Ch. 191..195: The Alpha Contract Chapter 191-195

Chapter 0191

It was like I was being scolded. I couldn't help the way my brain automatically tried figuring things out. It wasn't my fault that I naturally looked for answers. "You liked it when I found my confidence to kill." I mumble. We had sex in the forest that day.

"I know, but if I lose you over it...." He shakes his head. "I just can't lose you or the twins, okay."

I nod and try to clear my head as he stretches back up to full height, turning his attention to the training.

Lying myself back on the fake grass, I stare up at the blue sky. Dane was making the most of training this morning as a storm was supposed to be coming in tonight.

I hated storms, the sharp cracks of lightning always reminded me of being hit, particularly whipped. I probably won't sleep later.

Mallory comes bounding up to us after training. Her skin shiny from the sweat. She wipes her forehead, flinging the beads of sweat onto the grass, "So, how did I do?"

"As well as what I expected."

She smiles at him. "So I got the job, right?"

Dane cocks an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"To protect Neah, right?"

"I don't need your protection!" I snap and Danes hand wraps around my wrist as he gives me a warning glare to calm down.

"What Neah means to say is that she doesn't need protection right now. She has me." He smiles at her

"I thought this was why you wanted me to train?" She scoffs, "To test my skills so you knew I could watch her."

"I think you misunderstood me, Mallory. I said to test you while I watch Neah." Dane tells her. "I am grateful that you want to offer your services, but right now, Neah isn't leaving my side." There is annoyance in her brown eyes, but I'm not sure if Dane saw it. If he did, he kept his face unreadable.

"Oh" she sighs. "I just wanted to help, you let Damien help."

"Damien didn't give me much of a choice." Dane murmurs without looking at her. His eyes are too busy scanning the people still training.

"What does that mean?" Mallory asks

"It doesn't matter."

But I was curious too, what did he mean? As far as I was aware, Damien had just started planting himself in locations near me. I will have to ask him later when we are alone. Mallory turns her head to me. "I was just trying to help."

I don't respond. Because the words ready to come out of my mouth will have Dane worrying. Instead I force the words back down my throat and ask if he has any more snacks. "Not on me. We are done anyway, let's go."

We turn away from Mallory and Dane drapes an arm around my shoulder. "What are you up to?" I murmur as we leave the grounds.

"Just working through something. Until I know more, all you need to do is focus on growing my sons."

"No secrets." I mutter as I'm kicked in the bladder.

"It's not a secret, it's a theory."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He stops me and spins me around to look at him, encasing my hands with his. "I am working on a few ideas, for now it is best that only I know. If the time comes that you need to know, I will tell you." "Does anyone else know?"

He shakes his head at me. There's a strange glint to his crimson eyes. The same look he had given me back at Moonshine that first day. A knowing look. A plan hovered beneath the surface.

I might have been scared once, even tried to hide away, but whatever he was up to, he was doing it for us and I had to trust that.

Chapter 0192

Every single day I sat and waited. Thirty days and still nothing. Complete radio silence. Not a single link, nothing, but he was still alive.

I lean back against the stairs, letting it dig into my back as I close my eyes trying to force a line between us to open.

"Why won't it work?!" I snap at midnight. My sanity was holding on by a thread.

'You know why.' She mutters back, just as frustrated.

"Well that's a fucking stupid reason." I shouldn't have to mark him to be able to link him. He had already claimed me.

She nods her head in agreement. It doesn't make me feel any better. In fact, it was just a reminder of how different we are. A Lycan and a Wolf. I'm sure my parents must be turning in their grave. Three children, all mated to Lycans. Even worse, I had been mated to two. 'I wish they were still here to see how you had turned out.' Midnight whispers softly. 'I'm sure they would be pleased.'

I knew mum would. She was the reason I became a pack doctor.

I sigh and push myself up, pleased when my leg doesn't cramp. It was getting there, but still had a long way to go. I still walked with a limp, and the pain wasn't constant. Maybe I would be walking properly by the time Damien got home.

Just as I'm on my feet, Eric tumbles in through the front door. A bottle of half drunk whisky hanging from his hand. The liquid swirls as he struggles to stay upright. He frowns as some sloshes onto the floor.

He had started drinking a couple of weeks ago and even his parents were at a loss of what to do. They were grieving for their grandchildren and now it seemed like they were grieving for their son too.

Dane had tried talking to him along with most of the pack members but his grief was heavy and he just couldn't see a way through it. I wondered how his ex was coping. I knew she left a while ago and I half expected her to turn up, but nothing. Almost like she didn't care. I never understood how a mother could leave her children behind while she runs off.

"Hey Eric." I mutter, limping to him. When I grab the bottle, he lets me take it. Which was progress in itself.

