Ch. 496..500: The Alpha Contract Chapter 496-500_

Chapter 0496

"Sure, take the bed. I will sleep on the couch."

"Thank you, Damien." She runs up the stairs as I settle on the sofa

****

Dottie talks her ear off at breakfast. Between mouthfuls of cereal, Dottie tries to give Samara every detail she could think of when it comes to school. I couldn't get a word in anywhere and instead, I found myself watching Samara.

Her grey eyes are bright as she listens to every word that comes from Dottie's mouth. And I was still surprised that Dottie had slept through the night without a single nightmare and because I couldn't quite believe it, I hadn't slept a wink. Well that and the fact I couldn't get Raven out of my head.

"Daddy?"

I blink a few times and smile at Dottie.

"When am I going to shift?" she asks curiously and the question catches me by surprise.

"When you are much older."

"But Evrin can." Dottie smiles at me, "and he can barely walk."

"Neah's twins?" Samara asks

"Yes.

"One of them can shift?"

I nod

"Is that a thing?"

"Neah could when she was young."

"Wow. Do you know if my mother could?" she asks with a frown

"I don't know. I don't think there is much information on your mother and I think it's more to do with who Neah is."

"The last female Alpha." Dottie proudly announces and she looks at Samara. "Don't be sad about your mummy. I don't have one either and I'm okay."

Samara looks away, running her hand through her short blonde hair, it was starting to grow out, though she still hated it. I liked it, it suited her.

"Go get ready." I tell Dottie. She shoves another spoonful in her mouth and runs off towards the stairs.

"You want to find out about your mother?" I ask

She frowns at me. "Yes and no. I understand that Neah and I are cousins and that our mothers were sisters. I know she gave me up to my dad. I know that she wasn't ready to have me. But that doesn't stop me from being curious about her. What was she like? Do I carry any of her traits? Do I resemble her?" She sighs. "Then there is the part of me that wonders if it's better this way. I can't see what I missed out on."

She passes me as she takes the dishes to the sink. Holding out her hand she waits for my mug. Her fingers catch mine as I hand it over. A sharp current makes its way up through my finger and I almost drop the mug.

Samara doesn't react to the spark. Instead she asks me if I didn't get enough sleep while slowly taking the mug from me.

"The brain is on overdrive." I tell her

"I take it you didn't talk to Eris then." she mutters with her back to me

"We talked and I rejected her."

I see her freeze, but she doesn't turn around.

"I was at the hospital with Neah and Dane. Neah wanted to talk with her, and everything that came out of her mouth was a lie."

"I lied." she whispers and I hear the sadness in her tone

"It was different. You were being forced to do something you didn't want too. She just kept spewing more and more shit. Making demands. She couldn't even look Neah or Dane in the eye as she was bullshitting them. And that Alpha Silas, was just something Cooper had told her."

"So it's not true? There is no Wolf that is trying to claim power?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" She turns around to face me, supporting herself on the counter. "They seem to come out of nowhere. And she did say she was running from him."

"I can't be sure about anything these days. But Alpha Ryan of Ashburn City is alive and well. It hasn't been taken over. Eris came from a place called White Cliffs." She frowns at me. "I know that name."

""White Cliffs?"

"Dad told me that was where he met my mother."

Chapter 0496

"Sure, take the bed. I will sleep on the couch."

"Thank you, Damien." She runs up the stairs as I settle on the sofa

****

Dottie talks her ear off at breakfast. Between mouthfuls of cereal, Dottie tries to give Samara every detail she could think of when it comes to school. I couldn't get a word in anywhere and instead, I found myself watching Samara.

Her grey eyes are bright as she listens to every word that comes from Dottie's mouth. And I was still surprised that Dottie had slept through the night without a single nightmare and because I couldn't quite believe it, I hadn't slept a wink. Well that and the fact I couldn't get Raven out of my head.

"Daddy?"

I blink a few times and smile at Dottie.

"When am I going to shift?" she asks curiously and the question catches me by surprise.

"When you are much older."

"But Evrin can." Dottie smiles at me, "and he can barely walk."

"Neah's twins?" Samara asks

"Yes.

"One of them can shift?"

I nod

"Is that a thing?"

