Ch. 406..410: The Alpha Contract Chapter 406-410

Chapter 0406

Hey everyone, I hope you are all well.

Just to let you all know that there will be no update tomorrow 14th July, but I will be back on the 15th.

Also just to clarify if you have not noticed, I am in the UK and therefore chapters are released based on my timeline which may not coincide with wherever you are in the world.

As always, thank you for the gems, reviews and comments. This book would not have made it this far without all of you and I hope you will continue to enjoy the story because there is lots more to come. Taylor West

Share to your friends

 

Chapter 0407

Klaus

Cooper slept on a chair in the corner of the room. His jacket collar hiked up around his chin. His arms folded tightly across his chest, while his feet rested on the coffee table that he had placed in front of the door like a barricade.

We had made it to Blair's house without any witnesses, but on the way here, each step seemed to make Cooper more and more agitated. He was frustrated with my calmness, and angry that I wasn't angry. It was clear he got off on making people lose their sanity, but it didn't work with me.

Leaning back against the corner he had dumped me in, I let out a sigh. He had pressed for more information about his sister. Something else he grew frustrated about when I didn't answer him. I was fully expecting him to hit, to punish me, but other than keeping me tied up, he hasn't hurt me.

I hear him stir and close my eyes, just as his boots hit the floor with a thud. After listening to his quiet movements in the forest, his paces now seemed incredibly loud.

He stops in front of me. "Can't sleep?"

I don't respond.

"Klaus, I know you are awake." He doesn't move and I keep my eyes closed. "You breathe a little heavier and you usually talk in your sleep."

Crap, what had I been saying. My eyes snap open, "How do you know that?"

He smiles. "You have a lovely home in Black Shadow." He drops onto the floor next me, his arm brushes mine. "I get it." He mutters, "You want to protect your pack. But you are going to have to speak to me eventually and, well, I always get what I want." "I will talk to you about anything other than my pack." Maybe I could find the real reason why he was doing this.

"Why do you love that pack so much?"

I press my lips together and turn away.

"You won't even answer me?"

"That is talking about the pack." I keep my tone light. He hadn't beaten me so far and I would prefer to keep it that way. "You drive a hard bargain." He winks at me. "I like that about you Klaus. Or maybe I like it because we are mates?" "We are not mates."

"Just because you can't scent me right now, it doesn't mean we are not. You will scent me again when the drugs wear off." "Only because you are doing something to trick my mind. We are not mated." I state confidently. I wasn't falling for his games. "Is that what you really believe?"

"It's what you did to Blair, right? And probably many others too. Lure them into thinking that you are there for them when in reality, it's all about yourself. Tricking them to come with you so you can take away their abilities." "Maybe you are right. Maybe you have me all wrong. Only time will tell." He pats my leg, "Get some sleep. You are going to need it."

He pushes himself up and pauses to look at me. "You are not like the others Klaus. They do not see you as an equal."

I roll my eyes, "Do you think I'm going to fall for that? I won't be roped into your little game. Keep me your prisoner. Starve me. Lock me in a tiny room. Do what you need to do. I won't give you the answers you are looking for." "You must really care for them?"

I keep my gaze level with his, he wasn't getting anything else out of me.

He moves back to the chair, his sage green eyes are bright in the darkness, something I couldn't see yesterday. The drugs are wearing off. He had given me nothing else and yet it was increasingly obvious that I could scent him, not by much, but it was there. Maybe it isn't in the drugs. Maybe he was doing something to himself, projecting the scent. After all, he is part Witch.

"Why do I need my sleep?"

"I would just like you to be well rested. Not everything about me makes me a prick, Klaus. There are some things I do care about. You just don't see it yet."

"Like Samara?"

"Thought you didn't want to talk about the pack?"

"She isn't a part of my pack." There's a moment of delight in his sage green eyes, I could tell by the way the blue flecks popped. His sister means a lot to him, probably more than anyone else on this planet.

"You don't have any siblings, do you, Klaus?" My name rolls from his tongue.

"No and I'm grateful, siblings always seem to cause problems, especially younger ones." Apart from Blair, she was a little older than Neah, but still, she was a sibling causing problems.

