Ch. 151..155: The Alpha Contract Chapter 151-155

Chapter 0151Repositioning myself in front of the bedroom door after checking on Neah, I see that Raven is long gone.

I shouldn't have kissed her. She may have tasted amazing, but I shouldn't have let myself go like that. I couldn't bring myself to reject her, not yet. Maybe I didn't want to, not truly. Though she will come to hate me eventually. Mallory creeps up the stairs towards me. Her lips pressed into a thin line that gradually crept up into a smile as she makes her way towards me. "Do you think she will speak to me if you are here?" She asks hopefully, glancing at the door. "Mallory, we have been over this."

"Damien, I have to try."

"Nothing has changed." I mutter. I wanted Neah to listen to Mallory, but it had to be on her terms. I had already learned that about her. "And she is definitely not in the mood right now. If you go in there, she will probably kill you on the spot." "Oh," She leans against the wall next to me. "How am I supposed to get her to listen to me?"

"You don't. You keep your head down. You do everything that is asked of you. You be respectful to everyone here. And then, just maybe, she will see that you are trying and be willing to speak to you, but for now, she is pregnant and if she feels a threat, it will be game over for you."

She sighs.

"I have told you it won't be easy. I thought you had trust issues, but the Alphas ability to trust is on a whole different level."

She frowns at me. "She trusts you."

"No she doesn't."

"Then why are you guarding her?"

"To show her that I mean what I say."

Mallory rolls her eyes at me. We both had a very different belief system. She expected everyone to accept her as she is. Whereas I had always had to work for it. Human or not.

"You know as well as I do that her abuse didn't end after you almost killed her." I add

"Right." Mallory bobs her head at me. "I still can't believe you told the others the truth about him being your brother." She changes the subject because it was still hard for her to talk so openly about her past.

"If I want to live here, then I need to be honest with them."

"But you wouldn't have told them if he had never shown up here, would you? And you haven't told them everything. You won't be able to keep that a secret forever. They will figure it out!"

She knew me too well. But I also knew she wouldn't blab.

I hadn't liked Mallory when I first met her. But when there are just two of you that are going through the same shit, it was pretty hard to not form a bond and now, I couldn't imagine a world without her. She had helped me through some of the worst shit in my life and had done more than her fair share with the other Rogues.

She gives me a sad smile. "You have slotted right in here. Who would have thought you would like pack life?"

"You just need time. Isn't that what you first told me when I found you?"

Mallory bobs her head. "True."

"Go back to the house. There's no point in you standing here with me."

"I will see you later?" She asks

"Sure."

"At least you and Jess like me." she mutters as she turns away.

I watch Mallory hurry back down the stairs, until once again I am alone. My thoughts drift to Raven and how she hadn't backed away from me. Not a single ounce of fear in her eyes. Anger and annoyance, yes. But no fear, even when I pushed her up against the wall. Almost as if she were expecting it.

A man bellows out my name as he runs up the stairs. "Dane needs you." Danes Beta, Eric splutters when he sees me.

"Why?"

He glances to the bedroom door and drops his voice to a whisper. "It's here. It's in the hospital with Raven."

Chapter 0152

My blood runs cold as he says her name. He was going after her again.

"Dane is on his way there now with Klaus. But you know it better than us."

"Alpha Neah?" I mutter. Torn between staying to protect her or going to protect my mate. It could be a distraction. To lead us away from what my brother is really after. "I will handle Neah, go." Eric offers.

"If it shows up here, link Dane. I will be with him." I snap, running down the stairs and out of the house.

The hospital wasn't far, but it was still far enough that he could have already done something to her. Dane and Klaus are searching when I arrive.

"She's gone." Dane mutters with a growl. "Whatever it has done to her, she is out cold. I can't link her."

"We have searched the entire hospital. There is nothing." Klaus tells me, "Not a hair, no blood, even Raven's scent fades to nothing."

"I can smell him." I mutter.

Moving around the small desk in the middle of the hospital. I'm hit with strawberries combined with the essence of fear. She had been here, hiding under the desk. "How long?" I mutter.

"For what?" Dane growls.

"Between her linking you and you arriving here. How long?"

"A couple of minutes. I came immediately, why?"

Had she known it was in here, is that why she was hiding?

I move around the desk. He had been standing on the other side, probably taunting her.

