Ch. 46..50: The Alpha Contract Chapter 46-50

Chapter 0046

"Stop!" Alpha Dane snaps. His crimson eyes are on me even though he is looking at Devon.

"Don't you want justice?" Devon asks me. "For everything that they did to you?"

"That's enough." Alpha Dane's eyes shift to him. "Not another word. Neah has made herself clear."

"I'm just saying...... The pack is hers. She can claim it and take her rightful place as Alpha of the Lycans."

"And I'm telling you to stop talking. Right now. You will only answer questions. You will not push her on your own ideas. Do I make myself clear?"

Devon's brow creases a little, but he does as he is told and closes his mouth.

Except for the eyes, he looked a little like my father, well, what I could remember of him. It was hard for me to remember any image of my father except for the one that haunts me. The memory of blood dripping down his face as I was dragged away. "You said they all knew." Alpha Dane is standing in front of Devon. Was he trying to intimidate him? "How?"

"My spy told me."

"Your spy?"

"You could have asked him yourself if you hadn't killed him."

I was certain Alpha Dane was going to hit him, but he just stood there, hovering over him. It reminded me of what Kyle and the others did to me. Standing over me, telling me the vile things they were going to do to me. Alpha Dane keeps his fists to himself, "Trey had no idea about the spy?" He asks

"No." Devon's eyes flick to me. "He was the only one who never laid a finger on you. He hated what they were doing to you. He wanted to beg them to stop, but he would have looked weak and he would have looked like a traitor.." "He still should have helped her though."

"He was one Lycan, he couldn't do anything except give me information otherwise Trey would have known."

"What about you? You sat back and let them beat the shit out of her, just because you thought you might die?" Alpha Danes' tone was cold.

He looks over at me. "If it had been Raven, I would have died trying to get her out. I would not have stopped. I would not have sat back and gathered snippets of information from an insider. I would have gone in and ripped peoples heads from their necks to save my sister."

"It wasn't that simple." Devon protests. "I told you, I tried getting close to the house. Once Trey figured out who I was, he made it impossible. I tried." Devon's blue eyes lock on mine. "I really did try."

"Not enough!" Alpha Dane snaps. He nods at Beta Eric.

"Let's go!" Beta Eric grabs Devon by the arm and hauls him out of the office.

"That was not how I wanted that to go." Alpha Dane sighs as he moves in front of me, "I wanted him to reassure you that whatever you turn into, is not a big deal. Instead, he gave you even more of a reason to hate yourself."

"He looks like my father." I mumble, not really taking in his words. "I.... I don't want to believe it. But his eyes, they....they are like mine, like my mothers."

"Could you sense him?"

"He smelled..... Familiar." I shake my head. "There's nothing up here." I touch my temple. "I don't even remember a baby in the house."

"He claims he is nineteen. That makes him three years younger than you. You don't even remember a toddler?"

"No, there is nothing." I didn't remember a baby or a toddler. I never even heard of talk about a man attacking. I never heard Trey announcing the need to up security. But what I do remember are the faces of everyone who had hurt me. "And I will hunt down every single one of them." Alpha Dane murmurs as he takes a step towards me.

Chapter 0047

"You read my mind?" I ask quietly. It was still a weird thing to get used to.

"I like to pay attention." He leans in to kiss me when the door is almost taken off of its hinges.

"What the fuck, Raven?!" Alpha Dane growls

Raven was red in the face. Strands of her dark hair had fallen loose. "We have a huge problem!"

Alpha Dane rolls his eyes as he turns away from me. "What now?"

"She's here!"

I look between the both of them. "Who?"

"Are you certain?" Alpha Dane asks Raven

"One hundred percent. She is sitting in the hospital right now. And she is furious."

"Who?" I ask again because while Raven looked concerned, all I could see was pure anger on Alpha Danes face. Even his crimson eyes appeared a little darker than usual. Maybe Aero was saying something to him? They carried on talking like I wasn't even there.

"I told her you were hunting to buy some time."

"Did you tell her about Neah?"

"I like to test your brides, but I would rather walk into a roaring fire than deal with that one."

Another bride?

Alpha Dane spins to look at me. "Ex bride. I absorbed her parents' pack years ago."

"The only one who didn't die." Raven mutters. "Veronica."

"Stay with Neah. I will send Eric over too." He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and leaves, leaving the door wide open.

"Who is she?" I ask

"He told you, ex bride." Raven smiles at me, trying to brush it off like suddenly, it was nothing major, even though she had practically broken the door down to tell him.

"I know but.....but you......."

"It's nothing. Dane will sort it out. It's not the first time she has turned up."

"What does she want?"

"Uh...... she's probably heard about you." She potters around the office, straightening Alpha Danes paperwork.

"Me?" Why was she here because of me?

"If I tell you, please don't panic."

I snort because everything made me panic.

"Veronica was like the third or forth bride, I can't really remember. She was head over heels, in love with my brother to the point she betrayed her own family. By the way, not something that he asked her to do. But when the contract was up. Dane decided not to mark her. He didn't feel that she was the right one."

"So he let her live?"

