The Alpha’s Contract (Taylor West) novel Chapter 5

Neah

“I…I don’t know what Blood of Wolfsbane is?” I whisper

He frowns at me. “Your brother said you knew the difference between plants.”

“I…” I didn’t have an answer. I couldn’t remember, not fully.

“Blood of Wolfsbane is Wolfsbane fed by our blood. The leaves will have a red hue to them. I can’t imagine a child would know what it is because it is not freely grown. Your brother’s story doesn’t add up.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t stop until I find out who did this, Neah.” His crimson eyes narrow. “I will make them pay for the suffering you have endured.” He sits on the edge of his desk, studying me. “Right now, you do need to see someone about the infection.”

I kept my mouth closed, I was still trying to process his news of me being set up. Why had my brother never considered it?

“Come, I will show you our bedroom. You can shower before we see the pack doctor.”

Frozen to the spot, I don’t move. Did he just say ‘our bedroom,’? As in, we are sharing a bedroom? I guess he thinks he can have sex with me whenever he wants if I’m his contract bride. A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.

Glancing up, I see him watching me. He is stood at the open door, waiting for me. Ensuring my dress has me covered, I step out into the hallway. No one was around and the hallways were quiet.

As we moved, Alpha Dane would tell me what each room was, but he seemed more focussed on getting me to the bedroom.

His bedroom is huge, with massive windows, just like the rest of the house. The bed sat pressed up against the wall. All around it, thin drapes hung from the ceiling, but they were tied back at each bed post.

What surprised me the most was that the bath and the shower were in the same room. Only the toilet was in a small room to the side of the shower. No privacy, whatsoever. Though, he didn’t seem to care about that.

He makes me jump when I feel his warm breath on my skin. “You don’t need to be afraid.”

I may not be able to smell him, but he would be able to scent the changes in my emotions.

Crossing the room, he pulls open the glass door to the shower and turns it on. The moment he closes the door, the steam of the shower quickly fogs up the glass. And still, I find myself afraid. He gave me no clue as to what he was expecting from me.

“Hey,” His rough fingers tip my face up. “It’s just you and me and for now, I will let you shower in peace.”

Walking away, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and messes around with it before placing it on the bedside table. “The alarm is set for ten minutes. I will come back then. I will bring you something to wear so just stay in the towel. Understand?”

He stares at me, waiting for an answer and I just nod. A ten minute shower. I was lucky if I got a minute shower back home and the water was always cold.

He moves to the door and with his hand resting on the door knob he looks back over his shoulder at me. “I really wish you would talk more, Neah.”

Alpha Dane leaves me in peace and I make a mad dash for the shower as if I’m in some kind of fantasy land and this was all a dream. Maybe it was, maybe I was about to wake up in the basement of my home.

The smells of the soaps and shampoos are divine as I lather them into myself. And my hair has never felt so clean. The wound on my stomach stung as the hot water hit it, but I didn’t care, it was worth it.

Someone in the room clears their throat and I freeze. Thanking the steam for keeping me semi hidden.

“Neah, are you done? The alarm went off five minutes ago.” Alpha Dane’s voice seems louder in here.

I had been so caught up in the freedom of a simple shower that I hadn’t even heard the alarm or the Alpha come back into the room.

“Coming.” I mutter, turning off the water and pulling a towel around me to hide the hideousness underneath.

Stepping out, I already see that my ripped dress, underwear and worn sandals had been removed from the floor. Alpha Dane sits on the end of the bed with what looked like folded clothes on his lap and a pair of trainers.

“It’s not much, as we don’t have anyone with as small a waist as you.” He smiles as he hands over the clothes. A matching navy blue sweatshirt and joggers. “You will have to make do without the underwear for now. Should be here first thing tomorrow.”

He watches me with a cocked eyebrow as I pull the joggers on and tug the sweatshirt over my head before removing the towel. Maybe he was used to the women parading themselves in front of him, or throwing themselves at him because he has power, but I wasn’t like that.

“Let’s go.” He rises to his feet and this time, I follow him. Something told me that if I didn’t get this wound looked at, it would put him in a bad mood.

The pack doctor was young, unlike the one back home who was old and afraid to let anyone take over from him.

She smiles at us as we enter the pack hospital and rewraps her dark hair into a bun. “Raven, this is Neah.” Alpha Dane introduces me with a grin.

I keep my eyes low as I hear Raven say, “Alpha Dane, what seems to be the problem apart from the strange smell she has brought with her.”

It didn’t sound like a hurtful comment like I was used to, but more a comment of curiosity.