Ch. 271..275: The Alpha Contract Chapter 271-275

Chapter 0271

Dane

Damien and I waited at the gates. It was still dark outside though the sun would be rising shortly. I was curious and cautious about this Abraxas guy. He had agreed to come here far too easily and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

The call with Mallory was even stranger. The guy didn't speak, yet Mallory told him to ask a question, specifically to Neah and I still had no idea why. The line went dead just as quickly and a sleepy Neah stared at me as if I had just pranked her. The cars come to a stop on the other side of the gates. Klaus is the first to exit the car. Shortly followed by an angry Eric.

"I told you to not stick a fucking gun in her face!" Eric yells as he turns towards the vehicle behind them.

"You can never be too careful." An unfamiliar voice retorts. Though his tone appeared to be emotionless. "And I warned all of you, I didn't want any surprises. You can chill now, she is still alive!"

"It's okay Eric. It was my fault." Mallory mutters. "He hates Blair so I had to tell him about Neah. I didn't want him to accidentally shoot her because they look alike."

'What the hell happened out there?' Aero asks me

'That's what I'm trying to find out.' I mumble back

The four of them move towards us. Eric and Mallory walk behind Abraxas, while Klaus keeps his presence close to him. The guy didn't seem to care. He strolled forward like he was on an evening walk. A bag slung over his shoulder, his hands shoved in his denim pockets. He comes to a stop in front of the gates, his hazel eyes locking with mine. "Dane."

"People outside my pack refer to me as Alpha."

"Yeah, ain't doing that. Not when you let scum in your pack." His eyes momentarily move to Damien and he spits on the ground. If there hadn't been gates between us, Damien would be wringing his neck. "Show some fucking respect." Damien growls.

"Respect is earned." Abraxas snarls back. "And I have no respect for your kind, Rogue."

"I'm not a Rogue!" Damien's nostrils flare as he grips the bars of the gate.

"But you were. And you still feel the pull." Abraxas grins at him. "How long before you are pushed over the edge, Damien? A week? A couple of months. Either way, I'm happy to end your miserable life." "You told him?" Damien demands as he glares at Mallory.

"No, I swear." Mallory mutters. "It's like I said, he just knows things."

'A mental case by the sounds of it.' Aero rumbles

Abraxas stares at me but points to Eric, "Why don't you tell him, Blondie!"

"My name is Eric!" He snaps back. Eric moves forward, frowning, "The guy claims he can tell the difference between Lycans and Rogues. Calls himself a Hunter."

"It's not a claim, Blondie. It's a fact. A centuries old fact."

"Whatever, just keep away from my mate or I will put a bullet through you."

Abraxas laughs like it's a challenge. "Now are you going to let me in? You lot did ask me to come here."

"Why did you agree so easily?" I press

"She made me a deal." He points to Mallory. "And if that deal doesn't hold, I'm going to go on my own little killing spree. Starting with her."

Mallory puffs her cheeks out. Whatever she had said, she had done it to protect herself. I don't blame her for that. But the decision isn't up to her.

"I'm the only one around here who gets to make deals." I growl

"Is that right?" He mocks me

"He can tell the difference." Mallory blurts. "I said he could kill the bad Lycans. It will be easier than growing blood of wolfsbane. Word won't be able to get out." ""Is that true?"

"It's what makes me a Hunter."

"As long as I get to kill something, I'm happy. So it's your choice Dane." Abraxas smirks at me. His lips peeling back over his teeth into a grin

 

 

Chapter 0272

If I said yes, I was letting a mad man onto my lands. If I said no, a mad man knew of our location. "Tell me more about being a Hunter."

"The info is pretty much in the title. What more do you need?" Abraxas smirks at me

"Do you kill Wolves?"

"It's happened." He shrugs his shoulders

"Your priority is Rogues?"

He dips his chin at me.

""You won't touch my mate or my sons."

"Are they Rogues?"

"No. They are all Lycans."

His lip curls up, "You got Lycans for kids? how fucking unlucky."