He smiles at me and bobs his head, "They do, I used to believe that was why they were put on this Earth. Just to be a troublemaker to the older sibling. I couldn't stand Sam when we were kids. She had her sticky hands in all my things and always wanted to be where I was. She's the ultimate pain in the ass but I need her where I can keep an eye on her."

"Exactly why I am grateful to be alone."

 

Chapter 0408

"Do you always like being alone?"

"Yes."

A small crinkle forms on his forehead. "Never been concerned about finding a mate?"

"No."

"Isn't that what all males want? To find their loved one and settle down."

"Not me." Now that my eyes could focus on the smaller details, I could see my comment frustrates him. "Life for me has never been about finding a mate. I was raised differently. What I like is knowledge." "Power?"

"No, knowledge. I like to know things, figure things out, find little secrets hidden among life."

"That explains all the books." A small smile flickers at the corners of his lips. "What else do you like to do?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"If you need to give it a name, call it curiosity." He had twisted his body around to face me properly. His scent of leather and tobacco is strong, but it was a trick. A trick that I wasn't going to fall for. "I like to help people."

"But you don't want to help me?" He cocks an eyebrow at me.

"You found me in the hospital, what kind of help do you think I offer?!"

"You are right. But you could help me and I could help you."

I roll my eyes

"Not open to that yet. That's fine, but you will be. You will want to help me, because that's what mates do."

"Is that what you said to all the others?"

He laughs to himself, spinning back around in the chair and propping his feet up on the coffee table. "I don't think I have enjoyed anyone's company as much as yours, mate." "Stop calling me that."

"I will call you mate until you finally see the truth."

Cooper surprises me by going back to sleep. He could probably tell I was almost at full strength again and he had done nothing apart from block the front door. Pulling my wrists open, I'm able to break the rope. Quickly and quietly, I get to my feet, checking the windows for another exit.

All are locked. I could break the glass, but that limits my get away time. I stood in the middle of the room for what felt like an eternity, trying to decide on my very limited options. In the end I just raid the fridge and cupboards for something more than a piece of fruit. Thankfully Blair had some tinned sausages stashed in the back of a cupboard. It wasn't much, but it was protein and that was more important than fruit.

Moving through the house, I take a look in each of the two bedrooms. It was clear which one was Blair's. Though her room is immaculate, there is a photo face down on the bedside table. I recognised her mother, and I assume the baby her mother is holding is Blair. In the second bedroom, it was carnage. An open suitcase with clothes hanging out of it, clothes sprawled across the bed. Dirty plates and glasses were in odd places. Broken perfume bottles littered the carpet by the side of her bed. If I didn't know better, I would have said a teenager was living here, not Samara.

I smell Cooper coming up the stairs. His feet are heavy on the carpet from the running.

"I thought you had escaped!" He stares at me as the broken rope dangles from his hand.

"I thought about it. But I was hungry."

"Why are you in here?" He asks quietly

"Trying to make sense of a few things." I turn to face him properly. Shadows were cast across his face, but I could still see the way his eyes focussed on me. "You took away Samara's abilities, didn't you?"

"You don't know what you are talking about!"

"She was the first one you tried it out on, right? But it was too strong and wasn't supposed to last this long. She was the first one you had in that prison. You kept her there because you knew you had screwed up. She had to be close so you could keep an eye on her." I use his own words against him.

"Is that what you did to Maddie and Blair? You gave them the same dose as you gave your sister? So it won't be permanent, it will just take years to wear off?"

"Are you seriously suggesting I did this to my sister?"

"Yes. I think that you had enough of her touching your things. That you finally snapped and now, somehow, she helps you. What was she supposed to be? Some kind of guard for Blair?"

"You really are smart, Klaus."

I keep my mouth shut and he starts to laugh and mutter to himself "Of course I would be mated to someone that can read between the lines."

"We are not mates. It is a trick, I am just your prisoner."

He takes off his jacket, dropping it to the floor. His fingers make quick work of the buttons holding his shirt together.

"Witches and even half breeds like myself are born with a mark over their heart. Many call it a Witches mark." He gets to the final button and pauses. "But the mark is actually the initials of our true mate." He rips the shirt open, and right above his heart in deep red is a clear KD. "Now remind me, what is your name?"