"He wouldn't have taken her out the front door. That would be too risky." I tell them

"The back door has been kept locked since we had the problem with the other Lycans." Klaus mutters. "It almost backs on to the forest. There is no other way in." "There is always a way."

"I will link my men. We can hunt the forest." Dane mutters

"No." I snap

"She's my sister."

"If you want her alive, you won't send in any more men. He's doing this to lure me out. If you send in more, he will just kill her and everyone else. I told you, they like to play with their food. But if there is more than one option, they will just kill everything in sight. And it's like you said, Dane. You can't scent him."

Moving through the hospital, I'm quick to locate the back door. It is just as Klaus had said. With no signs of foul play.

A curtain around a closed window begins to move. It's then I notice the claw marks around the edges and a small gap where the window hadn't quite been refitted properly, letting the wind through.

He had removed and replaced the whole thing. Slinking inside without being caught and disappearing in exactly the same way.

"He dragged her through the window." I tell them

"She would have fought against him." Dane glares at me. "She fights well."

"It's like you said, she's out cold. You can't fight someone if you are unconscious."

I ram my shoulder against the back door. It only took two attempts before the door split from its hinges.

Pulling off my shirt. I feel my body crack as I prepare to shift. It had been a while.

"We are coming too." Dane mutters, ripping off his shirt. "This is my pack and it is my sister that he has. You don't get to tell me what to do!" His crimson eyes are narrowed at me.

As I remove my belt and my boots. I just stare at him, because he won't like what's coming. I thought I would be able to keep it a secret for longer than this.

"You can't track them. I can!" I transform fully into my Lycan, stretching my muscles out.

Dropping on to all fours, I run my snout along the ground. Sucking in his scent. I could still smell Raven, just a tiny bit, but enough to make it easy for me to find her.

"We can help! Just lead the way," Dane mutters "You can't do this alone. That is not how we work!"

I growl at him. "I can because I was like him."

Chapter 0153

Damien

They ignore me and shift anyway. Though Dane continues to glare at me. There would be questions, but those can be dealt with later.

They keep up with me for all of a few minutes. They were fast but I was quicker, gliding through the trees with ease.

Tearing through the forest. I follow his scent. Hopeful, when hints of strawberries pass through. It meant he hadn't dumped her and hidden her anywhere like he usually would. This was a game to him, a game he was going to lose.

The canopy of the trees thickens and makes the forest dark even though the sun was high in the sky. He could hide anywhere here and the Wolves would be none the wiser. Hidden in the shadows, waiting and watching, choosing his perfect moment like he was hunting his prey.

"I know you are here." I call out. "I smell you and her."

He doesn't respond. I wasn't expecting him to. Because this was exactly the way he worked. Silent and watching. Choosing his moment as though his life depended on it. And today, it might just. Could I finally kill my brother?

"Why her?" I call out into the dark forest. "Because she is my mate? Is this what this is, payback for killing the others. Pretty pathetic!"

More silence, which means he is watching me. Trying to decide if he should reveal his exact location. Part of the fun was your victim never knowing where you are.

"Have you hurt her?" I demand and I'm met with the sounds of the forest. Creatures carrying out their work, oblivious to the fight that is about to happen. I couldn't smell any blood but that does not mean he hadn't done something else to her. "She doesn't deserve this." I speak to the trees. "She has done nothing wrong."

My eyes move between the shadows, looking for something that is out of place. But just like the hospital, everything looked untouched. He blended in well, a little too well.

A whimper drags my attention behind me. By the time I lunge forward, they were gone. Disappearing further into the forest.

He would punish her for making his presence known.

"Stop this shit, little brother!" I growl

"We haven't been brothers for a long time! I could just snap her pretty little neck." His voice rattles from somewhere in front of me. "But that would be no fun."

I charge forward again and a laugh echoes above me.

Looking up. I see him at least twenty feet up in a tree. Raven dangles from his claws like a doll. Her eyes are closed and thankfully, she doesn't look injured, just sleeping.

"What did you do to her?"

"Just a little nitrous oxide." A garbled laugh comes from him. "Remember Damien, you used that on me once when you thought I was becoming a risk. I never forgot. It's amazing what people leave laying around." "You mean you killed for it!"

"It's not like you haven't done bad things, is it?" He stares at me before moving his gaze to a heavily sedated Raven. "Have you told her? Have you explained how cruel you are? How their Alpha is nothing compared to you."

