67. Chapter 67
Chapter 67
L ayla watched the pack gates get smaller in the mirror before disappearing completely. She sighed and looked at Jackson as he drove the car down the dirt road.
“If you are positive they won’t do anything, why are you taking me away?”
“They’re our allies, and they owe you their lives,” Jackson said. “Of course, they won’t do anything.”
“You said the lunch was important.”
“Not that important; I’ve discussed everything with them on the phone before, so I don’t need to be there. They’re worried about the Circle and the witch. Dylan can handle it.”
And yet his grip was tight on the steering wheel. What she had done had wound Jax up tighter than a spring.
“Why are you lying to me, Jackson?” she asked. “If you’re going to keep me at some other hideout like last time—”
“I’ll never do that to you again,” Jackson sighed. “And I’m not lying. Chase and Brax are your biggest fans; they wouldn’t hurt you.”
She looked back at the month-old baby sleeping in her car seat. Hope still had a month until what was supposed to be her due date, but no one would know it just by looking at her. She’d grown a lot, but she was still a helpless baby. This couldn’t be a life for her.
“I trust them,” Jackson continued, “but I don’t want to take any chances. Not when we’ve made it this far.”
“You can’t tell me I’m safe, and then the next minute drag me off as if I have to run for my life.”
“We’re not running for our lives.”
They were running. She could tell that Jackson was scanning the area around them for threats.
“Is this the life you want for our child?” she asked.
Jackson briefly met her gaze.
“No, it’s not,” he said after a while. “But she will be Queen one day, whether she likes it or not.”
She felt the raw emotions in his words. Was he regretting his decision to have a child? She had no idea what to think of that. Though she hadn’t thought of having children before Jackson approached her with his deal, she couldn’t imagine her life without Hope, sleepless nights and all.
She sighed and looked out the window as they drove out of the forest that had become her home. She had been terrified of being in it only nine months before, but now it was the most beautiful place in the world. She would miss it.
She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, they were driving through some high gates, and a familiar man was waving them through. The car went down a winding driveway towards a rambling modern farmhouse. It was as grand as the manicured ground it stood on. Like the other houses Jackson had taken her to, it was surrounded by woods, but she could hear the city sounds beyond it.
“Where are we?” she asked as she sat straight in her seat.
It was still afternoon so she knew she hadn’t slept that long. They had to be on the other side of the tracks in Wolfsdale, the side she never went to.
“My house,” Jackson answered as he stopped the car in front of the house next to two others.
“Just how many do you have?”
“Many,” he answered, turning to face her.
“But someone lives here?” she asked, looking up at the house. She sensed several people in the place. Part of Jackson’s pack? “What are we doing here if we’re not running away?”
“We’ve been on edge since the Hunters left, just waiting for the next fucked up thing to happen. Whether it will be the Hunters, the Circle or the witch, I have no fucking clue,” Jackson sighed. “Maybe I overreacted when Chase and Braton saw you like that, and I’m running away right now, but I just need a break.”
Did he mean he was going to stay with her this time? The knot in her stomach loosened a little as she felt the pressure Jackson had been under as the Alpha.
“We do need a break,” she agreed. “ Will we be safe here?”
“Well, Miss Roberts hasn’t been seen in town since that day. And I made sure we weren’t followed,” Jackson said. “Plus, I hear the lady of this house runs a tight ship. It’s the safest house in Wolfsdale.”
There was another woman in the house? Her interest was piqued when she sensed someone approaching the front of the house. Jackson gave her a little smirk before he got out of the car.
She caught the scent first and held her breath. The front door opened, and the Brit rushed out.
She was out of the car in a shot and had her sister in her arms seconds later. Brit’s feet dangled in the air as she rained kisses on her face.
“Oh my God, stop! You’re embarrassing me,” Brit squealed, but she held on to her just as tight, and her smile filled her face.
When she put her sister down, she kissed her again. It had been hard not being able to see her. Every time she faced death, she thought of how Brit would cope on her own, and that had kept her up at night on top of everything else.
“I spoke to you this morning; why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Brit said when she finally released her.
“I didn’t know,” she answered, looking back at Jackson, who had been undoing the car seat.
“Well, I wouldn’t have let you miss someone’s birthday,” Jackson said with a smile. “And I know you’ve been itching to ask me.”
