Ch. 166..170: The Alpha Contract Chapter 166-170

Chapter 0166

Dane

"You said...."

"I know Dane. I know exactly what I said." Damien snaps back at me. A deep frown etched into his face. "He has never wanted to shift back. I didn't think it was even possible. Do you know how hard it was for me?" "What do you mean?" Raven asks

"I told you that it wasn't easy. That the process took time. I would find I had shifted in my sleep. Waking up in Lycan form in the middle of the corn field. It's not easy to just shift back. Not once you see yourself as a monster." "Just full of secrets aren't you!" Jenson mutters as he shoves Damien out the way.

Dropping down to the floor, he pulls Jess's lifeless body into his arms. I could see from his face that he was broken. The last true loss he had experienced was our parents. Anything in between then and now had never bothered him.

'We will need to keep an eye on him.' Aero rumbles.

'Agree.' I mutter back.

'Maybe this is what he needs.' Aero adds

'What are you talking about?'

'He has only ever cared about himself his entire life.'

'That's a bit harsh. How would you feel if Neah.....' Shit, Neah. I link some of the guards and ask them to station themselves around the house.

"Let's say he has got out." Though it wouldn't have been like he could just walk out. "How did he shift?" I ask Damien

"I don't know. He hasn't been in human form for over a year. And like I said, he has never wanted to shift back. Trust me, I tried to help him. Mallory did to you. He has never wanted it. The only thing I can think of is that he has actually been shifting for some time. That he has just kept it quiet."

'Dane,' Klaus's voice fills my head. 'He's gone.'

'What?'

'He isn't here and according to Roan, he did indeed shift to human form.'

'How the fuck did he get out?' I snap. The Rogue had been chained to a wall. If he had shifted, he would have been able to slip the chains, that I could understan. But the cell was still locked. The only way out would be if someone had physically let him out. Not to mention he wouldn't just be able to walk out of there. I had seen what Neah had done to his leg.

'If we are to believe Roan then he is also saying Jess was the one who helped Salem get out.'

I glance over at a silent Jenson. He is stroking Jess's red hair. Why would she have helped Salem? It made no sense when she loved Neah. She stood against the woman who had changed her to help Neah.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Damien asks. "I can tell by your face and I know what I smell. I am right."

"Is he?" Raven demands. "Has Salem got out? Has he shifted? Is he out there, walking around in the pack like he belongs here?"

"Yes."

"No." Damien interrupts me. "He wouldn't be that stupid. He would hunch down somewhere. Somewhere he could hide in plain sight, watching, waiting. And he will work better, making sure his scent is spread around the entire pack."

"This is your fault!" Jenson growls from the floor. "You, he came here because of you. You better sleep with one eye open, Lycan."

Damien doesn't respond. He is quiet, mulling over what has happened and not in the least bit bothered about my brother's threat.

'You are hiding something.' Raven mutters through mindlink. I look over to her to see her arms folded across her chest as she stares at me 'I know you Dane, there is something you are not saying.'

'According to Roan. Jess let him out.'

"WHAT?!" She shouts out instead of keeping the conversation between us

Everyone's eyes turn to her and she drops her gaze.

"What's going on?" Damien asks, moving toward my sister.

"Sorry." Raven mumbles.

"Look, I don't know if it's true. All we have to go on is what Roan is saying and he isn't exactly the most truthful person."

"He saw him shift?" Damien frowns

"And he saw who let him out. Which I'm taking with a pinch of salt!"

"Let me guess. She did." He points to Jess. "I can't scent anyone else on her."

Chapter 0167

"No!" Jenson snaps. "She wouldn't do something like that. She wouldn't put her own life in danger! She just turned sixteen."

"Maybe, maybe not. She was probably lured into freeing him." Damien shrugs his shoulders

"Is this where you tell us that he has some sort of ability to attract people?" I ask

"How do you think they killed people in that town so easily? None of the humans left. Bodies started turning up in all places. Most people would leave if that started happening, but they stayed. The humans practically walked to their death. It was only once the town was wiped out that I started bringing them food." Damien shakes his head but his eyes are on my sister. "But she would have had to have been down there already."

"Stop talking about her! JUST STOP!" Jenson yells out. "She is still here."

