Chapter 130 – The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West

Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West >>

“Who do you think killed him?” Salem had spent several years never being caught. He had outrun me. Always e apead of whatever it was we were trying to do and now suddenly, he was dead. I don’t buy it. It sounds like someone else was hunting him. He shrugs his shoulders. “Does it matter if he’s dead?” “It shouldn’t, but I prefer to know who.” X

Dane He’s being serious. I see the way he stares atwith his ridiculously dark eyes. If he was a Wolf, I would have knocked him down a peg or two.

“I don’t think they are or were even remotely interested in Salem.” I roll my eyes. I was just happy salem was dead. I didn’t really care who did it as long as I don’t have to deal with him and his fucked up ways anymore. “Remember it was Salem who killed Jess. I’ve watched Jenson, I’ve seen how his mind works. He convinces those around him to do the work for him.” Damien mutters “No he…” Damien cocks a brow. “You don’t see it Dane? He was head of war tactics. They don’t put themselves in the middle of it all, not usually. They try to control the situation. They see what they think is best and have everyone around them fight the battle so that they can stay in control.” ‘How is he always right?’ Aero mutters Damien leans back in the chair, screwing up his nose at the lingering scent of Eric. “He would actually fit in well with the Rogues. Maybe that’s why he went to the Lycan that looks like Neah. He wanted someone to do his bidding.” “Damien!” I give a warning growl. He was pushing it.

“Weren’t you the one to tellJenson always wanted what you had. Your position, your power, your mate?” “You are treading on thin ice!” “You just said that maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t agree with you on everything. I never chere to be your lackey. I chere to protect Neah and if that means helping you see things that you can’t or just refuse to, then I will tell it how it is.” “I know somewhere in there, you care for your brother, Dane. Because I cared for mine too, right up until he crossed the line. But you are letting that cloud your judgement even now. I will protect Neah and if that means killing this woman that looks like her….” “Blair.” I seethe “And your brother. Then I will.” He continues It was clear that he was serious.

“All your ideas are hypothetical. We don’t know if it was her that killed Salem.” “What’s the likelihood of it not being her or them?” Damien challenges. “As I said, Jenson rarely does anything for himself.” ‘He has a point.’ Aero mumbles ‘Jenson wants your spot. He finds someone that just happens to be Neah’s half sister and now….’ He trails off ‘What?’ I snap ‘He wants the pack.’ I was about to answer my Wolf when the phone in the corner of my office started to ring.

My eyes shift to it. The last tit had rung was when I had received the request from Moonshine. The phone was there for other packs to contactwhen they needed my help, though they wouldn’t ring unless they were desperate and since nearly almy contracts were severed during the battle. It didn’t ring anymore. And contactingalways cwith a price.

I hold a hand up to Damien, insisting he stays.

I pick up the phone without speaking.

“Dane, this is Ryan, the Alpha of Ashburn city.” He blurts out before I even say hello. wanted to laugh at hello the way he introduced himself. He still hadn’t quite figured out how to assert his dominance as an Alpha.

“I hope you don’t think that I want to enter into a contract. I never contacted you. They cto me.” He sputters out in a hurry, almost F tripping up on his words. “I told them the same. And though I am grateful for what they have done, I was hoping there was another way I could repay you.” They? So Blair had lied when she said she hadn’t seen my brother for months.

I wasn’t even aware Ashburn had a problem. I had to choose my words carefully. “My brother found a way to help you?” “Yes! And as I said, I appreciate them for killing off the Rogue, it means the young girls in the pack are safe and the parents are no longer panicking.” His voice quivers a little bit. Like he was trying to find a reason to keep his hands clean. To keep himself from falling under my orders. He didn’t want to follow in Roan’s footsteps and I respected that.

“Was it my brother that made the final kill?” I ask, trying to not let on that I didn’t know anything about what he was doing.

“Uh, no. I believe it was his lady friend, Blair.” “I’m not asking anything of you.” I cut the conversation short. “No contract this time.” I mutter so he wouldn’t question it. “I’m happy they could be of service to you.” He is quiet, but I hear him breathing down the phone. “Are there more?” he asks after what felt like an eternity. “When I last spoke to you. I told you that there are Lycans. I even told you my mate was one. Though we did believe that there were very few. But now,” I pause. It was only fair to be clear with him. “There is a possibility. What I didn’t tell you is that my mate is the Lycan Alpha.” I watch Damien cock a brow at me, a smirk appearing on his face.

