Chapter 313 – The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West

Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West

“Right now, we are not in a position to help her. But you can help get us out of here. We can go to Black Shadow and make a plan.”

She snorts. “Klaus, you do realise we are trapped by the ocean. And not just any ocean. One that wants to beat us to a pulp.”

“You stopped the waves from smashing into the rocks. It slowed to break your fall.”

She snorts again and slams a hand over her mouth to stop herself laughing. “No, I can’t do that. If I could control water, don’t you think I would have done something to stop the river?” “You didn’t know you were capable of ripping rock apart until you did it.”

“You are a Witch Hunter. Shouldn’t you be trying to stop me from doing stuff like this?”

Neah

Dane guides me into the new office. Instead of just a desk for him, there is now one for me. He pushes the pram through the door and checks on the girls before stepping behind me and looping his arms around my waist. “Every Alpha needs a desk.” He muses and presses his warm lips against my neck. “But you don’t have to use it like that if you don’t want to. I can think of other uses.”

I cast a glance over the new room. The white walls are lined with black and white photographs of our children. the furniture is painted black wood, a stark contrast to the white walls. Large windows let in the light, making the room bright and welcoming. If this was just one room, I couldn’t wait to see the rest.

I catch Damien and Samara’s scents. Shortly after, Damien calls out, “Neah? Dane?”

“Office,” Dane replies as he presses his lips to the mark he gave me.

Damien steps in first, giving the office a nod of approval as Samara quietly slips in behind him, not knowing where to look.

“You wanted to see me,” she mutters quietly.

I keep my mouth closed as Damien makes himself comfortable in one of the chairs. He shoots a wink in my direction. He knew exactly why I had asked her to come. However, he was clearly keeping it a secret from Samara.

“How are you finding things?” Dane asks Samara. I knew he was trying to help me find the words I wanted to say by making small talk with her.

She nods. “I am so grateful.” The words rush out of her as she throws her eyes at Damien, who shrugs. “I will do anything that you want me to. I want to be here. I want to be with Damien. Whatever it is, I can fix it.” She adds when Damien gives her nothing. “You haven’t done anything wrong,” Dane tells her.

The girls coo from the pram, and Samara sits up a little straighter. “Your pups are here?”

“Do you want to meet them?” I mutter. Why was I finding it so hard to tell her I wanted her to be my Beta?

‘Because almost everyone has fucked us over in some way!’ Nyx snaps. ‘It’s natural to be cautious.’

Samara quietly steps over to the pram and peers inside. I see how Damien is watching her with curiosity. He loved Dorothy, but he wanted his own pups.

“They are beautiful, Neah.” she smiles as she watches them. “You are very lucky.”

“We are,” Dane confirms.

Samara pivots around to face me. “Is that why you wanted me to come here so that I could meet the girls?”

“I want you to be my Beta.” I don’t look away no matter how I surprised I am at my announcement. Though it came out sounding much more aggresive than I wanted.

Her lips part a little until her jaw is fully dropped. Her grey eyes lock on mine as she starts shaking her head in disbelief. Everyone is quiet except the girls.

“But…” Samara closes her eyes, and her brow wrinkles up in confusion. “You made it clear… I… We didn’t meet on the best of terms. And you have Damien.” She gestures to him, “And Eric, or what about Mallory? She is your friend.” “Damien and Eric are Danes Betas, not mine.” I smile at Damien, “I know he will protect me with his life, but he was never chosen to be my Beta. You were.”

I turn to Dane who smiles at me and nods. “And maybe there was a reason you came into my life.”

“Right.” She looks down at her feet. “Dakota once said we were preselected. But why now? Why do you want me to step into that role now? I am grateful for the offer, but it doesn’t make sense. There are so many better choices than me.” “Every Alpha needs a Beta.” Dane muses, repeating the similar phrase he had said about my desk.

“What do you think?” Damien asks Samara as he rises to his feet.

She closes her eyes. “Dakota says yes, it’s our position, but what if I screw it up. I’m still new to having my Lycan. I haven’t shifted since I ripped off Cooper’s head. I don’t know how good I will be.” “Do you think I did?” Damien asks her.

“Samara, for some, it is just naturally built into them,” Dane tells her. He looks at me as a small smile spreads across his lips, “Sometimes it takes time to coach it out of them, but the ability is always there.” The smile turns into a grin as he picks up an unsettled Willa. I loved the way he went straight to the children if they sounded the tiniest bit upset.

“What would you want me to do?”

“Help me destroy White Cliffs.”

“You want to destroy your birthright?” she scoffs.

‘It’s not a birthright when the man wants to kill us!’ Nyx tuts.

“It has never been mine.” I sigh as Dane passes me Willa before returning to the pram to pick up Aderyn. “It is just an idea that has been washed down over decades, maybe centuries. It is a hope that is long forgotten. A Witch and a mad Kitson are running it into the ground, destroying people’s lives, and I don’t want that. This is my home. This is my children’s home, not someplace I have never been a part of.”

