Ch. 156..160: The Alpha Contract Chapter 156-160

Chapter 0156

Raven

"Woah, easy." Klaus mutters as I try to sit up.

I felt like I had been in a washing machine with how dizzy I was.

Closing my eyes, I lie back, trying to stop my mind from swirling. Even Midnight was quiet which was very unlike her.

I suddenly sit up right, looking around for the Rogue when I'm hit with excruciating pain in my leg.

"Salem?" I mutter. I had heard his name, I was sure of it. But things were hazy.

"What do you remember?" Klaus asks softly.

"...Uh...." I rub my head, is this what humans felt like when shit happened to them. Wait, why wasn't I healing?

"He was here," I mumble, "he put something over my mouth. And then I heard a scream, my scream? Was it me?"

I look around, recognising my own hospital when pain shoots through my leg again. Pulling back the blanket, I see a large amount of bandages wrapped around my leg.

"Take it off!" I demand

"Raven, you know that is not a good idea."

"Please take it off!" I repeat. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. But deep down I already knew.

Klaus sighs and slowly unravels the bandages and the layer of dressing. There was a massive divot in my thigh where most of the muscle is missing. My skin is coated in dried blood. Ugly red wounds had been left in place where they had tried stretching and stitching my skin back together. By the looks of it, it had finally started to heal, though it would never be the same.

"I'm sorry Raven. We can heal, but we can't grow new muscle and that much flesh."

"He bit me? But he was my mate?" I mutter, shocked at how Salem could do such a thing. He was always so kind, so nice and cared about every little thing I did. "What happened to him?"

Klaus slowly rebandages my leg as he tries to decide what to say. "He was, a long, long time ago. But he is not the man he once was Raven. Or the man he said he was. He was never a Wolf. And to do this means he doesn't feel anything for you." "What made him like that?"

"I don't know."

I wanted to cry, I didn't want to fight it. I wanted to let the big fat tears roll down my face, but they don't come, instead I am laced with anger. How could someone be that vile?

"When you started stirring, I called Damien." He smiles at me, "Maybe he will make you feel better."

Damien. Maybe now he would finally say those words.

"Did you do this?" I ask Klaus quietly, pointing at my newly bandaged leg.

"I did what I could. It's going to be a long recovery."

"It's okay Klaus, know what you are saying. It's going to be a while before I can walk properly even after the wound has healed."

He nods with a sad smile.

"Thank you, Klaus."

When Damien arrives, he stands in the door frame. His hands hooked above the door, leaning in as he tries to figure out if I wanted him here. He studies me with his dark eyes. I feel my heart skip a beat as his sweet vanilla scent fills the room. Klaus winks at him and leaves. ""How do you feel?" Damien asks

"Like crap."

He nods his head and steps into the room. "So you were mated to my little brother."

"Is that all you have to say? My entire body hurts Damien. I've just learned that my ex mate is the one who did this to me. That he is also somehow your brother when I could have sworn he was a wolf. I didn't know. I didn't know that he was a Lycan. Clearly I never saw him in Wolf form. In fact we barely spoke of his pack or his family."

"Dane said you probably didn't know." He murmurs. "Though he did fill me in on a lot and now it all makes sense."

Chapter 0157"He rejected me." I splutter.

"I am aware. A good job too." He takes the seat next to the bed, watching me. "It would have made it harder for me to find you."

"Is he dead?" I sigh, why did this man make me feel so irrational so easily?

"No. He is in the dungeons though. Alpha Neah is trying to get more information out of him or break him. I'm not really sure. I just know she has banned me from going down there." "She shouldn't be alone with him and she doesn't like to be called Alpha." I mutter

He cocks a brow at me. "She is more than capable of handling herself. She took a chunk out of his leg in payment for what he did to you."

That made me feel a little better.

"You can't kill him, can you? You want to, you really want to. I can see it in your eyes, but you can't bring yourself to do it because he is your brother."

Damien doesn't answer me, he just snorts and shakes his head.

"You talked." I mutter, remembering hearing him speak as a Lycan.

"Yes."

"How? You are not like him."

"I was once." My hands clench the blankets and his eyes move down to them. "I won't hurt you."

