Ch. 421..425: The Alpha Contract Chapter 421-425
Chapter 0421
"All Wolves or certain Wolves in particular?" Dane asks and I realise we had completely been missing the obvious. The Lycans will know of the Wolves causing problems. "I can give you a few names." Ryken sighs and his blue eyes catch mine. "I am Kade's father. I will talk to him again."
"He is already lying to you. Talking to him isn't going to do anything." Brax snaps
"Has Kade ever acted out before?" I ask, hoping Brax will just temporarily shut his mouth.
"Never. He always had a good report from his last school. We have never had issues with him at home, other than a bit of sibling rivalry. But that's standard isn't it."
"Oh yeah." Dane mutters. "Wait until your daughter gets old enough to develop sass. Younger sisters certainly know how to create havoc."
"Why do you ask?" Ryken queries
"As you are aware, Dottie has been helping Neah with any Lycans that have turned up. She does it because she is just like her biological father." I murmur, gesturing to Brax. "She sees things others don't"
"Are you telling me she saw something in my son?"
"That's exactly what Damien is saying." Brax snorts
"So what do we do?" Ryken asks. "They both need to attend school, but if there are going to be situations like this happening with the Hunter girl...." He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm already having to keep an eye on my stepdaughter. Tara is going to be beside herself if Kade isn't allowed to go to school. And it's not like they can be split up, is it?"
"Actually," Dane mutters. Maybe that is exactly what we do. Some kids have lessons in the morning and finish at lunch. Others start after lunch. That way they don't have to be in the same room together."
"I will agree to that." Ryken nods
"I guess." Brax mutters
"Keep Kade off until Monday. My orders if anyone questions it and we will start the new rota then."
"Thank you Alpha Dane." Ryken rises to his feet and bobs his head at me and Dane and then blatantly walks past Brax without a simple acknowledgement.
"Do you think it will work?"
"There's only one way we are going to find out. Brax, close the door."
He gives Dane an odd look but does as he is told.
""Klaus is alive."
"How do you know that?" I ask, surprised.
""He linked me."
"Where is he?" I press
He takes a deep breath, almost like he didn't want to tell us. "He's still with Cooper."
"You're fucking joking!" Brax snaps.
Dane shakes his head and closes his eyes as he sighs. "Cooper is trying to convince Klaus that Klaus is his mate."
"He's fucking delirious." Brax scoffs
Danes' eyes lock on Brax. "You know a lot of shit, I'm just wondering if you can confirm something for me?"
""If I can, I will."
"What is a Witches mark?"
"I've never seen one, I can only tell you what I know and it may not be correct."
"Go on." Dane growls.
"It used to be said that the mark was a way to tell the difference between them and the rest of us, but over time, as the world changed, it became different." ""Different?" I mutter
"The mark began to mutate, in it;s place, almost like a scar is the initials......" He stops and stares back at Dane. It was almost amusing seeing him lost for words. "Initials?" I press, trying to get the information.
His eyes shift to me. "The initials of his mate. Cooper is his mate, isn't he?"
"It is looking likely."
"Has he switched sides?" Brax asks as I try to wrap my head around it.
"No. He is very clear on what he intends to do. But he needs to sort a few things out at his end."
"We must leave to bring him back. You will be able to find him now that you link him." Brax suggests
"He doesn't want us to, not just yet. I know what he is planning on doing. We just need to be patient." "Since when is Klaus gay?"
They stop to stare at me. Brax starts laughing first and then Dane too.
"You've been here a while, right?" Brax asks through laughter.
"Yes."
"I mean, it's pretty obvious." He replies
I look over at Dane who is forcing his mouth together to try and hold the laughter in. "You may have just put me in a better mood."
Chapter 0422
Blair
I lay on the small single bed that was now mine. It was a welcome relief to my spine after spending what seems like forever sleeping on a solid stone floor. Someone had even piled some blankets up at the end with a change of clothes. I'm assuming mum as it was already here when Ryken brought me here.