"The only one other than you." She smiles at me as if that was a good thing.

"Why is she here?" My instinct was to hate her. I had never even met her but I hated the idea that Alpha Dane was alone with her.

"She turns up shortly after a new bride has moved in. Reminding Dane why he chose her all those years ago. She desperately wants to get back with him. She killed her own true mate so that she could be with Dane." "Killed her true mate?" I wanted to make sure I had heard it right.

Raven reties her dark hair and nods her head. "She brought him here. Then to show Dane how much she loved him, she stabbed her mate in the heart. Believing that the action would please him." "It didn't?"

"He liked her courage, but sadly, no."

"And he lets her just come here?"

"Technically, because he absorbed her parents pack, she belongs to Black shadow."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"We sit tight." Beta Eric mutters as he enters the room and hands me a bottle of juice."And hope that she is just passing through."

"What if she wants to meet her?" Raven asks

Beta Eric looks at me with a smirk. "It's different now. Dane has claimed Neah. We do everything in our power to stop Veronica laying a hand on her." Laying a hand on me??

"You....you mean she is here to kill me?"

Chapter 0048

Dane

"Well that didn't take long! Something tells me that your little sister was lying about you hunting. Tut tut, I'm a little disappointed in her." Veronica studies me with her grey eyes. She runs her hands through her long blonde hair, pulling it back from her neck. Showing me that she still wasn't marked. It was an act, a reminder of why she was here.

'Why is she here? Stupid bitch!' Aero growls

'You know why. The same reason she always is!' I sigh

"Changed your mind, Dane?" She beams at me. "You know I'm here whenever you need me. Ready for you to claim me."

"I'm surprised it's taken you so long to arrive. Neah has been here almost a month now."

She frowns at me, "That's not a nice way to greet your lover."

"You are not my lover. You haven't been for years. So what has brought you back this time? Because my answer never changes. You should have figured that out by now."

"Dane, don't be like that. We were great together. And we can still be great together. I'm just here to remind you of that. We both know this new one won't stick, I mean, I haven't even heard of her."

I roll my eyes as Aero snorts

"That's what you say about each woman that has come after you." "And I've been right, haven't I Dane?" She gives me a smug smiles "Well, I hate to break it to you, Veronica, you are wrong this time."

Her eyes turn to slits as she glares at me. "I killed my mate for you." "For yourself, you mean."

She frowns at me and gets off of the nurses station. "I did it for us, you know that." She takes a step towards me. "Are you still trying to deny how much you enjoyed it? I still remember how you smiled when he fell to his knees, begging you for your help." "Desperation doesn't look good on you Veronica."

"Desperation?" She scoffs as her eyes widened. "I'm not here because I'm desperate."

"You do this every time I have a new bride. That screams desperation to me. Turning up just in the hopes that I will cast them aside, that's pretty sad, Veronica, you really should move on." "You can't talk to me like that."

"If I remember correctly, I am the Alpha here. You are the outsider, you were the one who betrayed your family. So you can go."

Her grey eyes narrowed to slits again. "This is my home and I am back for good." She grabs hold of my hands. "Come on, Dane. You know we were great together."

"That was a long time ago, Veronica. I've moved on." I pull my hands from hers. "And you need to get a grip. I've already banished my brother, would you like to join him?" "Seriously?" She gasps, "You actually kicked Jenson out?"

"I did. So again, I will ask. Do you want to join him?"

"No. I've been grateful that you have let me come and go. I don't want to be without a pack. That would be torture."

"Then I suggest you behave. If you try anything with Neah, I won't just banish you, I will rip your throat out." "WHAT???? You won't do that."

"Do you want to try me?" I keep my tone hollow, to show her that I wasn't fucking about anymore.

""What's so special about her?" She demands

'This will be good.' Aero chuckles

"I marked her."

"You what? You...you actually marked someone? As in, you claimed them as yours?" "Yes."

"You've never done that. You've rejected all of us..... You only came close to marking me."

"No Veronica. I was never going to mark you. And to think, you were the only one who got to live."

Her mouth falls open as her arms fold up under her large breasts, pushing her cleavage at me. "You made a mistake Dane."

Chapter 0049

"I agree."

She smiles at me. "Oh, you regret marking her?"

"No, I regret letting you live." I turn around, walking away. "Keep your distance, Veronica."

"You can't just walk away, Dane!" She moans, running alongside me.

"I can do what I want, Veronica."

"Why are you being like this? You used to care about me."

"Used to. Like you said, it was a long time ago, there have been others since you and not once have I come back to you. Why do you think now will be any different?" "Because, because it's me."

'Has she not come up with any new lines.' Aero groans. 'It's always the same fucking story. Please, we were good together, you let me live, blah blah blah. She really needs to get over herself."

"Has she slept with Jenson? Is that why you banished him?"

"No. Stop trying to dig for information."

She purses her red lips, keeping pace with me as I walk back towards the house.

"Veronica, go away."

"I want to meet the woman that has captured your heart."

Coming to a stop, I glare at her. "You want to meet my mate?"

"Yes, I want to meet your bride."