"Where is he?" He slurs, wobbling and falling back against the door frame

"Who are you looking for Eric?"

"Big bro...." he laughs to himself, his body slipping down the door frame until he hits the floor with a thud. His chin drops to his chest and in seconds, snores vibrate through the foyer as drool creeps out the corner of his lips.

He stank and looked like he hadn't shaved in a while. I groan and try to pull him up. His dead weight just slips through my arms.

"Dane!" Less than a second later, the office door opens. Danes' eyes fall on Eric and I watch his shoulders drop.

He was at a loss too, they had been best friends for as long as I could remember. Yet he didn't know how to help Eric. None of us did. Could you even help a grieving parent?

"Vodka?" Dane mutters to me as he crouches in front of Eric.

"Whisky." I mutter, lowering the half drunk bottle onto the small table near his office. A quick glance through the office door and I see Neah curled up asleep. A stack of books like the ones Klaus had been reading a few days ago are piled high on Danes desk. It wasn't like Dane to research something. He got the others to do that for him.

"Raven, give me a hand."

I pull my eyes away and Dane is lifting Eric off the floor.

Limping forward, I pull Eric's other arm around my shoulders. "Where are we taking him?"

"Just into the lounge, let him sleep it off."

"You need to find a way to help him, Dane. He can't keep drinking like this."

"You know as well as I do, he will burn it off in less than an hour."

"And he will start all over again. It's not good for him." I groan

"Just like it isn't good for you to sit on the bottom step everyday waiting for Damien."

"I'm not harming anyone." I snap

"You are harming yourself."

We dump Eric onto a sofa. He groans as his body sinks into the cushions while Dane and I glare at one another.

"What would you do, if it were Neah?" I fold my arms up. I already knew the answer. He would burn the world down looking for her. He should be grateful that I'm just sitting on the stairs, waiting, hoping and praying to the Moon Goddess that he walks through those doors.. "You have a point." He mutters

I look at his tired crimson eyes as he straightens his spine. "Are you going to lead the pack run tonight?"

Chapter 0193I still wasn't strong enough to go, but he needed the strength of the full moon.

"I need to keep an eye on Neah."

"I can do that. Dane, you missed the last one because of Salem, you need to go this one. And Neah will be fine. We will probably eat ice cream and she can listen to me moan about Damien."

He snorts and cocks an eyebrow. "I will think about it."

Glancing at Eric he tells me to let him sleep it off, "We can only help him when he is ready."

As Dane leaves, I settle into the sofa opposite Eric. He barely spoke when he was awake and if he did, everything came out in either a slur or sounding like he had developed a lisp and none of it ever made sense. I wanted to tell him that everything will be alright, that.... But it wouldn't be, would it. He had lost his world.

How could one beast destroy so much of our pack by himself?

Dane had worked hard, for years, implementing strength and power. We had always had the upper hand and now one beast was gradually tearing us apart. Even all the bitten Lycans with Cassandra and Trey hadn't done this much damage. He had to be having help, but who?

Midnight is quiet, but panicking. I knew why, she had the same worrying thought as me. What if the real reason Damien left was because he was helping his brother and didn't want to be caught?

It can't be. It was a stupid idea. He wouldn't have bothered marking me.

'Mallory?' Midnight mutters

'I don't think so.' I whisper back. Though we were no longer bunking together as she had decided to go back to her home. 'She's trying so hard to prove her worth here in the pack. If she was trying to cause trouble, I think she would have given up by now.' Maybe I was just tired and overthinking it. Maybe Salem was just a monster with no actual endgame other than to slaughter us.

Leaning forward, I rest my elbow on my knees and cup my chin, watching the drunk sleep. There had to be something I was missing.

I still hadn't moved by the time Eric started to wake. He rubs his eyes and stares at me, his eyes drifting around the room. "How did I get here?"

"You practically broke down the front door. I think you were looking for Dane."

He rubs through his already chaotic blonde hair and yawns, stretching out his limbs. "Got any whisky?"

"No." I glare at him. If I had to follow him to make sure he doesn't touch another drop, then that is what I'm going to do. "Why did you want to speak to my brother?"

"It doesn't matter." He gets up and starts looking in the cupboards.

"Dane had it removed a few days ago." I snap.

"Just forget it." He storms out and I hurry as fast as I can after him, ignoring the spasming pain that decides to rip through my leg. Skidding across the floor, I slam myself into the front door, stopping him from leaving. "Raven, get out of the way."

"No."

He goes to grab me and I make a swift punch to his balls. He lets out a howl and clutches his dick. "What the fuck Raven!"