I could hear my brothers running around upstairs. Their footsteps pounding the floor. Mum yells at them to quieten down before they wake Braelyn.
It was odd, I never thought I would find comfort in the sounds of my family. I had always preferred silence until Cooper forced me into it. Now every silence was uncomfortable. Every silence means a punishment is on its way.
Closing my eyes, a smile appears on my face. I was still alive. Still breathing. Maybe I could find a way to keep it that way. Maybe I just do everything that they ask me too and they will forget about punishing me.
I hear the handle on my door turn and my eyes shoot open. One of my brothers is standing on the stairs, staring at me. I'm not even sure which one. They both had blonde ringlets framing their eyes.
"You look like a boy." He spits out in disgust. I assume he is the slightly older one, Kade. The one Ryken had mentioned when he came to the office. The one he was having a meeting about some time this morning. I was starting to understand why there were problems with him.
My hands automatically go to my hair. His brown eyes are wide as he stares at me. His lips turn up at the corners. Proud of himself because he thought he had upset me.
"It's what happens when you are naughty." I tell him.
"Then you shouldn't have gotten caught." He runs back up the steps and slams the door. His feet move quickly across the floor which is then followed by mutterings with mum. Though I couldn't make out what any of it was.
Minutes later, my door opens again. I stay sitting on the bed, watching my mother slowly descend the stairs. Her hair had been scraped back in a bun, a few white hairs were making their presence known amongst the jet black. A deep green dress clung to her frame. For someone who has had four children, you wouldn't think so to look at her. Her body was in better condition than mine. Just the soft wrinkles forming on her face gave her age away.
"What did you say to Kade?" She asks softly
Of course he had gone running to mum. "He made a comment about me looking like a boy because of this." I point to my head. "I just told him it's what happened because I was naughty."
Her hands go to her hips. "You can't say stuff like that to a seven year old."
"Maybe he needs to hear it. I know Ryken has gone to have a meeting about him with the Alpha. There is only one reason why he would have to do that."
She purses her lips. But I knew that she knew I was right.
"Can you please just be careful what you say around the boys? I don't want more trouble than necessary."
"Mum! You and Ryken have been tasked with keeping an eye on me. What more trouble could you possibly have?"
She glares at me and I back track.
"I'm not saying I'm going to be trouble. I'm just saying that you are already on the Alphas radars."
She nods as she mulls over my words. "Come upstairs for breakfast. You will be going to work in a bit and you can't do it on an empty stomach."
"I'm okay."
"I will tell you the same thing as I tell the boys. It's not negotiable."
I follow her up the wooden stairs and through to the dining room. She gestures to a chair next to my youngest brother. He hadn't met me yet and he drops a spoon into his bowl to stare at me with dazzling blue eyes. He was a miniature Ryken but with blonde ringlets just like Kade. Ryken must have been blonde before he went bald.
Chapter 0423
"Calihan." Mum speaks to him. "This is your sister, Blair. She's going to be staying with us."
He gives me the biggest smile, showing me all his teeth. "Hi. You are my big sister?"
"Hey, yes, I guess I am" I smile back as mum gestures to the boxes of cereal and tells me to help myself.
Kade appears at the table and sits opposite me. He spends the whole time watching me as he eats but doesn't say anything while Calihan talks to me about school completely oblivious of his brother.
"Your dad has just told me that there is no school today." Mum announces as she brings in some jugs of juice. It was like she was preparing to feed the five thousand not four of us and a baby.
Calihan does a small fist pump when he hears the news while Kade demands to know why. Something else unusual about him. Every kid his age should be happy they don't have to go to school for the day.
"Alpha Dane is changing a few things around. Due to the amount of children he is splitting the class so everyone gets more attention. So Kade, from Monday, you will attend in the morning and Calihan, you will go in the afternoon." "That's not fair!" Kade slams his fist on the table.
"It's the rules and what do we do when it comes to rules?" Mum glares at him and Kade retreats a little.
What was that about?
"We follow them." Calihan states proudly.
