Ch. 346..350: The Alpha Contract Chapter 346-350

Chapter 0346

Damien

"Daddy?" Dottie had dropped her spoon in her cereal bowl and was staring at me with wide bright green eyes and a stuck out bottom lip.

"You should finish your breakfast. You have a big day today."

She screws up her nose. "I can't eat."

"And why is that?"

"You're sad." She mutters with a tiny frown "And if I go to school, I can't keep an eye on you."

"Is that right?"

"Uh huh!"

"Well, I have a lot to do today so you don't need to worry about me. I'm taking the oath later to officially be part of Black Shadow. And it's important that you start school." "Why?"

"Because you are a clever little girl. Besides, school is here in Black Shadow so I won't be far and you get to hang out with kids your own age."

"If I'm clever, I don't need to go to school. Neah didn't and she is an Alpha!" She pouts at me and hugs herself

I sigh, Dottie had an answer for everything these days.

"But I wish I had got to go to school." Neah mutters as she makes her way into the kitchen with her boys toddling along next to her. It's not as fun learning to read and write when you are an adult." Dottie hikes her shoulders up around her ears. "Fine, I will go!"

We had been making plans for this for about a week. A lot of the Lycans had brought young kids, pulling them from schools to be here. They were worried that their children would fall behind so Dane had agreed to set up a small school. And I think now, Dottie's nerves were settling in.

She turns to Neah, "Will you look after Daddy? He's sad."

Neah's blue eyes flash in my direction as she settles Logan into a high chair. "Sure."

I wish Dottie would stop telling everyone I was sad. Raven was dead, that was the end of it.

"Do you think my other Daddy will come with us and walk me to school?"

"I can ask, but you need to finish your breakfast. I know you Dottie. You will be hungry again in ten minutes."

She gives me a guilty smile and starts shovelling cereal into her mouth.

Dottie holds my hand with a tight grip as we walk across the grounds to the small building that had been turned into a school. She was more jittery than usual. Her eyes darted all over the place. Probably because Brax hadn't turned up like he said he was going too. She isn't the only one who is hesitant. Other kids are protesting too. Ryken has his youngest boy trapped under his arm as he carries him towards the school with a look that suggested he had also had a rough morning convincing the boy to go to school. "He's scared." Dottie whispers to me.

"He hasn't been here that long. Remember, you were scared when you first came here. Maybe he needs a friend."

"Like Auntie Mallory is your friend?"

"Exactly."

She nods and straigthens out her pink dress. Confidently, she strides away from me, stopping in front of a struggling Ryken. "My name is Dorothy. I can be your friend." She offers her hand to the boy but Ryken just stands there, staring at her like she had some kind of disease.

I hadn't considered that the Lycans wouldn't be happy that a daughter of a Hunter would be going to the school.

"She is just a kid!" I snarl as I get close.

"I know." Ryken mutters. "But do you think it's wise? The room will be full with young Lycans."

"I think you are worried about the wrong person."

Dotties hand slides back into mine. "It's okay Daddy, I can just go home."

I force a smile for her. "No, you have the right to be here just as much as anyone else." I turn my eyes to Ryken. "Doesn't she?!"

"Of course." He mutters, but there is no truth behind it. And if I can see that, she could too.

I make sure she is settled before I leave, though the way the parents are looking at her doesn't go unnoticed. I was starting to think it was a good idea Brax didn't turn up. He would have shot every single person in this room and maybe he knew that. Kissing dottie on the cheek, I promise to pick her up later and make my way to the teacher.

"Any problems, anything at all, give me a call immediately." I slide my number across the table to her.

The sooner I take this fucking oath, the better.

"Wait!" Ryken calls as I stride back towards the house.

"What?"

"I'm worried about my boys."

"You're their parent, you should be." I snap and carry on walking.

"You know that is not what I'm talking about! And you are one of her parents in that weird relationship you have going on."

I glare at him. "She is a little girl that has probably seen more horrors than all the kids in that classroom combined. But more importantly, she just wants to learn. Why do you have a problem with that?"

"Damien, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She's a Hunter of our kind. She is a threat."

