Ch. 161..165: The Alpha Contract Chapter 161-165

Chapter 0161

But as I stood here looking at all the men, knowing how messed up all this is. I knew one thing for certain, we were all tied together because of Neah. All of us.

I stare at the beast that was once Salem. I don't hear the voice I know. I don't smell his scent. I just see an angry beast. Was I always supposed to be rejected by him? Was this the plan for me? Was I always supposed to have Damien come into my life? My eyes shift from Salem to Damien

"Are you okay?" Damien whispers to me with a frown

"Yes." I mutter. "The smell is a bit much, I just need some air."

'Liar' Midnight mumbles

Damien starts to follow me. I shake my head at him. "Stay, help Dane get answers. I've heard all I need to hear. I will just be outside."

His frown deepens, but lets me go. I feel his eyes burning into the back of my as I hobble away on the crutches.

I drop on the grass outside, rubbing my bandaged thigh before laying back under the warm evening sun. I had been so angry at Salem for so long, but in there, standing in front of him. I felt nothing for the man I once loved.

I had spent so long trying to get over him when in reality, there was nothing for me to get over. He had made his choice.

I feel someone's weight drop on the grass next to me.

"Are you okay?" Klaus asks.

"Just questioning a few things."

"The Moon Goddess?" He asks curiously.

I prop myself up on my elbows and tilt my head to one side. "How did you know?"

"I would too, if I were in your shoes. And because I did."

"Moonshine wanted a contract long before they asked for it. They had already started turning humans at that point. All because Roan discovered Neah when she was a pup." I tell him

He nods his head at me."I had thought that was the case. Have you ever considered that this is what the Moon Goddess's plan was. To try and right something that Neah's family did to her? To give her a better life?" He pauses and puts his hands behind his head, staring up at the blue sky.

"I've had the same questions as you, Raven. The Moon Goddess can't control what we do with our lives, that's freewill, but she can put things in our path and alter our journeys. She can test us. But look at me, my parents bound me once and if Dane hadn't brought me here, I would be living the same shitty life. She put Dane in my path and I've never once regretted it."

"Thanks Klaus." I smile at him. "You have always been good at reassuring my mind when Midnight can't."

He winks at me and gets to his feet. "Glad I could be of some help. Do you want some help getting up?"

"No, I'm just going to lie here and enjoy the evening sun a little longer."

It's not long before I'm hit with Damien's scent. His frame completely blocks the sun as he stands over me. "Did you fall down?"

"No."

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"Just give her a few minutes." I hear Jenson shout from nearby. "She's weird like this."

"I'm not weird." I shout back, remembering how Salem always referred to me as a weirdo before roughly slamming his lips against mine.

Damien is still looking down at me with his dark eyes, and for a brief moment, I was glad he hadn't marked me yet. I didn't need him to hear what was going on in my head.

He holds a hand out to me as I sit up. Pulling me to my feet with ease. His large hands quickly find my waist as he holds me against him.

We hadn't had more than a few minutes alone together since I had woken up in the hospital and the tension between us was just that; tense.

"Did he say anything else?" I ask quietly while bathing in his sweet vanilla scent.

"He's just going around in circles. I think, in some ways, he is too far gone to be able to have a straightforward conversation. We are only hearing snippets of his thoughts and knowledge." "Are you going to kill him?"

"No. Dane wants him to live for a little longer. He wants Mallory to talk to Salem."

"Mallory?"

"She was the one who helped me."

I stumble back, almost out of his grip, briefly forgetting that I needed to use crutches. He keeps his hands on my hips, stopping me from falling any further.

I don't know why I didn't see it sooner. "You fed on Wolves?"

"It's not something I'm proud of." His voice is low as his dark eyes stay focussed on me.

"How? How were you able to turn back?"

"Desire."

Chapter 0162

Damien

"Desire?" She whispers back to me, refusing to look away.

"Yes."

Her hands rest against my chest, a small crease forming between her eyebrows. "A desire for what?"

"To live."

