Ch. 306..310: The Alpha Contract Chapter 306-310

Chapter 0306

Blair

"Look who is awake!" The tip of a finger presses against my chin, pushing my head up off of my chest.

The edges of my sight are still dark and the rest is blurred but I recognise Cooper's voice. "Took you a little longer to heal than I expected."

Pain radiates down my spine. The tightness of my skin tells me that the wound has only just finished knitting itself together. I try to straighten my back to relieve the pressure but I'm unable to move and my head starts rolling back into a wall behind me, while fighting the

need for more sleep.

A hand taps my cheek. "Come on, wake up you little whore."

"..." what the fuck had they given me? My head pounded, making the pain of my spine seem like nothing in comparison.

"What strength did you use?" Cooper yells out. "She's still out of it."

"I doubled it just to be sure." Another man replies.

I try blinking to clear the blur, but the more I blink the more I grow desperate for the pain in my head to stop.

"You idiot. You were supposed to just use the normal dose. We need her alive!"

I try clearing the lump forming in my throat. "Where am...."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about things like that, Blair Everwood or should I say Kitson."

No matter how much I try, I'm unable to force my vision to clear. I could smell the sterile room, but that wouldn't confirm my location. I could smell Cooper and the Wolf from the bar but no one else. If I could just shift, I could kill them. Their voices begin to echo like the room had suddenly grown bigger. My heart pounds in my chest so hard it feels like my ribs might break.

I had been so caught up with my fated mate that everything else had slipped away. I had failed to see what was coming and now I was paying the price. I had lost my touch.

A hand taps my cheek, "Stay awake, Blair."

"Why?" I whisper. Why would my mate do this to me?

"Every Lycan and Wolf is gunning for your death. It will be a shame if this is how you die."

He had already met Neah. He wasn't on his way to Black Shadow, he had already been.

"You...you don't know....."

"That you want her position?" He muses. "Of course we know. Stepdaddy isn't so good at keeping your secret."

My heart beat drastically slows and my body slumps to one side, hitting a wall.

"No, no, you don't get to sleep."

"I'm not...." My breath comes out all gaspy, I wasn't getting the oxygen I needed.

"Shit!" He grabs my legs and yanks me down the mattress. A hand goes against my chest. "Her heart is fucking weak. We need her alive."

"I'm not a fucking doctor!" The other guy growls back.

Something sharp pierces my chest and I'm out before I can say anything.

I wake with a gasp, my hands clutch my chest as I check my own heart. It's beating a little fast, but not anything crazy. But I was alive, that was the main thing.

I'm in a windowless white room. A toilet sits in the corner and the only other thing in here is the bed. I'm on a drip feed that's connected to my inner arm. In the top corner, I see a camera. I had been wrapped in some sort of white gown while everything else had been removed. How fucking long had I been here? And where was I?

The door opens and Cooper stands in it, his frame filling out the space. "Look who decided to join the land of the living."

"Where am I?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

"How long have I been here?" My back didn't feel tight from the freshly healed skin, in fact it felt amazing.

"Five weeks."

"Five weeks? Why would you do this? We were mated until you rejected me."

"Funny what a little concoction can do."

I climb off the bed ready to attack him when the tube in my arm pulls, sending a sharp twinge down my arm.

"Careful, that's keeping you alive."

"Fuck off!" I yank it out and charge towards him, ready to throw my all into beating the crap out of him when I start to feel a little woozy.

He catches me before I hit the ground and carries me back to the bed. He puts the tube back in just as I hear other women screaming, demanding to know where they are. What kind of place was this?

Chapter 0307

"You seem a little confused." He mutters, checking how much is left in the drip bag.

"I

thought you were doing this for Neah?"

"I have no interest in the Alpha. Daniel did, but Daniels dead."

"The Wolf from the bar?"

"Yes." He pulls the blanket up over my legs and it's only now that I realise my sense of smell is weak.

"What have you done to me?"

"I needed to make sure you couldn't shift. You cause quite a lot of problems for our kind, don't you Blair. I can't allow that." "I'm paid and they all deserve it."

"Oh I know. Though I've been having to clean up your mess for a long time. Make sure the Humans don't discover us."

More screams and shouts ring out down the hallway, both men and women. How many were being kept here?

"All Lycans?" "No."

As I stare at him, I try to drive my Lycan forward. If it means I eat him to be free, then I would. But nothing happens.

He smiles at me. "I wouldn't bother. It's not going to work."

My eyes move to the drip feed, it had to be something in that.