“Aldous Kitson would be mortified to learn a Witch is somehow in power,” she sighs as her shoulders drop, and she screws up her face. “I wouldn’t even know where to start. I know have already told you that Dakota tells me that this is who I am, but I don’t know how useful I can be to you. And what about the others? The ones who cannot stand my presence. They are not going to listen to me.”

“I know who you are talking about,” I mutter. “But Blair is not relevant in this situation.”

“She already hates me. I can’t do anything right even though I have apologised over and over. If I accept, she is going to want to kill me even more than she already does. I will have to sleep with one eye open. I don’t want to go back to living like that. You must understand that.”

She was right, I knew what that life was like. I had spent years wondering the same, and even now, I would sometimes wake in the night thinking someone was going to hurt me, but it goes away the moment Dane sleepily pulls me against him.

“You will have the ability to order her to shut up.” Damien smirks. “What is she going to do then?”

“Can I think about it?” She asks quietly.

“Sure,” I mutter in surprise. I had been confident Samara was going to accept it.

She turns on her heel and walks out. Damien gives me a confused look before rushing after her.

“That was not the answer I was expecting.” Dane frowns. “I thought she would have jumped at the chance.

I nod as I stare at the empty doorway. If anything, it made her more desirable as a Beta. She wasn’t prepared to dive right in; she needed to think, to make sure it was the right move.

Damien

“Samara?” I call out as I follow her. I knew she was heading for home as her pace picked up speed. She wouldn’t even stop to look at me, desperately trying to get out of the sight of others.

She crashes in through the front door, slamming it shut behind her. This was not the reaction I was expecting. When Dane told me why Neah wanted to see her, I thought keeping it quiet would be a pleasant surprise, and that she would be happy. I did not expect it to go like this.

I find her on the sofa. Her legs pulled up to her chest as she rested her forehead on her knees. She wasn’t crying. There were no snuffles of her trying to hide any tears.

“We are not doing this!” I tell her, lifting her face until I can see her grey eyes. “Whatever this is, it’s not happening. I am right here. The silence is not needed or wanted. I’ve let that happen once before, and I’m not making that mistake again.”

I see her chest rise as she takes in a deep breath. “It’s risky.” Her brow crinkles into a small frown. “There are a lot of people in this pack that don’t want me to be here, Damien. It’s not just Blair. They want me dead, and the only reason I am alive is because of you. They know that if they did anything, it would be the end of their life. It’s so hard, Damien. To be told by Dakota that I am made for this, that this is who I am. Do you know how many times a day she reminds me?

“Too much?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “What if they blame Neah for making this decision? What if it turns everyone against her?” “They won’t.”

“Of course they will. The only reason they don’t say it now is because they are worried they will get punished. Why can’t they see me how you see me?” “Because if they did, I might have something to say about it.”

Her lips curve up a little, but it doesn’t stay.

“Samara, you have kept yourself squeaky clean, that’s more than most. Even Brax isn’t bothered about you looking after his daughter, and that says a lot.”

“He is just one man.” She glides her tongue along her lips. “Dakota wants me to accept. She keeps telling me it is our calling. I know I won’t let Neah down, but all those people outside that door will think it’s the biggest mistake in the world and all because they can’t let go of the mistakes I made in the past. Mistakes that I had no control over.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“How can I give myself credit when I’m one of the two most hated people in this pack? Even Mallory won’t talk to you because of me. I know she came by.”

“I knew you weren’t going for a nap.” I muse. She had said to me she was going to lie down and seconds later, Mallory knocked on the door. Mallory stared at me for a few seconds and then stomped off without muttering a single word.

“Before you say anything, this is not a pity party. I’m just trying to make it make sense. And I’m not wrong with what I said about Blair. You know she is a thorn in my side. She already uses the fact that I’m with you as an excuse, telling everyone you are the reason Neah is letting me live. And maybe that is true, but this, this is like rubbing salt into the wound.”

I had been keeping an eye on Blair from afar. Yes, she did her job and kept her head down unless Samara was nearby. It was as though Blair couldn’t control her anger around my mate. Not enough to make her shift or physically attack Samara. Still, I was waiting for her to cross the line.

I drop on the sofa next to her. My weight forces her body into mine. “If you don’t want to be Neah’s Beta, that’s fine. She won’t hold it against you.” I tell her as I slip my arms around her. She drops her head against my chest and sighs. “She won’t”

“No.”

She frowns, “I wish the answer were a simple yes or no.”

“I think I understand. You want to do it to support Neah, but you don’t want to be in a place of position in the pack.” It was something I had questioned myself over when Dane asked me to become his Beta, so I understood. “It’s partly that. I just… I don’t understand why now? Do you think she was planning on it when she asked me all those questions yesterday?”

“Maybe.” Neah hadn’t confirmed or denied it when I asked. “What do you think about taking down White Cliffs?”

“Do you think she actually wants that?”

“Something I have learned about Neah is that she rarely says things without meaning it. You share a grandfather who tried to have her kidnapped. How do you feel about that?”

“He shouldn’t have done it. It’s not how families should be.”

“A Witch is working with your grandfather. They sent Silas to collect her. Neah hasn’t said it to me, but it’s clear she wants the Witch and her grandfather dead, and maybe she just wants your help with that.”

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