Page 19 of Bewitched

T he nervous sensation in her chest as she stepped into the elevator was Jaxon. Layla was too tired to be nervous, or that’s what she told herself. Her Alpha kept his arm around her waist like she was his girlfriend or his prisoner. Maybe a bit of both.

She didn’t mind, or the instinctual inner omega thoughts didn’t mind. The beta voice, which sounded so much like her mother, said that she should run far away from Jaxon. That he would take everything inside her and turn it to rot. But she was already rotting and foul and awful, and it had nothing to do with him. It leeched from her into the air, destroying everything around her.

Jaxon must have smelled it on her as her scent turned bitter with distress. He purred softly and nuzzled into her hair, his hand coming up her side until his fingers traced over the underside of her breast. She hadn’t worn a bra. Mina hadn’t packed one. She turned away from his fingers but burrowed closer to his body, nose to his chest, taking in cinnamon spice and sweat. It was calming, unlike anything else in the world, soothing like a dark night and a warm fire. She missed nights like that.

“What do I smell like?” she asked.

He scowled at her and brushed her hair away from her mating bite. He touched the scent gland sitting above it under her jaw. She shivered. “Lemons? Lemonade, I guess. Flowers… not roses but some flower.”

“Mina said I smelled like rotten apples.” She stared blankly at his chest. Rotting. Even Mina knew.

Jaxon snorted. “Your sister is an idiot.” He took her jaw in his hand and lifted her chin up, forcing her gaze to his. “Your sister is fucking stupid. There’s nothing rotten about you. Maybe a bit like ripe lemons, the kind that fermented, and you get drunk off ‘em. You belong to me, kitten.”

She stared up at him and tried to nod her head, but he wouldn’t let her move.

“Say it,” he said.

“Yes, Alpha,” she said and shuddered pleasantly.

The elevator came to a smooth stop and opened on one of the office floors of Greenway Tower. Kaiser stood at the door waiting for them. Jaxon let go of her face, and Kaiser held out his hand. She took it, and the omega drew her away from her mate into the bright lights of the hall. Her shoes squeaked loudly on the linoleum. It felt like the quiet before a storm — the feeling of sparking electricity before the lightning strikes.

Layla sniffed at Kaiser’s calming parental scent. She wrapped her hand around his upper arm, not quite ready to let him go. He patted her hand softly.

“There’s a lot of people,” he said apologetically. “It’s… tense.”

Jaxon stepped into the hall, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. He scowled at her but didn’t reach for her or take her back from Kaiser’s side.

She looked away. “So many?”

“Your mother and father, Bryson, Mina, Georgia. Warren. Raina, my father, Roan, Holden.”

“Is that fucking necessary?” Jaxon growled.

Kaiser shrugged. “If there’s a fight, you want even odds.”

Layla could feel herself slipping away. Closed off and gone. She didn’t want all those people to see her like this. She didn’t want to see anyone at all. Her family was here. She was about to look them in the eyes. Explain herself to them. Tell them that she spent the last three days getting fucked out of her mind and that she wasn’t leaving him.

She was still a mess. She knew it. Her eyes were red and bruised. She was cut up, and every muscle in her body hurt from strain. She should have done her make-up or something, but she didn’t have any. She didn’t want to see her own face. Her mother would take one look at her and scream. She wondered if Jaxon would just drop her off at the dorms, and she could pretend none of this happened, except her chest ached with Jaxon’s presence, and she didn’t actually want to leave. She just wanted all this to stop—

Jaxon wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her to him. “Omega,” Jaxon growled, “breathe.”

Layla sucked in a breath, pushing down all her feelings and staring up at him. “I’m okay.”

Jaxon snorted. “This goes south? I’m carrying her right back out. This is a fucking circus I don’t need.”

She wanted to say that she could take it. That she could handle it while they talked about her and over her and tried to tell her what to do like they had her whole life, but she knew she couldn’t. She had to see her parents. She had to tell them she was fine and that she was staying with Jaxon.

God, she just wanted to return to her clean nest and sleep for a week.

