Chapter 5 5

Layla

When I finally opened my eyes the next morning, my entire body felt like it had been broken down and put back together again in the best way possible.

My muscles ached with a deep, throbbed soreness, my skin was covered in faint red marks and bite traces, and my brain felt completely wiped clean of every stress I had walked in with last night. It was, without a single doubt, the most insane, primal night of my entire thousand-year existence.

I was lying in the very center of the massive king-sized bed.

To my left, Zayne was sprawled out on his stomach, one giant, heavily tattooed arm draped heavy over my waist like a steel beam.

To my right, Draven was sleeping on his side, his arm tucked under his pillow, his breathing deep and even. At the foot of the bed, Kael lay back against the headboard, still fast asleep with his broad chest bare and crisscrossed with faint scratches from my nails.

I lay there for a second, staring at the ceiling, trying to pull my thoughts together.

Jesus Christ, I thought, my chest rising in a slow, dazed breath. What the hell was that?

Slowly, carefully, I lifted Zayne’s heavy arm off my stomach, holding my breath as I eased out from between them. My feet touched the cold carpet, and my knees nearly buckled beneath my weight. I gripped the edge of the mattress, biting back a gasp.

"God," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head. "I literally can't walk."

I tiptoed around the room, gathering my clothes off the floor. My green lace dress was slightly wrinkled, my heels were tossed near the couch, and my purse sat on the side table. I slipped my dress back on, pulled my heels into my hand, and looked back at the bed one last time.

All three of them were still completely passed out, looking relaxed and terrifyingly handsome in the soft morning light filtering through the blinds.

I didn't leave a note. I didn't wake them up. I just quietly unlocked the suite door, slipped out into the empty hallway, and walked down the back stairs to my car.

By the time I drove back across the pack border and pulled into the driveway of the Alpha mansion, the sun was fully up.

I practically crawled up the front steps, pushed through the front door, and collapsed face-down onto my bed, still wearing my dress. I was asleep before my head even fully hit the pillow.

"ALPHA! ALPHA, PLEASE OPEN UP!"

A loud, violent pounding echoed through my heavy oak bedroom door, shattering my sleep.

I sat up with a harsh gasp, my head throbbing, my dark curls sticking to my face. "What the fuck?!" I yelled, rubbing my eyes as I glared at the door. "Who is that?!"

"It's Major, Alpha!" a frantic male voice called out from the hallway. "I'm so sorry to disturb you, but the Elders are here! They've summoned an emergency meeting in the main hall!"

I pulled my phone off the nightstand and checked the screen. It was two in the afternoon.

"What meeting?!" I shouted back, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and groaning as my sore muscles protested. "I didn't schedule any emergency meeting today, Major!"

"It wasn't scheduled by you, Alpha!" Major called through the wood, sounding thoroughly terrified.

"The Elders called it themselves! They said it's urgent! They need you downstairs right now!"

"Unbelievable," I hissed, dragging a hand down my face.

I stumbled into the master bathroom, took a lightning-fast five-minute shower to scrub the lingering scent of whiskey and leather off my skin, and threw on a structured black suit jacket over a simple top and dark pants.

I tied my damp hair up into a tight, commanding ponytail, straightened my spine, and marched down the grand staircase toward the pack council chamber.

The double doors of the hall were wide open. Sitting around the long mahogany table were the seven Pack Elders all older, conservative wolves who had been complaining about my leadership methods for the last three decades.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded, my voice booming across the stone hall as I walked in, crossing my arms over my chest. "Calling a council meeting in my house without my approval?"

The chief Elder, an old wolf named Thomas with graying hair and a permanent scowl, set an envelope down on the table.

"We apologize for the abruptness, Alpha Layla," Thomas said, his tone devoid of any actual respect. "But a matter of grave concern was brought to our attention this morning. Someone dropped an envelope off at the pack perimeter."

I raised an eyebrow, stepping up to the table.

“What is it?”

“Pictures, Alpha.”

I raised an eyebrow. "What, did someone take pictures of me? Am I looking good in them?" I let out a sharp, amused scoff. "Who took pictures of me? I didn't request any professional pack press photos."

None of the Elders laughed.

Thomas slid three glossy glossy photographs out of the envelope and pushed them across the polished wood toward me.

I picked them up, casting a lazy glance down at the top photo.

My stomach dropped straight into my shoes.

It was a high-resolution photo of me leaving The Bleeding Stone at six o'clock this morning.

I was holding my heels in one hand, my hair was a messy nest of curls, my dress was rumpled, and visible red bite marks were clearly stamped across my exposed collarbone as I snuck down the alleyway toward my car.

"What the hell?" I muttered, my eyes going narrow as rage flared in my chest. "Is someone stalking me? Wow. Do I need to upgrade my personal security team, Thomas?"

"You need to step down," Thomas said plainly.

The hall went dead silent.

I froze, lifting my head slowly to stare at him. "What did you just say to me?"

"We are asking you to step down from your position as Alpha of the Mooncry Pack," Thomas repeated, leaning forward on his cane.

I let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh, throwing the photos back onto the table. "Step down?! Because of a few fucking pictures?! What the hell is wrong with you people? None of you have ever gone out and taken a picture in your life?!"

"It is not just 'a few pictures'!" another female Elder, Marcus's aunt, snapped from down the table.

"This is completely disgraceful behavior! This is not how an Alpha Queen is supposed to conduct herself! Wandering around in public looking like a common—"

"I am an adult!" I roared, my Alpha aura bursting outward, making the wooden chairs rattle against the floorboards. "I went to a club! I drank! I had a private life for one night! I have bled for this pack for decades, and you're questioning my leadership over a night out?!"