Raven hobbles over to him using the crutches. "Jenson, I'm really sorry, but she's gone. We can't bring her back."

Jenson growls at Raven and pushes her over. Sweeping up Jess's bloody body, he holds her to his chest. He charges out of the hospital as Damien helps Raven get back on her feet.

"We should go after him." She whimpers, her face creases up from the pain in her leg.

"He needs space. He has just lost his mate."

"But he...."

"Raven, give him space."

"You can't do anything for him." Damien speaks softly to her. "This is something he has to deal with."

She slowly nods her head as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. I see her shrug him off with a frown.

"What does he look like in human form?" I ask. I had never had a chance to meet Salem before he rejected my sister.

"Well, I don't know now. He used to have chestnut eyes, but those eyes that I saw were like black holes." Raven whispers. "His hair matched his eyes." A smile creeps up on her lips as she recalls him. "A tattoo on his neck." Damien adds

"Like yours?"

He nods. "A family thing."

"About six feet tall. A wide smile."

Damien growls as she continues to describe him to us. Again as he tries to reach for her shoulder she moves out of the way. The latest bit of news about luring humans to their death had clearly upset her. Sending out a link to the entire pack. I remind them that the only guests we have in the pack are Damien and Mallory. Anyone else was to be taken out on sight.

"Stay in the house, Raven."

"You think he will come for me again?"

"I don't know, but this way, I know where you are."

She nods her head, glancing back at the pool of blood where Jess had been. "Do you want me to tell Neah?"

"No, that should come from me."

Raven hobbles out of the hospital, Damien closely following her. She was already snapping at him to stay away from her. They were having a much rockier start to their bond than what Neah and I had.

I hang back, not wanting to get caught up in their issues.

Cleaning up the blood, I try to decide how I was going to break the news to Neah. The twins were already taking their toll on her and this news might just be the thing that tips her over.

By the time I make it back to the packhouse. Damien and Raven are having a full on argument, right in the foyer.

I side step around them, following my mates scent to the kitchen. She rolls her beautiful blue eyes at me as she stuffs toast in her mouth. When she sees my face, she lowers the toast and scowls. "Why is there blood on you?" "He got out."

"Roan?"

I shake my head.

"How?"

I tell her our theory. Still not mentioning Jess.

"I can find him." she mutters, brushing the crumbs from her hands.

"No. He will be smarter this time. Damien is certain of it."

She shuffles on the chair, her brow knitting together. "How did he get out? He can barely walk, if he can even walk at all."

"We have reason to believe Jess let him out."

"No. She wouldn't... she...." She trails off as her blue eyes find mine. "She's dead isn't she?"

Chapter 0168

Raven

"You don't get to fucking tell me how I should feel." I jab a crutch in Damien's direction.

"Raven, I don't do that anymore. I haven't done it for a long time."

"And what if a deer isn't good enough for you? What if whatever we hunt on a pack run isn't good enough? Will you disappear into the city to get a human fix? Will you lure a human to their death because I have not got the patience or the desire to deal with that."

"I have a brother who right now might be losing the plot over his dead mate. I have a pregnant friend who is probably receiving some of the worst news she has heard in a while. And an ex mate that is loose in the pack and could be coming after me to fuck up my other leg. So stop telling me how I should feel!"

My shoulders rise and fall with my heaving breathing. My heart hammers in my chest as he stares at me. It was all too much. The drips of information. The secrets. Is this what it would always be like?

""Raven...."

"Stop, just, stop." I stamp one of the crutches on the ground to prove my point, almost losing my balance in the process.

'I'm mad too!' Midnight snaps

Damien narrows his eyes at me.

I drop my shoulders and shake my head. "There is nothing you can say to me right now, Damien. I...I just can't right now."

I turn, ready to hobble to the kitchen. He grabs me, pulling me back around to face him as the crutches fall to the floor. "You don't get to walk away. If we are going to argue, we are going to find a solution before either of us walk away."

"You don't get to decide that." My hands push against his chest but he holds me tight, refusing to let go.

His dark eyes roam my face, yet his grip never changes. It seemed like forever before he spoke again. "Go on then, walk away."

I couldn't. I couldn't move or maybe I didn't want to.

