Ch. 571..575: The Alpha Contract Chapter 571-575

Chapter 0571

"Dorothy let's go!" Samara pulls her from her chair

"Okay." She nods as she eagerly takes Samara's hand. They are quick to get up the stairs and out of sight.

*Silas. It's okay. I can help you." I had been waiting for this. For the truth to finally settle in his mind, though it was likely temporary. I also knew that the aftermath was going to be messy.

His fists hit the wooden table with force, splitting the wood right down the middle, sending the table crashing to the ground. His chair flies back, slamming into the door. He stands tall and his bones start to crack.

*Shifting won't help you." I snap

"I need to go back!" He growls at me.

*No you don't. You need to stay put, let Brax do what he has to do." Damien tells him.

We both position ourselves ready to pin Silas if needed.

"My life is a fucking lie! My children. My mate. Everything that I have ever known. I grieved for Jarret and it is all one big lie."

*Not everything. Dorothy said you love another." I remind him. "Who is she?"

His crimson eyes flicker to mine. "I don't know. I don't see them. I just see...

*Thalia."

As soon as Damien mutters her name, there was no stopping Silas from shifting. His clothes rip at the seams. He drops down to all fours as the remnants of the material fall from his large black Wolf.

'Is Silas's Wolf bigger than me?' Aero mutters

'Later!' I snap

Silas pauses to stare at me and then breaks through the door, charging out to the forest.

Damien runs after him. Removing his clothes as he moves while into his large Lycan.

Chasing my heartbroken twin through the forest was not what I was expecting. I thought there would be more chaos. The need to fight. Anything but running away. But we had finally got through to him.

I could hear Damien running on two feet and a set of four feet that clearly belonged to Silas. It sounded like Damien was gaining on him.

"Stay still!" I hear Damien roar.

The feet belonging to Silas skip to a stop.

Moving around the trees. I spot Damien and then Silas, who had shifted back to Human form

*You can talk?" Silas mutters, glaring at Damien

The sound of breaking bones echoes through the forest as Damien shifts. "It's not the problem right now, is it?"

Silas shakes his head. "This.. ..." A frown appears. He reminded me of the early days with Neah when she would stumble over her words

"It's a lot to take in. No one is expecting you to just accept it." Damien tells him as I shift to my Human form

*Ask him why his Wolf is bigger than ours!' Aero tuts

'Not now!

*I can only imagine how you are feeling."

"How I'm feeling?" He scoffs. "My children are not real. The boys, they were mine. They were my life. I would have done anything to bring Jarret back. I would have done anything to save them. To protect them. I beat myself up for a long time, blaming myself for not saving Jarret. Quinn lost his brother, he used to look for him. And now...." He jabs a finger in my direction. "You were expecting this. You told me she wasn't welcome here!"

"We have dealt with a Witch that has caused problems. A Witch you are familiar with. You wouldn't listen, Silas. Any mention of a lie and you refused it. But I know it placed doubt in your mind. I know it has made you question your existence. And now, it is important that you accept that. You will not be able to move on until you have."

"It probably won't just be today either." Damien adds, "You will have to battle it daily focusing on the light Dottie was speaking of. Until Thalia is dead, that magic is likely not removable. I imagine each time you sleep, it resets, never faltering. Everyday you will need to search for that person you need to be with. Everyday you will probably go through this until the spell is broken or she is dead."

"I don't even know who it is that I'm supposed to be with. I've searched my mind. Lyall has as well. Any time I try to think of any other woman. Thalia is there, invading my thoughts and feelings. For a tiny second, it goes and I realise that there is a gap in time. One that doesn't make sense no matter how I look at it. How am I supposed to just forget this?" He taps his temple

"You don't, you use it."

He sits on a nearby trunk. "My life hasn't been mine."

*Do you know the funny thing about all of this?" I muse, "If you had never come to find Neah, you would be trapped under that same spell, until the day you die, would you rather you have carried on like that?"

"No of course not!"

I nod. "Now will you help us eliminate the threats?"

Chapter 0572

Brax

"We need to make a move." I mutter, looking through the tiny peephole in the boarded up windows.

Almost a whole day had passed since Klaus arrived and we were still hiding inside Indy's home. Waiting and watching.

"I know that's what you are used to doing." Klaus mutters, "I think it would be a mistake. We don't even have a plan in place other than to kill her." I see him nod at the white Wolf. "I will ask. Indy, are there any white Wolves here in White Cliffs?"