Just that morning, her wolf had been hounding her about it. She could feel that part of her filling up with emotions that were not hers. It was her wolf side that wanted Brit to shift so she could be a part of the pack, but she didn’t want this life for her.
“You’re staying for my birthday?” Brit gasped, her face lighting up.
It had been months since they had been together. Months since her sister had to learn to live without her. She pulled her into her arms again and looked over her head at Jackson.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
Jackson smiled back at her. She felt some of his tension melt away. It wasn’t the holiday they had spoken of before the Hunters had come to mess things up, but it was close enough.
A little cry filled the air. Brit released her and turned to look back at the car before she looked at her again.
“What was that?”
Months of daily phone conversations, yet she hadn’t found a way to tell her sister anything. She hadn’t known what to say when Jackson had been set on taking Hope from her the moment she was born. And then, after Hope was born, she hadn’t found the words either. Their situation was too complicated to say over the phone.
Especially since she hadn’t known if Brit would get to meet Hope before the Hunters came back.
“I’d like you to meet someone,” she started.
Brit looked back at the car to see Jackson lifting the car seat out. Her mood went from ecstatic to angry in seconds. She turned back to her, her eyes flashing with fury.
“You had his freaking baby? After everything I told you?” Brit hissed.
“Brit—”
“You said it was just a job for a little while. You said after I finish my finals, we’ll leave this shitty place and start afresh anywhere else in the world.”
“I know. But things changed. I—”
“I can see that,” Britney cut in.
And then, her little sister shook her head and walked back into the house without another word. Without looking at the little girl who had become her whole world.
“She’ll come around. We’ll be here for a little while; I’ll talk to her,” Jackson said as he came to stand next to her.
Talk to her? Brit had figured out there was something different about all the people around her. Jackson would only make things worse if he tried to convince her otherwise.
Two men came out of the house, and two more approached from the direction of the gate.
“How long will we be here?” she asked.
“Not very long. I have things I still need to settle before... before my birthday.”
That brief hesitation made her look at him, but Jackson had already turned his attention to the men he had asked to take care of her sister. The four bowed to him and then looked down at the baby, who had started to cry.
She picked her up, and as usual, Hope calmed down when she was in her arms.
When she looked up at Brit’s bodyguards, they lowered their heads quickly and bowed, just as everyone at the packhouse had been doing. And it made her just as uncomfortable.
“How’s my sister been coping?” she asked.
She’d been surprised to hear that Brit hadn’t left when they’d all had to hide in the forest. Brit hadn’t asked her anything about what was happening, but she knew her sister would have figured out something was wrong.
“She’s been a little...moody lately,” one of the men started, “but that’s because of her finals. She’ll be finished this week.”
The man was younger than the rest, and she sensed many warm feelings coming from him. He seemed to care about Brit genuinely.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” she said to them all and then headed towards the house, leaving Jackson to speak freely with them.
The house looked like it was spread over thousands of square feet. The wooden slats were painted white, but thick, unpainted oak pillars ran along the decking the length of the house. She had grudgingly admitted she’d like the hideout, but this house was the hideout on steroids. She pushed the wide double doors open, and her breath caught at the elegant simplicity. The space was vast and airy, and two staircases stood on either side of the spacious entryway. Wooden floors throughout and beams along the ceilings. The decor was a mixture of modern and traditional, and she loved all of it. It was exactly Brit’s style.
“Brit?” she called out.
She walked further in and looked at the long, comfortable sofas on one side. There were snacks on the table, and a movie paused on the big screen on the wall. It looked like her visit had interrupted a lazy weekend on the sofas. She caught all their scents in the room so Brit hadn’t been watching alone. It was great if she was getting on with the others that well. At least she would be able to trust them if anything happened.
“Brit?” she called again.
Hope started to fret again in her arms. She settled the baby on her breast and continued to look around.
A sizeable farm-style dinner table was on the opposite side of the sitting area, and in front of her, she could see part of the kitchen. There were pieces of art on the walls and fresh flowers in vases. Brit seemed to have made herself at home.
The kitchen was so spacious that it could give the one at the packhouse a run for its money. She smiled as she walked over to the island and ran her hand over the wooden surface. Everything was so perfect. If she could live there...
The smile fell off her lips when her ears pricked.
And a scent came in from the open door at the side of the kitchen before she caught Brit’s whispered words.
“Take me with you.”