"Not so easy, is it?" He whispers in my ear.

"Promise me. Promise me you will never lure a human to their death. Promise me that you will never feed on one again."

"You didn't need to ask. But you have my word." He gently presses his lips to the corner of mine.

Closing my eyes, I bask in his scent, letting my thoughts and questions of his past fade from my mind. Losing myself in the moment as his kiss deepens. His hands slide up the back of my tee, his rough fingertips grazing my skin as he pulls me impossibly closer. He breaks away, but keeps his face inches from mine. "There is only one thing I'm hungry for, Raven."

My name roles from his tongue in such a way it sends shivers down my spine.

His lips press against my neck, slowly working their way up to my ear lobe. Sending little sparks through me with every kiss. When his teeth graze my ear, an involuntary gasp escapes my throat.

It had been such a long time since I had felt anything and Damien made me feel everything with just the slightest touch.

I could be angry with him, but that just didn't faze him in the slightest.

"I need you to be safe, Raven." He murmurs in between kisses. "I need to know where you are at all times." His teeth graze my skin as he moves back towards my collarbone. "You want to claim me?" I whisper back.

"I want you to be mine now and forever."

His teeth sink into my flesh. A primalness takes over him and from his grip, I knew there would be bruises forming along my torso.

A hand leaves my back, locking into my dark hair as he pulls my head back further, allowing his teeth to sink even deeper.

I wince at the pain, though it quickly subsides and is replaced with a longing. A longing for something more. It even takes over the pain that radiates through my leg.

"You want more?" He muses as he retracts his teeth from my neck and cups my lycra covered pussy.

I knew he could feel how wet I was. Gym shorts hardly disguised anything.

A quick flick of his finger had my legs buckling. If I hadn't been wearing shorts or a thong, his finger would have slid right into me.

"My room is upstairs and...."

Chapter 0169"I know." He nibbles on my ear lobe again and lifts me off the ground with one arm, draping me over his shoulder while bending to grab my crutches. Damien quickly scales the stairs, taking two at a time. His hand wrapped around my ass as the tips of his fingers remain against my throbbing pussy.

"Finally alone." He mutters, lowering me to my feet. His hand quickly returns to the back of my head. Knotting up in my hair as he slams his lips against mine. A low growl rumbles from his throat.

Letting go of my hair, he pulls my tee up and over my head, tossing it to one side. He spends a moment with his eyes roaming over my black lace bra and to the ropey scar that runs along my right shoulder and down towards my right breast. "What happened?" He asks in a low voice.

"It was a long time ago. I don't really remember."

He traces a finger along it. "You have Alpha blood, you can heal quickly."

"It was before I had Midnight. I landed on glass, I think. I'm not really sure. I was five, maybe six."

He doesn't respond, instead his lips leave little sparks of electricity along the scar as he makes his way towards my breasts.

His fingers graze my nipples through the black lace of my bra. His touch has them hardening in seconds and Damien leans down to suck each one through the fabric. The heat from his tongue has them hardening until they are painful. As a moan escapes my lips, he pulls the fabric away, taking a bare nipple into his mouth and rolls it between his teeth.

I was desperate for his fingers to slip inside my shorts, to slide between my folds, but he keeps them away, teasing every urgency from me as the dampness between my thighs grows.

He stops to pull off his own black tee, muscle upon muscle with perfect definition. The tribal tattoos travelled further than his neck too. Running down over his shoulders and chest and disappearing under the waistband of his jeans. Pressing himself back against me, I feel his hardened length, swelling in his jeans and pushing up against my thigh.

His hand finally slips inside my shorts, but he keeps it on the outside of my thong, circling two fingers right above my entrance. "Damien." I whisper, throwing my head back with frustration. I wanted his fingers inside of me. I wanted him to make me orgasm.

He slows his fingers down "There's no rush." He nips at my jaw sending more electricity through me.

A long low moan falls from my lips as I roll my hips against his hand. His hand stills, but firmly cups me and I wish that I wasn't wearing any underwear.

His lips move back to the fresh mark on my neck, his teeth once again scraping over my skin. As another moan rips through me, he pulls the thong to one side and forces a finger in. Then a second and a third.

