Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West
He frowns when he sees me. “Do you want me to get Dane or someone else?”
“No.”
“Has something happened?” He parks himself on the fallen tree a little way from me. “Is it Blair? Is she here?” His eyes dart around the nearby area
I snort, with everything happening, I hadn’t really thought about her. “No, nothing to do with Blair.”
“The girl, Mallory, is she okay? Did she make it?”
“She’s in good hands.”
“That’s good news. The others are in the training hall are being guarded.”
I had forgotten all about those Lycans too. I didn’t even know where they were. “Right.”
“It’s not my place to tell you what to do, Neah. And considering what my stepdaughter has done, I more than appreciate you letting us stay here. But if there is anything I can do, I am only too happy to help.”
“Ever killed someone you care about? Or sort of cared about?” I wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened with Jenson and Raven’s souls.
I feel his gaze on me. He’s quiet for a few minutes, choosing his words carefully.
“If we kill someone we care about, it is normally for good reason. Something that’s been thought about, options have been weighed up. I am certain you had a good reason. I’ve watched you from afar. You don’t rush into things, but when you are forced, your decisions are valid.”
“But are they the right ones?”
He raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to continue.
“I knew that they had to die. They were a troublemaker from day one and they did something unheard of.” I was trying to keep the details vague. Maybe Dane wouldn’t want anyone to know his sister is dead. “I have only ever killed those that were dangerous. Those that would put our lives at risk. This one was….” I trail off as Raven’s smiling face fills my head
“You wouldn’t make it as a leader if you didn’t question your decisions.” He sighs. “I’ve heard the stories about you. I’ve heard where you came from, what happened to you, how you were raised and everything since. It takes most people years to train to become a good leader. Dane would have been training since he was a pup. I was thrown into it, though I was never an Alpha of any kind. You’ve had what, three ish years?”
Is that all it is? It felt like a lifetime had passed. “And a year of that was spent learning who I am.” I mutter
“Neah, you’ve been propelled into something that is bigger than what any of us can imagine. And you are more than capable. Your decision is just that, your decision.”
“What if it’s hurt those around me? What if they cannot accept what I did?”
“Maybe the key is that you have to accept it first.” He shuffles on the tree, it was probably a little uncomfortable for him as he is quite big. “Who would have thought I would be giving advice to you.”
I look at him, and he seems to be smiling to himself.
“Is that how you feel about Blair? You had to accept that she needs to die and that’s why you are okay with it?”
“Yes. Tara has known for a lot longer than I have, her own mother. I guess on some level, I thought I could be the father she needed, but the only thing she has ever learned to care about is herself.”
‘Just like Jenson.’ Nyx sighs. I could feel her worrying about me. But I don’t regret what I’ve done, I just can’t get the image of Raven out of my head and that’s what’s messing with my thoughts and feelings. It was just like posioning my parents afPover again.
Ryken and I turn in the direction of footsteps. I’m hit with Dane’s woody scent and feel my body tense up Ryken had come out here before Dane Dane hadn’t even bothered following me which could only mean that he is angry.
“I will leave you to it.” Ryken walks in Dane’s direction. He pauses briefly but I don’t hear what they speak of.
‘I can feel his anger from here.’ I mutter to Nyx. ‘He is angry, frustrated, and hurt all because of me.’
I stay completely still as he strides towards me. If it weren’t for his scent, I would know it was him by the way he walked.
My body stays rooted to the tree as my chest aches from my pounding heart. I keep my eyes low as he stops in front of me. That feeling of preparing to be scolded lingered heavily. He was the only one that could still make me feel like that. Yet he had never hurt me.
His hands latch around my wrists and he rips me to my feet. My eyes remain down and slowly he tips my head back until I’m forced to look at his brilliant crimson eyes.
“You should not have done that.”
I open my mouth to protest.
“You were not ready for that. You should have let me end his life.”