"Klaus Anderson!" I laugh

"Before you were adopted."

 

Chapter 0409

Dane

Damien, Eric and I stand at the border of my pack. We had spent the day searching for clues in the hospital, his home, the forest and anywhere else we can think of. Ultimately, there is nothing. No blood, no hair, no footprints, not even a whiff of Klaus's scent. 'There has to be something.' Aero mutters

'We've covered the entire pack, there is nothing. Wherever he has taken Klaus, it's further afield.'

"Where would Cooper take him?" Eric asks. "I doubt if he knows the area."

"Then most likely, it is somewhere nearby." Damien replies. "But it depends if Klaus is out cold or not. Cooper could be carrying dead weight or he could be making him walk. And it depends on what Cooper really wants. Is he sticking around because he has a target in mind? Or has he left, never to return, taking Klaus with him?"

"We expand our search." I declare

"We need more people to do that and we need reliable ones too." Eric puffs

"No we don't." Damien smirks. "We just need answers from one person."

He turns and heads back through the forest. Eric cocks an eyebrow at me and shrugs his shoulders.

"Damien, wait." I call after him

"It's time to get some real answers, Dane. There's only one person who we know that is definitely lying to us."

"Samara."

"We can smell her. We know her scent is getting stronger everyday. We know from Brax that she is lying. Maybe now it's time to see how close to death she is willing to go."

"She's in denial." Eric tells him.

"No she's not." I frown, "Damien is right. This is a game to her. I don't know if she is trying to get information for her brother or what her end game is, but it's definitely a game. I have seen too many idiots play games that they think they will win." We break through the tree line and head towards the dungeons when I freeze.

'Do you smell that?' Aero mutters

'Yes.' I could smell Neah's lavender scent. She was supposed to be in the house, not out here.

The door to the dungeons is wide open with the lights on inside. The guard stands to one side. He bows his head as we approach.

"Is my mate down there?" I demand

"Yes. Was I not supposed to let her down?" He asks, confused.

"It doesn't matter now, does it." I snap

Hurrying down the steps. I find Neah standing in the dim light, staring into Samara's cell. Samara is sleeping as is Blair, both completely unaware that any of us are here.

Neah doesn't even turn to look at me as I approach. "I can hear her." She whispers

I look in the cell at a sleeping Samara, curled up at the back as drool hangs from her mouth. Who the fuck shaved her head?

"She's asleep." I keep my voice low

"Obviously." Neah mutters, "But her scent has been getting stronger and now there is no doubt about it, she is a Lycan. I was bathing the boys and I was getting whisperings through a mindlink. They weren't really saying anything, just making sounds." She smiles, "A part of me thought it was Evrin trying to speak to me, because he already has his Lycan. But when I spoke back, he didn't respond. So I asked one of the omegas to watch the twins and followed the sound, it grew louder and led me here." "I don't understand." Eric frowns.

"She's linking me without even knowing it."

"Is that even possible?" Damien asks

I nod. Neah had linked me a lot while she slept. I was never intentional, but it still happened.

"What is she saying?" I ask

"Not anything that makes sense. Just mutterings. Now and again she mentions Cooper's name but nothing else. Mostly it's just sounds, whimperings. Almost like she is in pain."

"Is she in pain?"

Neah screws her face up as she stares into the cell. "I don't think so. Could she be dreaming, is that why she's linked me?"

"Possible. Did you shave her head?"

Her blue eyes are full of surprise that I had even asked the question. "No, that was Brax. He took her for questioning earlier. He didn't find out anything. I'm assuming that's why he did it. A punishment that wouldn't really harm her. But he has been busy with Maddie since so I haven't had a chance to ask."

"She lied about how she got out of the prison." Blair whispers from behind us.

Everyone turns to look at her. She is sitting up against the back wall, her eyes focused on the ground in submission.

"What do you mean?" Neah asks

"When I met her, she told me she killed someone in the bathroom, that was how she escaped. When I mentioned it to her after Abraxas brought her back, I changed bathroom to library and she didn't even correct me. She was hysterical about her hair at the time, maybe that's why I caught her out. She lied to me."

