~Layla~
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” I said and stood from the table. I walked toward the doors, which slowly opened for my exit.
I heard Nathaniel standing behind me, but all I was focused on was making it to the room in time to close the door and shut him out. The walls were moving closer together, the doors were waving in odd patterns, and the ceiling looked like it was coming down to crush me against the floor.
“Layla?” His voice echoed behind me, and his steps sounded like boulders hitting against the ground.
My eyes were focused on the door down the hall, but it felt like the closer I got, the further away it went. I fell forward, my hands grasping for the handle and the door slowly sliding up, exposing a room that was shifting in front of me.
I closed my eyes. I was becoming queasy, and my body fell heavy against the furniture in the room. I reached out my hands and grabbed hold of anything I could until I made it to the bathroom. I got in and closed the door. In the crack, before it closed, I saw Nathaniel walking faster. I slammed the door shut before he could enter.
“Layla, open the door!” He started banging on the door. His fists slammed against the thick wooden door, and the doorknob was pulled down in an attempt to get in.
“Just give me a moment,” I said and fell forward against the sink. I hung my head and closed my eyes.
“Open the fucking door,” he growled.
“Nate, please, just give me a moment,” I said, shaking my head.
“Are you sick?” he asked.
“No, I’m just tired and in dire need of a shower and some peace and quiet. Please just wait outside, and I’ll be right there. I just need to be alone for a while.” I heard the groan and his claws leaving marks on the door, but nevertheless, he left, and I could take a proper breath. My body relaxed completely against the ceramic sink when I heard the bedroom door shut close, and I knew he was gone. I looked up in the mirror at my tear-stricken face.
It has to be a mistake.
“It’s not. Your morning sickness, the fact that your emotions have been a mess, and your change in priorities… everything is happening because of the baby.”
My priorities?
“Yes, the fact that saving the werewolves is no longer the single most important thing to you. You knew deep down that another relied more on your protection now.”
Why didn’t you tell me earlier? How long have you known?
“Analise told me not to. I have known for a few weeks but—”
Analise?
“Yes…”
You’ve talked to her?
“She summoned me once a while back after you were given the bracelet. That bracelet hides a scent—the scent that needs protecting, and in this case, it’s hiding your child. That’s why nobody has been able to smell the change on you.”
Why couldn’t you tell me?
“Layla, there is a reason why you’re both the key to destruction as well as redemption. You were born with the powers to destroy an entire species, to turn people against each other, and if it was what you wanted, you could’ve ruled as Nathaniel rules. You’re the powerful one, not him or anyone else, but despite your power, there is only one way for us to win this. For us to save the others and to make sure that no one species ever has the upper hand like this again and balance is restored.”
What way is that?
I screamed and fell back against the cold, tiled wall. My hand instinctively went to my stomach. I drew a deep breath as I looked at the broken-down door that flung into the wall.
Nathaniel stepped in, his eyes graced around the bathroom as though he’d find someone in here with me. With obsidian eyes, he turned his head, and his hard glare landed on me.
I felt myself shrinking under his glare, my shoulder falling, and my back pressing as far back into the wall as possible.
“What the hell was that?” I whispered.
“I just got some troubling news from a friend,” he growled. Nathaniel’s eyes started glowing. His wolf was stepping forth, and I felt the anger radiating from him.
“What news?” I asked and slowly pushed away from the wall in small movements.
He scanned me from top to toe. His glare lurked around my lips before stretching to my eyes.
“Jackson is dead. He apparently died before even making it out of the pack.” The relief that washed over me was unexplainable, but I couldn’t let it show that I was glad to hear this news.
“I’m sorry, I know you relied on him,” I said and made subtle eye contact.
He reached up and gripped my chin. He tilted my head back and stepped closer.
“I really did. I relied on him to finish his assignment, to make sure I was a man of honor who kept his word, but now, how can I make this right?” His eyes were fixated on my lips, and his thumb graced the side of my mouth. “Do you want to know what his assignment was? What he was ordered to do, and what ultimately became the last thing he left unfinished in his life before it ended?” he spoke slowly. His voice was low and dark as his eyes continued to glow.
His thumb graced my lower lip, and I felt my brows pulling together as I tried to muster emotions other than fear because I was truly afraid at that moment. A calm male wolf who just found out that a cherished member of his pack had died was not to be underestimated. He was angry, furious, and hurt, and only the goddess knew what would tick him off.
“Tell me,” I said and carefully, slowly, placed my hand over his.
His eyes raised and met mine. He leaned in, his lips hovering inches away from my lips, and then he stopped, frozen in his movements.
“I told him to kill your friend. I ordered him to kill Anna.”
