The Alpha’s Contract

"He's also started carrying a gun." Eric tells me.

"What?" I was certain I had misheard him.

"You don't need to worry about what is going on out there. The rest of us have it handled. I just need you to rest." Eric stares at me, waiting for me to agree.

"I need to speak to him."

"Mal, you need to rest."

"Please. I just... I know him better than anyone."

"I will get him." Klaus gives me a small smile and hurries out the room.

"We need to talk about this, Mal. I feel your pain and the ache in your heart."

I shake my head at him, the tears already blurring my eyes. I can't talk about it, not yet.

"I knew."NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

"Huh?"

"I knew. I did a sweep of your house after the fire. I saw the tests."

I drop my gaze. "It was supposed to be a surprise and I was nervous, after what happened to the boys. I knew you wanted it and now.... Now, I can't ever give you a pup."

It's odd, because it's only now that I'm realising how much I wanted it. I've always known that I wanted to be a mother, to have my own little crew. I also never saw it happening, not until I saw those two lines.

"I'm sorry." I mutter again and he grabs both my hands.

"Stop apologising, this wasn't your doing. You didn't know this was going to happen. No one could have predicted it. This is not your fault."

It didn't stop feeling like it was my fault.

I plaster on a smile as Damien makes his way in.

"I will give you guys a minute." Eric mutters, then makes a point of looking at me. "Stay in bed."

"I was going to come and see you." Damien speaks quietly, and peers through the blinds of the window. "Are you okay?" I ask

"I should be the one asking you that question. I guess they told you."

I nod, though he isn't looking at me. “I don't really understand. I thought Jenson was dead."

"It doesn't matter. They are both dead now."

"She was your mate."

"Was! She gave up, Mallory. I didn't see it. I couldn't see it, or maybe I didn't want to. But she gave up. I wasn't even worth holding onto, She loved him more than she loved anything else. Twins in life, twins in death."

"So you are good?" I ask with a head tilt

"Yes."

I stare at him. "I don't believe you."

He makes his way to the chair next to my bed. "Everyone is watching me. Waiting for me to break down. Brax has his beady little eyes on me at every opportunity. He's probably pissed that I am in here and he can't see me. I don't need you watching me too, Mallory. You need to focus on your own health."

"I've seen people lose their mates. This is not how they react."

"Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe I've just been preparing myself to lose her since first met her." He groans, "I knew a time would come where would lose her or she would lose me. Though I never imagined losing her to her own fucking brother."

I wanted to gag, I really hoped he didn't mean what I thought he meant.

"Like I said. Twins in life. Twins in death."

I had seen Damien do a lot of stuff, including the shit he did as a Rogue, but this, this had me feeling the most unsettled. He was too calm, too understanding. Or maybe he was right, he was too used to death.

"I swear Mallory, you don't need to worry about me."

I dip my head in acknowledgement, though his comment just left me more unsettled.

"Oh, I'm taking the oath tomorrow evening. Being Beta is hard without being able to link Dane and with this many Lycans, there needs to be someone who can link both."

“Right." I was so weirded out by our conversation. Eric had said he was acting odd, but he wasn't, he was acting like his usual self and that's what was odd. Maybe he was having some kind of delayed reaction?