"I'm not scared. I'm frustrated." I sigh "I don't..... Dane said you told him that there was no coming back from being like that."

"I found a way." He doesn't explain any further

"You don't want to tell me, do you?" I screw up my face as another wave of pain shoots through my thigh. This was going to be a long healing process.

"You tried to warn me." I sigh. He had told me I should be scared of him. That I should fear him.

"I did."

I slowly nod my head. "I give you permission to reject me."

He scowls at me.

"You clearly couldn't make up your mind before, but now, I'm damaged. I'm giving you a free pass. I won't fight it. I won't refuse your rejection like Jess refused Jensons."

"Aren't we all damaged in some way?" He stands up and moves closer to me, cupping my face. "I've been waiting days to taste you again." He leans down and presses his lips to mine. Softer and gentler than last time, like he was savouring the moment.

My arms loop around my neck, pulling him in closer and I feel him smile against my lips. Little sparks of electricity burn through me as his kiss deepens. But he is careful not to press himself against me this time.

He pulls away when there is a knock on the door. "There will be more than enough time." He mutters, taking in my frustrations. "But I am not rejecting you, mate."

My heart skips a beat again

Neah opens the door. She shoots Damien a look of disgust and then smiles at me. I notice how she is rubbing her small bump. Something she didn't have the last time I saw her. How long had I been out for? "She thinks I put you in danger." Damien makes sure Neah hears him before stepping outside of the room. I see that he doesn't leave though, standing guard as Neah closes the door.

"He didn't know." I mutter. I wasn't even sure what I was trying to defend. "He didn't know it would come for me. I didn't know that Salem was a... a Lycan!"

"He should have told us. He should have explained to you what he is."

"Was." I mutter. "But that's not what's annoying you, is it?"

Neah sits in the chair. "Eric wasn't going to tell me." She looks at my confused face. "When the Rogue took you, Eric was guarding me. Dane wanted me to stay put. If I hadn't gone, you could be dead right now." ""But I'm alive."

Chapter 0158

Neah

"What do you want?" I demand as I stare at the Rogue, chained to the wall of the dungeon.

It growls back at me. I had been asking it the same question for days and yet it still refused to speak.

'This is a bad idea. We should have waited for Dane.' Nyx murmurs. She didn't like us being down here alone. Or rather she didn't like pregnant me being down here alone.

'They can't do anything.' I murmur back at her. Both Roan and the Rogue were locked up; it wasn't like they could do anything.

"He won't answer you." Roan calls out from his cell. "And shouldn't you be protecting those precious twins instead of coming down here to annoy us?"

I watch the Rogues' eyes drop to my stomach at the word 'twins'. His snout curls up even tighter until the whole thing is wrinkled and I can see his back teeth. Everytime he heard the word, all he seemed to do was focus on my stomach. It was like roan was trying to antagonise him.

"Growl at me all you want, it's not like you can do anything, is it?" I snap at the Rogue. "You are chained up and you have one and a half legs. I will kill you before you even lay a hand on me!" He tugs on the chains.

I had made sure to repay the Rogue for what he had done to Raven, or rather Nyx did.

I hear Roan chuckle behind me but for now, I ignore him. He will be dead tomorrow, finally.

The Rogues growl deepens and Roan chuckles more.

I spin around to look at the asshole in the cell behind me. He liked to do this. He liked to stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted. "And you can shut up."

"Are you not worried about being down here alone?" Roan asks from his cell.

"You go on trial tomorrow." I spit.

"Oh sweet Neah." His dark grey eyes lock on me.

"Don't sweet Neah me." I snap before he has a chance to say anything else. "You don't get to talk like that to me. Not after what you did to Jess. Not after what you planned to do to my unborn pups."

His grin grows, showing his missing teeth. "You think these chains will stop me?" He pulls on them as he gets close to the bars. "Do you think I am the only one in the world who will want those pups?"

The Rogue starts to chuckle too and the confidence I had a second ago was quickly fading. I was missing something. They were both chained up, there was no way possible for them to get out.

My hands instinctively go to my small bump.

"What do you want?" I growl again, aiming the question at both of them. Dane shouldn't have put them down here so close together. They could talk. They could plan. They could plot. Two very different enemies could work together.