Damien holds me tight as my body bucks against him. Wave after wave of delight taking over.

As my hips slow to a gentle rock, he pulls my gym shorts from me and quickly removes the thong too.

Lifting me, he carries me to the ottoman at the end of my bed. Sitting on it, he pulls me on his lap, facing away from him.

Spreading his legs wide, he carefully lifts each one of mine over his until I'm spread for all to see.

We are opposite the full length mirror, where I could see my own juices leaking from my pussy.

His hand slides over me, a finger running the length of my folds before dipping inside. He lets out his own growl as my juices run down over his hand and his thumb begins circling my clit

"So fucking wet." He mutters in my ear before nipping at my lobe

My head rolls back over his shoulder.

"Watch." He mutters forcing my head up.

Glancing at the mirror. His fingers are knuckle deep inside of me. His free hand finds my nipples, squeezing roughly as he plunges his fingers into me over and over all while keeping his thumb firmly on my clit.

I couldn't keep my head from rolling back. My back arches away from his chest as my pussy clamps around his fingers. He stills, letting me ride out the biggest orgasm I had ever had until I fall back against him, completely spent. "Oh I'm just getting started, mate."

Chapter 0170

Neah

"Where did he take her?" I demand as I step out through the back door into the pitch black of night. I had no idea what time it was, but the adrenaline was pumping through me anyway. Several guards move closer, yet keep their attention on the surrounding area. "I don't know." Dane mutters back, grabbing my wrist to stop me. "Just let him be, there is nothing you can do."

"Maybe I can save her...."

"Neah she isn't dying, she isn't hanging on to life by a strand. She is dead. Salem tore her heart out."

My heart plummets. A part of me had hoped he was wrong, that Jenson had taken Jess to find a way to help her. "He took.... He took her heart?"

"Among slicing her up pretty bad."

I feel Nyx's sorrow along with my own. Jess was just a kid. She was family. She was like me. She had helped me see what I could do.

"Why?" A single tear rolls down my cheek. I don't even try to fight the flood that's about to come. I'm so angry. "Why would he do that to her?"

"I don't know. I thought his end game was to get at Damien, but he has nothing to do with Jess."

"You said she let him out."

"According to Roan."

'We can speak to him!' Nyx murmurs. 'We need to know why Jess was down there!'

I nod my head in agreement and repeat the words to Dane.

"No. I need you to stay in the house." He tries to tug me back through the door. I slap his hand away. "Neah, we don't know where he is. We don't know if his plan is to come after you next or Damien, even Raven."

"Or Mallory." I mutter, watching her stumble forward, towards us. Her arms cling against her stomach. Blood profusely spilling over. She can't walk in a straight line either, almost like she is drunk.

"Shit. Don't move." He charges over to her. Lifting her from the ground.

"It's Salem." I hear her mutter.

As Dane brings her closer, I see her dirty blonde hair is stained with blood and parts of her intestines hang from her body. My stomach back flips as I fight the urge to gag. Apparently I could handle holding a heart but intestines were just too much. Dane brings her inside. His eyes glaze over as he drops her onto the table.

I just stand there, watching. She was probably on the verge of death and not a single bit of me cared. She should have died instead of Jess.

"Let me see." I hear Dane tell her.

She removes her arms and if she was upright, all the organs of her abdomen would have fallen out.

Raven comes crashing in through the kitchen door, almost tripping over her own crutches. Her dark hair is stuck out everywhere and I see a mark similar to mine on her neck, just peeking out of the tee. She had finally let him claim her. Damien is right behind her. He grabs Mallory's hand, holding it against his own chest. "Hold on. Just hold on." His dark eyes flicker to me. "Don't let her die. She doesn't deserve this."

It took me far too long to realise that Raven was waiting for me to say something. To give her the go ahead to save another Lycan because technically, Dane wasn't their leader. I was. But was I cruel enough to say no after what she did to me? Was I cruel enough to let her suffer a long and painful death?

Nyx was oddly quiet too.

"Save her." Dane mutters before I get a chance to make my decision. "Neah is my mate, we both lead this pack and she is my guest. Save her, Raven."

"I need stuff from the hospital." Raven mutters as she inspects Mallory's open wound.