Ryan pauses again. And I can only imagine the questions running through his head. “Can she control them?” I didn’t know how to answer that. She did have a hold over the ones trying to attack us but Salem had fought against it and I wondered if it would be the swith the others. I didn’t even know if she had a hold over Damien or Mallory.

“Twill tell.” I mutter into the phone.

“And Rogues? Are there more? Jenson and Blair left without saying another word. I didn’t even get to ask any more questions. Do I bury the Rogue?” I glance over at Damien, knowing that he could hear both sides of the conversation. He mouths the word ‘burn’ at me.

“Burn the Rogue and as for askingif there are more, the truth is I don’t know.” “So what do I do?” “Train your guards to be better.” “Right.” I hear the hesitation in his tone. The shesitation I had heard from many others. It won’t be long until he is askingfor my help. It had been a longtsince I had forced anyone into a new contract. But if it worked in my favour, I was never going to say no.

“Thank you for callingRyan. I hope you are settling into your Alpha duties. If you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to letknow.” I put the phone down before he had a chance to reply.

“So I was right.” Damien mutters.

“It appears so.” “She does.” He mutters.

“What?”

“His question about Neah. She does have a hold over us. She has never used it, but in the sway as your Wolves feel your power over the pack, she has it over us.”

I had felt it. I had felt the lingering power when I first laid eyes on her. When I watched her thin frail frslide down that door until her ass hit the floor. The power radiating from her was one of the things that drewto her. Well other than her being my mate. “If it’s present, then how could Salem fight it?” He scowls. “What was she like when she forced the others to obey her orders?”

“Confident. She had been upstairs, hiding with Jess. The pair of them cout when Cassandra made Jess bring Neak to her. But it was a plot.” I smile, “I could feel her power, but….it’s not always present now. It’s the strongest when she is around our boys.” X

He grins atlike a fucking idiot. “She’s found her beacon of light.” ‘Beacon of light?’ Aero quizzes “What are you talking about?” I demand Damien shakes his head at me, “She’s surrounded with a darkness that she is constantly fighting off. The darkness slowly crushes you. It takes over every inch of you when you are least expecting it.” “While Neah fights it, there is no space for her to have the ability to be a strong and powerful Alpha. We can protect her, we can give her the tools to help her stay in control, but we can’t fight it for her. That’s something she has to do on her own. And she can only do that when she finds the thing that gives her hope. And it sounds like she has found it. She just doesn’t realise it.” ‘We didn’t give her hope?’ Aero sounds defeated. ‘We are her mate.’ ‘I don’t think that’s what he means.’ I mutter back “There must be something else we can do for her, that I can do?” I ask the Lycan staring back at me.

His dark eyes hover onas he slowly shakes his head.

When it cto Neah, I often felt powerless. It was a shitty feeling, watching my mate struggle and not being able to do anything to help her. She was having more good days then bad but the darkness was still there, seeping into her thoughts.

Sometimes I would catch her staring into space. Her dark thoughts weighing heavily on her as her mind shifted through them.

“So you are saying that the twins will be the ones to save her?” I press “The ones to save her. The ones to give her her strength. The ones who will make her really understand who she is. Raven is my light just as those pups are hers.” He gets to his feet. “This could be her turning point, Dane. This could be the thing that really puts her in power. She just needs to hold on to that light.” I had questions about Raven being his light. From what I understood he had broken free of rogue life long before he met Raven. But the questions were not relevant right now.

He reaches the door and turns his head back over his shoulder. “I will be your Beta, Dane. But at the end of the day, my priority will always be protecting Neah. Oh, and you can be the one to break the news and I will not be referring to you as Alpha.” He smirks before heading out the door.

I tidy up the office before going to find Neah. It buysstime, trying to decide what I should say, in the end I opt for the truth. Lying could have an even worse outcome. And I want to grow old with her. Surrounded by our kids and grandkids.

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