"Neah could when she was young."

"Wow. Do you know if my mother could?" she asks with a frown

"I don't know. I don't think there is much information on your mother and I think it's more to do with who Neah is."

"The last female Alpha." Dottie proudly announces and she looks at Samara. "Don't be sad about your mummy. I don't have one either and I'm okay."

Samara looks away, running her hand through her short blonde hair, it was starting to grow out, though she still hated it. I liked it, it suited her.

"Go get ready." I tell Dottie. She shoves another spoonful in her mouth and runs off towards the stairs.

"You want to find out about your mother?" I ask

She frowns at me. "Yes and no. I understand that Neah and I are cousins and that our mothers were sisters. I know she gave me up to my dad. I know that she wasn't ready to have me. But that doesn't stop me from being curious about her. What was she like? Do I carry any of her traits? Do I resemble her?" She sighs. "Then there is the part of me that wonders if it's better this way. I can't see what I missed out on."

She passes me as she takes the dishes to the sink. Holding out her hand she waits for my mug. Her fingers catch mine as I hand it over. A sharp current makes its way up through my finger and I almost drop the mug.

Samara doesn't react to the spark. Instead she asks me if I didn't get enough sleep while slowly taking the mug from me.

"The brain is on overdrive." I tell her

"I take it you didn't talk to Eris then." she mutters with her back to me

"We talked and I rejected her."

I see her freeze, but she doesn't turn around.

"I was at the hospital with Neah and Dane. Neah wanted to talk with her, and everything that came out of her mouth was a lie."

"I lied." she whispers and I hear the sadness in her tone

"It was different. You were being forced to do something you didn't want too. She just kept spewing more and more shit. Making demands. She couldn't even look Neah or Dane in the eye as she was bullshitting them. And that Alpha Silas, was just something Cooper had told her."

"So it's not true? There is no Wolf that is trying to claim power?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" She turns around to face me, supporting herself on the counter. "They seem to come out of nowhere. And she did say she was running from him."

"I can't be sure about anything these days. But Alpha Ryan of Ashburn City is alive and well. It hasn't been taken over. Eris came from a place called White Cliffs." She frowns at me. "I know that name."

""White Cliffs?"

"Dad told me that was where he met my mother."

Chapter 0498

"She's winding me up about my short hair." I lie, completely and utterly embarrassed.

"Well Dakota." Damien mutters as he stares at me. "I think it suits her."

My stomach practically trips over itself. Compliments were never said to me.

He offers me a smile. "Are you ready?"

I nod when I don't seem to be able to form any words.

Dorothy holds my hand as we walk to the school. But I could see the looks. I could feel the judgement. A couple of days ago I had been locked in a dungeon because I wasn't trustworthy and now I was walking with the Beta to the pack school.

We come to a stop and I see Blair with a young boy. Her brother I assume. I watch him hug her before he hurries inside. As she turns to leave, she spots me. I could see the immediate anger in her eyes. She hated me for keeping her in the dark, for lying to her and letting her trust me.

I open my mouth to apologise, but she walks straight by without a single look back.

"She will get over it." Dorothy tells me as she lets go of my hand. Throwing her arms around me, she squeezes me tight and tells me to make sure Neah sees the sticker. And puts another one on the tshirt that I'm wearing

"Do I get a hug?" Damien mutters as Dorothy starts to walk away.

"You should hug Sammie." She smiles and runs in through the school doors.

He doesn't respond and just sort of stares ahead. Clearing his throat he asks me if I'm ready to speak to Neah.

"As ready as I can be." I had made sure I had eaten enough breakfast to last me a while, just in case she puts me back in the dungeon.

Damien doesn't say another word to me as we walk by the ruined packhouse. There were already people inside, clearing the rubble.

We stop at a house further along. There is a lot of noise coming from inside as Damien knocks on the door.

Dane answers. His strange crimson eyes casually drift over me before he invites us both inside.

Neah is sitting on the sofa with her feet up on a small ottoman. The twin that looks most like Neah is clinging to her while the other one is pushing toy cars down a little ramp and squealing as they shoot across the floor. "How are you feeling?" Damien asks her

"Like I'm being watched constantly." She murmurs, looking at Dane

"I'm just making sure you are getting what you need." He mutters back

She rolls her eyes and they settle on me. "How are you finding things?"