"It was not just any club, Layla!" Thomas shouted back, slamming his hand onto the table. "It was The Bleeding Stone! A filthy, rogue biker club operating on our southern border! Those people are unhinged criminals! They are humans and unsanctioned shifters who refuse to align with any pack! We cannot have our leader mingling with trash like that! You should know this!"

"Okay, fine!" I snapped, waving a hand dismissively. "One fucking mistake! I went to the wrong bar! Is that it? Are we done here?"

"No, we are not done," Thomas said, his voice cold and hard. "It is not just one mistake, Layla. You have been reckless for years. You act like a rogue, you walk around making decisions without consulting the council, and frankly... we don't think it's fair that you have held the Alpha seat for so long without challenge."

A cold, bitter shock washed through my veins, turning my blood to ice.

"You don't think it's fair?" I whispered, stepping closer to the table, my deep blue eyes blazing with dangerous light.

"You don't think it's fair?! I have been the one protecting this territory! I have been the one standing on the front lines, fighting off rival packs while you old fools sat in this air-conditioned room drinking tea! I have provided for every single family in this pack! And you have the absolute audacity to tell me it's not fair?!"

Thomas flinched slightly under my glare, but he held his ground. "We understand your contributions, and the pack is grateful. But we need structure. We need a proper, democratic election. The pack deserves a vote."

"An election?!" I barked out a wild, breathless laugh. "An election for my seat?!"

"Yes," another Elder added softly. "And several male clan leaders have already expressed interest in putting their names forward. Perhaps... perhaps it is time a man took the seat."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Oh these motherfuckers.

The entire room seemed to shift. I looked at the seven old faces sitting around that table, seeing the quiet, hidden resentment they had buried for years, the resentment of having to bow to a powerful, confident, curvy woman who didn't need a man to rule.

"Oh," I breathed, a dark, vicious smile spreading across my face. "Oh, I see now. You pathetic, misogynistic pieces of shit. You just can't stand that a woman has been running this pack better than any man ever could, can you?"

"That is not what this is about—" Thomas started defensively.

"EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I screamed, my voice echoing off the high stone arches with enough raw power to make two of the younger guards at the door drop to their knees, clutching their ears.

Thomas stood up slowly, grabbing his cane, his face pale but set in stone. "We will leave, Alpha Layla. But the election process has officially been started by council vote. It will happen in two weeks, regardless of your anger. And under pack law... we must ask you to vacate the Alpha mansion until the election is concluded."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?!"

"An incumbent candidate on probation cannot reside in the official Alpha estate during an active election." Thomas said stiffly, adjusting his coat. "The house must remain neutral. You have until tomorrow morning to clear your personal belongings.”

"Get out," I whispered, my chest heaving, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. "Get the fuck out before I tear this room apart with my bare hands."

The Elders didn't wait. They gathered their papers, filed quickly out of the hall, and slammed the heavy oak doors shut behind them.

I stood alone in the center of the massive room, surrounded by empty chairs. My mind was screaming, a chaotic storm of shock, rage, and sheer betrayal tearing through me.

"What the hell?" I gasped, pacing back and forth across the rug, clutching my head. "What the fucking ever-loving hell?!"

I grabbed my phone from my pocket with trembling fingers and dialed Meredith’s number. It rang once before she picked up.

"Layla? Is everything okay?"

"CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THESE OLD BASTARDS JUST DID TO ME?!" I shrieked into the receiver, pacing frantically past the high windows looking out over the front driveway.

"They brought in pictures of me leaving that biker club! They triggered an emergency council vote! They're forcing an election, Meredith! They're trying to kick me out of my own fucking house!"

"WHAT?!" Meredith’s voice shrieked through the speaker. "Are you serious?! Layla, calm down, I'm coming over right now—"

"I am going to burn this entire pack house to the ground!" I raged, stomping toward the front entrance hall. "I swear to God, I am going to—"

BRRRRRRRR-RUM-RUM-RUM!

A deafening, earth-shaking roar cut through my words, vibrating right through the stone floorboards beneath my feet.

I froze, lowering the phone from my ear.

Outside the front gates, the loud, thunderous growl of multiple heavy motorcycle engines tore through the quiet afternoon air. The sound didn't stop at the perimeter, it came roaring straight up the long, paved driveway of the Alpha estate.

"What now?" I muttered, glaring toward the front doors.

I pushed the heavy double doors open and stepped out onto the wide stone porch.

Three massive, custom dark-chrome motorcycles cut across the manicured front lawn, kicking up dirt and gravel before screeching to a halt right at the base of the porch steps.

The engines revved once, loud enough to set off a nearby car alarm, before cutting out completely into a heavy, suffocating silence.

The three riders swung their long legs over their bikes in perfect unison. They pulled off their dark helmets, shaking out their hair, and looked up at me.

It was them.

Kael stood in the middle, his cold green eyes locking onto mine with an intense, unreadable pressure.

To his left, Draven adjusted the cuffs of his leather jacket, his hazel eyes cool and calculating. To his right, Zayne ran a hand over his black buzzcut, a slow, dangerous smirk spreading across his face.

I stood at the top of the stairs, my mouth slightly open, my brain completely short-circuiting as I stared at the three men I had abandoned in a hotel bed six hours ago.

"What..." I stumbled over my words, staring down at them. "What are you guys doing here?"

Kael stepped up the first stone stair, his deep voice carrying easily across the courtyard.

"Hi, Layla.” He crossed his arms. “And we're here for our mate.”