Chapter 35

(Layla’s POV)

Here I sit at the pack house, feeling frumpy and abandoned. How dare Santiago take that bitch, Isabella, to the Alpha Ball instead of me? What is it about that woman that neither Jesse nor Santiago can seem to tear themselves away from her?

I’m clearly better than her. I stole them both fair and square.

I pour pickle juice over Rocky Road ice cream and take bites twice as big as my mouth while watching the televised broadcast of the Alpha Ball.

My eyes become wide as saucers when I see footage of Jesse standing behind Isabella with his cheek pressed to hers…then Santiago shows up, pulling her away and into his arms.

The camera follows them to the dance floor!

I almost vomit my pickle juice-flavored sweet treat at the sight unfolding before my very eyes.

“This mess is all your own doing,” my wolf says.

“Honestly, I prefer the silent treatment,” I say back.

“Fine, it’s your funeral, selfish, crazy ass.”

Without another word, my snarky wolf retreats to the back of my mind.

I refocus on the scene playing on television like a real-life soap opera drama. He’s my man! How dare she?

I grit my teeth and growl.

He holds her close to his body. The thin fabric of their formal clothes is the only separation between them.

Her hand is on his shoulder. I see her fingers caress the back of his neck.

Even through his suit jacket and long-sleeve dress shirt, Santiago’s muscles can’t be missed. They flex with his obvious strength as he holds her tight.

My heart races in my chest, and my hands with sweaty palms tremble. The room suddenly looks like I’m standing in a fog.

I cross my arms over my chest and rock in place back and forth as I watch her enjoy what is rightfully mine.

I lean closer to try and focus on their faces. Santiago’s icy blue eyes never divert from Isabella. And her?

The way she smiles and holds him…she is actually in love with him. I slam my hand down, breaking the glass of the coffee table into shards. “How fucking dare she!” How fucking dare he! Who do they think they are! This won’t stand!”

My breath catches in my throat. I feel air hungry, gasping, forcing yawns to take in a full refreshing breath of oxygen. The shaking in my hands intensifies.

He holds her like he’s terrified she’ll disappear when he lets go. He never held me like that. And, he never looked at me the way he looks at her.

I shake my head in disbelief at the realization. They are actual mates and in love.

He dips her…she wraps her leg around him. The slitted fabric of Isabella’s dress exposes her thigh to her fucking hip.

Her legs are muscular yet petite and feminine, just like the rest of her body.

Santiago’s gaze looks at her like a hungry wolf staring at his prey. His eyes bear into her like he wants to rip the dress right off her body there in the middle of the dance floor.

My fists have shards of glass embedded in them. They clench tightly, forcing blood to the surface. The sensation stings, yet is somehow comforting at the same time.

I feel my jaw tick. The muscles in my shoulders tighten into painful knots. And, my face heats as it flushes red.

I make a phone call. She’s not surprised as she has been watching the Alpha Ball on television as well.

“I need a potion,” I tell her. “Now. Something that will cause immediate symptoms but not terribly dangerous for the baby.”

She tells me the proper dosage of wolf’s poison to take. She assures it will hurt me, but not severely, and promises that it won’t harm the baby. I make arrangements to receive the drug.

By the time I finish my ice cream, it arrives. As I open the bottle, the smell hits my nose. It’s bitter like a combination of bleach and rotten egg. I pinch my nostrils closed and swallow it in one big gulp. I feel the effects immediately.

My chest tightens and beats rapidly. Sweat pours from the top of my head down my face and soaks my clothing. I destroy the bottle so no one can know about it.

I take some shards of glass and purposely dig them sporadically into my scalp, face, and arms. I break off the table leg and beat my bicep until it turns painfully purple.

The area around my lips begins to burn. My head pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears. All of my extremities are weak and twitchy. Stomach cramps set in with nausea.

I’m barely strong enough to lift my own phone. I call Beta Levi. I beg him to help me. “Santiago isn’t here and the baby…oh Moon Goddess, our baby could be in distress,” I tell him.

I barely hang up before Levi arrives.

“You’re despicable and stupid,” my wolf says through raspy, shallow breath. “Why call Levi anyway?”

I laugh at her. “Authenticity, Wolfy,” I say sarcastically. “He will see us dangerously ill and alert Santiago. This will make our story more credible. Relax. It wasn’t a lethal dose. We’ll be fine,” I chide.

“You’re fucking psycho. This is going to blow up in your face.”

Then she goes silent.

I feel my consciousness float in and out.

Levi enters the room. He looks around wildly. His gaze scans the broken table and my body. I feel him drop to his knees at my side.

“Layla, what happened?”

“I…I don’t know,” I say weakly. “All the sudden I felt a hot flash, the worst headache I’ve ever had…and I fell,” I gasp out.

He looks me over with concern etched in his face. His brows furrow. Through my enhanced werewolf senses, I can hear his heart racing.

He’s scared for me. Good.

“Did you…fall into the table?” he asks.

Tears sting the corners of my eyes as I nod slightly. “Yes,” I say raggedly. “I think I hit my head and arm on the coffee table.”

Without even trying and perfectly on cue, I bolt up and lean over to the opposite side away from Levi and vomit.

Levi pulls out his phone and calls the pack hospital. “Hang on, Layla. It’s going to be okay,” he says brushing the hair away from my face. Help is coming.

I turn toward him with what little strength I have and try to sit up, “Santiago, will he come?”

Levi guides me back to the floor. “I’m sure he will. I’ll call him after we get you safely to the hospital, I promise. Lie back now. Rest.”

“The baby…our baby,” I croak out.

“I know, I know. Everything's going to be alright.”

Suddenly, my rapidly beating heart that has felt like it could thunder right out of my chest all evening slows down to a painfully sparse beat that feels like a sputter straight through to my back.

I feel myself gasp for oxygen, squeaking on inhale like a balloon losing air.

Wolves arrive and lift me effortlessly onto a stretcher. They ask Levi if I’ve taken any medications or ingested something poisonous. He explains that I called him for help, and he found me in this state.

Santiago meets us at the pack hospital. I’m in and out of consciousness. The world goes from dark to blinding fluorescent hospital lighting. My eyes squint as I try to adjust and survey my surroundings.

Burning fever heats my body. Chills run through me, numbing my legs. My eyes flutter open at the husky sound of Santiago’s voice, meeting his icy blue stare.

“Layla, what happened?” he asks.

“Santiago…oh…our baby…” I feel palpitations in my throat. Then, the world goes black.