Cooper laughs. "You need it to survive. So your options are to live here without your Lycan or die."

He strides to the door. "Breakfast will be served shortly." He starts to pull the door shut. "Just remember this. You think you are bad, there is always someone alot worse than you."

He has no idea who he is dealing with.

I lay staring up at the white ceiling. There wasn't a single speck of dirt on it. No tiles for me to count to pass the time, nothing. Whatever this place was, it was supposed to drive us insane. But I'm used to being alone with my thoughts.

Breakfast is oatmeal in a plastic bowl. Delivered by an older woman with salt and pepper hair. Her grey eyes are dim. It's almost like she is on autopilot as she moves. Not a single word leaves her lips. She doesn't even make eye contact. What did Cooper have over her? A different woman appears thirty minutes later to collect the breakfast dish. She's younger than the first, maybe in her thirties, but again, there is no eye contact. I was starting to wonder if I was dreaming because it just didn't seem real.

Taking my drip bag with me, I sit in the corner, directly under the camera. I had no idea if they could see me in this position, but I felt a little less watched.

I play with the drip feed, connecting it and reconnecting it, seeing how long I could go before I felt like I was going to die. I couldn't get past five seconds. It wasn't even enough time for me to attack anyone, but maybe I could use the tube, it was long enough to wrap around someone's neck.

I jump when there is a knock on the door. Not being able to hear them walking towards you was uncomfortable. I keep quiet as the door swings open. Cooper's eyes find me immediately. "Up you get."

"Why?"

"Full of so many questions, aren't you?" There's a slight smirk. "Get up."

I rise to my feet.

"Take it with you or you won't get very far."

I push the drip bag along with me as I step out into a white corridor, multiple doors lined it. Some people were banging on theirs while others were quiet or sobbing behind them. ""Walk!" Cooper snaps and shoves me forward.

My bare feet move slowly, one in front of the other as I try to guess how many people are here. And what they might have done to end up here.

We get to a door and Cooper uses a key to unlock it. He locks it behind us too.

"Where are you taking me?"

He's silent as he pushes me on. "Is this for what I did to Neah?"

"I told you, I have no interest in the Alpha. Though many would call that treason." He directs me into another room and points me to the chair. "You've met her?" I was starting to think he hadn't. He may know her name, but he didn't seem to know she was mated either.

"What does it matter to you?"

"Because if you had met her, you would know that we are siblings."

Chapter 0308

Damien

The number of Lycans here in the Black Shadow now surpassed the Wolves. They had done for about a week and it was the first time I had seen Dane looking a little uncomfortable. Even though he hadn't said it, more Lycans than Wolves were a potential threat. In theory we could overthrow the Wolves, but every single one of us are here for Neah.

Still, after five weeks, there were more turning up. I had always known there were more, but not this many.

Plenty had died along the way too. Abraxas had taken great joy in that and as much as he was an asshole and I still didn't trust him, he was sticking to his word and he seemed to be good for Dottie.

Abraxas moves around doing some of his weird training shit in the open space between the packhouse and the first houses. He had drawn in a crowd, especially young teenage girls who liked to watch him work out. As long as they were Wolves, he didn't have a problem. "Watching him again?" Dane mutters as he steps through the front door.

"Just like you watch the Lycans."

"You know Brax is still trying to find a way to bind Nyx. He doesn't have to do that."

"He's been looking for an answer for almost two months. Don't you think he should have found something by now? Especially now he has the help of another Hunter."

"Klaus isn't like Brax. You already know that." The news about Klaus had been more than a shock. When comparing him to Abraxas, they were nothing alike. I just couldn't see how Klaus could be a Hunter, plus he loved Neah.

"Fine, but maybe it's not possible." I tell him. "And even if it is, we both know it might kill her. You can't risk that. Neah needs to find a way to manage it"

"What if I tell you he has already found a couple of options."

He had my full attention and I drag my eyes away from Abraxas. "What?"

"He has found a couple of options, but neither of them have a hundred percent guarantee that Neah won't get hurt in the process. One of the ideas came from a Witch, but once she found out Neah had been bound before, she told Abraxas it wasn't an option." "Why have you not said anything?"

"I don't need to. She is my mate. I am the Alpha here."

"She is also our Alpha, Dane. Where is she anyway?"

"With Klaus and before you say anything." Dane watches me. "Neah can handle herself and Klaus won't hurt her."

I figured it was best that I don't answer

'Jenson moved!' Raven's voice echoes in my head

'Raven...'

