Ch. 401..405: The Alpha Contract Chapter 401-405

Chapter 0401

"You don't trust me do you?" He asks

"You are not trustworthy."

He takes a swig from the bottle and puts it back in front of me. "See. Now drink. We have to move soon."

He moves to the window, scanning the area. I knew we were still in the forest, but not Black Shadow's forest because there are no abandoned cabins there.

"Is Samara the Witch?" I ask. It couldn't be him if I was mated to him.

"No. I am. Well, half Witch. Though I am particularly proud of how strong I am." He turns back to face me. "Samara is the only one that knows that about me, and you obviously. Clearly my Lycan side has been linked with yours. Even funnier knowing that you are a Wolf" He lets out a low growl.

"You thought your Witch side outweighed your Lycan side?"

"I did, until I stumbled upon you. You scented me when I was hiding in the pack as Ash Thomas."

"Only briefly, I thought my mind was playing tricks. I picked up your scent and then, in seconds, it was gone."

"Had to keep myself hidden while I sussed out the pack. I couldn't have you ruining it for me, could I." He gives me a big grin.

"That's how you disconnected the link to Neah? Because you can hide who you truly are?"

"Yes."

"She will kill you."

"I'm sure she will try, but will she kill you in the process?"

He does a final check outside and pulls me to my feet. Ushering me out into the forest. Even though it was dark, the birds were already singing, a sign the sun would be rising soon. I don't fight Cooper, there was no point, he had the upper hand. So I walk, letting him guide me through the forest until I recognised the location where Dane had asked me to bring clothes for Neah.

"Where are we going?"

"Well seeing as my little escapee has abandoned her house, I thought we could spend a few hours there. You know, close by but not too far away. Get some decent rest instead of that shitty cabin."

"You don't think they will come looking here?"

"Why would they? Blair and Samara are tightly locked up. But right now, I'm more interested in you. You haven't once complained about not having your Wolf. Why?"

I shrug my shoulders and keep walking.

"Now you stop talking!" He mutters in annoyance, "And I was just starting to like you."

I keep quite for a little while and then ask the question that has been bugging me. "Why Blair and not Maddie?"

"Maddie is weak. I don't need her. She is a waste of resources. Though I am impressed she made it back to the pack." He didn't say anything about Samara.

"So tell me Klaus," his husky voice runs right through me. "Why are you so calm? I could slit your throat. I could pierce your chest with my lovely little blade and rip your insides out. I could force you to shift, skin you and make a nice winter coat."

I glance over my shoulder. "Because you need me. That was why you agreed to leave everyone alone if I came with you. What is Samara to you?"

"A pain in my fucking ass." He stops me. "You don't see the resemblance?"

"Can't say I have really looked at her. I've been busy trying to help Maddie."

"She is my sister. Same father, different mother."

I laugh and he glares at me. "What the fuck is so funny about that?"

"One of the guys thought Samara had a thing for you."

"Ew, don't be so fucking disgusting." He shakes his head. "How long did it take for them to figure out Sam was working with me?"

I considered lying. Telling him that only I had figured it out. But it wouldn't achieve anything. Though it might if he thinks she is about to be slaughtered. "Since she arrived."

"So why are they keeping her alive?"

Chapter 0402

Blair

A shiver goes down my spine when Abraxas Adler makes his way into the dungeons. He was the last person I wanted to see.

He slowly runs his gun along the bars of my cell. Each bar lets off the sound of metal clunking on metal and it goes right through me.

In the cell opposite me, I see Sammie shuffle to the back, the shadows plunge her into darkness, but her soft cries give her presence away.

"You can relax, baldy. I'm not here for you." He spins around to Sammie's cell and repeats the process, running his gun against the bars, while laughing to himself. "It's your turn, princess."

"No." Sammie cries. "I haven't done anything."

"We just have a few more questions. Answer them and you can come back here and rest your pretty little head."

"I've told you everything!" She's getting annoyed.

"Sammie just answer them. You will only make it worse for yourself, for us." I mutter and Abraxas looks over his shoulder and gives me a wink.

Just because I wanted the truth and didn't want to die, it did not mean we were on the same side.

Half of Sammie's face appears, the shadows still cover the majority of her. She had been crying. I had spent all night listening to her sob. She would stop and start again, over and over until I wished I was deaf. It was worse torture than being starved. Until I realised that each sob sounded different. Forced. Laboured. But I don't think it was for me, she was likely hoping a guard would come down. And even now, with just one grey eye visible, I could see anger not sadness. Nothing was going the way she wanted it too.