"I'm sorry but you can't keep going on like this. You are practically my brother and I can't watch you drink yourself into oblivion. I'm sorry that Salem killed your kids. I'm sorry that he targeted them. I'm sorry that I can't bring your sons....." "They weren't mine."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"They weren't my sons."

"That makes no sense. I helped deliver your second son. I was there."

"But you weren't there for conception and it turns out, I wasn't either." His fist hits the wall. "I found Mallory with them. If they were mine, I would have felt their deaths and I didn't."

I could feel my mouth hanging open and work hard to tighten my muscles so I didn't look so gobsmacked.

"You raised them. I've watched you raise them. Your bond with them was...." They couldn't shift yet which also means he couldn't link them. He would have found out when they got their Wolves. Instead he finds out because they were slaughtered. "Who....who..." I was trying so hard to get the words out

"I think you already know the answer to that."

My eyes flicker to the open office door. Dane was standing there, his face rigid as he watched us. "Is it true?"

"I had my suspicions." Dane sighs heavily

"They were Jenson's kids?!"

He nods at me. "We would have known for certain when they got their Wolves."

That's why he had been letting Eric drink himself stupid. Eric had lost everything.

Chapter 0194

Damien

Every day I got a little closer and he would do something to completely throw me off my tracks.

He shifted regularly, swapping between Lycan and human, leading me further away from Black Shadow and my mate. But I won't stop, not until he is dead, even if it means going to the ends of the Earth.

A handful of times we had come face to face. Not up close, but we could see each other across fields, a train station, and bridges.

As each day passed, the angrier I became. I just wanted to be with my mate, yet if I didn't stop Salem. He would find a way to torment that pack and my mate forever.

Tracking his scent into a bar, my eyes quickly adjust to the dimly lit space. The smell of dried booze, piss and blood filling the air. It had been a few hours since he was here. Before I even entered, I knew why he had chosen this place.

He had always liked a challenge, long before he turned into a Lycan. Teasing and tormenting people. There was so much Raven didn't know about the man she was once mated too. She had a lucky escape there.

Bodies littered the floor as the jukebox played. Half a dozen had their throats ripped out before they even had a chance to acknowledge what was happening. The other dozen had tried to put up a fight, losing against the beast that had attacked them. Since being on the run, he had eaten every few days. Though this time, I was certain he hadn't eaten in a week. He knew there was a risk I would catch him. He must have been starving to target a place like this.

I make my way through the bodies, just to check that all of them are dead.

"Fucker!"

I turn to leave and hear a whimper that stops me in my tracks. There is a kid somewhere in here. Between the stench of booze, piss and blood, I had missed the scent of a child.

"It's okay, you can come out. I won't hurt you."

I wait for a few moments but nothing moves and the kid is quiet. Why had Salem left a kid alive? He had killed Eric's kids without a second thought.

"Pinky swear." The small voice calls out.

It had been a long time since I had heard that. A smile creeps across my lips. "Pinky swear."

A small girl crawls out from behind a curtain. Blood smeared across her face. Remnants of bruises littered her chubby cheeks along with trails of dried tears. A floral dress that was once yellow or even white had seen better days. It barely fitted her, a sign that she had been here for a long time.

She steps towards me, her body trembling. Tears in her bright green eyes as she tries not to look at the carnage surrounding us. She stops a few metres from me. A chain attached at her ankle, preventing her from moving any further.

Not only was she locked up, she was a Wolf pup. Either Salem had been too busy to notice there was a child here, or he had left her for me, knowing it would buy him some time.

"What's your name?"

She closes her eyes tight, screwing up her face as she chews on her bottom lip. "Dorothy."

"How old are you, Dorothy?" Big black circles hovered under her eyes.

"Six"

"Do you know how long you have been here?"

She shakes her head at me. Her mousey brown, matted hair falls around her face. "You smell funny."

"So do you."

She smiles at me and opens her bright green eyes. "Are you like me?"

"No, but I know lots of people who are." She was aware that she was a Wolf, which was a good sign.

I had two options. One, take her to the police station, but that would raise questions that I didn't have time to answer. Or two, turn around and take her back to Black Shadow, letting my brother get away.

"Let's get you out of that, shall we." I smile as I squat, inspecting the chain.

She freezes as my hand touches her leg and it sickens me to think what the bastards here might have done to her. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for Salem to have chosen this bar.

The cuff around her ankle was easy enough to break through. It was clearly designed with Dorothy's strength in mind as it snapped in my hands.

"Are you after the bad man?" She asks as she lets me pick her up to step over the dead bodies.

"I am."

