Ch. 121..125: The Alpha Contract Chapter 121-125

Chapter 0121

Dane

I walk into silence. Neah looks as though she is on the verge of tears. Though she clutches her stomach as if she is about to vomit again.

"What...what do you mean?" She mumbles to Madame Curie

"Exactly what I said." Madame Curie's eyes flicker up to me. "I cannot give you the answers you are looking for."

"How much?" I offer, knowing exactly how she works.

She shakes her head at me and pauses. "If I took money from you for this, the answers I would be giving you, will be unsatisfactory and unworthy." She looks back at Neah. "I am sorry that I played a role in your upbringing." "Twice!" I snap

"And I wish that I could give you the information you seek." She sighs

"You said you wanted to take one last look at me, the Lycan Alpha. What does that mean? Am I dying?" Neah demands

"Everyone is." She smiles sadly

I shake my head in disbelief, I had known Madame Curie for a long time. "Neah, she is talking about herself."

"You were always the smartest Alpha, Alpha Dane." Madame Curie winks at me and turns her attention to my mate. "Yes, he is right, Alpha Neah. I have been around for a long long time and my time is coming to an end." "Oh."

"What I can tell you is that your boys will thrive. You just have a journey to get there."

"That's all you can tell us?" I ask, watching my mate

"That is all the information I have." She rises to her feet. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to enjoy the few days that I have left."

She turns to leave, "Oh, but there is something else. Your mother was just as sick as you are, for Lycans, that is just how it is. Most likely because of the human essence in them. Try some ginger biscuits. Your appetite will soon return." As she leaves, I hear Roan shouting after her, demanding to know where she is going.

"She made it sound like I was dying?" Neah whispers with a frown

"Madame Curie is like that. You should have waited for me. I would have been able to read between the lines for you."

"I still don't know." She whispers. "I still don't know what they are."

"Maybe, for now, we just take each day as it comes. When you feel them, I'm sure you will think differently about them."

She nods and suddenly looks up at me. "There is something I need to tell you."

"He beat you to it. For once, in his life, I think Jenson is actually doing the right thing."

"It will break her." Neah mutters

I knew they had been talking, exactly like I had hoped she would. Jess had confided in her when Neah fixed her hair.

Neah didn't share anything with me, telling me that it was not for her to say. That Jess had asked her to not talk about it and I respected her choice.

"All you can do is be there for her. Be that person that you needed when you were growing up." I tell her

There's a knock on the door and Roan doesn't even wait for an answer. "What the hell did you say to my witch?"

"One: It's none of your business. Two: You don't own her. And Three: you are in my house, watch your fucking tone!" I growl

"I called her here to help with whatever this is." He waves his hand at my mate. "You wanted answers and now, she has walked away without even looking back. What did you say to her? Or did she tell you that we are all fucked?" "She is dying." Neah mutters. "She can't help you anymore."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"If you keep insisting on talking to my mate like that, I will break your fucking neck!" I growl. "Madame Curie is dying. She has days left. She doesn't give a crap about you 'owning' her."

Chapter 0122

"When all this shit with the Lycans is over, we are done, Dane. I owe you nothing! I want nothing to do with your pack ever again."

'LYCANS!' Eric yells through mind link.

"They are here!" I mutter to Roan.

He charges out without hesitating, putting his immediate issues with me to one side.

"Find Jess." I tell Neah, ushering her to the door. "Stay with her. Stay in the house." I press my lips against hers and quietly pray to the Moon Goddess to let me make it back to my mate. Because none of us knew what we were truly up against.

My people had formed a wall. Three people deep as they stood shoulder to shoulder. I could see the Lycans, all shifted and all lining the edge of the trees, waiting. It was still impossible to tell how many there were.

They don't move, watching us as we watch them. Each of us listening for a single sign of movement.

Was Trey and Cassandra here? I had no idea what they looked like in Lycan form.

'What are they doing?' Eric links me. He was in the front row. His eyes locked on the big fucker directly in front of him.

'Scouting. They are trying to figure out if this is all of us.'

Faint clapping starts somewhere in the trees. One by one the Lycans join in, slamming their large clawed hands together. The noise is deafening 'Something's not right.' Jenson mutters. 'It's a distraction.'

We scan the area, to see what was different, nothing had changed. My thoughts immediately go to Jess. Had I been screwed over by a kid?

'Neah? Is Jess with you?' I link her as my heart thuds through my chest

'She's hiding in her closet.'

'Keep her there!'