She glances down to her hand resting over my heart. It beated steadily under her touch. Yet her own heart starts to race and the wind catches in her hair, firing her scent in all directions.

"You were going to die?" She asks with a hint of concern

"We all die eventually, Raven. What I mean, is that I had enough of the same shitty life. Eat, sleep, hunt, repeat. I had a desire to break free from it."

Her eyes flicker back up to mine. "And Mallory helped you?"

"She did. She gave me a home. She became a friend and is now practically a sister. She reminded me that just because I became a beast, it didn't mean I needed to live as one. She still reminds me." "And just like that you turned back?"

"No, it was a long process. You know what humans are like with their addictions. It was the equivalent of me being addicted to drugs. It wasn't easy to break free."

Her lips part a little as she thinks of something to say. "Oh."

"Not what you expected to hear?"

"I didn't know what to expect." she murmurs. "This entire year has been full of surprises."

"Are you afraid?" She hadn't pushed herself away from me yet, but that may be because she knew she needed the crutches that were still on the grass a few feet away from us.

She shakes her head and presses herself against me. "You need to stop assuming that I am."

Grabbing the back of her head, I tilt her face up to mine. Inhaling her delicious scent. I could claim her right here, but something tells me she would prefer us to be alone, away from prying eyes. I settle for a kiss, moulding my lips to hers, enjoying the taste of her. Smelling her subtle arousal.

I would get to make her permanently mine soon enough.

Sliding a hand under her ass, I lift her, ready to take her back to my place but she lets out a squeal of pain almost biting my lip. Her fingers dig into my sides as she squeezes her eyes shut.

"Sorry." She mumbles when the pain passes.

I frown, she shouldn't be saying sorry for something my brother did to her.

"Maybe I should just go lie down." she mutters with a scowl. Her frustrations are clear. "Spend some time with Neah."

"Are you sure?"

She nods and waits for me to pick up the crutches. I watch her hobble off in the direction of the packhouse.

Looking up, I see Mallory hovering. Her arms folded across her chest as she looks at anything but me.

"Mallory? Do you need something?"

"That looked intense." She mutters as she catches up to me.

"Did it?" I mutter, unamused.

"Come on, Damien! You know it was. What's it like, having a mate?"

"Mallory, if you are after gossip, then I have nothing for you." I knew it wouldn't be enough to settle her. In the past she had openly admitted that gossip was one of the things she missed about being human. Living the way we did meant she lost that part of her humanity too.

"Fine. What about Salem? How did it go with him?"

"Has Dane not been to see you?"

"No. Why would he want to see me?"

I frown, he had left the dungeons when I had. I thought he was heading over to Mallory's house to ask her to speak to him like he had discussed with me.

"Maybe he got side tracked." I cast my eyes across the nearby grounds. There was no sign of him, but it wasn't like the pack was small. Any member of the pack might have distracted him.

Chapter 0163

"What did he want? Did he say Neah would speak to me? Was that what it was about?" She asks hopefully

"No, and you need to drop it when it comes to the Alpha. I don't know how many more times I can tell you this, but you need to back off."

She turns in front of me, stopping me from moving any further and stares at me. "I can't keep doing this Damien. It seems pointless me being here. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. Maybe it's time we parted ways."

"You are not going anywhere. I need you here, where I can keep an eye on you."

She smiles at me. "I am not your mate, Damien. You have found her."

"But you are my family."

"Thirty days." She mutters. "I will give it another thirty days and if she still won't talk to me, it's time for me to move on."

"Thirty days." I agree. A lot could happen in a month.

****

Raven sits across the dining table, staring at me. Now and again she would pull that bottom lip in, trapping it between her teeth as her eyes strayed from mine. Her fingers lightly drum on the table as Dane speaks about the plans for my brother and the other prick in his dungeon.

Klaus and Eric nod their heads in agreement at Danes words

"The prisoners are both set to be beheaded tomorrow at midday." There would be no chance for them to make a plea. In fact, Dane wanted them both dealt with as soon as possible. Personally, I don't know why he had waited so long. It wasn't like they were going to be released if they shared useful information.