I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had not spent so much time with her. And I had nothing but time.

There were massive downsides to being Human, but you do get to know the people you spend time with, if you pay attention.

"Does Dane want to speak to me?" She asks quietly.

"No, not today. Today is all about my fun." Abraxas grins at her. He is a fucking mad man and I still don't understand how he ended up here. Hunters work alone.

He opens her cell and grabs her by the throat, pulling her protesting body close to him. "Don't try anything stupid. I'm not in the mood for stupidity. Understand?" ""Yes." She croaks

I see it then, actual panic. And she should panic.

A few minutes after they leave, I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs. Retreating to the back of my cell, I wait. Was this it? Was Dane tired of waiting and had just decided to kill us? It would be the only reason both of us are leaving our cells.

My lungs tighten until I'm struggling to breathe. Strange black spots start forming in my vision and I find myself slipping down the wall as my chest starts to hurt.

"Shit, kid. Breathe."

Ryken's large hands wrap around the cell bars. His piercing blue eyes wide as he studies me.

"What...what are you doing down here?"

"Your mother is asking questions. I said if I could get permission, I would come and see you. Find out how you are."

The black spots fade from my vision and I take a deep breath. I never want to feel that again.

"Just peachy." I mutter. "Why didn't she come?"

"The pup is a little restless today,"

"You didn't have to come."

"Yes I did, because I love your mother." He walks away and grabs the stool from the far end of the dungeon and plonks it in front of me. "Sometimes, we do stuff for our loved ones no matter how ridiculous it is. How did you end up here, Blair?" "Let's see. I went on a one woman mission to take something that was mine, that failed miserably. Met someone who I let mark me that I was also a complete bitch too. Ended up in a shit situation where I was locked up for months by a man who thinks he is a fucking God. And then my lack of any Lycan abilities let me trust someone that brought me back to this place, and now I am a prisoner until they decide the day of my execution.

His brow dip. "Do you regret any of it?"

I drop my head and snort. "Do you think I'm enjoying this?"

He rolls his eyes at me and sits up a little straighter, folding his arms across his chest. "I was certain Alpha Neah was not going to let us exist, purely based on who you are and what you did, but she did, she gave us a chance. And your mother and brothers are thriving here, your little sister will too."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"You could too, Blair. You could put everything behind you and start afresh."

"So we can be one big happy family, right?" I mock

He rises to his feet, shaking his head. "I knew this would be a mistake. You are such an ungrateful brat. You can't even accept the help you are being offered."

"What help? Reminding me that my mum moved on and had more kids so she could replace me?"

"You know that is not what I mean and you know that is not true. For once in your life, pull your head out of your ass and look at the bigger picture."

"You can go now." I fish in my pocket for the remaining bite of my protein bar, Only to find it had taken a hit when I crashed on the floor and all that remained were crumbs.

Chapter 0403

"We are trying, Blair. We want a life here. The Wolves are not bad people, well, maybe the odd one, but most of them are happy with the way things are run here. The boys go to school. Your mum helps out at the bakery when she hasn't got Braelyn attached to her. Alpha Dane lets me work on the gate now."

"Braelyn?"

"Your sister." He smiles to himself.

"Can I meet her?"

He shakes his head, "Not while you are down here and not until you are no longer considered a threat."

"A threat? I can't smell anything other than my own stench. I can't hear anything other than your words. I can't heal. I almost passed out and I get this weird feeling in my stomach, yet you think I'm a threat."

"Then prove everyone wrong."

He turns to leave and then turns back, taking an apple out of his jacket. Placing it just inside of my bars, he sighs. "Here, it's not much, but I could hear your stomach from the top of the steps. If you want a chance Blair, I suggest you do everything they ask of you." He didn't know I already had a job.

"What if that isn't enough?"

"Then I guess you didn't try hard enough."

I stare at the apple for sometime. Ryken had no reason to be kind to me. No reason to tell me to prove myself. If anything, I thought he would be grateful that I was going to be killed.

Taking the apple, I retreat to the back of my cell, letting the shadows wash over me. I don't eat the apple, but I do roll it in my fingers, trying to figure out what I can do to get something useful out of Sammie.

Time passes differently down here. It's dark all the time unless they leave a light on. The only way I could tell if it was night or day is when one of us was taken out. So I had no idea how long it was before Sammie returned.

She is full on crying as Abraxas shoves her down the stairs. And this time, it didn't sound fake. As she comes into view, my mouth drops open. He had shaved her head right down to the skin. Sammie is balder than I am. Strands of her long blonde hair still clung to the dirty sweatshirt she is wearing and as Abraxas pushes her into the cell, she rushes to her own dark corner.