I cast another glance around at all the Lycans clapping. It's only then that I notice them parting, letting the blonde bimbo through. Cassandra was still in human form. As she makes her way through, she steps out in front. Raising her hands to silent them. "Where is she, Alpha Dane?" Her voice cuts through me like nails on a chalkboard.

"Not here. Where is your prick of a husband?"

"Hiding her in the house?" She muses. "I suggest you bring her out. This could get quite ugly."

"For who? Not a single one of your creatures has made it. We have killed each and every one of them."

Her smile creeps up her face. "Except one."

"The one that you made a mistake changing." I growl

"Are you sure about that?" Her eyes close and her grin appears to take over her face. When her eyes reopen she stares at me. "You see, Alpha Dane. No matter how much little Jessica wants to fight it. She cannot resist the orders of her maker. So Neah will have two options. Come willingly, or kill Jessica."

I already knew what Neah would do. She wouldn't kill Jess.

My eyes close as I hear the front door of the packhouse open.

"I'm so sorry..... I am so so sorry." Jess can't even bring herself to look at me. As I refocus on Neah. I see her eyes are a solid black.

'Don't shift.' I link her. It wouldn't be safe for her or the pups.

She doesn't respond, stepping down onto the grass, willingly walking with Jess. Neah's expression was cold and dark.

There was still a wall of Wolves between Neah and them. There was no way they were getting their hands on her.

The Lycans begin to cheer, acting like they had won before the battle had even begun.

"You will bring her to me!" Cassandra screeches as Jess stops just behind Jenson.

Jess's head snaps up, her eyes are just as dark as Neah's, she holds her hand out to my mate. As they join hands, Jess growls, "You may be my maker but you are not my Alpha!"

Chapter 0123

My heart is pumping. The adrenaline that's coursing through my body had crept up like a slow burning fire. Igniting something deep within me. I felt powerful and all it took was Jess.

When I had found Jess, she was already trying to get inside a closet. Her words blur into one another as my own panic seeped in. Tears flooded her face quicker than she could wipe them away. I did what Dane asked me to do, to keep her here. Yet I couldn't help but peek over the window ledge. I had to see what was happening.

The clapping was weird. The Lycans slamming their claws together while staring straight at the Wolves.

'This is all kinds of fucked up.' Nyx mutters

'What are they doing?'

She shrugs her shoulders at me.

I wanted to link Dane. Desperate for him to tell me what was happening but all I could hear was Jess, crying in the closet.

Pulling the closet open, I offer a weak smile. "They are not here for you. They are here for me."

Her arms are holding her legs to her chest, just like the way I did. It was funny, why did we try to make ourselves as small as possible in a time of crisis?

"They....the woman, the one that brought me here, Cassandra, wants me to bring you to them."

She refuses to look at me.

"Is that why you are here? Is that why you tried hiding?" I try to keep the anger out my voice

Jess shakes her head and then taps her temple. "Here, I hear her. It was like a whisper at first and now....." Her soft blue eyes lock with mine. "Now it's a demand." "A demand?"

Her head bobs up and down, "She keeps saying. I am your maker, you will obey me!"

Control, just what Cassandra has always loved and wanted.

"You are going to try and hand me over?" I ask quietly, realising why they had chosen to change a child.

"...I don't want to." She whispers

I sigh, "You can't fight an order. It's ingrained in us to obey those above us."

Jess lets go of her legs. "You make me feel like I can fight it. Like being here with you, I feel a little safer. If you told me not to, I would have to follow you, right? Because you are the Alpha. Because you are my Alpha? Because you are more powerful than she is?" "Dane's...."

"No, you are the Lycans Alpha. If I understand it right, they have to respond to you. that's what Eric told me." She looks towards the window, but closes her eyes. "Her demands are getting louder. I actually feel pain in my chest. That's bad, right?"

"It's because you are not acting on her orders."

"Can you make it stop?"

'Would it work? Dane talked about linking them all, but would this work?'

'There is only one way to find out.' Nyx mutters

"I order you not to take me to Cassandra."

Jess throws her arms around me. "Thank you."

'I think Jess might be on to something.' Nyx muses. 'Let's go take down the whole pack.'

I smile at Jess, "I think you might be right, Jess. And now, I need your help."

My bare feet hit the grass. Jess stands a little behind me as though she is walking me out. She was trying so hard to hold it together, just like I was. It wouldn't have to be for long, just long enough to make Cassandra believe that she was getting what she wanted. I was desperate to look at Dane, but I knew I would break the moment we locked eyes. I had asked Nyx to keep him out of my head, just temporarily while I try to put an end to all this shit.

Two words still got through. "Don't shift." Shifting was not the plan.