 

Chapter 0347

"Like I said, you are worried about the wrong person!"

"So if she gets into trouble, then what, her father is going to come for us? You're going to come for us?"

"Yes. I will warn you once and only once. If you or any other Lycan tries anything stupid, it won't just be me or Brax that you have to worry about. Dottie is a part of Neah's family. How do you think Neah will feel after she invited you to stay here?"

"I fully support our Alpha, but I don't want the Hunter child hanging out with my kids."

"Why, worried they will turn out like Blair?" I walk away without waiting for his reaction.

Neah is standing with her hands on her hips as I walk through the front door. "You're threatening other Lycans now?"

"It wasn't a threat. But I'm glad to see they can link you when needed."

She sighs and sits on the bottom step. "Damien. I'm sorry, okay. I had to do it. I couldn't let you do it."

"Stop apologising Neah. I keep telling you that I understand. You don't need to keep apologising to me."

"But..."

"I don't blame you, Neah, not for anything. I blame her, she took the easy way out. She didn't even try to fight for what was hers. And honestly, I have more important things to worry about."

"If you need to talk, I..."

"I don't."

She puffs out her cheeks. "Are you going to tell me what happened with Ryken?"

"I'm sure he has already told you."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I prefer to listen to both sides."

I sit on the stairs next to her. "I won't let anything happen to Dottie."

"I know that. But we all need to make it work. We've got the original Wolves, we have Lycans, both bitten and pure bloods and then we have several Hunters. Though I'm not really sure if I can class Klaus in that category." She smiles at me. "I will speak to Ryken." ""He's a prick, Neah. Don't fall for his shit."

"It's my decision."

I nod "Where's Dane?"

"Down at the gate. Apparently there is another one."

"And you didn't go?"

"I was waiting for you to come back. Athena came and got the twins and I was going to go, but whoever is at the gate. isn't important. You do get that right? That you are not alone here. Just because she's gone, it doesn't mean you've stopped being family." "Good, because you are stuck with me!"

I walk down to the gates with her. There's a woman standing on the other side of the gates. Her arms folded against her chest in defence. And she is human. How the fuck had a human made it out here?

She has strange grey eyes. "You don't believe me do you?" I hear her mutter to Dane

"Why would there be a human here?" Neah whispers

"There's only one way to find out."

The woman's strange grey eyes move to Neah as we approach and her lips part a little. "Shit!"

I immediately pull Neah behind me. Her life was worthier than mine and I didn't need another prick trying to take her out.

"How did you find this place?" Dane demands

"I was shown it."

"By who?"

"Someone else like me.

"Another human?" I demand

"I'm not human. Or at least, I wasn't. It's complicated. I was a Lycan and then I had my abilities taken from me."

"You weren't bound. If you were bound, you would still have a scent. But the only thing you stink of, is human." Dane tells her.

"I don't know what he did to us. I just know that I was never the same again."

""Bullshit!" Dane snaps

"What if I told you the same thing has happened to Blair?" The woman announces.

"What are you talking about?" Neah pushes her way around me.

"Blair isn't a Lycan anymore."

"Not possible."

"She was the one who showed me where your pack is. I came here to warn you."

"Really, what is Blair threatening me with now?!" Neah demands

"It's not Blair. Blair didn't want me to come here, but we had no choice. The guy that did this to me and many others is probably on his way here, looking for her. She told him she was your half sister." The woman shakes her head at Neah. "I'm not scared of one man!" Neah snaps back. "Whatever happened to Blair is nothing less of what she deserved."

The woman nods her head. "She did a lot of bad things, and instead of death, she had everything stripped from her. That's what he does."

Neah snorts.

"What's your name?" Dane asks.

"Samara, but no one calls me that. Sammie or Sam is fine." She shakes her head. "This man is dangerous."

"Is it a trick?" Neah whispers to me.

"She seems to know a lot."

"She isn't lying." Brax saunters up next to us. His hazel eyes linger on the woman. "But you are not exactly innocent either, are you Samara?"