"Um, I've pretty much just been at Damien's house. I did go for a walk with Dorothy, but that's it. I promise." I really wanted to stay out of the dungeons, I hated being down there alone.

"No trouble." Damien confirms. "Samara has actually been quite helpful."

There was just something about the way he said my name. He made me sound far more exotic than I am.

"But you have something to tell us?" Dane asks

"I told Samara about some of the things Eris said." Damien tells them. "Particularly the story that Eris is from a pack called White Cliffs." Damien gestures to me.

"Apparently that is where my Dad met my Mum." I blurt out.

""Your mother?" Dane asks

I nod. "And before you ask, that was all my father said. He never gave me any more information. I knew more about Cooper's mother than my own."

Dane starts asking the same questions that Damien did. Questioning why Wolves and Lycans existed in the same location. If Eris had lied about her knowledge. They pretty much have the same conversation as me and Damien, only this time, Damien tells him what I had said.

I see Neah watching me, but I keep my mouth closed. It's easier that I didn't talk. I see how she moves the twin that is hugging her. He is fast asleep, yet he looks so much like her. He must be the one that can shift. "White Cliffs were never mentioned to you?" Dane asks Neah.

"As far as I'm aware, I always lived in Moonshine. But then again, I don't know much, other than what happened to me." Creases appear in her forehead as she frowns. "Is that where the rest of my family are?" ""Not necessarily." I mutter

Her eyes snap to mine.

"You are the Alpha. You became Alpha because your mother died. She would have been Alpha too, right? But it normally passes down when either the parent has died or they've completed a ceremony, right?" They are all looking at me.

"There might not be anyone there. But then there might be others, a wider family." I shrug my shoulders. Deep down, I wanted to go. I wanted to know more about my mother. I wanted to know what she was like. Someone there must have known her.

Chapter 0499

Neah

'She could be right.' Nyx murmurs. 'There could be more out there.'

'Even if there are, they never bothered to look for me? You know as well as I do that they would have felt it when my binding was broken. They would have heard me when I linked everyone. Not one of them has even tried to contact me. Not one of the Lycans here have mentioned White Cliffs.'

Dane watches me as I shuffle Evrin around, trying to get comfortable. I don't remember feeling like this so early on when I was pregnant with the boys.

I frown when I could feel Dane searching my mind, looking for some clue on my silence.

"Do you really believe that was where your parents met?" I finally ask Samara.

She hikes her shoulders up around her chin and lowers her gaze. "I don't know. I just." She frowns. "When Damien told me the name, it rang a bell. Like a forgotten piece of information, hiding in my brain. I hadn't even thought about her until Dakota arrived and now it's like an itch I need to scratch."

After a brief pause, she looks up at us. "You know, find out about her and learn about that side that makes up my genetics."

"We know what you mean." Damien speaks softly to her and I watch as she gives him a small smile. Her cheeks slowly turn rosy. Quickly, she starts talking to me again, trying to hide the blush that was deepening the colour on her cheeks.

"Don't you wonder? If it really is a place where our bloodline runs deep, don't we deserve to know?" Samara presses and points at my twins. "Don't they deserve to know everything about themselves?"

I couldn't hide my scowl. I already knew where this was going. She wanted to go to White Cliffs. And in a weird way, she was asking my permission.

"I need time to think." I mutter. "It's not a simple case of packing up and heading to a pack I've never heard of. I have kids."

"She is also pregnant." Dane adds, "And supposed to be taking it easy." He gives me a look that dares me to agree to this stupid idea.

"Klaus." I murmur to Damien. "Go and ask him if he can find any other information on White Cliffs other than them being up north. And take Samara with you."

"No dungeon?" Samara asks quickly.

"For now, no." I confirm. She had a hand in killing her brother, letting her have a bit of breathing space was the least I could reward her with.

She smiles at me. "I won't let you down."

Damien is grinning at her too, and not in a 'we're just friends way'. He liked her more than that, but she seems to be completely unaware.

They leave together and Dane sits next to me as Logan climbs up on to his lap. "Did you see what I saw?"