"She's my mate, Veronica. She isn't just a bride, she is my true mate."

"You found her?" Her voice drops to a whisper as she stares at me with wide eyes.

""Yes."

"NO!"

I smile, hearing the disappointment in her voice. It sounded just like the day I had told her it was over.

"Yes. I didn't just mark her because I wanted to. I marked her because she is my mate. She is the one that I have spent years searching for."

"Where did you find her?"

"None of your business."

"I bet she can't even satisfy you, can she?!" She mocks, trying to make little digs.

The last few days of our contract, I had distanced myself from her, she was a good shag and in the end, that's about all I enjoyed about her. The memories made i even more amusing, because it was like Veronica couldn't see what was happening. My brother knew, because he kept cracking jokes about being able to sleep with her. Though he never did.

Veronica was the only one he had never touched and even that said something.

"I would like to meet her." Veronica's tone changes, her words become lighter as though she was suddenly happy about everything.

'She's up to something.' Aero mutters.

"No." I tell Veronica

"You can't hide her forever Dane. I told you, I'm home. It's time for me to put down some proper roots instead of spending all of your money on travelling." She flutters her eyelashes again.

I was so tempted to kick her out, but so far, she hadn't done anything wrong apart from make a few comments.

"Have you got a job?" I ask

"I have. It's nothing major, just a personal assistant to someone in the city." She digs into her pockets and pulls out the credit card I had given her. "Here." She gives me a smile and hands the credit card over. "Guess I don't need this anymore." "What game are you trying to play Veronica?"

"No game. Like I said, it's time to stop exploring. It's time to set up home. I am a Wolf after all and we are useless without a pack."

'She's done something.' Aero mutters.

"What did you do, Veronica?"

"Nothing." She holds her hands up. "I swear I'm telling the truth."

'Bullshit!' Aero snaps and I had to agree with him. The longest Veronica stayed in one place was when we were together. And even then she was desperate to go off to some far away country. She had never been concerned with needing to belong to a pack. It was one of the things I had liked about her.

"Why did you come to the hospital and not directly to the pack house? Are you in trouble?"

Chapter 0050

"Oh you know how I love to wind your sister up. Nothing ever changes with her. I bet it drives Salem nuts."

She didn't know, she wasn't around to learn that Raven and Salem were no longer a thing

"She's happy." I lie

Veronica doesn't respond. She's staring up at the house. As I look over my shoulder, I see Neah standing on the doorstep. Raven and Eric stand either side of her.

"Is that her?" Veronica whispers

"Yes."

She grips my upper arm. "She isn't much to look at is she!"

"Let go."

""You think she can take me out?" She muses.

That wasn't what I was worried about. I could sense Neah's jealousy from here. If she shifts, I won't be able to stop it. Raven and Eric won't be able to stop it. And none of us knew what Neah is really capable of. Grabbing Veronica's hand, I bend it back towards herself. She whimpers at the pain of her arm being in the wrong position.

"Get out of my sight!" I snarl at her.

"I'm going. I'm going." She frowns in Neah's direction before stomping off while cradling her arm.

My eyes lock with Neah's as I approach the house.

"Is she leaving?" Raven asks

"No. I mutter without looking at her. "She's decided to settle."

Neah doesn't react. She stands completely still, her eyes remain locked on mine. She wasn't angry, she seemed to be confused about the jealousy she is feeling.

"You are letting her stay?" Raven questions me. "After all that she has done. She's a lunatic."

"Yes, I agree she has made some poor choices. But none of us are exactly innocent. Well, almost none of us. If she tries anything, then she will be gone. I have warned her." And still, Neah doesn't speak.

Raven brushes past me, "I hope you know what you are doing, Dane. Don't let her ruin this."

"Go inside." I tell Neah, "I just need to speak to Eric."

Neah's blue eyes move to my Beta before returning to me. She nods her head and slowly retreats into the house.

""How much did Raven tell her?"

"Everything." Eric murmurs. "Once she started talking, it's like she couldn't stop."

"And what has Neah said?"

"That's just it, she hasn't said anything."

"Nothing?"

"The last thing she asked was if Veronica was here to kill her. And that's when Raven told her everything."

"No sign of her shifting?"

"No. I watched her like a hawk."

I find Neah sitting in the kitchen. Her legs folded up underneath her as she studied a bottle of half drunk juice.

She doesn't respond or even acknowledge me as I take a seat opposite. Her head was clouded with telling herself off.

"You've never felt jealousy before." I tell her. "It feels strange right? Having this need to attack someone?"

She stops spinning the bottle and her blue eyes flash up at me. "Why?"

"Because of that." I point to the mark on her neck. "It will make you feel a lot of things that you have most likely never experienced before. Eric tells me that Raven told you everything about Veronica." "She told....told me alot." She stutters and a small crease appears on her forehead. "She's.....she is very pretty."

'She is so angry.' Aero mutters

"She's not you." I tell her.

"Did....did you tell her about me?"

"I told her I claimed you and I told her you were my true mate."

She frowns at me. "There's something I don't understand. Raven didn't say."

"You want to know why I let her live!"