 

Chapter 0348

Abraxas

Samara's grey eyes hover on me. "You don't know anything about me!"

"I know what I see."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She looks over to Neah. "You have Witches here too?"

I laugh. Why did they always jump to that conclusion? "You can't smell me can you?"

"I told you, this is what he does. He takes everything. I lost everything because of him. Blair has lost everything because of him and I know that she did some bad things. She told me all about it, but this guy will look for her. He will come here."

"He can fuck off because he won't find her here!" Dane snaps

"I know that, you know that, but he doesn't." Samara frowns

"It's funny, because you haven't mentioned a name." Damien mutters, he was still half blocking Neah.

"His name is Cooper, if that's even his real name." Samara mutters as she runs her fingers through her long blonde hair. "It's not just Lycans he hurts, it's Wolves too. He strips our abilities, do you know what that's like? To not be able to smell or hear like I once did. To become breathless when doing too much. Not to be able to heal. It's soul destroying."

I snort.

"It's not funny!"

"Being stripped doesn't destroy your soul."

She glares at me. "Like you know anything about it."

I watch Neah, but she doesn't say anything. If there is anyone here that understands, it would be her.

"Why did he do that to you?" I press

"I don't know."

"Yes you do, you are just withholding the information."

She narrows her eyes and clenches her jaw, I was pressing buttons that she didn't like.

"Stop talking like you know everything."

"Never claimed I know everything, but I can see when someone isn't sharing everything."

Her cheeks pulsate with annoyance. "Blair was right, you lot just care about yourself."

"Funny that," Neah mutters. "I could say the same about Blair. Be careful she doesn't betray you because that is something she likes to do. Just ask her mother."

Samara sighs. "She isn't like that anymore. What he did to us, it makes you question everything. All the bad, all the good. All the mistakes. Maybe on some levels Cooper was right, it's the punishment we deserve."

She's actually telling the truth about that.

"Almost six years ago, he convinced me that he was my mate." she shakes her head. "I had killed a human and someone else saw. I bumped into him and I could smell this divine scent. It's funny now, I can't even remember what that scent was. He played this game of getting to know me, making me fall for him in ways I could never imagine. He led me away and I remember being hit over the head and something being injected in my neck and nothing was ever the same. I am not the first and I definitely won't be the last." "So he lures women away?" Dane asks

"No, there were men being kept there too. But the point is, he punishes those that he thinks deserves it."

Neah laughs.

"You think that's funny?!" Samara mutters in disgust. "You are the Lycan Alpha. You should be protecting us."

"How much has Blair told you?" Neah asks

"She's told me everything."

"Has she told you that she wanted to be the Alpha? That she wouldn't accept that the gene didn't pass to her because it came from my mother's side. Has she told you that she destroyed her mate, to the point he lost it? Has she told you that her mother is here in my pack, along with her brothers and baby sister? Has she told you that she knows exactly how to wrap people around her little finger to get exactly what she wants? I could go on..."

"She isn't like that now." Samara cuts Neah off

"She killed a pregnant Wolf and took away her toddler, sold the kid to humans." Damien growls as he speaks of my baby girl.

Samara lowers her eyes. "She didn't tell me all of that but that doesn't mean she hasn't changed."

"Where is she?" Neah demands.

"She's not here. She said you would kill her."

"Smart move." I muse

Neah rolls her eyes at me. "What do you want from us?"

"Nothing."

"You came here to tell us all of this, but you don't want anything?"

She shakes her head again. "I thought I did, but I prefer my new life. Cooper goes to places, places that he knows we would have been in the past where we might seek refuge. Because that is what he does, he tortures people for information. He will look for Blair and he will come here, just like I said. He wants what he thinks belongs to him."

"And you lot think I have a God complex." I muse

"It isn't funny." Samara snaps at me and turns back to Neah. "I don't care if you think Blair and I deserved it. We are better off by ourselves. But what do you think he is going to do when he comes here? He doesn't like anyone that he thinks is better than him. You have two Alpha's in one place."

"He's one man." Neah mutters

She looks Neah dead in the eye. "There is always someone worse." Samara turns away and strides down the drive.