"What do you want? These people have done nothing to you. I have kept you safe. I have fed you. I provided you with a place to live without being hunted. I taught you how to survive!"

"And look where that has got us!"

"And who's fault is that? You are the reason I am like this." He growls and lets Raven drop a few inches only to catch her by her foot. He swings her back and forth like some kind of pendulum.

"And that is your reason for taking it out on her? Why did you wait, huh?"

"I've been waiting for this for a long time, Damien. You have taken everything from me! And now, it's time to take something of yours."

"Everything? You are blaming me for being like this, yet you wanted it. Fed up of your shitty little human life, you asked for it. You knew what she had turned me into and you still went to her. Did you think this would magically solve your problems?" He growls at me. It had always been the same, even as a human, he had never liked the truth.

"You didn't have to become this. You chose this path. No one chose it for you. So blame me all the fuck you want. She doesn't deserve it."

"Never thought I would see the day where you had a soft spot for a girl." He mocks, continuing to swing her.

"What if I mark her?" He pulls Raven back up, holding her neck close to his sharp teeth. "That would make things far more interesting." "We both know that you can't mark her."

"It's such a pity, but I could rip her precious little throat out. What do you think?" He laps his tongue over her bare neck. "Delicious!"

A feral growl comes from deep inside my chest, but he doesn't seem to notice. It was bad enough he had her, but to violate her in front of me was a step too far

He rotates her around. "Or maybe a chunk of her thigh? Would you still want her then?"

"Let her go!" I snarl at him

"No." He jumps to another tree, keeping his grip on my mate. "If you want her, come and get her!"

Charging up the nearest tree, I follow him closely. He laughs, jumping through the trees like an overgrown monkey. His claws are tightly wrapped around Raven so she doesn't fall. His feet make some of the branches crack as he lands. Making it harder for me to follow his exact trail. He stops, suddenly spinning around to look at me."Enough of this shit. You took what was mine and now I'm taking something of yours. I know you like to suffer. So let's see how you cope without her, brother."

I see Raven's eyes open just as he sinks his teeth into her leg. She lets out a blood curdling scream as he rips her flesh away, exposing her bone. Blood spurts from the hole as he laughs.

He stares at me as he slowly chews her flesh.

"I will fucking kill you, Salem!"

Chapter 0154

Neah.

"Hi Eric." I mutter as he slips in my room. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine." He mutters, locking the door. "Dane just wants you to stay here for now."

"Why?"

"No particular reason."

'He's lying.' Nyx mutters

'I know.' I spit back

Eric doesn't look at me as he moves around the room and checks the windows.

"You know if someone wants to get in, they can just break the glass."

He avoids my gaze.

"It's back isn't it? The Rogue Lycan. That's why you are here and Damien has gone."

He gives me a weak smile. "It wasn't that long ago that you didn't really say what was on your mind. Keeping your thoughts to yourself and not wanting to know the truth."

"Dane has gone after it, hasn't he?"

"He's with Damien and Klaus, yes."

"Dane told me what Damien said about the Rogue. How they like to play games? If you are checking everything is locked, you think it's going to come here, don't you? You think it's going to come for me?" "It's just a precaution. We don't know what it wants."

"Where?"

Eric doesn't answer me.

"Eric, tell me."

"It was at the hospital. It has Raven."

"What? Why?" I stare at him, why hadn't he just told me that in the first place?

'He's not stupid, he knows you will want to help.' Nyx murmurs

"I don't know. All I know is that it was at the hospital when Raven linked Dane." "And?"

"It's taken her into the forest. Neah, Dane wants you to stay here."

"It's a Lycan." I mutter

"A Rogue Lycan." Eric replies. "You can't do anything, it doesn't listen to anyone."

"But Damien thinks he can help?" I frown

Eric's shoulders drop.

"There's something you haven't told me. What is it?"

"The Rogue is Damien's brother." He looks over at me. "I don't know the ins and outs. But this is not the first time he has gone after Raven."

I stumble back, sitting on the bed. I could feel my own deep frown, annoyed that this had been kept from me. Why hadn't Damien said anything? Or my own mate. Raven was my friend. I march over to the closet, pulling out some boots.

""Neah, you can't, you have to stay here. The twins."

"I am not leaving her!"