Abraxas
The funeral was not something that I wanted to attend. Death is inevitable. If you want to say goodbye, beside the coffin is not the place to do that. Funerals are not personal. They are a gimmick for those that believe the person is going to a better place.
Neah clings to Dane. His hand firmly clasped around hers as she leaned against him. She didn’t seem to know what to expect. Her eyes continually moved between the coffins and Dane. Maybe she had never attended one before.
Death didn’t mean everyone got a funeral and in my opinion, Jenson definitely didn’t deserve one. Not after the shit he pulled.
The area is packed. Mostly Wolves who stood shoulder to shoulder.
The Lycans kept their distance. This didn’t have anything to do with them and they were probably happy to not be involved.
Damien stands on the other side of Dane. He hadn’t said much since earlier. His soul is full of confusion and frustration, so I find myself waiting and watching. Wondering when he will finally tip back over into the Rogue life. That was why I was really here.
I had expected him to lose it when Dane left to find Neah. But he had just stood in one spot, watching the blood weep out of Raven’s body.
Dane clears his throat and mutters a few words. He asks if anyone has anything to say and everyone’s eyes shift to Damien. They expected him to talk about his mate, to say a few heartfelt words. He gives Dane the tiniest of head shakes, barely visible to the human eye.
The coffins are lowered into the grounds, right next to their parents. Though if Dane had any sense after what had happened, he should have burned the bodies.
As they start taking it in turns to toss some dirt on top of the coffins, I catch Madison’s strong jasmine scent. It invades my head so quickly it hurts. Glancing over my shoulder, I see her standing not too far away. Her hands are jammed into her pockets as she toes a stone on the ground. Her chestnut eyes flicker to me before she looks away again. At least she had stopped overreacting to my presence.
Well, today at least. Her emotions are more erratic than a pregnant woman who is hungry.
Her eyes snap up to mine again, she thought I had looked away. They open wider as she realises she had been caught. A pink tinge rises up her neck, quickly spreading up her whiter than white face.
She frantically looks around, but unless she runs into the forest, there is nowhere to hide on this side of the pack.
Slipping away from the funeral, I stride past her and head into the forest before she gives herself away to the entire pack.
Just as I expected, she follows me, “What are you doing Madison?” I demand when we are completely out of sight.
“I wanted to tell you that I’m not scared of you anymore!”
“Is that right?” I try not to laugh, wondering how long she had been building up the courage to tell me that. “Dane is out there, burying his siblings and you want to tell me you are no longer scared?”
“Yes!” She mutters confidently
“So you don’t plan on hurling yourself into another fire anytime soon?”
She drops her gaze to the forest floor and shakes her head. “It hurts.” She whispers. She wasn’t talking about the fire.
“You’re letting yourself get wrapped up in this idea of yours.”
“It’s not an idea and you know that. I just want to know why you haven’t rejected me?”
I don’t answer her as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. She had asked me several times now and as much as I denied being mated to her, I could never answer I her question. Why didn’t I just say those words? She would be free to be mated to someone else.
I feel sick at the thought of another man touching her. It was bad enough the mark from Enzo still hovered on her neck.
“What do you want from me, Madison?”
“I don’t know. You are in my head constantly.” She frowns. “And not in a good way!”
I cock a brow at her. “I shouldn’t be. I’m a Hunter.”
She leans back against a tree, folding her arms up under her breasts and looks away from mol. I
“I’ve dealt with shitty men for years. You are not the first.”
“And if I remember correctly, I put a bullet in one of them. So what’s changed? Where has this new found confidence come from?”
She scowls, “Why do you feel the need to mock me?”
I keep my thoughts to myself
“Do you think that’s her game? She makes us suffer to see if we can handle it.”
“Who?”
“The Moon goddess obviously.”
“I don’t think the Moon Goddess has any control over your life. In fact I don’t believe in her.”
Her jaw drops, “You don’t? You are a Wolf.”