Kaiser led them down the hall to the conference room suite.

Georgia nodded to them as she stood guard at the door.

“Not going to witness the massacre?” Jaxon asked.

The alpha smirked. “I might have called someone a bitch.”

Layla grimaced. “My mom?”

“No,” she said, “Bryson. He needed it, but Damian kicked me out. Just call out if you need me.”

Kaiser opened the hall door, and Damian’s tense voice floated into the outer chamber of the conference room. “Your daughter is in very capable hands, Mr. Nash. We have retained a doctor specialized in omega endocrinology, and she is being well cared for.”

Layla’s face heated. Damian had seen her buck naked and wrapped in blankets in a closet. He had purred at her. Embarrassing. She hadn’t even thought of seeing him again. She felt like ten times more the fool for it.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” her father snapped, growl heavy in his voice.

Layla jerked back instinctively at the censure from her alpha parent. She didn’t like that sound. Angry alphas. She couldn’t have him angry. She had to soothe him, but she didn’t know how. She never knew how.

She was a terrible omega.

Jaxon wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Kitten? Shh.”

Layla stood stiff in his arms. “I want to go home. I can’t do this. I want to go home.”

She gripped his arm tight, pinching and twisting his skin until he flinched. “Okay, wait. Layla, breathe.”

“I want to see my daughter,” Shera Nash’s voice fell icy cold over the conference room.

Layla froze. There was no escape. Her breath caught in her throat. It was happening. Her parents would know everything now, and they would be so disappointed when they finally heard the truth.

“You promised,” she whispered.

Jaxon nodded. “They won’t have you. They’ll kill me first.”

Layla mirrored his curt nod. She could use his strength, just for a little bit.

Georgia grinned at them, showing sharp canines. She was vicious, too, in her way. She knew what it meant to protect an omega.

“She should arrive shortly,” Damian said, muffled by the door.

“Mom, calm down,” Mina said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” Shera yelled. “They have kidnapped my daughter and are holding her hostage. If this continues, I will involve the police.”

“That is your right,” Damian said.

Kaiser cringed. “Before this gets worse…”

He opened the inner door, and Layla stepped into the room — Jaxon at her back.

All eyes were on her. Too many. There was a table in the middle of the room, but Warren was the only one sitting, looking perfectly comfortable surrounded by posturing alphas. Damian and Raina stood on the near side of the table while Holden leaned against the wall near Warren with Roan beside him. On the far side of the table was her mother and father, with Mina and Bryson beside them. Her mother’s hands were clenched into tight fists, her rage tightly grasped. Her father looked exhausted and angry.

Layla stepped back into her mate, and he curled both arms around her, possessive. She was surprised by the comfort it brought instead of the trepidation of being pawed at in public. She wanted him to touch her more, shield her from all these eyes.

“Thank you for joining us, Miss Layla,” Damian said.

She turned to stare at him. He was dressed in a bespoke suit, professional. He was tense, like he was waiting for the room to explode. Nothing of the indulgent parental alpha she had met in Jaxon’s den, just the cold alpha she had always known. It was an unsettling change.

“Layla,” her father said, begging her.

She drew her eyes to the alpha across the table. He was a big man. He’d always seemed as tall as mountains, but now he was diminished, small, the man who should have been her alpha for the last twenty years. Not that Aslin spent much time acting like her alpha, teaching her, protecting her, showing her what it meant to be part of something bigger than herself.

He was just her father, blandly beta in their interactions. “Dad,” she said.

“Oh, sweetie,” her mother said with her hand to her mouth. She looked sick and gray, her hair in disarray.

What had Layla done to her family?

Her mother stepped forward like she was about to run around the table, but Aslin grabbed her arm.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

Shera stared at Layla in raw horror.

Layla stared at the table between them, unable to meet anyone’s eyes.

“May we inspect her?” Her father’s voice was brittle and nearly shattered with anger and grief.

Layla cringed, turning toward her mate. She didn’t know what that meant. Inspecting didn’t sound nice. She didn’t want anyone touching her. She pressed herself into Jaxon. She wanted to sink inside him and hide.

