Chapter 66
LAYLA
“I don’t know, Alex.” I whisper, not wanting to admit that I am already having doubts about my feelings towards him.
He licks his lips and sighs before resting his head back. I search his eyes which are filled with exhaustion.
“Dad. Mom…and Alessandra, my sister. We were a happy family, Layla. “He starts, staring into my eyes.
I shudder, sensing the exhaustion shifting to agony behind his eyes. I didn’t know he had a sister. There are no pictures of his family in the house.
“When Dad found out about Conway, he took Alessandra. My sister. She was only six. But he took her.” His voice drops, becoming an almost inaudible whisper.
My heart sinks. I cup his cheeks again and caress his skin with my thumbs. He hides so much inside him. My eyes sting when I feel his pain.
“What happened to her?” I ask softly.
“Conway killed her when Dad went after him. She just…died. And my parents became weak. They lost themselves and eventually Conway got to them too.” His gaze lowers to my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
“I- – – “I trail off, a lump forming in my throat and making it hard for me to say anything to him.
“I was away from home, studying in a boarding school. When I came back, my family was gone. The weak ones had to die, Layla. If my Dad was strong, he would have saved Alessa and Mom. But he didn’t. He went down and couldn’t protect anyone, or anything. Conway’s terror stuck with people until I was strong enough to take him down myself.” He reveals in a soft voice that is void of his usual arrogance and haughtiness.
“Is that why you hate weak people?” I utter, leaning in to place my forehead over his.
“The world I live in and the things I do- – -anyone weak can’t survive this. And I can’t bear the thought of losing someone again, Layla.” His lips murmur against mine.
“I am weak. I am sorry.” I whisper, closing my eyes.
“No.” He releases a hot breath. “You are not weak. You are brave and strong, Layla. I didn’t believe this until I saw you fighting for our daughter all alone. But now I know. You are not someone who will run away or lose yourself to anyone, Layla. You will fight and every time you do, I will be proud of you p>
My heart misses a beat. I open my eyes to find him already staring at me. Our gazes meet, bringing me a step closer to the surface that he hides deep inside him.
“And where you fall short, I will protect you. I will not let anything happen to you or our daughter. I will keep my family safe, Layla. I won’t fail like Dad and Mom did.” He utters, sliding my hair behind my ears. “Family? Are we really a family, Alex?” I sigh.
“I want us to be.” He nods, before pecking my lips softly. “If you give me a chance, I will become your family, your protector, and everything you want me to be, Layla p>
“And if I don’t give you a chance?” My stomach flips.
His eyes darken visibly. “I won’t let you go p>
“What if I want you to let me go?” Heat spreads in my body, igniting a new fire that wants to devour him and become one with him.
“I am sorry.” Alex mumbles, a mixture of certainty and guilt in his voice. “I will give you everything other than letting you go p>
“Why?” I lick my lips and whisper softly.
Does he love me like he wants me to love him? The question inside my head makes my insides warm with heat.
“Why?” He breathes, his gaze switching between my eyes and lips. “Because I don’t think I will be able to live without you. And because I shared my blood with you. You are already mine, Layla. My Layla. My mate.” My heart flutters in my chest. “Shared your blood? Wha… What does that mean p>
“I don’t know if you noticed or not but I am better than other werewolves. It’s because I am a Lycan blood.” He discloses. My eyes widen.
Lycans are a special breed of werewolves. They are rare and remain hidden from others to protect their bloodline. They have double the strength and speed that werewolves have and they are smarter than the normal wolves too. “Lycan? Really?” I huff. I should have known.
“Is that unsettling for you?” He grins playfully.
“No. I should have guessed this by now.” I scrunch my nose.” but what do you mean you gave me your blood p>
“Lycan blood can heal all wounds, Layla. I couldn’t have let you die in front of me so I made you drink my blood when you were unconscious. Now you owe me your life. “Alex pecks my lips again.
He really did that for me? I swallow the emotions threatening to clog my throat.
My body shudders in his lap as I glare at him. “You can do that much after all the insults you threw at me and after all the times you hurt me, Alex p>
“Fuck.” He groans all of a sudden and pulls me in to give me a deep kiss.
I kiss him back gently because I have lost my energy after so many revelations. It’s really true. I don’t know a thing about this man even after this long conversation.
He pulls back and rests his forehead over mine again. “No one has ever given me a nickname before. I love it when you call me Alex p>
“R-Really?” I pant, clutching the collar of his shirt.
“I am sorry.” He ignores my confused question and whispers to me.
“For what?” I suck in a huge breath.
“For everything I did to you in the past. I know I can’t make up for all that with an apology, but I have to start somewhere.” He says, caressing my cheeks.
I pull my bottom lip into my mouth, tasting his mint breath before closing my eyes. It’s getting so complicated. I never imagined this change in him. I never thought he would have this gentle side.
It feels so wrong to think I should forgive him. No matter what, he did hurt me badly in the past. And I was just about to accept a new life with Theo. I would have started loving him with time too. Everything could have been set for me. I could have had a future where I never feared that Theo would hurt me.
But, it’s all fleeting now. My heart is betraying me. And Alex is betraying me by acting so good.
“We should go home before Ayla wakes up.” Alex mumbles, dropping his hands on my waist to help me back into the passenger seat.
Silently, I let him place me back before I turn my head away and keep my eyes closed. I can’t deal with this right now. Maybe, he will stop talking about such things in a while and we will go back to being enemies.
“Just so you know, I will not give up on you. Once I set my mind to something, Layla, I don’t stop until I get it. This time, my aim is you. You will have to give in. And once you do, I will give you everything you ever wished and I will make up for all the time I wasted hurting you.” His voice rasps close to my ear, making me sink into the seat.
Now, I don’t know what I am supposed to do anymore. Everything is starting to fall apart inside me and in the world around me.