"Do you believe her?" Dane asks me.

"She believes what she is saying. Her soul didn't falter once like it would if she was bullshitting."

"How could someone strip abilities that are way past the level of binding someone?" Damien asks. "Because surely if it could be done, Trey would have done that to Neah."

 

Chapter 0349

"I'm more concerned with the guy thinking he is better than everyone else." Dane murmurs

"I wouldn't worry about it. You have more than enough people here to protect everyone." I shrug my shoulders.

"What if he is already here?" Neah asks. "Lycans have been arriving in groups for days. Some have even said they found each other on the way here. What if that is what he did?"

"There is no one here by the name of Cooper." Damien mutters. He had been keeping a checklist of everyone.

"You heard her, 'if it was even his real name."" Neah scowls

"I wouldn't worry too much, every asshole shows themselves eventually." I turn to walk away and Damien stops me.

"Where were you this morning?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Dottie was looking for you."

"I was watching."

"She didn't need you to watch, she needed you to be present."

"I saw you Damien. You wanted to punch Ryken into the ground, how do you think I would have handled it? My guess is, you already know the answer. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business I need to attend to."

I walk off across the grounds, disappearing behind Mallory's burnt out home and dip into the forest.

It's not long before I could hear Madison talking to someone.

"I don't know. It's always been like that." She tells someone with a heavy sigh, like she had been repeating the same thing for some time.

"I don't buy it. Lycans always have their Lycans. You don't just wake up without one." A male responds

"I didn't! I told you, this is how it's always been. Not that it is any of your business."

I quietly make my way through the trees.

"Sorry." The guy replies. "I'm just curious about these things. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Did you hear that our Alpha didn't have her Lycan for most of her life?"

"I did, but I don't think that is really any of our business. She is still our Alpha. And if you keep asking, people are going to think you have some sort of problem with it."

"You are right. Sorry. I guess, I dunno, you seem different to the others. I thought maybe you could help me understand a few things, like why we are here, what does she want from us."

I roll my eyes, and start making a lot of noise as I make my way to them.

"Someone's coming." The guy mutters

"I know, I'm not stupid or deaf." Madison retorts.

She seems to have this tendency of throwing sarcastic comments out, but not actually taking in what is happening around her. He was trying to get information from her.

"Brax." she mutters when she sees me and lowers her chestnut eyes

"We're not doing anything." The guy mutters

"No, you just happen to be following a woman into the forest." He has strange eyes, green with little blue flecks. "I didn't catch your name." Though I remembered his arrival yesterday. He was difficult to read. Not necessarily untrustworthy, but not open either. Dorothy had given him one of her stickers and I had to trust my daughter's opinion. It didn't mean I couldn't keep an eye on him.

"I was just going for a walk." Madison tells me.

"And I was just making sure she is alright." The guy gives me a huge grin with perfect white teeth. "There is alot going on around here. You can never be sure." He looks me up and down. He knew very well who I was. And he is suggesting that Madison needs protecting from me.

"What's your name?"

"Ash, Ash Thomas."

"Right."

Madison smiles at me. "Ash was just going."

"Are you sure? I mean...." He gestures his head at me.

"I've been here a while, Ash. If he was going to shoot me, he would have done so by now."

Ash bobs his head and weighs up whether or not he should go.

"I suggest you go." I mutter, taking the choice from him.

He looks back at Madison. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, like I said, Brax won't hurt me."

He nods and walks away. Madison goes to speak and I put my hand over her mouth, listening to the footsteps move away.

She waits for a few minutes and then pulls my hand away. "What was that for?"

"I don't like him."

"I would never have guessed."

"Was this for my benefit, Madison? To have someone follow you into the forest so I would come running."

"No. And how did you even know I was here?" She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.

"I know a lot of things, but if you want him to stay alive, I suggest you don't let him touch you."

"You can't keep me a secret forever, Brax."

She starts unbuttoning her shirt, backing up against a tree. Trailing my fingers across her stomach, my tanned skin is a stark contrast to her paleness. She shudders against my fingers and her arousal is quick to fill the air.