"Think of the twins!"

"I am. Do you think it's just going to stop if it kills Raven? What about all the children in the pack? They will be easy targets and I would have just stood aside and let it happen!"

He blocks the door. "I can't let you go, Neah. Danes orders!"

""Move Eric!"

"I need to protect you."

"Then come with me." I glare at him.

"Dane is going to kill me." He mutters as he steps to one side

"Then don't let anything happen to me." I snap as I stride through the door.

Eric follows me through the house, insisting that this is a mistake.

I swing around to face him. "Maybe it is, but Raven doesn't deserve this. They were all turned because of me. And now, because there is one that has taken it too far, she might die. I can't let that happen, Eric. If she hadn't been around when Veronica drugged me, I wouldn't be here today. So please, be on my side and help me find her."

He nods his head at me and we quickly make our way down to the forest.

I step into the forest quietly and ask Nyx to block Dane. I knew he had asked me not to do that, but I didn't need him worrying about me when his sister was missing. Only Eric is to know I am here.

Moving quickly, my legs seemed to know exactly where I wanted to go, carrying me without question.

I'm not sure how far we have travelled before I hear a scream. A scream that sounded like Raven.

Chapter 0155

"Are you sure about this?" Eric whispers, grabbing my arm.

I nod, "I have to try," and charge forward leaving Eric behind

I could hear Damien talking. It took me a moment to see him, high in a tree. He was in Lycan form. He could talk in beast form?

'I think there is a lot we haven't been told.' Nyx mutters as I squat behind a bush.

Raven screams again and over in another tree is another Lycan, holding on to her with ease. She's barely fighting and blood splatters onto the ground below her. "SALEM! This isn't a fucking game!" Damien roars at him.

Salem, did he seriously just call him Salem?

'As in her first mate?' Nyx asks curiously.

'But he was a Wolf?'

'Has she ever mentioned that?' Nyx murmurs

'Are you saying that she knew and didn't tell anyone?'

'No. Think about it. You said she told you he rejected her once he found out who her pack was. What if someone from Moonshine told him to stay clear?'

I look up as Raven screams again. The Rogue Lycan has its teeth buried around her waist. It was killing her right in front of Damien. I couldn't take it anymore.

I step out from my hiding spot. "Let her go."

The Rogue removes its teeth from Raven to look at me.

"Let her go!" I repeat.

"Gladly." He drops her. There is a blur of movement as Damien dives down from the tree to try and catch her before she slams against the ground.

The Rogue lands in front of me. Standing up to his full height and looming over my small frame.

"You are the female Alpha." It snorts. "What is so special about you?"

"Nothing."

It lets out a gargled laugh, locking its beady eyes on me. "You protect Wolves? How noble." "You're Salem?" I ask. For some unknown reason, I felt no fear, staring into the eyes of death. "I am."

"You were mated to her? You were the one who was mated to Raven?"

"WHAT?!" I hear from behind me. I don't move a muscle, if I looked to see what Damien was doing, it would be a mistake. Dane had told me that. Dane had said not to look away if I came face to face with it. "Once upon a time." The Rogue growls.

"You rejected her."

"I did. Wolves and Lycans don't mix." He snarls at me, bloody drool dribbles from its jaws. "Though Wolves do taste delicious." He runs his tongue along his teeth.

"Was it your choice, or were you told to reject her?"

"Like I said, wolves and Lycans don't mix."

"You won't touch them." I stare back at him.

He lets out that gargled laugh again "You think you can stop me?"

"I've killed Lycans." I knew my eyes were darkening as I stare at him

He laughs again, but this time, it's not as gargled and sounds more sceptical

"Because you are some almighty Alpha? That doesn't work with Rogues."

'Tell him. He hasn't figured it out.' Nyx mutters gleefully.

I stare up into his beady eyes, "I am your Alpha whether you like it or not, Salem."

He growls at me and takes a step back. "I don't go by that name anymore and you will never be my Alpha."

"You are a product of a Moonshine Lycan, that makes me your Alpha." I hated using the term, but right now, it was needed and without Nyx, I probably wouldn't be standing here. "You can't deny that. You feel it. You know I outrank you whether you want me to or not." "I am a Rogue."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"I will kill you."

I don't respond as Damien creeps up behind him, forcing his claws through Salem's back before dragging them down through his skin.