"Is everyone in agreement?" Dane asks all of us, but his eyes focus on me.

"This is your pack, Dane. It is your decision. I am not here to question your judgement." I mutter. I wasn't going to try and defend my brother. He lost the right to that the moment he bit into Raven's leg.

Klaus and Eric stare at me before verbally agreeing. It seemed as though they were surprised by my response too. But what would the alternative be? Save my brother and never be allowed to see my mate again? Leave the Alpha without Lycan protection? That wasn't going to happen. Especially not now.

"Could Mallory not get anything out of him?" It was the first time Alpha Neah had voluntarily asked about her. Maybe there was hope for the both of them.

"No. She tried." I reply. "It's like I told Dane. Salem is too far gone. There is no humanity left in him. If he cared, he wouldn't have bitten his ex mate." Alpha Neah briefly looks down at her stomach with a frown

"They won't be like my brother." I reassure her. "I will make sure of that."

"You think they are Lycans?" Klaus asks me.

"What do you mean?" Raven scowls at me. "We don't even know what they are yet and probably won't until they are born. You can't just assume."

"I am not making assumptions. I can tell you what they are right now." I state with my attention on the Alpha.

All sets of eyes are on me as I wait for someone to answer.

"You...you can smell them?" Alpha Neah asks quietly.

"Yes. For a few days now."

"I can't." She looks over at Dane who is still frowning and slowly returns her gaze to me. "How... how can you?"

"The same way as I was able to track my brother through the forest. The same way as how I always knew where the other Rogues were hiding. I can smell Lycans."

Chapter 0164

Raven

"Wait." It was alot of inforamtion in the space of a minute. "I have a million questions. So it wasn't because he was your brother?"

"It was both." Damien mutters back. "If he hadn't been my brother, I still would have been able to track him."

"I didn't think Lycans had a scent when they shift." I glance at Neah who still has her head down. A deep frown etched into her brow. "I thought you found me, because of me?"

In the second that those final words left my mouth, I knew I sounded needy, and in front of everyone. Midnight laughs which does not help.

Damien stares at me with those dark eyes and I fight the blush creeping up my neck.

"Of course we do. It's just subtle." Damien replies. "But nevertheless, it is there."

"Subtle?" Dane asks

"I don't know what else to tell you, Dane. Would you rather I had not been able to scent my brother?"

"Of course I'm not saying that." Dane snaps.

"Alpha Neah, tell them. Tell them that we have a scent in Lycan form." Damien looks for confirmation but Neah is staring at her stomach.

Gently nudging her, she looks up and blinks a few times as though she is trying to remember the conversation. "I can't smell them. Why didn't you tell me I was carrying Lycans?"

Damien tilts his head to one side. "I thought you already knew."

Neah opens her mouth to say something. Not a single word leaves her lips. Instead, she gets up and hurries out of the room, Dane following closely behind.

"To us, they have a Wolf's scent, but only if they are in human form." Eric tells him. "When they shift, we can't scent them."

"And the Alpha? Is what she saying true?"

"Yes." Klaus replies

"She tracked me in the forest, better than Dane and you." Damien gestures at Klaus. "She had to have known."

Eric shakes his head. "Though she spoke of how her legs carried her through the forest to find you. That she had no clue where she was going, just a feeling. Nothing to do with scenting you. Although she can now, because you have pledged your loyalty to her." 'We really need to ask him about that.' Midnight murmurs

"And Jess." Klaus adds. "She can scent Jess too."

"I tried to look into it." Klaus murmurs. "There is limited information on your kind. We are pretty much learning as we go."

"Something to do with her being bound in the past?" I ask

"Possibly." Klaus replies. "Maybe not every ability of hers is unlocked yet."

"Ability?" Damien asks

"She can partially shift." Eric tells him

I watch as Damiens eyes widen in surprise. "That's new."

"It did take long enough for Nyx to make an appearance." I add

"Who is Nyx?" Damien is looking at all of us, like he is missing something.