The Rogue's beady eyes leave my stomach to find my eyes. Another deep growl comes from its throat and for a split second, I no longer felt safe.

I knew he couldn't go anywhere. I knew they couldn't get out of his chains, but that unsettling feeling just doesn't go away. I felt like I was right back in the line of Cassandra's fist. Unable to figure out what was wrong. Unable to defend myself as it came at me. Shaking my head, I turn on my heel, leaving the dungeon.

With my back pressed against the dungeon door, I look up, letting the warmth of the midday sun hit my skin.

It lasts all of two seconds before I feel his crimson eyes on me.

"Again?" He mutters. "I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you going down there, especially not alone. And you are supposed to be resting, especially while Raven can't check on you."

"I wasn't alone." I protest, ignoring his comment about resting.

"Nyx doesn't count. If something happens to you, it happens to her."

He holds out a hand to me and pulls me in against his chest. Locking his arms around me tightly and whispers in my ear. "I don't like you going down there."

"I'm fine."

"Really? Because I see that frown on your forehead and I feel your frustration. What did Roan say this time?"

Chapter 0159

My scowl deepens. "Something about me believing that he would be the only one who wants our pups. What if he is right? Have you heard anything about his pack? Ashburn city?"

"He is trying to mess with your head. Roan will be killed in front of everyone tomorrow. It doesn't matter what he says." He presses his lips to my cheek. "But yes, I have had news from Ashburn city. It seems that Roan was getting a bit too power obsessed. The Beta has

stepped into the Alpha role and he has told me that he will be glad to see the back of him as is the pack."

I frown. It had taken me a while to figure out the importance of an Alpha Beta relationship. But I always thought they had each other's backs. Though I didn't have much to base it on. Just Trey and Kyle, and Dane and Eric.

"So they won't try anything?"

"It seems that way."

"And what about the Rogue, Salem? Will he be sentenced tomorrow?"

"Raven wants to speak to Salem first."

"What?" I was completely taken by surprise.

"She has requested it. And I agree. Maybe she can get more information out of him. Because he isn't talking to you, no matter how many times you try."

It surprises me that he had agreed. Especially after what the Rogue did to her.

"Are you sure you are okay with that?" I whisper

"Damien and myself will be with her. She won't be alone with him."

***

It was late in the evening when the three of them headed over to the dungeon. Raven was hopping along on crutches much to Damiens frustrations. "She will be okay." Eric mutters from next to me.

"You don't know that."

"You are right, I don't. But neither of those men are going to let anything else happen to her."

I watch them disappear from sight and turn back into the house.

"What answer were you hoping to get from him?" Eric asks curiously, following me in.

"I don't know."

"Really? Neah, you have been sneaking down in the dungeons for days. There must have been something you wanted him to tell you."

"I wanted to know how he ended up like that. But he won't answer any questions."

"You wanted to know how he became Rogue?"

I nod, feeling the lump form in my throat.

He stares at me for a second. "That won't happen to you."

"You don't know that."

"Do you crave the taste of flesh?" I hear his amusement

"No. But what if I snap, or lose control? What if I'm lured into it? What if something so bad happens that I let Nyx take over completely? What if..."

"Neah, that is a lot of what ifs." He grins at me, "You have fully shifted all of a handful of times and only for a short amount of time. I think it would take a lot for you to become permanently like one of them. You have Dane, you have the entire pack behind you. You are not a lone Lycan and right now, you don't need to worry about them. We have it handled. I promise."

Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe I had let the silent Rogue get into my head.

I nod as we walk through the house to the kitchen.

"Do you think there are more?" I ask quietly

"Rogues? According to Klaus, the probability is yes. We don't know how many they chose to mark. Mallory said the others found her over a span of two years. So I would assume there are more out there."

"I can't sense them. Well, Damien I can, because he has made some sort of oath to protect me. But the others, there aren't even whisperings of them. It's like they don't exist but I can see the Rogue and Mallory with my own eyes."

"And in the forest." I continue, "It was like my body knew where to go. Like Nyx could sense them, but I couldn't. How is that possible?"

"Did Nyx know?"

