so close to him was becoming too much. But all the other options had been removed from the table when that wolf had tried to hex his unborn child. Layla wouldn’t be safe anywhere outside the compound.She was trapped here, and every second seemed to pull her closer. Once she got pregnant, maybe he would have to be the one to leave the comp