"One."

"Let me guess." I tut. "One of Thalia's men?"

"No. Me. But if you are thinking of doing what I think you are going to do, don't bother. I'm small. If Xavi goes out there and Thalia sees him, she will know without a doubt that it isn't me. Plus he can't hide his balls." She smiles and from the corner of my eye, I see Orion silently laughing.

"I was thinking more about the eyes, but you are right, you can't miss those."

I'm met with a snarl from the Wolf and roll my eyes at him.

"He doesn't need to go far." Klaus tells her, "He wants to go straight across from here and up into the tower on the opposite site of the courtyard. No one seems to go there. He said he can keep watch and keep me updated."

The colour drains from her face. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" Klaus presses

Indy scowls at Orion, "I know, I know."

"By your reaction, I'm assuming there is a reason no one goes up there?" I ask

"There is one person that goes up there. Serkan. It's where..." Her eyes close, "It's where his food is kept. It's how Orion lost his tongue." She casts her eyes in his direction. "Do you want me to tell them?"

He dips his head.

"Orion was out collecting us both some fresh food from the market that gets held once a week."

"They hold a market around the dead?"

"Remember, the people can't see or smell the rotting flesh. Anyway, he tripped over near those steps that lead up to the tower." She frowns as she stares at him. "Those steps have been there the entire time but somehow, he never noticed them before. Another trick of the mind."

She clears her throat, "Orion went up to investigate. There are bodies, alive but silenced. They couldn't speak. They couldn't scream. Orion tried to help them but Thalia caught him. His tongue was removed before he had a chance to speak."

"She didn't kill him?" Klaus asks

"Trust me, we are as surprised as

you. I think it was a lesson of some kind, or maybe she wasn't expecting to find him and was caught off guard. At this point, who knows." She shrugs. "It's like I said. The steps

eine

have always been there eps

no one noticed them. No one goes up them.

It has to be something to do with her spell, right?"

“Likely. If she has been controlling everyone, then it is probably in her interest to keep people away from learning about Serkans food source." "It's sick!" She splutters

I nod in agreement. I like meat, but to eat a Human, even my stomach churns at that.

"Are they still there?" Klaus frowns. "Are there still people in that tower?"

l.ne

She hikes her shoulders up around her chin, "I don't think so. We have watched, no one comes, no one goes. I guess they might have been removed when we were in the tunnel. Do you see how much is wrong with this place? You have seen the dead, the rotting corpses that line the streets. You know what she is like." She sighs as her golden eyes settle on Klaus. "You know and you haven't even met her."

“We are here to help.” Klaus offers her a smile.

"I hope you can, because this is not a way for us to live anymore. Knowing everything and yet watching the others carry on in some sort of oblivious state, unable to escape. I want to live. I want to see Silas again. I want to be with the man that is mine. I want Thalia to suffer."

"That can be arranged. Where is that potion you showed me?"

Her eyebrows disappear under her white hair. “The one to hide your scent?"

Chapter 0573

"No, the one to turn me into a frog! Of course I'm talking about the one to hide my scent."

"It was a genuine question, you don't need to be sarcastic!" Indy scowls at me. "Did your mother not teach you good manners?"

I had met a lot of people who were afraid of me as a Hunter, but not anyone quite like Indy. She didn't seem to care one bit, almost like Neah. Though I wasn't the Wolf in the room that had a problem with her. Xavi's eyes had been fixed on her for almost the entire conversation. Only briefly leaving her to look at Klaus.

"Yes he is always like this." Klaus whispers to Xavi

Indy gets the little vial of blue liquid from the safe. Grasping it tightly in her hand. She slowly turns to face us. "This is all I have. I don't think I can get anymore."

“One drop every hour." I nod, "I remember, but it's not for me. It's for the white Wolf."

She turns to Klaus with an outstretched hand. Behind him, Xavi's snout twitches, a low rumble vibrates through him.

"Not a full blooded Witch!" I snap at him. My abrupt announcement makes Indy jump. She lets go of the bottle. Thankfully Klaus grabs it before it hits the floor. For a moment, everyone is silent.

Xavi's amber eyes shift to me.

"She is on our side. She is a half breed. Her Wolf is stronger. I suggest you pull it together if you are going to help."

Klaus closes his eyes with a frown.

"Go on, tell me what your mate is saying because I would love to know." I keep my eyes on Xavi

"He called you a moron." Klaus mutters

I shrug my shoulders. I had heard worse.