Damian raised a hand and beckoned them forward, but only Bryson moved. He walked around the table and nodded to Raina as he passed, though she met his eyes with a snarl of her own. Father and daughter on opposite sides of the battle. Were they father and daughter? Did Raina know she was Kaiser’s pup and not Bryson’s? It all seemed so complicated now.

Bryson stopped in front of Layla, drawing her attention from Raina. He smiled down at her kindly. She had forgotten he was so tall. She remembered the sad alpha who read books to her after his wife died.

Jaxon held her close, taut, ready to attack. “Careful,” he snarled.

Bryson glared at Jaxon over her head. “I let you protect my pups. I’ve let you live in my home, and you think I would betray that trust?”

Her Alpha released a stressed breath from between his teeth. “No.” He didn’t let go of her or even relax, but he turned his low thrum of a growl into a purr, more to soothe himself than Layla.

Bryson cautiously held his wrist in front of Layla’s face, and she tentatively sniffed at the familiar scent, the sea and wild orchids. She turned her nose back to Jaxon’s chest. She didn’t like this.

Bryson brushed his fingers over her hair, and she snarled at him. Her growl was pathetic and weak, but the alpha jerked his hand back. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Across the room, her mother gasped.

“Shh, enough of that,” Jaxon said, bringing his hand to her face, pulling her back to his chest, and holding her still.

She jerked against his hold, shoving against his side. “Hey!” she snapped. What were they doing to her?

“Quickly,” Jaxon said. He pressed a finger to her scent gland, flooding her system with dopamine and serotonin and all the good-feeling chemicals that made her feel serene and relaxed.

She was relaxed for a moment. It was almost alright. Then Bryson touched her hair, moved it aside, and pressed his fingers against the tender skin around her mating gland.

Layla yelped angrily. She kicked at him, and Bryson let her blow connect with barely a grunt. Jaxon held her tighter, keeping her in place for whatever Bryson was doing to her. She hated it. She hated it. She wanted his hands off her. No one should be touching her!

She sank her teeth into the muscle under her mouth, shirt and meat. She was going to make him hurt. Jaxon grunted but kept hold of her.

Bryson’s hand moved away from her mating gland and touched her hair, bringing a strand to his nose and sniffing.

Kaiser moved away from the door. “Stop. You have your answer.”

Bryson jerked and released her hair, retreating a step.

Layla released Jaxon’s chest from her teeth and glared up at him until he let go of her face, and then she turned her teary anger on Bryson. He at least managed to look ashamed of himself.

Her father spoke from across the table, “They are bonded then?”

“Aye,” Bryson said, stepping further away, far from Jaxon’s reach.

Her Alpha relaxed minutely, stroking his hand down her side. She almost smacked him for that stunt. He shouldn’t get to hold her after that, but she didn’t actually want to be without him while there were half a dozen alphas around her.

Kaiser pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, propping his knee up on the tabletop. “Well, are we all satisfied then? Can our lovebirds go back to their nest and snuggle?”

Aslin grimaced, and Layla had to look away.

Damian rolled his eyes. “If you are satisfied, then we can move on with this discussion.”

“Aslin, do something,” Shera whispered, her eyes wide and panicked. “You have to stop this.”

Her father looked down at his wife and shook his head. “Shera, they’re mated. It’s done. It’s sacrosanct.”

“Mated! Look at her!” her mother screeched, and all eyes turned to Layla.

She swallowed down the fear that seemed to ball up in her chest. Jaxon held onto her arms, keeping her steady.

“Look at what that brute did to her!”

Layla winced. She knew what she looked like: bruised and sunken eyes, unkempt hair, and pale, pallid skin. It was frightening, especially compared to how she looked a few days ago. She dug her fingernails into her arm to stop the buzz screaming in her brain. She wanted to go home to her dark nest. She wanted to dig out her Alpha’s insides, crawl into the cavity, and never leave.

“Shera, shh,” Aslin said.