"Yes we do, especially if we want to be happy here."
Calihan bobs his head in agreement and slurps the milk from his bowl. The boys were so different, but it was also more than that. Even without my Lycan abilities I knew there was some problem with Kade.
Calihan goes right back to telling me about his friends at school as Kade continues to watch me. He wasn't anything like the boy I had seen running around in the front garden that day.
"It's Kades birthday soon." Calihan tells me. "He is going to be eight." Calihan holds his fingers up proudly. "Two more sleeps."
"Are you excited?" I ask Kade as mum leaves the room to get Braelyn.
He rolls his eyes at me and takes his empty bowl to the sink.
"He's just being silly." Calihan tells me.
"Maybe he is too excited and it's made him tired." I lie to my little brother. "It happens sometimes."
Mum appears with Braelyn. She was so much bigger than the first time I had laid eyes on her. Mum slips her into the high chair and puts a bottle of milk in front of her. She was a miniature version of mum. Deep brown eyes and a shock of jet black hair. Oblivious to anything but her bottle of milk.
"Do you think you could get used to this?" Mum asks me
I had never had this in any shape or form. A tear creeps out and Calihan throws his little arms around my waist. "Don't cry."
I nod at mum. "I'm sorry."
She smiles at me. "I know, it's just taken you a long time to find your way home."
****
"Dad. It's not fair." Kade is stomping around, following Ryken while I tie the laces o0f my boots
"It's what needs to be done. You won't be in the class with the Hunter kid. So there will be no more trouble."
"There was no trouble. I just asked her for a damn pencil!"
I watch Ryken spin around and glare at Kade. Kade immediately freezes and his head sinks lower and lower until his face couldn't be seen.
"Watch your language and do not speak to me like that again!"
"Yes Dad." It was a completely different tone to how he had been speaking earlier.
"Now go to your room until I return."
Kade bobs his head and runs off to the staircase. His feet move quickly and seconds later a door slams and I watch Ryken groan. He looks at me. "Are you ready? Because your escort is here."
Chapter 0424
"My escort?"
"He wants to keep a specific eye on you. Not my choice, but I do not get a say in the matter."
"Who?" I ask quietly, already fearing the answer.
"The Hunter. So I suggest..."
"I do everything he asks and answer his questions." I answer quickly
He nods. "You will be over in the gardens today, checking the fruits and veg and doing some weeding."
"I can do that." Though I wasn't quite sure how I will feel with Abraxas breathing down my neck.
"Here," Mum holds out a paper bag for me. "I made you some lunch."
"You didn't...."
"I know. I will see you later."
A new feeling was bubbling up inside of me and I was certain I was going to cry again but not from anger or sadness. From something else entirely "Thanks." I whisper, but she had already turned away.
I open the door to see Abraxas rubbing his temples. "So you didn't try to run then? I was counting on it."
"So you would have another reason to kill me?" I ask
"Maybe. Though it does seem like you are catching on. Let's go. I hope you have green fingers."
I follow him to the gardens, rows and rows of different plants that multiple people were working on. They all look up and glare at me. Abraxas nods to a woman with long red wavy hair. She slowly makes her way towards me with a bucket of small tools. Pulling off a glove she holds her hand out to me. "I'm Maddie."
"You're the woman they talked about. The one that was stripped of her abilities?"
""Yes. Shall we get to work."
Surprisingly, Abraxas doesn't follow me through the crops. He stands at the end, watching me from afar, but that made me even more nervous.
"You don't have to keep looking at him." Maddie mutters from my side. "He is just here to keep an eye, that's all."
"It's just, I messed up his life and I know he wants to kill me. But I'm trying."
"I know. Just the fact that you are even here means you are trying." She winces as she bends over.
"Are you okay?"
"He thinks it's too early for me to be doing this, but I had to. I can't stay inside all day."
"Too early?"
She lifts her shirt high enough to show me bruised ribs.
"Did he do that to you?" I scoff
"No, not a chance. I'm still healing from Cooper."
