Training didn't go well. After having bumped into Angel on his way to the men's restroom, he found he couldn't get her off his mind. It was almost
impossible to concentrate and he found that Jason was able to put him on his ass way too many times, more than he'd have cared to admit."Hey man, what's going on?"Jason demanded even as he helped Layon back to his feet for the hundredth time, slapping him on the back in an attempt to dust him off. Layon quickly shook his head and swiped blood fromhis nose where Jason had caught him with a nasty right hook."Don't tell me it's nothing because I've only ever put you on your ass a handful of times before today and now we're at a dozen!"Layon gritted his teeth in order to stop himself from snapping at his second. It's not his fault I'm off my game, he quickly reminded himself, it'shers."I'm sorry. There's something I've gotta do,"Layon said, and with that he darted from the training field, dodging past the runners who were racing the outer track, and headed for the men's locker rooms."Hey, where's he going?"he heard Lara yell from where she sat on the bleachers. She was dressed in her shortest shorts and a sports bra, meant to be running the track with everyone else, and yet Layon didn't even need to glance at her to know she hadn't broken a sweat. How could she? All she'd been doing was sharpening her nails and gossiping. It didn't help that he'd heard her mutter the words 'traitor's daughter' several times just the first half of histraining session."I'll find out," he heard Jason respond and in the next moment, he felt his second hot on his heels. Quickening his pace, he darted into the lockerroom and yanked open his locker where he'd left most of his things. Luckily he hadn't locked it, as nobody would dare steal from Silverdale's prince. At least not yet. That might change if he didn't get his act together and acted as crappy in his challenges as he had during training that morning.He'd barely pulled his rucksack and his leather jacket from the locker when Jason appeared from outside, looking flustered. The big guy wasn't great with cardio, something else that made Layon feel dreadful when he thought ofhow bad his training had been. Jason was big and slow and he shouldn't have been able to walk all over him as he had. It's last night's liquor, he told himself firmly even as he turned, ignoring Jason, and began to race from the locker room."Hey, would you quit running away from me?" Jason demanded."Where are you going?"To give Jason credit, he did his best to keep up, staying only a few paces behind Layon the entire time. Yet he just wasn't quite fast enough tograb hold of him and yank him to a halt. Layon felt his fingers brush the back of his shoulder several times, bracing himself for a fight."I have somewhere I need to be,"he called over his shoulder even as he slipped on his leather jacket, preparing to hop onto his motorbike that he'dvleft locked up out front. I have to see her, he added silently to himself even as he realized that was exactly where his feet and his actions were taking him.They weren't taking him just to his bike, they were taking him to her. After the way she'd stormed away from him that morning, he was certain that she wasn't still on university grounds. There was only one place he would find her when she was that upset. At least, he hoped he still knew her well enough to know exactly where she would be."What do I tell Coach?" Jason demanded, yelling the words above the motorbike engine that Layon had just kicked into life, swinging on hisrucksack before dropping onto his bike."Whatever," Layon shrugged. "Just come up with something. I'll be back when I can.""Layon, your dad is gonna be…"Jason began but Layon didn't need to hear it. He knew exactly how his dad would be when he heard he'd skipped out on training and his lectures, but that didn't matter. All that mattered right now was making sure that Angel was alright. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but one thing he didn't doubt was that he wouldn't get her out of his system until he had faced her head on. He couldn't do that if she kept pushing him away or running away entirely.Riding out on his bike, the engine roaring loudly, Layon ignored Jason's yelling for him to stop and tell him whatever was going on. There was nostopping. It wasn't only him driving himself forward, it was his wolf. His every instinct was trained upon Angel and the fact she'd obviously been crying the last time he'd seen her. The urge he'd felt to protect her in the woods that morning when she mentioned being followed was back tenfold, and he felt as though she was practically calling to him. He could almost hear her wolfhowling to him, telling him to come to her.Every rational thought was telling him to stop and turn around, to go back to training and forget all about the traitor's daughter. Yet with every time he tried to think of her as that and only that, his gut clenched just a little harder, reminding him that once she had been so much more than that, once she had been his sister's best friend and maybe even like a sister herself.He tried to tell himself that he was going to check on her for his sister's sake, and yet deep down he knew it was more than that. As he whipped his bike through the streets of Silverdale, growing closer and closer to the woodland where