I step forward, the bars of the gate the only thing separating us. My eyes lock on to his. "You don't touch them and you don't harm them." "Have they started training yet?"

"They are babies."

He cocks an eyebrow and looks down, muttering "so much for the breed dying out." His hazel eyes flicker back up to mine. "I won't touch them." "Or harm them."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine."

I pull the gates open, letting him and the others in. "When do I get to meet this female Alpha?"

"A few hours," There was no way I was waking her up again.

"I ain't waiting hours."

"If you want to kill some Rogues. You will wait." I snap. It was my pack. I wasn't letting some psycho tell me how to run it.

Abraxas sits in the corner of my office, taking apart his gun and cleaning it as the others tell me what happened. Every now and again he would chip in, confirming what the others were saying, but never adding any new information.

"Hey," Neah's voice travels down the stairs, "I can smell a...." she trails off as she enters the office, staring at Abraxas.

Abraxas is on his feet. "You weren't kidding when you said she was identical." He gazes at her far too long for my liking.

"Who are you?" Neah's defence was up immediately. Her arms fold across her body as she glared at him.

"Your knight in shining armour." He muses, bowing in front of her. "And a Rogue's worst nightmare."

"I don't need a knight. This isn't some fucking fairytale where you slay the dragon." She stares at him. Her whole body is tense.

"Blair." He mutters her name and sits back down, returning to cleaning his gun.

"You've dealt with Blair?" Neah asks with a small frown.

"I have unfinished business with Blair. But I hear many of you do." He shrugs his shoulders and chuckles. "I would like to be the one to kill her, but I heard there was a queue."

"What did she do to you?" Neah questions

"More than enough and she needs to pay for that. You see Neah, I want to put a bullet right in the centre of that pretty little head of hers. I want her to pay for everything she did to me. Every damn little thing. I want my eyes to be the last thing she sees." "She did more than kill your parents, didn't she?" Mallory asks, stepping towards him. I watch Eric reach out to try and grab her, just missing her arm.

"You don't need to concern yourself with that. As long as she dies, then my day is made." Abraxas tells her

There was obviously something he didn't want to share or maybe wasn't ready to share, yet I couldn't help wondering what else it was that she did to him.

They ask him more questions. Most he doesn't answer, swerving them with his own questions. Other answers were short and abrupt, but I also see him watching Neah. His eyes following her every movement. He wasn't just curious about her, he seemed fascinated. Was it because she looked like Blair or was there some other reason that he was yet to tell us?

 

Chapter 0273

Abraxas

It was almost uncomfortable how much she looked like Blair. I knew it wasn't her.

Apart from the eyes, her soul gave her away. The darkness hovered in her, but she hadn't gone Rogue yet. She was fighting it and she had been fighting it for some time, a long time.

No other Lycan I had come across had been able to fight it off for so long. Once the darkness sets in, they have weeks, maybe months at most. Yet somehow, Neah had been fighting it for well over a year, maybe even most of her life. Unaware that it was even there.

A Hunter's instinct would be to kill her. To put her out of her misery. To end her before she does too much damage. But even I could see there was something different about her.

The edges of her soul are tinted black, but unlike others, the majority of it is bright. It shouldn't be possible and yet, here I was, seeing it for myself. Like she was in a constant battle. She hadn't won it yet, but she was trying.

They ask more questions, trying to get more answers from me about Blair. Mallory tells them that Blair killed my parents, but there is so much more to it than that. And that is something I didn't share with anyone. But they wanted to know and they kept pushing and pushing apart from Neah who was quiet.

They didn't need to know anything else about me. I came to do a job and that was all that mattered.

Neah stands and I find myself standing too. I tuck the gun into my waistband as Dane leans down to kiss her cheek. A similar gesture that I would make to my mate.

I wanted to speak to Neah alone. I wanted to see if the colour of her soul would change. "Can we speak?"

"Why?" Her walls go up immediately as she stares back at me. Big blue eyes trying to process what my plan could be.