"Paybacks a bitch." Damien winks at her.

Chapter 0410

Blair looks more than defeated as she hugs her knees to her chest. She is nothing like the woman who had turned up in our pack to introduce herself and cause drama. All her confidence and attitude appears to be long gone, but that didn't mean she was trustworthy. "Has she said anything else?" I press

Blair shakes her head, "Not really, the most she was doing was cussing out Abraxas for what he did to her. She cried herself to sleep."

"I can order her." Neah tells me. "I can order her to answer my questions and she won't be able to lie. Not now the link is back in place."

I gesture to Samara's cell

Neah moves to the bars that separate us from Samara. She takes a deep breath. "Wake up!"

Samara sits upright, automatically brushing her face like she was expecting hair to be there. For a moment I thought she was going to scream as her grey eyes flash around the dimly lit dungeon. She shuffles herself back against the wall, fearing for what's to come as she properly registers all of us.

"Get up." Neah's voice echoes around the dungeon

Samara is on her feet, her lips part and her grey eyes frantically dart about as she tries to figure out what is happening to her and how she has no control over what she is doing.

I smile as Neah asks Samara for her name. She held so much power and yet she doesn't flaunt it like so many others would.

"Samara Clarkson." She whispers through tears "But you can call me Sam or Sammie." It was the exact same line she had given before.

"You are a Lycan?"

"I was. I was drugged and now..."

"Who is Cooper?" Neah presses, cutting Samara off before she has a chance to finish.

Samara squeezes her eyes shut and tilts her face down. Her cheeks grow redder and redder as she tries to hold in the answer.

"Answer me!" Neah snaps

"He is my brother." She blurts out and her eyes are like saucers as she stares back at us. Horrified with herself for revealing that snippet of information.

There's silence. We were all surprised by the answer. None of us saw this coming. Brax thought they were mates, not brother and sister.

'Seriously?' Aero asks and I just nod.

"WHAT?!" Blair shrieks from behind us and Samara's head snaps up. She hadn't been aware that Blair was awake. "You are his sister? You are his fucking sister!" Blair pulls on the bars, "I'm gonna kill you. I will get out of here and I will kill you!" "You are siblings?" Neah asks, trying to ignore Blair. I see claws appearing at the tips of her fingers, she was ready to kill Samara.

Samara's head bobs up and down, "He is my big brother."

"So why did you come here, to Black Shadow?" I snarl

She doesn't fight her answer this time. "Because he asked me too. I'm sorry, Blair. I wasn't.... I.... You are a good friend."

"You set me up. You brought me back knowing full well that I will be killed!" Blair shouts. "Be grateful there are bars seperating us!"

"I had to, he is my brother." Samara drops to her knees

Blair starts to pace. Her hands sit on her hips as she mutters to herself. At least she wasn't focused on Neah anymore.

"What does Cooper want?" Damien asks Samara

"I don't know."

"Tell the truth." Neah demands

"It is the truth. He asked me to convince Blair to show me where Black Shadow is. I don't know why." Tears run down her cheeks and she doesn't bother to wipe them away.

"I was in the prison. That wasn't a lie. I was out of control and Coop helped me. He had to do this to me before I became a danger to everyone."

"What does that mean?" Damien frowns.

She shrugs her shoulders at us. "That's what he has always told me. He did it to look after me. To keep me safe. To protect me. He's good like that." "She's delusional." Eric tells us

"So you were just on a farm, waiting for me?" Blair asks

"Coop asked me to wait there. He said you would come my way. He wanted me to reassure you."

"Kill her!" Blair snaps. "Just fucking kill her!"

Damien gives her a warning glare and she backs away from the bars. He turns back to Samara. "What did he do with Klaus?"

"Who is Klaus?"

"If Cooper was to take someone, where would he go?" I query

"You won't find him."

"Where will he go?" Neah snarls at her.

"I don't know. I don't keep tabs on him. He has always contacted me when he has needed me to do something. How are you doing this to me?" "She is the Alpha." Damien tells her with a smile.

Neah's claws lengthen, making me pull her away and she frowns at me. "I can kill her."

"As much as I like the idea of that you can't, not yet. If you kill her, he might kill Klaus."

Share to your friends