Cheers erupt from the Lycans, if you could call it that. It was more like roars and howls of satisfaction. They didn't even have me in their grasp and yet they were celebrating.

As they drop down to silence. Cassandra yells, "You will bring her to me!"

Jess stares through the rows of Wolves. Like me, she was barely tall enough to see. Slowly she reaches a hand out to me, locking it with mine. "You may be my maker, but you are not my Alpha." I feel my heart race. And still, I couldn't believe she was doing this.

"You are a stupid little girl. You know nothing of our world."

"I know enough to know who is wrong!" Jess squeezes my hand as she stares out in front of her. Her eyes are dark in the same way as Dane said mine become. She was close to shifting. "Bring her to me!" She yells and stomps her foot.

Chapter 0124

The Wolves haven't moved an inch but the Lycans creep closer. Prepared for battle.

'I'm ready when you are.' Nyx mutters

I take a deep breath as the Lycans edge a little closer. If this doesn't work, we were screwed.

'Drop the block.'

My head is quickly filled with mutterings. Words of the Lycans all blurring together to make a constant hum.

"I AM YOUR ALPHA. BRING CASSANDRA AND TREY TO ME!" I demand. I'm almost surprised by my own tone as it becomes more authoritative.

The Lycans freeze. I see how they all look at one another. They had likely been told something else about me. Something far from the truth, but if they were feeling the same thing that Jess had felt, they wouldn't be able to refuse.

"NO!! Cassandra screams out. "You don't have that power. You are no one. Trey, tell them!" Her hands ball into fists at her side. She was so used to getting her own way and now she had hundreds of Lycans turning their attention to her and not in a good way. I could see from her eyes that this was something she never saw coming.

'Stupid bitch!' Nyx murmurs

Screams break through the air. Cassandra's shrill voice causes a lot of the Wolves and Lycans to cover their ears. She starts backing away, yet there was nowhere for her to go. Lycan's lined the trees behind her. A wall of Wolves stood in front of her.

"TREY! TREY! Help me!" A single black Lycan backs away into the trees as large claws grab on to Cassandra. No longer caring about her screams

'Bring him to me!' I snap through the link to all of them. Several of them take off running after Trey.

Looking over to Dane, I see him smiling at me. He had been waiting for this. Waiting for me to become who I am supposed to be.

The Lycans start to attack one another, desperate to be the one to bring the screaming bitch to me. They probably thought that I would spare their lives for their compliance. I had no intention of doing that. I didn't want to be an Alpha of a pack that would betray their own. I didn't want those who so easily believed the words of Trey and Cassandra.

Jess's hand is still in mine and I smile at her. She was young and that was Cassandra's downfall. She had chosen to change a girl who was similar to myself. A girl who wasn't interested in being anything more than who she is.

The Wolves part to let two Lycans drag Cassandra to me.

Dane joins me and Jess and slips his hand into mine as he kisses my cheek. He turns his attention to Cassandra. "Well Cassandra, how do you feel?"

"Bastard. You have no idea. Trey will seek revenge if you lay a single hand on me!" She turns her attention to Jess. "And you, you are a stupid, stupid girl! I should have left you to die!"

I rip my hand from Danes, just as claws appear at the tips of my fingers. Plunging them into her stomach, the Lycans let go of her. She screams, her hands lock around my arm, keeping me from retracting my claws.

"You destroyed me!" I mutter to her. "You made me believe you were someone special and then you ruined me and now, I'm going to ruin you!" I pull my hand from Jess's and let the claws appear.

Slowly piercing her skin, I let my claws sink into her kidneys before ripping them across her stomach.

I hated her, she took everything from me!

Turning to look at Dane, I see the evil glint in his eye. "Kill them all." I whisper

The two Lycans that had dragged Cassandra to me, back up, only to be attacked by Roan and several others.

All hell breaks out as Dane gives the order to attack.

Blood creeps out of the corner of Cassandra's lips. Her eyes are wide in fear as they remain on me. I wanted to see the blood pour from her, just like she had made it pour from my parents. "You deserve this and so much more." I whisper as my claws retract from her flesh.

She drops to her knees as tears fall from her eyes. It was the first time that I had seen her weep for anything.

"You are a monster!" She croaks out.

"I am what you made me!"

My claws plunge into her chest, curling around her heart as she chokes. With a tug, I rip it free from her chest, holding it in my hand as it continued to beat for a moment.

Her body sways before hitting the ground and when I look up, I see Roan staring at me. His expression, unreadable.