"I'm used to working alone. I'm used to hunting in a certain way. If I'm to work with you, I need to know how you operate, what your intentions are and what you are planning." It was a lie. I could already see how she worked. Act first, think later, common for those that have lived a life of trauma. Maybe that was when the darkness started.

"I don't think that is a good idea." Crimson eyed Dane mutters.

"Is she not capable of making her own decisions?" I challenge. She was his mate and technically a Luna of his pack and an Alpha in her own right. She was far from weak.

"It's not her judgement I'm questioning." He mutters back.

"I said I wouldn't hurt her. Unlike you predictable Wolves, I am able to control myself."

I flick my eyes back to Neah who was hovering by the office door. Her hand already on the handle ready to leave and yet she hadn't.

I pull the gun back out my waistband. Her eyes follow it as I drop it onto Dane's desk. I could still kill her if I wanted too. But maybe this would make her feel at ease. Instead, I see something else.

The light of her soul dims to grey and her eyes darken. It took a lot less time than I expected. I wonder if she knew what was causing the darkness. Or whether she had been convinced it was something else.

Her hands clench into fists at her side and she shakes her head, puffing out her cheeks. It takes a minute before her soul is glowing with light again. She had more control than what her Lycan liked. Her Lycan is the darkness at the edge of her soul, feeding on her pain, her anger, pushing unwanted thoughts into her mind.

"Go see your boys." I mutter. Her soul instantly brightens, pushing the edges back until it's so bright that I have to look away from her.

 

 

Chapter 0274

I know she is confused. She hadn't mentioned her sons to me.

"What the fuck was that about?" Damien snaps at me as Neah leaves

"Wind that fucking head in. I'm not here to help you." I snarl back at him. His eyes flicker to my gun on the desk. "Go ahead, do you think that's the only one?" ""ENOUGH!" Dane snaps

"You saw something when you were watching Neah, didn't you?" Mallory asks with her brows knitted together. "The same as how you didn't shoot me."

I don't answer her and turn my attention back to their leader.

"She was bound, right?" My guess was two or three times, which in theory should have killed her.

"Four." Dane tells me "How the hell did you know that?"

"Hunter." I mutter, trying to understand how she could have been bound four times and still be alive. But it did show one thing. How fucking powerful she really was."Does she shift?" "Not anymore. Why?"

"Her Lycan is the one responsible for pushing the darkness on her."

"That doesn't make any sense. We don't have Lycan spirits." Damien is shaking his head at me. "If that's how you turn Rogue, that makes no sense."

"You don't, but I know what I see."

They stare at me like I'm mad. A look I was all too familiar with. I laugh at them, so fucking predictable.

"I'm not in the mood for games." Dane speaks, staring at me.

"Yet you let those fuckers in your life. You know that's one of the things Rogues do, right? They play you to get what they want."

I see Damien clench his teeth. He was so furious that it was fucking hilarious. "I am not a Rogue anymore." He seethes

"So you told me. It doesn't mean I have to believe you. I would rather trust what I see."

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounded like."

"Damien, go check on Raven." Dane tells him.

"Another Lycan?" I muse. How many were already hidden here?

"No. My sister."

"I would want someone more trustworthy to check on my sister."

"They are mates."

"Another one? What the fuck is going on here?" Wolves and Lycans don't just get paired up. I had been watching Lycans and Rogues for years, learning everything about them. Wolves were never in the picture, well not as mates. "Who was mated first?" "Neah and myself. Why?"

"You know that isn't normal."

"World is changing." Mallory mutters

"Yet one thing stays the same." I rise to my feet again and move to the window, running their words through my head. "What's the connection?"

""What?" Blondie mutters

"Neah and Dane. Damien and Raven. Blondie and Mallory. Who else?"

"It was Jenson and Jess. Jenson is Raven's twin. Jess died." Dane purses his lips together and glances at Blondie, "And now Jenson is mated to Blair."

I raise an eyebrow, I did not see that coming.