"Neahs Lycan." I frown at him. I thought this would be something he already knew. But then again, he was a converted Lycan. What he knew is what he had learned. Just like Neah

Eric explains it to him. Damiens head slowly moves up and down as he takes in the information.

"So all Alpha's?" He asks

"No, just ones born in the blood line. So Dane, me and Jenson, in this pack." I tell him. "Neah too, obviously."

"It explains who you were talking to in the forest. What about that prick in the dungeon, he has an inner spirit?"

"No. His father took over as Alpha a long time ago but wasn't blood related to the original Alpha."

"But you won't be an Alpha? Nor will Jenson?"

"Jenson and I have a different mother to Dane. So the gene was still passed to us. And I'm glad I won't be. I don't want to have to deal with that."

"Guys, as much as this conversation is interesting to you. We are losing the point." Eric snaps

Damien leans back in his chair, his dark eyes still on me, a hint of a smile on his lips. Why was it that anytime he learned something new about me, we were surrounded by other people? He couldn't say how he really felt or he could, he just chose not too, like what he had to say was for my ears only.

Chapter 0165

"The point of this conversation was to decide my brother's fate. Correct?" Damien mutters. "Well that has been decided. So are we done?" ""Yes." Eric retorts

"Good. If you will excuse me. I have things to do."

Damien walks around the table and picks up my crutches. Holding them out to me, he doesn't speak, he just waits.

Slowly getting to my feet, I take them from him. With the smallest of head movements, he gestures to the door.

He walks ahead of me, slowing his pace and allowing time for me to catch up. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where it is just you and me." His voice is low and full of intent.

He leads me to the hospital. It wouldn't exactly be the place I would have chosen, but at least we would be alone.

As we get close, I see his expression change. The lustful look in his eyes, long gone. "Stay here."

"Why? I thought...."

"The girl. She is in the hospital."

"Jess?" I call after him as he hurries on. Why would she be here? She hasn't had any breakdowns since she first got here.

He pauses when he is standing outside the doors and glances back at me before disappearing inside. Seconds later, there is a gush of air almost knocking me over as my twin charges past me and into the hospital. Making my way over, I'm hit with the metallic smell of blood and my brother yelling at Damien. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"She was already like this."

"Fucking liar. I told my brother we shouldn't trust you." Jenson is pointing a scalpel at Damien.

"Jenson, he was with me." I shout

"Don't stick up for the asshole just because he is your mate!"

"You can confirm it with Eric and Klaus. We were in a meeting, talking to Dane. We have literally just left the house." I plead with him.

"Bullshit. We should have killed you along with your bitch."

'Dane hospital!' I link my brother, hoping he would come quickly.

I step forward enough to see Jess around the corner. Her body sprawled out on the floor. There wasn't even a chance of saving her, not when her heart had been ripped from her chest.

Dane arrives with Klaus. I watch Dane's eyes shift between all of us before landing on Jess.

"Check the dungeon." Damien mutters as he stays squared up to Jenson. "I smell him."

"It's impossible. He can't escape."

"I am telling you, Dane. He was here and if you tell your brother to stand down. I will be able to check the girl and tell you if it was him."

"He's lying. He's admitted it himself, he used to be a Rogue. He's fucking playing us!" Jenson jabs the scalpel at Damien. Damien expertly moves out of the way.

"He will screw with everything and you are letting him get near Neah."

I knew Jenson would be upset, probably to the point he couldn't think straight. But what the fuck he thought he would achieve with a scalpel is beyond me. Especially when Damien could heal. "Go!" Dane snaps at Klaus. He turns to Jenson. "Let him look at her."

"You are on his side?" Jenson spits

"I am on the side of finding answers." Dane is somehow calm as Jenson tries to take another swing at Damien.

"Jenson stand down, that's an order."

He tosses the scalpel to the floor and backs up but keeps his eyes locked on my mate. "I will fucking kill you!"

Damien ignores him as he carefully moves around Jess. He crouches and leans over her. Without touching her, he inhales the scents.

He frowns and shakes his head as he leans back on his heels, "I don't understand."

"What? What is it?" Dane demands

"I think he shifted."