he had met her this morning, Layon became more andmore certain that was where he would find her. He could picture her already, sitting beneath the branches of the weeping willow that hung over the surface of the lake, creating a little bubble of solace upon the lake shore where he and his sister and their friends had once made their den, playing pretend at being their own pack.Back in those days Angel had been included, and there hadveven been a time when they would play pretend that he and she were the alpha and his mate. Those days were long gone and their friends had stopped going to the willow tree, but she hadn't. He'd smelled her scent there severaltimes over the years, even more so since her father's banishment.Though he'd never caught her there, he was certain that was where she would be now. He didn't know how, he just knew, and he found himself hurrying to get there faster than he'd ever rushed anywhere before.It wasn't until he began to draw closer to the woodland, drawing to the end of the street and pulling into the open dirt parking lot at the woodland's edge, when he began to ask himself, What the hell am I doing?He had spent the last few years concentrating all his energy on becoming the next alpha, on making sure he was the biggest and strongestand baddest werewolf that he could be to ensure his father's legacy remained intact. And yet now, after two innocent encounters with one forbidden redhead, he found himself risking everything.If my father finds out I'm fraternizing with the enemy, he'll skin me alive, Layon realized, yet a part of him was even angrier at himself forthinking of Angel as the enemy. She was just as much a victim of her father's actions as his father had been, if not more so. Lester Silverdale was stronger than ever, his legacy almost secured, and he never spoke of Axel. Yet Angel was clearly struggling every day to make ends meet, emotionally and physically drained.Layon didn't have to guess how bad she was doing. He could see it and feel it coming off her in waves. My father might be a hard ass but when I'm alpha, things will be different, Layon decided.Though he knew that was a long way off—he had to win his challenges and his father had to pass—it wouldn't stop him from at least trying to make Angel's life a little more bearable, even if it was only to soothe his own soul as she had clearly accused him the night before.Fuck you, Angel! Layon growled to himself even as he killed the engine on his bike and climbed off it, beginning to race right in the direction of the lake and the willow tree. There was no way in hell he was going to let her push him away again. At least, not until he had gotten to the bottom of whatever was going on, not just with her but also between them.She wasn't sure how long she lay there in the cocooned sanctuary of the willow tree branches, but the truth was it didn't really matter. Nobodycared about the traitor's daughter enough to come looking for her and make sure she wasn't skipping out on class. So long as she kept up her work and her grades and turned up for the exams, nobody cared.And so she tried not to think of anything, not university or work or even all that had happened that morning. Instead, she merely lay there against the tree trunk where the moss grew thickest. She closed her eyes and breatheddeeply the scents of the tree, the lake, the wildflowers. Nothing could calm her like this place did.Yet it seemed today that it wouldn't remain that way for long. The sound of footsteps approaching caused Angel to sit bolt upright. The sprites who had been dancing about the surface of the lake, zipping through thetrailing willow branches and sometimes Layoning sprays of water at her, now hurried away as though the n
For just a few moments, Layon allowed himself to believe that this was how things were meant to be. Lying in the moss with Angel snuggled upagainst his chest, his arm wrapped affectionately around her, he could almostbelieve he was right where he was meant to be. With eyes closed, he imagined what their lives might have been like if her father hadn't tried to kill his. Reebah had been adamant right up until then that he and Angel would eventually lead their pack. And although Layon had laughed at his sister, too full of male bravado to admit that she might be right, he had imagined it multiple times. Now it seemed closer than ever, and yet the possibility couldn't have been further away. If he were even caught like this with her now, his acceptance into the alpha challenges might be revoked. Although his father was the current alpha, he couldn't imagine that would hold enoughweight if all the senior members of the pack learned he had been fraternizing with the traitor's daughte
Three days. That was how long it had been since Angel had seen Layon since they had slept together beneath the hanging branches of the willow tree with the sprites frolicking just beyond the bank. Though she hadn't picked up on them at the time, she remembered them now, creating magical music with their feet upon the lake's surface as Layon made love to her. Urgh, Angel! Stop it! she snarled at herself as she sat in the back of a lecture hall, tapping her notepad absentmindedly with her pen. It was increasingly difficult to concentrate on university or work or anything else for that matter when all Angel could do was think of him. And the worst thing was, he hadn't even bothered to call her. She did her best to remember that it likely had more to do with the fact that his sister was still missing and far less to do with her or her performance, but with each passing day, it was growing more and more difficult not to read into it. Her need to speak to him and her desire to make sens
