Filed to story: The Alphas Contract Novel by Taylor West
I didn’t think Neah’s eyebrows could go any higher, but they do.
“Going Rogue can do that!” I mutter to Indy, remembering what Damien had told me.
“It’s not just that. The face shape is different,” Indy licks her lips. “He never had a beard before, and he has one of those bum chins, you know, with the dip in the middle. Now it’s like the beard is to hide something that isn’t there.”
Indy waits for a reaction, but when she doesn’t get one, she continues, “If I had met you years ago, I would know that you were related; you, Amy and Serkan, but the last time I saw Serkan,” she uses her fingers to air quote when she speaks his name. “I don’t even know, gut instinct, I guess.”
“You think Thalia killed him and replaced him with someone?” Neah asks.
Indy nods, “Mad, right!”
“Maybe not as crazy as you think,” I mutter.
“Everywhere we look, it seems to be full of crazy assed people now, Aero grumbles.
‘And these all seem to be connected,’ I mutter back.
Indy locks eyes with Neah, “You are the Lycan Alpha; can you not stop him? At least that would be one problem dealt with.”
Neah’s brow dips as she presses her lips together and slowly shakes her head.
Indy jumps up, “But you are the last female Alpha. You are supposed to lead the Lycans to a new world. You have to be able to stop him!”
“Indy,” I warn.
She looks at me and shakes her head. “They heard her. I know they did; it was the only time I saw any form of recognition from them. They went crazy, and then Serkan stopped them from leaving.”
“No,” Neah puffs out her cheeks and flattens her hands to the desk. Droplets of blood appeared at the tips of her fingers, a sign her claws were trying to come out. “No,” Neah’s voice is low. “The Serkan imposter didn’t stop them. Thalia did.” Her eyes are almost dark from Nyx hovering close to the surface, and Indy shuffles behind the chair as Neah’s claws break through the surface of her skin.
Indy may feel comfortable speaking freely, but Neah’s quietness made her nervous and now, she is completely rattled.
‘Our mate is angry,’ Aero mutters.
1 see that.”
“Indy, you can go,” I tell her.
“Back to Klaus’s?”
“Yes.”
She hurries from the room, and just as I close the door, I see Brax crash through the front door. They really need to sort out their blood-tie before it becomes a problem.
“It is as we suspected,” I turn to see Neah with her eyes closed, her head tipped back over the seat while the claws still protrude from the tips of her fingers.
“Who is he?” she asks quietly.
“The man that pretends to be Serkan? I don’t know.”
“He can’t just be anyone; he must hold some importance for Thalia to use him. Some connection?”
I walk around the chair and place my hands on her tight shoulders. Her eyes slowly opened, but they were still dark.
“She feels betrayed,” Neah mutters.
“Indy?”
“Nyx,” she tells me.
Her shoulders rise and fall as she takes deep breaths. Leaning down, I press my lips to hers, tasting the strawberries she had eaten earlier.
“Indy has done nothing wrong. Why does Nyx have a problem with her?”
As she opens her eyes, I’m grateful that the usual bright blue has returned. “I need to know if it was Thalia who bound me,” she states, ignoring my question.
“You said you don’t remember meeting a Witch.”
We had discussed this, and while I believed her, I didn’t want her to focus on just that.
“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t. There are still gaps that are not filled in, ones that make no sense, no matter how hard I try.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared at me, and I already knew that tonight, while she slept, I would be digging into her mind to see what I could find.
Using my thumb, I pull her lip free, “I will see if there is anything else I can get out of Silas, and…”
We turn to the door as a horrified scream rips through the house.
Tearing up the stairs, Neah was right behind me. We almost broke down the bedroom door in our hurry, knowing it was where the girls were.
The Omega, who had been keeping an eye on the pups, stands with her back pressed against the wall, crying as blood pours from her arms. She points to the other side of the room, where two tiny Wolf cubs are getting ready to attack her.
Neah
‘Is that… Nyx murmurs. ‘Are they Wolves?” She sounded just as confused as I did.
