Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West
Passing the packhouse, I see that the flames are almost out. But there was nothing salvageable. The whole thing would need tearing down and rebuilding.
Damien steps out of the house with a scarf partially covering his face, the remnants of smoke littered the remainder of his face.
“I thought you might be with Dorothy?”
He pulls the scarf from the bottom half of his face. “Athena picked her up seeing as her biological father has walked away.” His annoyance, evident. I understood why he was pissed. I couldn’t imagine walking away from my boys.
Damien looks back to the house. “I’m sorry.” He mutters
“Everyone is alive, that’s what counts.”
“Do you know who did this?”
“Yes, and I still can’t quite believe it.”
He raises a brow at me.
“Kade.”
“As in the kid who attacked Dottie? That little shit?”
“Yes and I’m about to go and tell his father.”
“I don’t agree on many things with Brax, but that kid needed his ass whooping a long time ago.”
*The problem is, he has now done a runner.”
Ryken looks around me when he opens the door. Clearly expecting to see his little bastard of a son. “You’re alone?”
“We need to have a conversation about Kade?”
“Was he hurt in the explosion? I would know if he was, right?”
“It’s more serious than that. Maybe it’s a good idea if I come in.”
He stands back to let me in the house. I see Blair sitting at the table playing a game with Ryken’s youngest son. Her brown eyes momentarily pause on me before continuing the game.
*Calihan, Blair, can you go to your rooms please.” Ryken requests
*Actually, Blair can stay. She might be useful.”
There’s a brief flicker of fear, and she does her best to hide it. Which isn’t very well at all.
*Is Tara about?” I ask. Kade’s mother needed to know what her son was capable of.
*She’s gone into the city with a couple of others and taken the baby with her.” Ryken tells me
I wait until I hear Calihan ascend the stairs. “Then there is no easy way to say this. Kade was responsible for the explosion you heard.”
He stares back at me, his mouth opening and closing a few times. Disbelief, or shock, I wasn’t sure. No one wants to hear that their kid is a little terror.
“You’ve put him in the dungeon? He is just a kid.”
*No. He blew up the packhouse and then took off. I have Damien and a few others looking for him.”
*He blew up the packhouse?” Blair asks. “Is everyone okay?”
I was almost surprised that she was showing any interest in the welfare of others. “Yes, no one was hurt. Cooper gave him the ability to do it.”
*Cooper got to him?”
“He told Neah that Cooper offered him a better life than living here. Made him a promise.”
“No.” Ryken mutters. “No, you are wrong. He wouldn’t do this and he wouldn’t fall for that.”
“Ryken, you found me sleeping outside his room because I thought he was going to hurt someone while you all slept. You know something has been bothering him.” Blair mutters.
“He is a kid.” Ryken frowns
“And so was I, but what he is doing, that’s a whole step further than I have ever achieved. I never blew up someone’s home.”
Ryken sits on one of the wooden chairs at the table. His hands curl into fists. He slams one down on the wooden table, making Blair jump.
“Where would he go?” I ask
“He is eight.” Ryken protests
“He doesn’t have friends.” Blair mutters. “He doesn’t go anywhere but school or somewhere with Mum and Ryken.” *He must have done at some point else how would he have met Cooper?”
“I have to find him.” Ryken frowns. “I have to bring him back and make him understand.” He gets to his feet. “Tara will lose herself if another child goes off the rails.” I see the way he looks at Blair as he speaks.
“You won’t find him.” Blair murmurs, staring down at her hands on the table. “If Cooper promised to help Kade. He would be waiting for him. One of Cooper’s big things, he doesn’t break promises. He drummed that into me over and over.”
“You think Cooper would have been waiting for him?”
Blair bobs her head. “Kade did the dirty work for him. Cooper will offer him a reward. A prize, something that Kade wants. It will make Kade feel like he did the right thing even though he knew it was wrong.”
Her eyes flicker up to me. “Think about it. Contracts give you a sense of satisfaction, Dane and you offer something in return. Protection. Alliance. Whatever it is to suit you. It’s probably the same for Kade. A contract of sorts, only it doesn’t truly favour my brother, but Cooper.”
Brax
*You need to take it out.” I hand Madison a scalpel, but her hand is already shaking and I close my other hand around hers. “It’s making me weaker. I don’t know how weak it will make me and I need it out.”
*You have to do this Madison, I can’t reach, well not to do a clean job.” I tip her face up to mine. Her chestnut eyes are filled with panic. “The scan shows you exactly where it is located. It’s a quick and easy job.”
“I can’t… we can take you back. Get Klaus to do it.” She pleads
*There isn’t any time for that. I need it out before it takes everything from me. I have you to take care of. My baby girl is back in Black Shadow, probably wondering where I am again.”
I watch her close her eyes and take a few deep breaths. Her hand steadies and she nods. “Okay.”
I lay face down on the table and feel the cool metal of the scalpel as she holds it over the spot between my shoulder blades.
As she presses down, my warm blood spills down my spine. The pain from the cut is minimal, but still, she repeatedly tells me that she is sorry.
Madison uses something else to dig into my wound. She pauses when I let out a small grunt, eventually pulling a tiny ball out of me. She drops it into a bowl and it makes a sound like metal, yet it doesn’t look anything like metal. I will take it back to Black Shadow, maybe Klaus can tell me what it is.
*I got it.” She whispers, looking for somewhere to clean the blood off of her hands.
Instantly I felt better. I look at Madison and smile when I realise I could see her entire soul once again. How could one tiny thing cause so many problems?
*Now your turn.” I mutter.
“Me?”
“I need to check first. In the scanner.”
“He took away my abilities.”
“You said he injected you with something. If it is the same what was in me. I can get it out and you can have your Lycan abilities back.”
I scan her multiple times. Nothing shows up. Not a single thing out of the ordinary. So why had something different been used on me?
For a brief second, Madison seemed frustrated that we couldn’t find anything. It gave me a little hope that deep down, she did want her abilities back.
*I hate him.” She mutters quietly as she gently cleans the blood from my back.
*Understandable.
She moves around the table to face me and stands between my spread legs. “How can someone be this cruel? Why would he feel the need to do this to people they don’t even know?”
“He thinks he’s a God.”
*Pfft. It just doesn’t make sense.”
*Alot of the time it doesn’t.” I wipe a speck of blood from her cheek. “Deep down, everyone has a dark element. Some it never shows, others, it takes over completely.”
*You are talking about Rogues?”
“Yep. The problem is, we have a man that is half Witch. If that part of him is stronger, he can channel the dark side that would otherwise have turned him Rogue.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?