I nod. "They will figure it out. It's not our business."

"I don't think they're mates."

I shrug my shoulders. "Eric wasn't mated to his wife."

"True." He throws a giggling Logan up into the air and catches him easily. "You really don't want to know anymore about your background do you?"

I shake my head. "If the way my parents tried to get rid of me is anything to go by. I can only imagine the others, if there are any, they are probably just as bad."

"It's not necessarily all of them. And in no way am I trying to defend your parents for their actions. But maybe they weren't prepared for you. Maybe they didn't know that you shifting so early was a possibility." He frowns, "The whole situation has me thinking about what Blair said in the early days. How she wanted what was hers. To take the pack as she was the eldest even though it was never your fathers. It sounds like your mother may have left everything behind to be with him. To set up a new life and there were a bunch of them that followed."

"You think they were some kind of forbidden couple?"

"Possibly. Maybe your father was nobody and your grandparents didn't want them together."

"Does that happen? They were fated mates." I ask

"It happens more than you realise."

"It would explain why Moonshine was always hidden."

Chapter 0500

He nods his head and bounces Logan on his knees. "And why Trey was so desperate to make a deal with me. Who were they preparing to fight against?" "You think they were going to fight White Cliffs?"

"The eagerness. The unwillingness to read the contract even when warned. How he so easily agreed to letting you come with me. It sounds like we missed something. Never have I had an Alpha that has been so desperate to make a contract with me without reading through my terms and conditions. Normally, it has always been the other way around. I would practically force them into it, but I would still give them a chance to opt out, if it suited me."

He pulls faces at Logan as he catches him, "But Trey was beyond desperate. It may not have been that they were going to fight, but maybe the plan was to protect themselves and they did not in any way have the numbers. They needed help." "What would they have been fighting over?"

His crimson eyes lock on mine.

""Me?" I scoff

"Your mother had died. You had become the Alpha. Though Trey and Cassandra were pretty quick at binding you again. But you said it yourself, the day you turned eighteen, for a short while, you were unbound again. If you had stayed that way long enough, Nyx may have shown up and they would have been able to find you. They couldn't locate you when you were bound."

"You really think they were coming for me? Because that sounds insane."

"In the grand scheme of things, does it?"

"They could have come and found me at any point since I've been here." I mutter

"They could have. Or maybe something changed. Maybe they realised just how powerful you can really be and have decided that it's best to keep their distance."

"That is just crazy."

"Is it? Think about how things have happened. And I'm not talking about the stuff that happened to you. Changing Humans into Lycans long before they attacked us and long before I was in the picture. Damien has said Cassandra did it because they would be great weapons. Yes they had plans for you, but it seems like they must have had other plans too, because I didn't know you until I set eyes on you in that office of Treys."

"Even if we consider that what you are saying is true, why would they have come for me?"

"To take you back to where you should live. Raise you to be the strong female Alpha that you are."

I shuffle over and slide Evrin onto Danes' lap so I can get up. I loosely retie my hair into its bun, ignoring the escaped strands as I mull over Danes words.

"It's a lot of maybes!" I sigh

"It is, I'm just trying to work through possible scenarios. Maybe it was because they knew your parents tried to abandon you. Maybe, they were trying to save you. Maybe they wanted to offer you something better."

"Anything would have been better than the crap Trey and the others put me through. Practically starving, dehydrated and barely able to stand sometimes without the room spinning. All I ever wanted was to be accepted for who I am."

"Like I said, it's only theories. We don't know if any of it is the truth." He shrugs his shoulders at me

"But you think I should consider it?"

"I think you should do whatever it is you need to do. I'm not forcing you either way. This has to be your choice."

"As I said to Nyx, not one of them has bothered to contact me when they could have quite easily done so. I'm not chasing after something that doesn't need to be chased after. Besides, I am carrying another set of twins. Would you really be letting me travel way up north when we don't know what we will be walking into?"

"You have a point." He smiles

"If Klaus can give Damien something that is worth investigating, I might consider it, but not until these are here." I pat my stomach.

'We could try and sift through the links to find them.' Nyx offers

'No.' I mutter. I wanted the quietness to last. I wanted to focus on the pack and my growing family. Especially with my ever shifting son.