We were certain; everyone was. They were supposed to be Hybrids. But two small black Wolves stalk towards the Omega, who is whimpering and crying.
“Girls, stop!” Dane plants himself in front of the Omega while I remain glued to the spot. They weren’t even two weeks old but acted like they had been in the world for months.
Blood dripped from their faces as their feet stilled. They are quick to bare their teeth and shuffle towards each other, standing shoulder to shoulder. If it weren’t for their eyes, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
They are identical, even down to the ridge of hair that runs the length of their spine. The longer I looked at them, the more I realised they looked slightly different to other Wolves. Their snouts are a little longer, and their tails are a little shorter. Maybe it was because they were cubs.
Aderyn’s blue eyes shift to me. Using her shoulder, she nudges Willa, and very slowly, they creep towards me with their heads low as though they know they are in trouble.
The girls circle my feet and then start pawing at my legs. Nyx is silent, and so is Dane as he watches them. The pawing at my legs became more frantic and desperate. A sudden sharp pain rips through my calf. As I look down, Willa is dragging claws through my flesh, claws that look like they belong to a Lycan.
“Go get that checked out!” Dane tells the Omega as he creeps forward. His hands wrap around Willa’s middle as he pulls her away. She lets out a tiny cry and squirms about, trying to get free.
Another cry penetrates the air as I turn to see Damien pulling Aderyn from me.
‘Neah,’ Nyx mutters, ‘You can’t just stand there; you need to do something.
I couldn’t move; my legs were heavy, like cement had suddenly been poured over them.
The girl’s cries grow as the men wrestle to keep them in their hands. I watch Willa squirm, tiny claws digging into Dane’s flesh as she attempts to escape.
“Willa, stop!” I heard the commanding tone of Dane’s voice, but I was still at a loss. I could order Lycans; I wasn’t afraid to rip out someone’s heart. I had overcome so much since meeting Dane, but when it came to my children, sometimes, I was thrown; it was like my brain couldn’t focus or function.
Willa freezes, and Dane tells Aderyn to stop. I look between the men, trying my best to say something. But I see how the girls hang there, like rag dolls, with pure sadness in their eyes.
I knew Dane wanted to hug me, but I also knew that the moment he locked his arms around me, I would cry. Not because I was sad or angry but because this was another thing that wasn’t normal. It was like I couldn’t get a moment to think or plan.
“This one is shifting,” Damien mutters.
I turn my gaze to him and watch the fur fade from Aderyn. Her bones don’t crack or make any noise, and in seconds, she returns to being a tiny newbom.
Damien changes his hold on Aderyn, cradling her with one arm while inspecting her fingers. I looked back at Dane and Willa; she had also shifted.
‘Their bones,’ Nyx whispers.
‘Their bones are more flexible when they are babies,’ I manage to mutter back, remembering what Raven had told me when I had been afraid of hurting the boys.
“They didn’t cry like Evrin did,’ Nyx reminds me.
‘Yep,’ I pop the p.
“Neah, it’s fine; the situation has been handled,” Dane tries to reassure me.
Handled, is that what he wanted to call it? Our tiny newborns had attacked an Omega; Willa dragged her claws through my leg. They shifted, and even though they looked similar to Wolves, I knew they weren’t.
“Aderyn is asleep,” Damien tells us and moves to the shelves. I watch him grab a wet wipe and subtly attempt to wipe the blood from her face. They had both feasted on blood.
“Is Tallen okay?” I force out.
“She’s fine; she is already at the hospital,” Dane replies. I see that concem in his eyes. A look that I hadn’t seen in a long time. The one where he thinks I will run away from my problems. He knew me so well.
“I… I need to check on the boys.” I hurry from our bedroom and into the boy’s room, grateful to see they are asleep. Slowly and silently, I reach up to the top of the door and slide the lock across; resting my head against the wood, I take a few deep breaths, trying to gather my thoughts.
‘You can’t run away from this,’ Nyx tells me.
I’m not. I’m just… I need time to think, Nyx. And before you start, I know what you are going to say. They are my children; Dane and I created them, but I can’t think when Dane looks at me like he was just now.’
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?