"I hope he gets what's coming to him. To do this and take away who we are, it's worse than death." I sigh.
"I'm sure they will find a way to deal with him. Neah is pretty smart and so is Dane. They always win." She gives me a big smile.
"I really hope that they win this one." I was still so unsure.
I work for hours, letting Maddie show me how to do certain things. Not once did Abraxas stand over me, but he always stayed where he could see me.
He walks me to my new home in silence. I wanted to say something, anything, but ultimately decide to keep my mouth shut.
He knocks on the door and waits for Ryken to answer. As soon as he does, Abraxas walks away without a single word and that's worse than when he does speak.
Chapter 0425
Abraxas
"Told you she would be afraid of me!"
"But you used Maddie?" Dane cocks a brow at me, though I could see he was annoyed with my actions.
"It was her idea. She thought that if she could connect with Blair over what Cooper did to them both, she might relax a little." "And?" He rocks in his desk chair.
"And nothing. Blair didn't lie like I was expecting her too, she was forthcoming with information. She got on with the job, accepting everything that Madison was showing her. If we didn't know her past, you would think she was an outstanding member of the pack." "Most likely because you were watching her?" He mutters. "She fears you, of course she is not going to step out of line. But you really believe she is telling the truth?"
"As much as I hate her and would gladly use her skin as a flag to warn off other assholes, she ain't lying. I never thought I would say it, but Cooper broke her in more ways than I could ever imagine. I saw something that I have never seen in her before." Did I want to admit it? No. Did I really want to tell Dane? No. But it was better for it to come from me.
"What?"
"Empathy." ""Empathy?"
"Yes." I answer curtly. "The bitch has empathy."
He stares at me in disbelief. "I need you to keep that information to yourself."
"I can do that. Is it Neah you are worried about?"
He shakes his head at me. "Neah can handle herself."
"Okay, but...."
"It doesn't matter, Brax. Just do this for me."
I scowl at him. "It seems like more and more things are being added to our deal."
He looks me dead in the eye. "Are you going to tell me that you suddenly hate living here? You haven't been back to your home in months."
I keep my mouth shut, I wasn't going to admit that I was getting used to living in the pack or that I didn't want to be away from Maddie. I still didn't like ninety nine percent of the Lycans, but the Wolves I could cope with.
"Having people to talk to on a regular basis is nice, right?" He pauses for my answer and when I don't respond, he continues. "Speaking to others like you every single day. Having your mate here in the pack. And don't tell me you don't like my mate, because I know you are fascinated by her soul." "Alright! Yes, I do like living here."
A smug smile appears and I roll my eyes at him.
"It just wasn't how I was raised. I couldn't ever accept you as my Alpha, but yes, I do like living here."
"I can accept that for now." His eyes flicker up to the clock. "Want to accompany me to give the other prisoner some food?"
"You are feeding her now?"
"Need to keep her alive if we want to trade her."
I follow him to the kitchen where a tray of food had already been prepped. Only a sandwich, a carton and some fruit, but it would be enough to keep Samara going. Personally, I would have let her starve for another day or two.
In the dungeons, Samara is sitting at the back of her cell. She holds her knees to her chest and rocks. Dane opens her door and gestures for me to take in the food. She doesn't move as I place it on the ground and step out. It's only when Dane turns the key that her head snaps up. "Cooper is going to kill you!"
"Are you talking to me or him?" I ask while pointing at Dane.
"Both of you. You both hurt me. You both punished me. You took away my friend. You ruined everything that I had."
"Your friend? You mean the one that you lied to? The one you tricked into leading you here?" Dane challenges. "You are an excellent friend."
I had to keep myself from laughing at his sarcasm because Samara didn't see it.
"Have you killed her?"
"Does it matter?"
She rests her forehead on her knees and the crying begins. "This is all wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Being thrown in the dungeons?" I ask out of curiosity
"Why are you really here, Samara?" Dane presses
"It doesn't matter." She sniffles. "He's coming for me."
"I assume you are talking about your brother?"