'He moved!'

'I'm on my way.' I look to Dane. "Jenson moved?"

"It's probably just...." He doesn't answer me as his crimson eyes become glassy. "Come on."

As we start to head towards the hospital, he shouts for Abraxas to come with us and I roll my eyes. "What did Raven say to you?" I ask as we make our way across the grounds. "His eyes are open."

"That's not possible." Abraxas frowns. Something that seems to be permanent these days.

We burst in through the hospital and head to the room where Jenson was. Jenson has had the pillows removed from under his head and the bed has been laid completely flat. His eyes are wide open but unresponsive. The tube down his throat continues to work to keep him breathing.

"His hand moved." Raven mutters. Her own dark eyes are just as wide as Jensons. "And he opened his eyes." She gestures to his face.

I look at Jenson's hands. They are in exactly the same place as usual. But this also wasn't the first time Raven had claimed he had moved. Her desire for him to live was making her see things that just weren't true. But this was the first time his eyes had been open. Dane clenches his jaw as his eyes scan over his brother's body. He had admitted that he had said goodbye to Jenson a long time ago, but he believed Raven needed time. His crimson eyes move to Abraxas and Abraxas shakes his head.

"Raven, it's time to turn off the machines." Dane tells her

"You said he would heal." She's glaring at Abraxas

"He's not and he hasn't been for a while." Abraxas replies. "I have said this a number of times, he is not healing. You have to let him go. Otherwise you are forcing him to exist in a world that no longer has a place for him. And you are giving up your life in the hopes that there will be a miracle. That miracle isn't happening."

"He's my brother." I feel her pain. Her ache for him is as strong as her will for him to just wake up. Her denial is just as bad.

"We can do this with you by his side or without you." Dane tells her

Chapter 0309

"You can't... I'm the pack doctor. I know what's best."

Resting my hands on her shoulders, I give her a small squeeze. She wasn't alone in this, even if that is what she feels.

Dane flicks off the machine that is breatheing for Jenson followed by the one that makes sure his heart pumps blood around his body.

Raven is already sobbing as we wait and watch for any signs of life. To no one's surprise, there is nothing, No movement. No twitch of a finger. No quiet beat of the heart.

Raven drops to her knees, as she goes into panic mode. Her chest heaves as she struggles to breathe.

"GO!" I shout at Dane and Abraxas as I pull my mate against me.

My mate claws at her own chest and I have to lock my hands over hers to stop her hurting herself. She thrashes against me, pummeling her fists any place she can with a desperate need to get away. I hold steady, knowing it was just the pain of acknowledging her twin was really gone.

I'm not even sure how long we are sat on the floor before she becomes quiet. Minutes, maybe even hours. She stares up at Jenson. "Dane turned off the machines." She whispers

"He was already gone, Raven."

"He took my brother away from me."

"No. This is what Blair did." She had to remember that it was Blair that made Jenson try and kill his Wolf. It was Blair that had made him weak. Dane was just doing what he should have done weeks ago.

"Blair." she whispers

"Blair turned him into something he never was. You saw it yourself. Remember what he was like before he met her."

"He loved everything." she says quietly. "He was fun. He was happy. A pain in the ass most of the time but happy."

Her tense body starts to relax into me. "Revenge ruined him, Raven."

"Why did he stay with her?"

"From what Mallory said, I don't think he had a choice. I think Blair was forcing him to live a life she wanted. Maybe she even saw it as an opportunity.

She pushes herself up from my lap and moves over to Jenson. She removes the tube from his throat and gently closes his eyes. Cupping his face, she finally tells him goodbye. A silent tear stains her cheek as she pulls the bed sheet up over him. Raven's head drops as she moves back to me. "I need to sleep." She whispers, keeping her gaze low. "Midnight needs to sleep."

It had been a long time since I hadn't had to force her to rest. "Then let's go home."

As she steps through the doors of the pack hospital, Dane is waiting and immediately pulls her in for a hug though she doesn't hug him back.

In some ways, I wish he hadn't let this go on for so long, but then I knew at the same time, he was trying to keep Raven's hopes up.

Klaus passes us without saying a word and heads inside. Probably to prepare Jenson for his cremation. Though there wasn't much left to do, other than place him in the casket that Dane has had prepared for well over a month.

"Let's get you home." Dane whispers softly to his sister.

