Layla POV

“What the hell?”
Someone was pounding on the door but the burned patches on the wall and the part where the carpet had been ripped off the floor. The curtain and been dropped and the bed was in disarray.
The last thing I remembered was getting to the room after stepping on glass. Glass which wasn’t there in the first place.
“Open up!” Gabe yelled.
I stared around the destroyed room. I swallowed. Where’s Dean?
“Just— Just a minute.” I stood and rushed to the wardrobe for something to wear.
Pieces of the sink welcomed me the second I entered the walk-in closet.
“Dean?” I squeaked.
His body lay in the corner of the closet on his side. The door burst open and I gasped. I grabbed Dean’s shirt and pulled it on.
Gabe, Lyle and Dec stood in the doorway taking in the scene.
“I don’t know what happened, I swear.”
“Bloody hell,” Lyle said.
I rushed to Dean’s side.
“Ouch,” he mumbled.
I placed my hand on my chest. “Are you okay?”
He raised his brow at me. “It depends, are you Layla or the moon goddess?”
“Excuse me?” Gabe frowned.
“Clearly he hit his head.”
Dean cranked himself up and leaned against the wall. He stared at me.
“No, you threw me against the wall.”
I didn’t remember that.
“What the hell happened? Can’t be a couple’s fight. Your room’s destroyed,” Dec said.
“We need a minute,” Dean said.
I didn’t like that I didn’t remember what happened. I had already had amnesia and not knowing was frustrating.
“Dude, your room’s destroyed. We heard the commotion from the party downstairs,” Gabe added.
“I’ll explain later. Let me get dressed man,” Dean barked.
“Fine, let’s go,” Gabe told his betas.
The door clicked shut and it was just the two of us. Dean picked himself off the ground and walked to the closet. He opened it and the door came off. He turned to me and raised his brow. He plucked out a pair of pants and slipped them on.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“You mysteriously cut yourself and the smell of your blood triggered me.”
I swallowed. “Are you saying you tried to eat me?”
He folded his arms over his chest. “I would never do that but you came out of nowhere and forced me to shift. It was dangerous but it wasn’t you…”
“Are you saying the moon goddess was here?”
“I think so. I think you healed my curse but you knocked me around first.”
“I’m sure I had good reason,” I swallowed.
He pulled me into his arms. I listened for his heartbeat. It was perfect. If he was healed did that mean he wasn’t marked for dead anymore?
“You’re going to live?” I whispered.
“I’m going to live.”
He cupped my cheeks and kissed me. He kissed me passionately. He lifted me and I wrapped my arms around his waist. He held me tightly in place. We had a future.
“We should fix our bedroom first,” Dean chuckled.
“We can find another room. For tonight,” I whispered.
“I love that.”
***
I knocked on the door to the office Owen had been given to use.
“Come in, Layla,” he said.
“You wanted to see me?”
He had a pipe between his lips. “Sit.”
I had a few things I wanted to ask him but he sought me out first. He set his pipe aside and smiled.
“I wanted to know if you were okay. We heard about the commotion in your room last night.”
Heat rushed to my face. “How?”
He chuckled. “Big castle but news travels quickly. You appear fine.”
“I am. Eight isn’t here is he?”
Owen leaned back in his seat. “He left last night. He was rather upset.”
“Do you know who Tristan and Victor were? How are they connected to Eight?”
Owen’s face went pale. “He spoke about them?”
I nodded. Owen stood and walked to the window. He peeked through them. We were on the first floor. No one was listening outside the window. Still, Owen was anxious.
“They were Eight’s older brothers. Young mischievous boys. Tristan worked under The Alpha King and Victor was a rogue.”
“He was a rogue?”
“He was accused of getting comfortable with the Alpha’s mate. Banishment was a mild punishment if you ask me.”
I stood and walked close to Owen.
“Why does Eight think Dean killed them?”
Owen released a shaky breath. “He’s wrong. Victor found letters from me and Ember pack.”
I swallowed.
“You must understand Victor was troubled. He learned about the stone. It was my fault I was sloppy with the letters your Father sent me.”
“So what happened?”
“He learned of the stone. He tried to convince a small group which Eight was a part of to go after it. They would have infinite power. I couldn’t brush it off as another group wanting power.”
I imagined a young Eight looking up to an older brother, idolizing him and his grand plans even if they would result in invading a pack to steal their precious item. In that case, they would have been looking for me.
“I pleaded with him. It was like adding fuel to the fire.”
“He didn’t listen,” I whispered.
I believed I knew where this was going.
“I had no choice. I had to make up for my carelessness.”
“So you put him on course to Dean’s pack.”
Owen sighed. It looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder.
“I put him where I knew he would be found. He was my cousin’s son. I needed his brother to have closure.”
“This… all happened after Tristan right?”
Owen nodded. “Yes, it was in an invasion. There’s nothing shady about that.”
I bit my tongue. I didn’t need to out Dean’s secrets. He wasn’t cursed anymore though, thank goodness.
“I tried to remove the poison from Eight all these years but he became a loner, always wondering. He believed because Tristan’s death was connected to the Alpha King and Victor was found near his pack then Dean was hiding something.”
“Don’t you think that Dean’s hiding something?”
Owen let out a shaky breath. “He’s a King. He does. Dean is our only hope of defeating the hybrids.”
He walked to the desk and picked up a half-drunk cup of liquor and drowned it.
“Have you thought about… I don’t know, coming clean?”
Owen’s face turned grim. “He’ll kill me. Eight is merciless. He won’t stop until his brothers have been avenged. It’s good that he left.”
***
“Hey Sexy,” Dean called.
I turned to find him glistening with sweat. He walked out of the gym. I thought he would be in his private garden. He appeared shirtless wearing black pants only. He unwrapped the cloth around his knuckles.
“Why didn’t you tell me you needed a sparring buddy?”
He laughed. “After last night, I’m not messing with you again.”
The field was busy with Betas training as usual. Wolves had impeccable hearing and what I had to say was sensitive. Dean and I walked to the private garden.
“I had the betas investigate the broken glass by the pool.”
“Oh, baby it was an accident,” I said.
Dean shook his head no. “It wasn’t there when we arrived.”
“We would have noticed if another presence joined us by the pool.”
“Which is why this is fishy. Glass doesn’t fall from the sky and not make a sound.”
I stopped. “You think it was planted?”
He nodded.
“Dean, there are more lethal ways to hurt someone.”
“Call me paranoid but I think someone knew your blood or any blood would trigger me.”
“Dean, I hope you’re only paranoid because that means someone else knows your secret.”
“I’m worried about the person mad enough to hurt my mate. My mate.”
Despite his sweat, I clung to him and kissed him. I felt the fire in his core through our bond. It was a turn-on. Thank goodness the garden was private.