"It's not what you think." Mallory tells me. "He got himself mixed up in some weird shit with her and now he is in the hospital dying. They aren't fated mates. He claimed her."

"Did he now?"

"He was pissed off with me." Dane groans

"I can put him out of his misery." I offer

"I'm capable of doing that." He snaps back at me.

Fucking Wolves. They are all so damn touchy when it comes to members of their pack. there was nothing worse than seeing someone suffer. Their death dragged out in the hopes they would heal.

"Can he get information to her?"

"He's in a coma."

It takes a lot to put a Wolf in a coma. Something else must have been happening. Though I know he won't be waking up ever. They never did. Yet as I look at Dane, I realise he has hope that the guy will survive. If he does, it would be a fucking miracle.

 

Chapter 0275

Damien

"I don't like him. He is fucking shifty. He claims to know stuff about Lycans and Rogues. It's a load of bullshit." I mutter though Raven isn't listening to me. She is busy staring at Jenson.

The guy is hooked up to every machine possible and she spends all day here, watching for the tiniest clues. Looking for something that just isn't there.

The only reason he is alive is because of the machines.

Turn the ventilator off and the other one that's keeping his heart pumping and that would be it, but she couldn't accept that, even with her vast knowledge of medical stuff. Or maybe it was more that she wouldn't accept it.

Big black circles sit under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Her lips are chapped from the lack of fluids and every piece of food I put in front of her went uneaten. Even her favourite ice cream.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." she whispers, gripping Jenson's unresponsive hand. "We were supposed to stick together. Look after each other. And you had to go and ruin it!"

A single tear trickles down her cheek as she stares at her brother. "You couldn't just accept it, could you?"

"Raven, he can't hear you."

"You don't know that!" She snaps at me. "He could still wake up."

Even Dane knew it wouldn't happen.

"Raven, you need to sleep." I press. I needed to get her out of here, even if it were only for a few hours.

"I can't leave him."

"He won't be alone. I've asked Klaus to come and sit with him."

"It has to be me. If something happens..."

"Then Klaus will link you. This isn't good for you. You need to rest. To eat. It's no good if you are making yourself ill too. You won't be able to help him if you are making yourself suffer." I press, hoping that she would finally understand what I'm telling her. Her dark eyes flicker to mine. "I can't leave him, Damien."

"You will only be in the packhouse. You are not leaving him."

She sighs and slowly peels her hand from her brothers as Klaus appears.

"Anything Klaus, promise me if there is anything, you will tell me." Raven pleads with him, "A finger or a toe twitch, the machines. I need to know. Please."

"Of course." Klaus nods. He takes her seat beside Jenson and I still have to drag her away.

Tears fall more freely when it is just us. In bed, she lets me curl around her until her body is perfectly nestled into mine. I hoped my presence would be enough to make her feel something other than sadness and fear.

She cries and sobs into the pillow like nothing I have ever seen.

Being like me, you come to learn that death was expected. It truly is the only guaranteed thing in life.

We are born and we die. What happens in between is up to us. And though my own death is not something that scares me, the idea of losing my mate to it does. The worst thing is, I could feel everything she was feeling, but I couldn't make it better. Only one person could and he was being kept alive by machines.

She falls asleep from crying. Her eyes are left puffy from all the tears and her cheeks are flushed red from her hands constantly brushing them away. But she was asleep and I wanted to keep it that way. At least for a little while.

Carefully moving away, I watch her for a moment, making sure she doesn't wake. A tiny snore escapes and I knew she was out and unlikely to wake for at least a few hours.

The house is empty and I find Neah sitting on the steps in front of the house. A deep frown etched on her face as she stares at Abraxas performing some sort of martial arts. "Dane?"

"Dane took the boys and Dorothy to Eric's parents."

"Is that a good idea?"

"They miss their own grandsons, well, the ones they thought were theirs. Dane thought the kids might cheer them up."

"And he thought it was a good idea to leave him alone." I nod my head in Abraxas' direction.

"This is all he has been doing for the last hour."

"You offered to watch?"