'No I didn't!" She snaps

"She says no. How Eric, how was it possible for me to track him without ever laying eyes on him?"

He smiles at me. "You are an Alpha, Neah. It's ingrained in your blood."

Chapter 0160

Raven

The crutches were a nightmare, but not from my point of view.

Damien and Dane walk either side of me as though I was going to fall any second. Any stumble, I would hear them catch their breath and I was half expecting someone to say it would just be easier if they carried me. That's what Dane had done to Neah when she first

came here.

I see a slight head shake from Dane that's aimed at Damien.

"I can do this. You may have forgotten Dane, but I did have to use crutches once." I grumble

"When you were seven." My brother retorts, just as we make it to the dungeon. "And for a few hours."

"Then longer won't be a problem, will it?" I grumble

Dane unlocks the door and pulls it open.

I'm met with the stench of dried blood, piss and shit. Every ounce of me has to stop myself from gagging.

'Why are we doing this?' Midnight groans.

'Because it is Salem.'

She knew the real truth, I had no idea why I wanted to speak to him. Closure? Understanding why he rejected me? Maybe to stare at the man who had fucked up my ability to do anything physical for a long time? Who knows, I just know I had to see him. I had to look him in the eyes while learning how he could be so cruel.

'Oh, looks like we have more guests.' Roan mutters as Dane walks in, in front of me.

"Shut the fuck up!" Dane snaps at him

"You shut up!" It was a pathetic response on Roans behalf. And before I know it, Dane is unlocking the cell door and is punching Roan in the face. His death couldn't come soon enough.

Turning around, I see him, Salem. Attached to the wall with chains. Damien hadn't been wrong either when he had told me that Neah took a chunk of his leg. The remaining leg dangled from his hip at an odd angle, the bone still exposed. Damien is already staring at him, his arms folded across his chest, but his face shows no anger, no frustration, it is practically unreadable. A statement I had heard from Neah many times but never quite understood what she meant until now. Salem's eyes are on me. His snout pulled up into a warning, yet no sound comes from him. His eyes briefly move to the crutches before locking on mine again. I didn't know what I expected to feel, but feeling nothing is worse. "Ask him whatever you want." Damien whispers to me. "I am not concerned about what he once was to you."

"You hurt me." I mutter as silence falls. "Why me? I loved you once and you loved me. I always thought you rejected me because of my brother?"

"I did." He pulls on his chains but it makes no difference, his chains had been shortened until he was practically pressed against the wall.

"You did? You didn't reject me because you were a Lycan?"

"Both."

"You wanted her, but Cassandra was afraid you would reveal the truth. Wasn't she?" Dane asks as he locks Roans' cell.

"And you ended up finding out anyway." Salem snaps. "Do you know why she wanted a contract with you?"

""You weren't around when the contract was in place."

"Years you idiot. Years she was planning that stupid contract idea of hers."

"It's true." Damien mutters. "A Wolf had discovered the pack. They didn't have the numbers needed for protection."

"Roan." Dane replies, glancing back at Roan's cell. "Roan was the one who discovered Moonshine. Roan was the one moving in to kill you all. He admitted it to Neah."

Dane tells us that Neah met Roan as a pup, though she can't remember and he became infatuated with her and their kind.

"Are you....serious?" I ask in shock.

Dane is too busy looking at Salem to answer me. He points to Roans cell. "Did he not mention that to you while you were making your little plans? If he had attacked Moonshine earlier, you wouldn't exist." "You don't know that!" Salem growls "They were strong. They manipulated an Alpha."

"You mean a child?" I snap, immediately jumping to Neah's defence. "Your current Alpha?"

"She is not my Alpha!"

"Why are you trying to stick up for them, Salem?" Damien demands. Can you still not see that Cassandra fucked you over. She promised you the world and she gave you nothing apart from the desire to be a predator!" Salem tugs at the chains, growling, though it makes no difference. I'm not sure what he hoped to achieve but he wasn't going anywhere. Dane had made sure of that. The dungeons would be the last thing Salem ever sees.

After Salem rejected me and broke my heart, I questioned the Moon Goddess and her plans. I questioned fate too. Wondering if it was just a word thrown around to make people feel better about themselves and about the future. To give them hope.