Shera jerked away from him. “She’s my baby, Aslin. Layla, please come here. I’m not angry with you, please. I know this isn’t your fault.”

Jaxon growled, and Layla shook her head. She didn’t want to go anywhere except to Jaxon’s den, to her nest. She told them. It was enough now. She wanted to go home.

“Layla, come here now!” Shera demanded.

Layla jerked toward her as if pulled by some invisible string, an instinct embedded by years of conditioning. She didn’t even know she needed to fight it. She gasped, and Jaxon hauled her back into his embrace.

“Mom, shut up,” Mina snapped.

Jaxon growled, louder this time. “Watch yourself, woman. Try to command her, and you’ll never see her again.”

“You foul monster,” Shera spat across the table. “She’s a good girl. She would never try to tempt an animal like you.”

Layla sucked in a breath because that wasn’t true. She did tempt him. She was in heat. He couldn’t resist her. She was a whore. She made him bite her.

Warren cleared his throat, breaking into the tension. “It would have been nice if they had chosen a time to bond when they weren’t under the influence, but they are highly physiologically compatible. There was a high probability of mating even if this had not happened.”

“Under the influence?” That only seemed to turn her mother into even more of a rage. “He kidnapped and raped her. He’s an animal!”

“No,” Layla said immediately, and Jaxon’s hands spasmed against her. She couldn’t let them think that. That’s not what happened. It couldn’t be. She—she made him.

“That’s not how it works,” Kaiser interrupted.

Shera heard none of it. She tugged on her husband’s arm. “She needs to be away from that man. Aslin! Do something!”

Her father silently shook his head. There was nothing he could do that wouldn’t end in blood and death. He knew it. Layla knew it. She knew what Jaxon would do. He had promised it.

“Shera…” Bryson said imploringly.

Shera turned on him. “You have known her for years. She wouldn’t be with him on purpose. This isn’t my baby. She needs a hospital. She’s sick.”

“No,” Layla said again. The thought of being away from Jaxon, even for a moment, skittered terror down her spine. “I don’t want to go to a hospital,” she said. “I have Warren.”

Her mother leaned over the table toward her. “Layla, you must see how this is wrong. You don’t understand what that creature is doing to you.”

“Shera, stop,” Aslin said, grabbing her arm to pull her back. “This is enough.”

She jerked her arm from her husband’s grasp. “I stood by when you let that heathen take your son.”

“Hey,” Holden groused at the same time Raina said, “Mrs. Nash!”

Shera’s face twisted in rage and grief. “I am not letting that animal have my baby girl!”

Mina looked aghast. “Mom—”

She spun on her daughter. “All these alphas are animals, Mina, can’t you see that?”

Mina cocked her head and backed away. “Mom…”

“Shera,” Aslin said.

Shera looked between Aslin and Mina, her offense dawning on her face. “No, I didn’t mean you. You’re not like them.”

Mina grimaced like she was tasting something disgusting in the air. “I am them. Denying it doesn’t change anything.”

Panic crossed Shera’s face. “Mina, I’m sorry.”

Mina shook her head and backed away around the table until she stopped beside Damian. The old alpha put his hand on her shoulder, claiming her as his own in front of them all.

Shera put her hand over her heart. “Oh, god. I’m… Layla?”

Layla kept herself tucked into Jaxon’s side and shook her head.

“Please,” her mother cried. “You can’t take my baby like this. I love you. I just want to take care of you. You don’t want this.”

Layla stared at her mother in disgust, her heart breaking, angry. Her mother had no idea who she was, just the parroting beta creature she had created. It wasn’t real. So much of her wasn’t real. And it was hard to fit together those pieces that hadn’t been corrupted and twisted and broken. And the worst of it was that her mother didn’t even realize she had done anything wrong. It didn’t enter into her mind that she could ever be wrong.

Tears filled Layla’s eyes. It might have hurt less if her mother actually meant to be cruel. If there was an evil she could rage against, but there was nothing. Just a woman with a twisted view of what was good and right. But it destroyed Layla’s life just the same, and there was nothing that could fix it.