"It just hides the scent, right?" Klaus questions Indy. "It doesn't take away the other abilities, healing, strength, his connection to me?"

"I've used it. I swear it just hides your scent."

Klaus squats down next to Xavi, "Are you sure you want to do this? You don't know what is going to happen out there. She could see you and she could kill you on the spot."

There is a brief silence as Klaus squeezes a tiny blob of blue liquid on Xavi's tongue. He loops his arms around the neck of the white Wolf, pressing his face into his white fur. “Make sure you come back to me."

"Orion." Indy mutters.

Orion moves forward to the door.

"Orion will leave with you. We are always seen together, it might look suspicious if you are wandering around by yourself." She hands Orion the bottle, "Just in case you are not back within the hour."

They slip out the door and quickly across the courtyard, carefully navigating the dead. Thankfully no one sees them.

"I am still shocked that his place

doesn't stink of death." I mutter as 1

watch through the peephole. "I was expecting to smell it when the door opened, but nothing."

"It's weird." Indy mutters. "You seem to be able to see everything and yet the smell doesn't bother you."

“We need to talk about that!" Klaus tells me as he watches through the other peephole.

"We need to talk about what you have done to your hair."

"It's not a big deal. I cut it after I couldn't wash the blood out."

"A Witch's blood?"

"Xavi's." He replies "But you didn't answer my question. Why did you go to a Witch?"

"Because I'm not an idiot."

"Guys, can we focus on what they are doing out there? We can talk about hair cuts another time." Indy scowls

"The Wolf has gone up the steps, Orion is standing guard."

"Thank you."

She starts to pace in a small circle. Stepping away from the peephole, I study her. "Orion knows what he is doing."

"I know."

"You are worried about your friend."

"Unless we break this hold Thalia has, he is my only friend. I don't want anything else to happen to him."

"He's fine." Klaus mutters, "They are already on their way back."

"No one saw them?"

"It seems that way." He confirms. "See, they could....."

I

I look back at him. He had his eye

pressed right up against the

peephole, but he had changed. Anger pulsates from him. His tone had also changed, "The Witch is here."

Chapter 0574

Klaus

"What? No. She shouldn't be." Indy mutters. Brax huffs as he gets shoved out of the way. Indy presses her eye to the other peephole.

"Why shouldn't she be?" I ask. My heart pounds as Xavi and Orion dip behind a wall. I didn't come here for Xavi to die

"The music starts soon. She hates it and keeps herself away. She shouldn't be here. Why is she out? She must know you are inside my house. Is she coming this way? You should get in the tunnel, just in case."

"It's okay."

"Her presence worries me." She sighs

"I won't be going anywhere while Xavi is out there." I tell her as I keep watch

Guards follow Thalia in a V formation. Her long green dress hides her feet, giving her the appearance that she is gliding along the ground. With a flick of her hand, the dead bodies move out of her path, but not out of the way of the guards.

Brax had said her gift was fire. There was definitely more. The entire situation told me that she is not a standard Witch. There was something far more powerful about her, to have this much power didn't make sense.

All the books I had managed to find described Witches as nothing more than creatures of the earth. Creatures that use herbs and potions. They were described as harmless. It didn't match Cooper and it didn't match Thalia. And if they are really harmless, why did Wolves like me and Xavi exist?

The thick grey clouds that litter the sky above White Cliffs seem to be getting darker by the second.

"She doesn't like music?" I ask with a frown

"She hates it. I don't know why." Ivy mumbles

Thalia marches through on some kind of mission. Her guards keep formation as they follow her, trampling over the bodies in their path. I wasn't sure if they were aware of the dead or not.

"Are her guards Lycans?" I ask

"Most definitely!" Brax tells me. "Some are borderline Rogue, I can feel it."

"Are they under a spell or are they following her?"

"I can't be sure. Maybe both." Indy sighs. "I just know she walks around like she is the Queen of White Cliffs and Serkan lets her."

"The others that live here, how do they react when they see her?" Thalia and her guards turn the corner out of sight as Xavi and Orion speed back across the yard, charging inside as Brax opens the door.

'She was right there.' Xavi mutters through our link. 'She was right there and I could have ripped her throat out.'

"You would not have been able to get close enough before she killed you." I remind him. "Someone like her needs to be handled with precision."

It was as if all my birthdays had come at once when I found Xavi. A mate that I was never looking for. Coming into my life when I least expected it.