Chapter 0125

Dane

Three days it took to burn all the dead. Three days is how long Trey had been in my dungeons, still clinging to life. Three days where Neah hadn't spoken a word about what had happened.

She sits in her usual chair in my office, nibbling on a ginger biscuit. Madame Curie had been right about them and it was finally settling her stomach enough to eat decently. Though today, instead of her legs pulled up to her chest, they are crossed under her. Her dark hair hangs around her face and she seems content, but I had a million burning questions about the prick in my dungeons.

"I can kill him." I mutter, without looking up. "If that's what you are having an issue with, I can handle it."

She doesn't answer me.

"Neah, why did you let him live? You killed his mate."

She sighs, "He needs to suffer. Why couldn't they say no to my order?"

The question takes me by surprise. I thought she knew why.

"You were their Alpha. That's why you could order them. It's different with Wolves. As you know a Blood bond can mean you respond to two Alphas. There are also cases where Wolves can seek refuge in another pack and pledge themselves to that Alpha. You are the last living Lycan Alpha. There was no one else that they could obey. They had no choice."

"Right." she mutters, picking up another biscuit

"And the sooner we kill Trey, the sooner the other Alpha's can leave."

She looks up at me with a frown.

"They were called here to protect you and the pups, under obligation of their contracts. Trey is still alive, which means there is a threat still present. They won't leave until it's been dealt with."

"I'm not ready."

They were not the words I was expecting to hear.

I stare at her, unable to read her mind. Nyx was still blocking me out, making it impossible to read her properly.

"You are not ready?" I ask softly as she frowns

"You are going to think I'm mad."

"He is the last tie you have to Moonshine. Or rather, your parents." I had been trying to figure out why she was keeping him alive, especially when she hadn't even been down there to see him. This was the only answer I could come up with. "See, stupid." she mutters

"They destroyed you. They beat you, they starved you, they let the pack abuse you."

"I know!" She snaps at me

"You are struggling with giving up the idea of the life you could have had. The life you now have here. Where you are loved, where you have friends, where you have adopted a sister who adores you."

Her lips tug up at the corners. "My life is messy."

"And I wouldn't have met you if it wasn't. But maybe it is time to close the door on your messy past and focus on the future and the pups you are carrying."

She nods her head at me, "Will you come with me? I'm still not ready to face him alone."

We step down into the dungeons as Trey groans and his stomach rumbles from hunger.

"Look who it is." He sneers, struggling to get to his feet. His hands coil around the bars as he tries to keep himself upright. Fading bruises lingered on his face and I could smell that my brother had been down here recently. "Come to get some punches in?" He snarls at me.

Neah doesn't speak. Her fingers stay tightly locked with mine. Her blue eyes are wide as she stares at Trey. All that confidence she had appeared days ago, has now suddenly disappeared into thin air.

This man put more fear in her than she had led me to believe.

"Can't speak." Trey mocks her. "You always did have trouble with your words. Stuttering over the simplest word and now look, nothing at all."

"Shut the fuck up!" I snap. "You have no power over her."

He smirks, "Her trembling body says otherwise."

"You were there!" Neah mutters breathlessly. "You were in the shadows. You watched me put that lemonade in front of them. You did nothing as they bled out."

I realise it's not that she couldn't let go. Instead she was still looking for answers.

"You are right." Trey smirks

A small crease appears on Neah's forehead as she closes her eyes. "They all knew, didn't they? The chaos, the people running around. They screamed for help and yet not one of them tried to help. They all knew, didn't they?" "Yes."

A tear leaks out of her closed eyes. "You were planning this for a long time."

"Since the day you were born." Trey tells her with a shrug of his shoulders. "You were supposed to be the one producing more Lycans, more of thosen who will carry the Alpha blood. They saw something special in you, but I was the one to realise what it would mean for our kind. There was hope for us."

"So you lied to her." I snap

"We did what we had to do!"

"Why the contract?" I question

"It wasn't a lie, we did need protection. A Wolf pack had discovered us and were moving in to kill us. I have to admit, it was odd seeing him standing with you the other day. But what I didn't count on was her being mated to you. None of us saw that coming. A Lycan and a Wolf," He snorts, "that is unheard of."

"Who? Who already knew about you?"

"I don't know his name. And I don't care for it either."

"Another trick? Trying to buy yourself more time Trey? Because that will just lead to more torture."

"Do what you want. I have already come to terms with my future."

"Which Alpha are you talking about?" I demand

"He watches me." Neah interrupts with a whisper. "He wasn't phased when we told him. The others had questions, but he already knew. " Her eyes find mine. "Roan."