“You don’t know what I want,” Layla said. “You never let me have anything I wanted. You never let me be what I was supposed to be, and now I don’t know anything! I never got to learn how to be an omega. And everything is scary and too big because there’s supposed to be stuff I know and feel, but I can’t reach it.” She shook her head. So much was never going to be okay again.

“The omega parts of me are all gone, and I don’t know how to get it back. You did that, Mom. You did that because you wanted me to be something I wasn’t.” She turned her misery to her father. “And you didn’t fucking care that it was happening.”

“Layla, that wasn’t how it was,” Shera said.

Aslin bowed his head. “Layla, I never meant for—”

Jaxon growled, deep and vibrating. “Don’t speak to her.”

Shera covered her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks. She pulled out a chair and slumped into it, staring at the table.

Layla couldn’t feel anything for her. Her teeth felt numb from her outburst, and the detached feeling went down her chest and through her limbs until she felt numb all over. Far away. Outside.

Aslin growled, turning his attention to Jaxon. “I should gut you where you stand.”

Jaxon grinned, showing sharp, wet teeth. “Try, Nash. I’ve not had my fill of blood today.”

“Enough,” Damian shouted into the room. “The omega is as well as can be expected after a heat. She is being well cared for by her mate and by my medical team. We have other issues to discuss.”

The room was silent for a long moment. Aslin was the first to move. “Such as?”

Layla mechanically turned her face into Jaxon’s chest, burying herself in his smell and comfort. He wrapped his arms around her, but she could barely feel it.

Bryson’s voice shook as he asked, “What caused this?”

“A breakout heat triggered by a compatible alpha,” Damian said. “We think Harlow’s pheromones on Mina's clothing was enough to override her suppressants—”

“This was not a heat!” Shera broke in. Her hands were spread out over the table, pressed so hard her skin had turned white. “Her suppressants wouldn’t allow it. She has been on a strict regimen since before she presented.”

“The medication is what made the reaction worse,” Kaiser said dryly.

Layla shuddered. It was so much worse. Jaxon slipped his hand around the back of her neck and held her close.

“Has this happened before?” Aslin asked.

“No,” said Damian as Kaiser said, “Yes.”

“Kaiser!” Damian snapped.

The omega turned on his father. “They need to understand! You don’t get to keep my secrets. Not when it keeps hurting people.”

Raina made a displeased grunt, but she said, “I agree.”

“Understand what?” Aslin asked.

Warren sat up in his seat, passing a tissue box down to Shera. “There needs to be further investigation into the aberrant reaction to her medication.”

Damian snorted derisively. “The Wayland Corporation needs to be held accountable for their failure.”

“Her medication can’t fail,” Aslin said. “That brand hasn’t failed in… thirty years.”

Bryson stared at her, and Layla stared back. He sniffed his fingers from where he had touched her. His eyes widened, and all the blood seemed to drain from his face. “What was she on?”

“Omerex,” Damian said.

Bryson huffed a laugh and turned to Kaiser. “That… the same thing as you?”

Kaiser met his eyes for a moment, then nodded.

“Aslin. Fuck.” he laughed again, hysterical, broken. “What a fucking joke.”

Aslin didn’t laugh. He pulled out a chair and slumped into it with a groan. He seemed to age a decade in a moment. He stared at Layla for a moment, then at Roan, standing silently to the side.

Raina stared at Layla, then at Roan, then at Kaiser. “Is that why Mom and you…”

“It was,” he agreed quietly.

Her eyebrows dipped down in consternation. Raina’s eyes flicked from Bryson to Aslin and then Roan. She had always been smarter than anyone gave her credit for. “Summer Nash was on Omerex.”

Layla turned away from Jaxon and stared at her father. Summer had been stolen, snatched up right under his nose. It took more than a year to find her — a year Bryson and her father spent scouring the country for her. The same year Bryson killed Perrin Iverson because of Summer’s death — the year Roan was born to an unnamed omega.

Layla’s stomach twisted.

Her father put his face in his hands and wept.