"This place is disgusting," Jason grumbled even as they walked down the high street of the human town nearest to Silverdale's locked community. It was just like any other human community in the world, at least those Layon had experienced in his relatively short supernatural life. On the surface, it was quite pretty, with its mixture of old and new architecture, but beneath that surface, there was a place stinging with crime and pain, and the foul human stench rotted in the air. Though Layon didn't hold the same utter disdain for humans as many of his pack members did, he had to admit that even he was finding the stench of so many of them in close proximity hard to handle. "No wonder most supernaturals only see them as prey," Jason continued, "though I've yet to find one that smells good enough to eat." Even as he spoke those last few words, he flashed his fangs and allowed his eyes to spark amber in the direction of a passing human, who sidestepped so quickly that they almost
Two more days had passed and Angel found herself growing angrier and more frustrated by the hour. There had been no word from Layon, not even a text to let her know he'd gotten her voicemail and that he'd call her when he got the chance. Standing in the corridor close to the hall where she'd had her last lecture of the day, Angel found herself checking her cell phone for the hundredth time that day. And again she thought of giving him another call. Part of her, especially her wolf, wanted to call and call and call until she finally annoyed him enough to pick up. Yet she was even angrier with herself for being so desperate and so with even more growing frustration, she shoved her phone aggressively back into her pocket. Just as she was about to turn and head down the corridor in the direction of the front of the school, headed for home, she heard a commotion coming from around the corner. Hackles rising instantly at the sound of rushing feet headed toward her, she braced herself inst
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, his ears still ringing with the pain in Angel’s voice, but by the time he finally moved at the sound of hisvoice being called, every muscle in his body was aching with tension. The sound of Lara’s voice grated against his eardrums and he fought the urge to punch the pillar that was the only thing holding the bleachers up above his head.She slipped under the bleachers to join him and began to act like a cat in heat, practically rubbing herself up against him as she placed her hands upon his chest and played with the small amount of hair her fingers found there.“I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” she purred, smiling up at him, her face getting so close that he was almost certain she was going to try and kiss him. Her changing moods had always given him whiplash but today he was in no mood at all and so he lashed out, grabbing hold of her wrists tobshove her away from him.“What are you doing here, Lara?” he snarled at her, glaring deep
The Bar was quiet as usual, and Angel’s manager had taken it upon himself to leave her alone as he did almost every shift. It didn’t exactly bother Angel. She liked to be alone. At least, that was what she told herself. It was definitely easier than putting up with all the bullshit and politics that came with being the traitor’s daughter. Yet it didn’t remain that way for long. No sooner had Angel stepped out from the back corridor having just collected a box of napkin refills from the storeroom than the front door of the bar swung open. Even before he entered, Angel could sense him, his inner turmoil and the obvious frustration he was feeling at whatever the hell he was struggling with now. His wolf was grumbling and the moment she saw Layon’s face, she knew that something serious was going on. She opened her mouth to speak but barely managed to let out a whimper as he charged up to her, grabbed her by the elbow, and began to drag her back into the back corridor. “What the hell,
Struggling not to smirk with amusement at Angel’s obvious astonishment the moment they stepped onto one of his father’s three privatejets, he urged her to take a seat. He wanted to be in the air as soon as possible. She continued to glance around the sleek cream interior even as she silently did as he said, clearly too awestruck to argue. It was a welcome relief not to have her arguing with him, and he settled himself in the seat opposite her after instructing the pilot of their destination and their need to hurry.Angel’s silence didn’t last very long and almost as soon as they were up in the air, she seemed to revert right back to her old self. “You know we can’t just walk right into Italy, right? Not since supernaturals came out of the closet.”Layon couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You remember who I am, right?” he responded and watched her face drop with distaste at his need to be so bigheaded.“That doesn’t mean you can ignore the rules,”Angel snapped back at him, crossin