The Alpha’s Contract (Taylor West) novel Chapter 91

Dane

The bastard had killed eight men. They all had families. Some were older with children of their own, some were younger, freshly graduated and wanting to prove themselves as warriors. It should have been a simple task, protecting my mate.

None of us knew. It was the down side of shifting under a full moon. We were at our strongest, yet we got caught up in the haze of hunting. Drowning out everything that isn’t related to what we are tracking.

As I sit here, watching her turn her hand over. Her big blue eyes study the smallest of marks, trying to figure out where the claws come from and where they have disappeared too. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed with myself. Yes she had protected herself, and it is what I’ve wanted her to do since the day she arrived. But that niggling feeling I have just won’t go away.

And yet she doesn’t seem upset.

Raven had confirmed that everyone had been dead for a while, and I could tell by Neah’s blue tinged toes that she had been out in the cold for a long time. So maybe she had come to terms with it. Or maybe this Nyx had helped her process it. I just knew that she didn’t seem phased which was unsual for someone who had just experienced their first kill.

‘The bodies have been dealt with,’ Klaus links me. ‘Eric has checked in on all the kids and the elderly. No one has been touched. It just seems to be those who were guarding the house.

"I want both of you in my office in ten minutes.’ I tell him.

Neah rub’s her toes with the blanket, trying to warm them up.

“What brought Nyx to the surface?” I ask curiously.

“My period.” She answers quickly, no hesitation or stuttering. “She said it’s what was needed. She says she should have been present when I turned thirteen, but I never went through full puberty. My body was too weak."

She brushes her tangled hair back from her face. Grabbing her brush off the cabinet, I hand it to her and watch as she rakes it through her long dark hair, smoothing out the knots.

She sighs as she drops the brush on to the bed next to her, rejigging the blanket to cover herself properly.

“I know you are mad, Alpha Dane.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“I know.” she murmurs. She goes to speak again, but frowns and closes her mouth

‘She’s talking to Nyx.’ Aero mumbles. 'Look at her eyes.'

‘I worked that out.’ I reply But as focus on her eyes, I see something that I haven't seen before. A dark ring around the blue.

“Neah?”

Her eyes flash up to mine and the ring disappears

“I need you to come with me.”

“Where? Am I in trouble”

“Only downstairs to the office, I would leave you here but I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone right now.”

She follows me through the house to the office, keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her. Parking herself in her usual seat, she automatically pulls her knees up to her chest, hiding her legs under the blanket.

Klaus and Eric appear, arguing about something.

“We all fell for it.” Klaus snaps, “And from what I hear, you were having nightly visits with him.”