There is an eeriness to the pack as we walk to the house. Wolves pause as we pass by, dropping their heads a little, but it was the quietness that made it seem strange. No chatter, no children charging around. They all felt the loss. Maybe it was more that they could feel Danes' loss, though he doesn't show it.

Whatever it was, It was clear that the respect for their Alpha is strong.

Raven makes her way up the stairs, insisting that I didn't need to go with her. "I'm just going to crash." She gives me a weak smile.

"I will be up to check on you."

She shrugs her shoulders and carries on.

"She just needs time." Dane tells me as he turns into his office.

"Time? Says the man who left his brother on a ventilator. Raven's depression could have been dealt with long ago rather than watching her fade right in front of me."

"No one grieves the same way."

"Including you?"

"I accepted his death."

"Have you? Because what I just witnessed suggests that you still feel it."

"How I feel has nothing to do with you!"

There is a crash above us preventing me from disagreeing. I'm out the door before he is. Racing up the stairs two at a time with Dane right behind me. While I run in the direction of my room, Dane crashes through his bedroom door. Raven is out cold on the bed. She didn't even undress before sprawling out like a starfish on top of the blankets. Quietly and quickly, I close the door just as Dane calls out to me.

In Dane's bedroom, Dane is standing in front of Neah with wide eyes. But Neah isn't in human form.

Chapter 0310

Neah

"OW!" I land on my back a little hard and just lie here, stunned by the pain. My energy was almost non-existent and I was done practising for the day. There are only so many times I can deal with the breaking of bones in one afternoon. 'Better.' Nyx mutters "You have almost nailed it."

I had been practising in secret for weeks. Shifting into my Lycan without Nyx's help and it was far from easy. I wanted to give credit to all those that could shift without help.

I had given in a few weeks ago and actually spoke to Nyx, trying to find out why she was forcing herself forward and her answer was always the same. 'I'm just trying to protect us.'

My body and mind had worked so hard to keep her from entering my thoughts that it was becoming impossible to keep her out. She was a constant. A piece of me that I couldn't suppress no matter how much I didn't want her in my head.

I fought against her. Every waking moment I tried to keep her out of mind, wishing that she would stop sharing her opinion, hoping that she would just give up. But she never stopped and the more I pushed, the more she pushed back.

"I want the darkness to go away." I had muttered one day. "I want you to go away." I hadn't wanted to become a monster. I hadn't wanted to become something that fed on blood and flesh. I still don't.

'Do you know what makes us better than the rest?' She had asked me during one heated discussion, 'Our blood.'

'I don't know what that means.'

'We are better than the others. Stronger. Powerful. A leader of Lycans. And you know it!'

I had laughed at her words that day and caught Abraxas watching me from afar. A dark look on his face that had me disappearing into the training hall and out of sight. I didn't want or need his opinion, especially while he kept silently torturing his mate, Maddie. 'Does it scare you?' Nyx had asked me one night after I had put the twins to bed. I hadn't even needed to ask what she meant because I knew exactly what she was talking about.

'Of course it does. I'm not any of those things that you keep saying I am.'

'Because you still don't believe in your capabilities, Neah. You still don't trust me and that is what is holding you back. We are one, Neah. Neither of us can survive without the other because this is who we are meant to be. You treat me as though I am a separate being instead of accepting me as part of you. Look at Jenson, he is dying because he lost his Wolf.'

At the time, her words made me question a lot of things. But more importantly, was she right? Was I responsible for my own struggles?

'You need to practise shifting.' She had declared when I said I was willing to listen.

'I can't... I will become..'

'No you won't, Neah, you have to trust me. You have to trust yourself.'

Now almost three weeks later, I'm lying on the bedroom floor with Dane and Damien staring at me. The secret was officially out and I inwardly groan. I wanted to keep it quiet until I was a hundred percent sure I could shift without asking Nyx to do it for me. "Neah?" That single word is full of so much doubt and annoyance from Dane as he stands over me. He hated it when I kept secrets. It wasn't supposed to be a secret, but a surprise, like tada, I figured out how to do something without his help.

I pick up my claws to acknowledge the men while my heart hammers in my chest. The shifting is getting easier and quicker, but I always end up crashing to the ground, unable to hold my balance.

When Nyx had pushed forward, she had always made it feel like a breeze. 'Because you keep moving. You need to practise while still.' she mutters in amusement.

Slowly shifting back, my neck cracks and then my back arches off the floor as my bones realigned. Nyx promised it would get easier and the pain would be less but right now, my body felt like it was on fire as everything slots back into the right place and I'm almost grateful I'm naked.