"Maybe next time you won't lie." He sneers as he turns away, not bothering to stop to look at me.

"Sammie?" I whisper when the door closes and we are left alone.

Her cries fill the air. "He shaved my head. He took it all."

"Why?"

"He kept saying I was lying. That I'm hiding things. He shaved it as punishment."

"It will grow back." It was what she had always said to me when I found myself mindlessly running my hands through the fluff that was my hair.

"He's cruel." She snarls.

"He's punishing us. He can't shave my hair because it's already gone."

"Do... do you have any food?" She whispers

I look at the apple. She could smell it, just like she had scented the protein bar. If I kept withholding my treats, she might become suspicious and stop talking to me. Then, I would really be writing my death sentence. "My stepdad was here. He brought me an apple. Do you want it?"

"An apple?"

I nod and step into the light to show her. "I can roll it to you."

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me. My stomach is so sore."

I take a bite and then slip it through the cell bars, pushing it hard enough so that it rolls to her.

She devours that thing in seconds, stupid girl. She should have made it last.

"What did he ask you?" I needed to know everything.

"He wanted to know if there was anyone else?"

"Anyone else? Like someone else that has been made Human?"

She hesitates. "He thinks I'm working with Cooper. They all do. They don't believe me. It doesn't matter what I say, they are dead set on the idea. You have to tell them they are wrong!" "Did you tell them they are wrong?"

"Of course. But that guy, he just stared at me, then he asked me about a girl called Madison."

"Madison?"

"I've never met anyone by that name, Cooper never....."

"Never what?" My knuckles whiten as I clench the bars.

"He never brought anyone to the prison by that name."

"Did you meet the other prisoner's?"

"A couple."

It wasn't what she had told me before. She had reeled off a similar story to mine about being kept confined for ninety nine percent of the day.

"This isn't much different, is it?" I gesture to the walls. "Though I can't believe you managed to kill someone in the library, that couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't, but I did it." She sounds proud.

Isn't it amazing how easy Sammie slips up when she feels someone is on her side. She told me she had killed someone in the bathroom so she could escape, not the fucking library. I don't even know if the prison had a library. But it was becoming clearer and clearer about how much bull shit I had fallen for.

 

Chapter 0404

Abraxas

Samara was fucking useless. How can someone be so fucking stupid as to play this game with us? Maybe if she had stopped crying for one damn second, I could have got something useful out of her. Though I did enjoy shaving her head as she squealed.

If I couldn't get anything out of her, I will keep going until I break her.

I push the door open and find Madison propped up on the bed reading. Dane had requested that she stayed in the house, given her situation. We had words, but ultimately, his decision outweighed mine.

The room was small with only the bare necessities. A bed, a wardrobe and a dresser. She had access to a bathroom just down the hall.

"I take it that it didn't go well with that woman from the dungeon?" Madison asks as she puts her book down.

"I never said who I was meeting."

She points to the window and rolls her eyes at me. "The power of sight is an amazing thing."

She was starting to feel more normal, but still had a tendency to rub over one spot on her neck like it was bothering her. Though her attitude towards me today was starting to rub me up the wrong way. "No, it did not go well. She was a blubbering mess."

"So you shaved her head?" Her chestnut eyes are on mine. "I saw her leave."

"She deserved to have something done to her that she had done to someone else."

Madison bobs her head, but keeps her rosy lips pressed together.

"You don't agree?"

"I didn't say that." She mutters, picking up her book and quietly flicking through the pages, blatantly trying to ignore me.

"You didn't have to, your face says exactly what you are thinking."

She slams the book shut. "Have you ever thought that always being mean to someone isn't the way to get information from them. Especially not if they are in some kind of denial." She keeps her gaze on the book, "I sat on the stairs listening to you terrorise at her." She exaggerates opening the book and props it on her knees and reads, ignoring my presence.

"Madison...."

"I know. That's what you do. You are a Hunter you are created to kill Lycans."

"It's only just bothering you now?" I smirk and she glares at me.

"Why are you here?" She fires back. "You made it quite clear that you couldn't feel our bond anymore. Dane wants me to stay here until he figures something out because Klaus isn't at the hospital. You don't need to watch over me, not anymore." ""Mad...."

"I'm fine." She shrugs at me, "I get it. You just couldn't ignore the mate bond before and now you don't feel it so you don't have to worry about it. Cooper fixed the problem for you. You can just forget I ever existed."