"He smelled funny too." She coils her arms around my neck, understanding that I was someone safe. Kids this age were resilient compared to adults. They only see things in black and white and it's also why it is so easy to lure them away. There are a set of keys on the bar. Grabbing them, I carried Dorothy out and hit the key fob, waiting for a set of lights to alert me of which car they belonged to.

Settling her into the blue BMW, I notice a blanket on the back seat and drape it over her. She's quiet as I strap her in and when I tell her I'm taking her somewhere safe, she smiles and relaxes into the seat.

Dorothy was asleep by the time I pulled up outside the police station. Her head dropped to one side and rested on the belt as her long eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.

I look out at the busy police station. She would be safer here than at Black Shadow. They could find her a good home, granted it would probably be with humans but she would still be safe. If I take her to Black Shadow, Salem could still come back, but she would be with her own kind.

Chapter 0195

"Fuck it!" My foot hits the pedal and I pull away, hoping that I was making the right decision for the kid.

It takes almost a week to get back to Black Shadow. Each night I stopped in a hotel to make sure we both got a decent night's sleep and to feed us both. Not once did she ever ask for food and my guess is that they starved her or only fed her on their terms. So she had

learned to wait, to ignore the hunger growls in her empty belly.

The first day, she ate like a dog, lapping up the food with her mouth. She didn't know how to hold a cup without spilling and she definitely didn't know how to use a knife and fork. She had been their pet, and from the age tag in her dress that said 2-3yrs, she had most likely been the bar's pet for years.

Dorothy was so excited when I picked her up some clothes, but didn't seem to understand what I was saying when I said she could change every day. She kept insisting that a pink dress was her favourite and that she would wear it all the time. So I just bought more, so she could wear a fresh one every day.

She was even more excited by a teddy bear that one of the hotel staff gave her and carried it around everywhere with her.

How could people be such assholes? To have the desire to lock up a kid was sick.

Driving up towards Black Shadow, I'm stopped by a couple of Wolves. Smiles etched on their faces as they see that it's me. "Is he dead?" One asks

"Not yet." I glance at a sleeping Dorothy and the guy nods in understanding, waving me through.

Parking in front of the pack house, I could already hear Raven shouting at the top of her voice about something before I even got out of the car. She was pissed about something. And probably just as angry with me as I hadn't spoken to her since I left. Walking around the car. I lift a sleepy Dorothy from the passenger seat. She peers at me with one eye. "Are we there yet?"

It had been her favourite question to ask, multiple times a day.

"We are."

She straightens her spin, widening her bright green eyes as she looks at the massive house.

"Home?" she mumbles

"Home." Technically, it wasn't for me to decide, but I knew Neah wouldn't kick her out. Especially when she learns where Dorothy came from.

Pushing the door open, I'm met with Eric, Raven and Dane, all glaring at one another.

Danes' crimson eyes settle on me first as Raven slowly turns around to look at me. Her emotions flood through her as she stares at me. "Your....you're....you are here." She mutters breathlessly, her hands clasped to her chest.

Her dark eyes move to Dorothy and she frowns for a second before her face softens. Most likely when she realised that Dorothy is a wolf.

"This is Raven." I tell the kid, "The one I told you about."

"Your girlfriend?" Dorothy smiles as she stares back at my mate.

"Yes. And this is Dane. He is the one in charge."

"The Al...pha?"

She had caught on pretty quickly with the terms when I was trying to teach her.

"And that man is Eric, he is Danes...."

"Beta." She finishes the sentence for me. I was like a proud father. She had to learn a lot in a short space of time. "I'm Dorothy." She mutters shyly

Raven is just staring at me. I expected her to say more, but she stepped forward with a limp.

"Hey Dorothy, why don't you come with me and we will let the men talk." She holds her arms out to the kid I'm carrying.

Dorothy looks at me first. "She's good." I tell her. "She's a doctor."

I put her down and she grabs Raven's hand. As they walk away. I hear her telling my mate about her pink dress and the teddy bear.

"I take it he is dead." Dane mutters when the office door closes.

"No, I ran into a bit of a problem."

"So you brought her here?"

"She's a Wolf."

"Why didn't you take her to her pack?"

"She was being held hostage and likely for several years. She doesn't know what her parents are called, the only thing she is aware of is that she is different to the men who were keeping her as a pet."

I see the acknowledgement in his eyes. "He killed the people that were keeping Dorothy?"

"Yes. Either because he was caught up in a frenzied attack to notice she was hiding, or because he knew I would help her and he used her to get away."

I look over to Eric, he still had a face like thunder and hadn't spoken a word. But I could smell the booze on his clothes. Now it made sense why Raven was shouting.

"You take responsibility for her." Dane mutters, his strange eyes are darkening. "You brought her here, you look after her."

"Of course."

"That means you don't go running off again. We work together, not alone.