Everything about him was calm,

unless he was faced with a Witch. If

I speak of Thalia, all signs of

reasoning disappear into a black

hole. Anger, hatred, frustration

were

just some of the things that flooded through our bond. I knew it was

partly because of her beinas

a Witch, but mostly because of the curse she put on him.

He didn't trust Indy either. But that wasn't for me to fix. He had a lot more experience with Witches than did. If I wasn't here with Xavi, Indy would be dead. He was only holding back because I had asked him. Though I did hope he was wrong about her.

Indy wraps her arms around Orion and then punches him in the chest. "Don't do that to me!"

He rolls his eyes at her and pulls her back in for a hug. Squeezing her until she tells him she can't breathe.

"Indy? How do the others react to her?" I wanted to know what was in that tower but I wanted answers while there was little chance that we would be attacked.

"They don't. The only one they ever react to is Serkan. He is an Alpha. He is a Kitson."

I shift my focus back to the

darkening sky just as the subtle

sounds of music appear. Ripping a wooden plank from the window so that I could see better. Indy panics, grabbing the wood from my hands. "No, she will see."

 

 

Chapter 0575

"No, she won't, you said it yourself, she doesn't like the music, she leaves." The tunes grow louder and people begin to pass the house in some kind of a trance. They are laughing and muttering to themselves, walking right over the dead as they head in the direction of the music

"The same music every night?" The thick clouds above seem to crackle

"Yes, with food, like a celebration. Every night at the same time. The rest of the people seem to love it and will even join in when it's pouring with rain, nothing stops them.” Ivy mutters, trying to put the plank of wood back into position."

'You think it's the music?' Xavi asks as he jumps up to have a look

'You taught me magic leaves a trace. She doesn't like music and just as the music started the clouds became darker. Have you come across this before?'

He shakes his large white head at me.

'Because you have managed to beat them to it?'

'You could say that. I do think you are right about her power though. I was only out there for a few minutes. It sent a cold shiver through my spine. A hollow pit in my stomach.'

"Is someone going to let us in on the private conversation?" Brax frowns.

“We have a hunch that it's the music that has everyone in a trance. Every night it's played, the spell is reset.”

“Right, well that's simple enough to handle. We kill the band." Brax smiles.

"You are wrong." Indy frowns and gives up with the wood. "There is no one playing the music. It's almost like it is in the air around us." She glares at him. "And even if it is a band, it's cruel to kill them for being under a spell."

He waves a hand dismissively. "It's not like I've got my gun anyway is it?"

"What kind of Wolf carries a gun?" Indy screws her nose up at him.

"The one who kills Rogues for a living." He winks at her.

"And you help the female Lycan Alpha?"

"I do."

"Are you scared of her?" Indy asks as she places her hands on her hips.

"No!" He splutters. "I have an agreement with her mate. And I have an agreement with your mate."

"Oh." She drops her hands and sighs, "He wants you to bring Thalia to him."

"He wants me to bring his mate to him." He glances at Xavi. "I guess I will need to make sure you stay alive."

'What happened at the tower?' I ask Xavi, letting the others talk

'Nothing.'

'Not even a whiff of death. The prisoners were gone, there was only one door and it was wide open. There was nothing.'

"Xavi has just confirmed it is as we expected, the prisoners have been moved, if they are even still alive." I tell the others. "They found nothing."

Indy nods. "Orion told me the same thing. Do you really think it's the music that is affecting them?"

"Yes."

"Okay. There is one other person who might be able to help us." Ivy whispers. "It's a really long shot, but she might know more about the music and Thalia. She used to talk about hearing music before..."

"Before what?"

"Before she went a little crazy. Look, I haven't seen her in a long time, I know they stripped her and she is practically Human but I don't think they would have killed her. At least I don't think Serkan would and + don't think he would let Thalia kill her either."

"At least we know why Cooper was coming here." Brax mutters, "That is his specialty."

"Where do we find this woman?" I ask

"I think she is kept in the dungeons." Indy tells us. "It's just a guess, but it's the only place I can think of."

"Why?"

"She is a Kitson. Her name is Amelia."

"Amelia?" Samara's mother is alive.

"Do you know her?"

"I know of her. Serkans second born grandchild. I thought she was dead."

"So do alot of people."

"Including Silas." Brax mumbles at

l

me. "He told us that Amelia was effectively wiped from history, seems like it's more that she was wiped from people's memories."

"Why would he tell you that?" Indy challenges.

"I'm guessing it's what he thinks he believes." Brax replies.