I stare at her as another crack creeps into her soul. Her exterior may suggest that she's fine but her soul was completely different and those cracks are forever getting closer and closer together. All it will take is for one or two to appear in the right spot and she will shatter. "You are right. I thought it was because of the mate bond, but for some reason, I couldn't get you out of my fucking head and that still hasn't changed, that's why I am here."

Her eyes widen from my unexpected response.

"I spent hours in that hospital, trying to figure out why I couldn't walk away. I watched you squirm in your sleep from the night terrors, wondering how I could make it stop. I thought about all the ways I am going to make Cooper suffer for what he did to you."

"I've watched your soul crack over and over, waiting for the moment when all those cracks meet, knowing it will tear you apart. I watched because I didn't want that to happen and I hoped my presence would be enough to stop that."

She slowly puts down the book, her chestnut eyes are low. "You can't Brax, you can't stop it because I was already broken."

The tip of her tongue slides across her lips as she scowls. "The fire you pulled me from was not the first time I've tried hurting myself. The men, the ones that sold me between their friends, had to take me to hospital regularly." That was already obvious from her soul, but I never pressed for the information.

"You could heal?" I frown

"I could, but before fire, I used poison. It has different effects and is harder to heal from. At first, I did it to have a break from them and then it was a good way to numb everything, but my body started adapting, becoming used to it. The doses were becoming dangerous and they became more vigilant about what I had access to." She smiles, "It took them far too long to realise what I was doing."

 

Chapter 0405

"Fire became the thing that worked, deep burns take time to heal, even if you are a fast healer because everything beneath the surface carries on cooking. I managed to burn down several homes in the process. I don't regret that."

"But Enzo, the guy you killed, he caught on quickly, I was never allowed out of his sight, ever. I couldn't even shower or use the toilet alone. If he took me anywhere to get new clothes, he would be in the changing room with me. At night he cuffed me to the bed so I couldn't sneak out, set a fire or strangle him in his sleep." She bobs her head, "So I know I'm broken Brax. I've heard you talk about the cracks in Neah's soul. And I know what happens when they meet. It was only a matter of time until everything caught up with me."

"Why haven't you told me all of this before?" I knew she had been holding something back, but this wasn't what I was expecting. Yet I knew the words that are coming out of her mouth are so heartbreakingly truthful.

She lets out a soft sigh, "Coming here was supposed to be a new start for me. Especially after you shot Enzo," She rubs at her neck again, "Not once did I ever think I would lose the rest of my abilities." "What if you can get them back and gain your Lycan too?" It was a long shot, but it might just work.

"Don't be stupid. This is the hand I have been dealt. This is what I have to live with."

"No. I don't believe you were brought into my life, just for me to watch you wither away. The higher powers work in some messed up ways, but I'm sure your death is not one of those ways." "Brax, it's fine. I know what's coming. And I am okay with it."

"You can be so fucking frustrating." I snap, she wasn't even prepared to listen to what I had to say.

"Just as frustrating as having you watch me for weeks on end and making me feel like I was losing my mind before you finally accepted me, even if it was in secret!"

I cross the room and rip her off the bed. She lets out a squeal as I pull her against my chest. My lips hit hers hard and she melts into me. Her arms loop around my neck as my hands move down to her waist.

She pulls away, a little out of breath, but I hold her steady, keeping her hips pressed against mine as she leans back to stare at me.

"Just because I can't sense our bond anymore, it doesn't mean that I don't want you."

"But I'm...."

"Not if I can convince Neah to bite you."

"Bite me? As in mark me? I don't understand, she is mated."

"Not mark you, that's different. You would be like Damien and Mallory."

Her eyes widen and her brows shoot up. "I still don't understand."

"They are not pure blooded Lycans, they were created. They were once Human and were turned."

She frowns and sucks in her cheeks. When her eyes pop up to meet mine, they are full of sadness that wasn't there before. "But you are a Hunter, why make me Lycan again?" "You don't want to be?"

"I don't know anymore. For most of my life, I have just been fighting to exist but more often than not, I have waited for Death to meet me."

"You were in an horrendous situation."

"I was, but I'm not like the other Lycans, I know that deep down. I've never been able to shift. I didn't have that exciting moment when I turned thirteen. The only thing that changed for me was that I became a toy for assholes. Having my abilities but not being able to shift did nothing for me. I was always convinced they were drugging me with something to keep my Lycan trapped, but up until Cooper, I have been here, knowing exactly what is being put into my body and I still couldn't shift. So what's the point of being bitten if I'm still not able to shift?"