It was wrong, but I found myself less and less capable of refusing her, especially when she tasted so good against my tongue.

Her body tremors as my tongue circles her belly button and her hands slide into my black curls. I'm just starting to loosen her jeans when the guy calls out.

"Hey Maddie, I forgot to ask....."

 

Chapter 0350

Abraxas

I'm on my feet seconds before his face comes back into view. Madison hovers behind me, her fingers working quickly to fasten her shirt.

The guy stares at me, I wasn't stupid, I knew he could smell her arousal but he doesn't say anything, he just turns and walks away, his fists clenched either side of him.

My hand fumbles for my gun, but Madison stops me, "Don't, it will just bring more attention. I will talk to him."

I grab hold of her wrist as she moves past me. "You will stay away from him."

"You don't get to make that decision for me Brax." She pulls her hand away and hurries off after him. I hear her calling his name, which gradually fades the further away she gets. Bollocks!

If he doesn't keep his mouth shut, they are going to think I'm a pussy. The Lycans will think they have the upper hand over me. I will become a joke to other Hunters. I needed to speak to Neah or Mallory, they were the only ones who knew the truth.

Making my way out of the forest, I couldn't see Madison or that prick anywhere, nor could I smell her, maybe she had taken a different direction and i hadn't paid attention.

I was closest to the hospital here and make my way over to it, hoping Mallory would be alone.

Thankfully she is.

She wipes her tears away when she sees me and paints on a smile. "Do you want me to get Klaus or Eric?"

"No, no, it's okay. Come in, come in." She waves me in.

"I want to say I'm sorry." I murmur. Mallory didn't deserve this. She is different from the other Lycans. I knew she had gone Rogue, but it wasn't the same and her soul is full of cracks like Neah's, I just hadn't told anyone. And now, there was a new one that worked its way through her soul and I felt responsible for it.

I may not have pulled the trigger, but it was my weapon that had caused all the damage.

"You didn't shoot me. Damien told me. Though for a moment, I did think it was you."

I nod.

"But that's not why you are here, is it?"

I scratch through my stubble and press my lips together. I could still taste Madison. "I am not the type of person to ask for help or advice." I force the words out. It even felt wrong to say it, like they were somehow going to scold me. "But you and Neah are the only Lycans I can tolerate." "Ah, this is about Maddie."

"How did you know?"

"It was either that or to do with Dorothy and Damien's connection." she shuffles on the bed and screws her face up from the pain.

"Madison and I have been meeting up." I leave it at that and wait for her response.

She smiles at me and then frowns as she clutches her stomach, "Oh I wish you didn't try and make me laugh, it hurts."

"It wasn't supposed to be funny." I grumble.

"Okay, so you're meeting up, and?"

"She's a Lycan."

"Yep, we have already established that." She mutters sarcastically.

"This was a bad idea." I get up to leave.

"Don't go. Please, this takes my mind off of...thinking." Her sigh is full of that same sadness she had when I first walked in here.

I stare at her and drop back into the chair

"So?" She questions

"I can't get her out of my head and I can't get past the fact that she is a Lycan either and the problems that it will cause."

"I'm a Lycan." She protests.

"I don't want to fuck you!" I snap and she rolls her eyes at me. It's a far cry from the way she was looking at me the night she arrived at my house. If I remember correctly, her mate had to keep reminding her he was there too.

"Fair enough." She frowns. "But you are a Hunter of Rogues, correct?"

"Makes no difference. If they are problems, I deal with them. You've seen that."

"Is Maddie a problem?" She puffs out her cheeks as I shake my head. "Then why don't you just claim her? She is your mate and from the sounds of it, you wouldn't be forcing her into it either. At the end of the day, yes she is a Lycan, but she can't shift, so what are the odds of her going Rogue?"

"What if I kill her?"

"What if you don't? Look, Eric was not my greatest fan either. When he marked me, it was an accident. In the same way you are having issues with Maddie, he had them with me, yet he couldn't stay away from me either. At the end of the day, you are the only one who needs to care who your mate is, screw everyone else!"