Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West
*Silas didn’t know he was here either. He hung up pretty quickly so he could contact his mate.” Dane pulls the phone out of his pocket and frowns, “But still nothing.”
I glance in the car at Neah, but she just looks through me as her eyes darken. I could see the tips of her claws coming out of her fingers as rage flooded her soul.
*Take her home.” I mutter to Dane. “Take her to her kids.”
“What do you see?” Dane asks
*Trust me, take her home. There are more than enough people that will guard her.”
“I will follow.” Eric nods
“What are you up to?” Danes’ crimson eyes hover on mine.
*Damien is going to help me with a small task.” I cast a glance at Damien. He gives me a small nod of approval, but doesn’t ask any questions.
“Any problems, you contact me.” Dane instructs Damien.
Eric heads back to his car as I watch Dane settle in the driver’s seat. Neah was still staring into space and doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that Dane is in the car.
We watch them leave and Damien asks what I was planning.
*Serkan can link Silas.”
*We have already established that.” He frowns
“Where do you think Serkan is going to go?” I shrug my shoulders
“It would be a mistake. And he could have other guards.”
“Well then, where are they? This is our best option right now.”
“And Neah?” He asks “Did you see the darkness in her again? Because that was Nyx and she has worked through that.”
“No, it’s not the darkness, but the rage that is firing through her system. It isn’t doing those unborn pups any good. Dane will protect her, but she needs to be somewhere she feels safe enough to relax or no one is going to see those pups.
Damien
“Keys.” I mutter, holding out my hand for them. I wasn’t letting Brax drive after that fucking car chase. I didn’t need to die in something so meaningless as a car crash.
Brax rolls his eyes and hands them over. “Pussy.” He mutters with a smirk
*Really? Do you want my help or not?” I tut back at him. “Because I’m more than happy to go back to my mate who is looking after Dottie!”
“Fine.” He snaps, walking around to the passenger side.
“It annoys you that Dottie likes Samara, doesn’t it?” I muse and feel him glare at me.
“Acceptance takes time. You can’t deny that.”
Tuming the car around, I head in the direction of the beach. It was a good distance yet and the only company had was a man who likes to kill my kind for fun. He was useful, I knew that, but it doesn’t mean he won’t suddenly change his mind and try to put a bullet in my head. If he ever tries taking me down, I will take him down with me.
And he probably knew that.
*Are we certain that Silas doesn’t know about Serkans location?” He asks, fumbling with the radio
*You were the one who told Dane that Silas was telling the truth.”
“He was, about the invitation. Or as we now know, the truth he believed.”
*Neah said soemthing similar earlier.” I frown. “About how if you don’t know differently, you believe it. How it was her truth.”
*She isn’t wrong. The brain works in funny ways. She also didn’t have Nyx to help her find her way.”
I look over to him as he continues trying to decide on a radio station. “Will you choose a damn channel!’ “There are situations.” He mutters with a scowl. “In Neahs case, everyone around her followed the same pattern. In Moonshine, no one was allowed to shift around her, so she never saw what they looked like. She was fed bullshit on a day to day basis. If your mind doesn’t know any better, it becomes your truth whether it’s a lie or not. Your brain has the ability to alter your memories. It’s like raising a child to believe certain things. If she had known the truth, her life could be very different right now.”
Mallory had told me all about Neah when she first started helping me. If I was certain she had survived Mallory’s beating, I would have gone to find her then. “So ultimately, they are lying without lying.”
“Nailed it. Sometimes it’s not always black and white, there is a whole range of colours to wade through.”
“Are you talking about the souls you see?”
He nods and waves his fingers through the air while grinning. “Yours is all kinds of colours.”
I roll my eyes at him. I was probably the only one who still hadn’t asked him about my own soul. I didn’t care to know. No one should know everything.
*This guy, Serkan, seems to have a weird hold over everyone in White Cliffs.” He tells me. “You told me that Lycans were stopped from coming to see Neah.”
“That’s what Silas told the others at the beach.” I confirm. “They had heard her call and they were excited but yet they were blocked by Serkan from coming. But Silas didn’t know why.”
“That right there could possibly have been what triggered all this shit.”
“Because Neah linked them?”
He bobs his head. “She was doing something to benefit her family, not knowing there was another Kitson out there. He knew of her, yet has never bothered to meet his granddaughter. Stop the car.” He demands
“Why?”
*Just stop. I need a moment.”
I pull off to the side of the road. “What now? We need to get to Silas.”
“It’s rare for me to say this, but I think you might be right.” He tells me
I snort, “About what?”
*Neah hasn’t reached her full potential.” He slaps the dash, smiling. “Even after all this time, there is still a part of her that hasn’t been unlocked.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
*You have been saying it for a long time. You are not the only one who senses her power. Everyone in Black Shadow does, it’s just not talked about. So what do we know about this situation?” He mutters to himself.
*Neah can’t link Serkan. She doesn’t seem to have any form of connection to him.” I reply
*Right, but he has also never called to the others in Black Shadow. There are a great number of Lycans in Black Shadow.” He shudders.” I think there is a possibility that Serkan can’t link anyone outside White Cliffs.”
*That’s probably because he is a Rogue.”
*That may be true if he was a standard Lycan, but he is not. He is a Kitson, their blood runs deep.”
“He can link Silas.” I mutter
*Just how you can link the Wolves of Black Shadow. All it took was an oath. If Serkan is taking in people, I’m betting that’s what he gets them to do. A condition of them staying.”
*You really believe he can’t link the other Lycans?”
“If he could, he would have already done it and ordered them to bring Neah in. His strength purely comes from the people in his pack. Maybe he was partly responsible for the other Rogues.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I was having issues with my fading abilities.”
“You mean, when you disappeared for a couple of days without saying a word?” I correct him.
“Yes. We were attacked by Rogues, well sort of.”
“You were ‘sort of’ attacked by Rogues? Rogues when they have shifted, don’t ever ‘sort of attack someone, they go in with one goal in mind. Food. You know that.”
*The first ones did. The fuckers attacked. We killed them. During the night, there were more of the bastards. They kept circling my house but never more than one at a time. They knew we were inside and yet they never entered. They never even tried a door or a window. They took it in turns like they were performing some kind of duty. When they stopped, they had a meeting and then they just left.”
“Did you tell Dane?” I scowl
He dips his head, “It wasn’t an ongoing problem, though he is aware. However, I’m starting to believe they might be connected. I am a Rogues worst nightmare. They would do well to pick me off.” He smiles at me.
“Is that a hint? Because I don’t need a reminder to know that you are a Hunter, Brax.”
He winks at me. “You don’t want to kill me anyway. Just think what that would do to my baby girl. Besides, I think we have great conversations. I would even go as far as to say, your company is welcome.”
I roll my eyes “The stuff with those Rogues happened a while ago. It’s likely nothing to do with them.”
*Then tell me why the second lot turned up after Cooper projected himself into my house?” Brax stares at me as he continues. “Cooper learned of Neah through Blair. Cooper had already been meeting with Serkan. He likely passed on the information about her.”