0170
Abraxas
Samara's grey eyes hover on me. "You don't know anything about me!"
"I know what I see."
"What is that supposed to mean?" She looks over to Neah. "You have Witches here too?"
I laugh. Why did they always jump to that conclusion? "You can't smell me can you?"
"I told you, this is what he does. He takes everything. I lost everything because of him. Blair has lost everything because of him and I know that she did some bad things. She told me all about it, but this guy will look for her. He will come here."
"He can fuck off because he won't find her here!" Dane snaps
"I know that, you know that, but he doesn't." Samara frowns
"It's funny, because you haven't mentioned a name." Damien mutters, he was still half blocking Neah.
"His name is Cooper, if that's even his real name." Samara mutters as she runs her fingers through her long blonde hair. "It's not just Lycans he hurts, it's Wolves too. He strips our abilities, do you know what that's like? To not be able to smell or hear like I once did. To become breathless when doing too much. Not to be able to heal. It's soul destroying."
I snort.
"It's not funny!"
"Being stripped doesn't destroy your soul."
She glares at me. "Like you know anything about it."
I watch Neah, but she doesn't say anything. If there is anyone here that understands, it would be her.
"Why did he do that to you?" I press
"I don't know."
"Yes you do, you are just withholding the information."
She narrows her eyes and clenches her jaw, I was pressing buttons that she didn't like.
"Stop talking like you know everything."
"Never claimed I know everything, but I can see when someone isn't sharing everything."
Her cheeks pulsate with annoyance. "Blair was right, you lot just care about yourself."
"Funny that," Neah mutters. "I could say the same about Blair. Be careful she doesn't betray you because that is something she likes to do. Just ask her mother."
Samara sighs. "She isn't like that anymore. What he did to us, it makes you question everything. All the bad, all the good. All the mistakes. Maybe on some levels Cooper was right, it's the punishment we deserve."
She's actually telling the truth about that.
"Almost six years ago, he convinced me that he was my mate." she shakes her head.
"I had killed a human and someone else saw. I bumped into him and I could smell this divine scent. It's funny now, I can't even remember what that scent was. He played this game of getting to know me, making me fall for him in ways I could never imagine. He led me away and I remember being hit over the head and something being injected in my neck and nothing was ever the same. I am not the first and I definitely won't be the last." "So he lures women away?" Dane asks
"No, there were men being kept there too. But the point is, he punishes those that he thinks deserves it."
Neah laughs.
"You think that's funny?!" Samara mutters in disgust. "You are the Lycan Alpha. You should be protecting us."
"How much has Blair told you?" Neah asks
"She's told me everything."
"Has she told you that she wanted to be the Alpha? That she wouldn't accept that the gene didn't pass to her because it came from my mother's side. Has she told you that she destroyed her mate, to the point he lost it? Has she told you that her mother is here in my pack, along with her brothers and baby sister? Has she told you that she knows exactly how to wrap people around her little finger to get exactly what she wants? I could go on..."
"She isn't like that now." Samara cuts Neah off
"She killed a pregnant Wolf and took away her toddler, sold the kid to humans." Damien growls as he speaks of my baby girl.
Samara lowers her eyes. "She didn't tell me all of that but that doesn't mean she hasn't changed."
"Where is she?" Neah demands.
"She's not here. She said you would kill her."
"Smart move." I muse
Neah rolls her eyes at me. "What do you want from us?"
"Nothing."
"You came here to tell us all of this, but you don't want anything?"
She shakes her head again.
"I thought I did, but I prefer my new life. Cooper goes to places, places that he knows we would have been in the past where we might seek refuge. Because that is what he does, he tortures people for information. He will look for Blair and he will come here, just like I said. He wants what he thinks belongs to him."
"And you lot think I have a God complex." I muse
"It isn't funny." Samara snaps at me and turns back to Neah. "I don't care if you think Blair and I deserved it. We are better off by ourselves. But what do you think he is going to do when he comes here? He doesn't like anyone that he thinks is better than him. You have two Alpha's in one place."
"He's one man." Neah mutters
She looks Neah dead in the eye. "There is always someone worse." Samara turns away and strides down the drive.
"Do you believe her?" Dane asks me.
"She believes what she is saying. Her soul didn't falter once like it would if she was bullshitting."
"How could someone strip abilities that are way past the level of binding someone?" Damien asks. "Because surely if it could be done, Trey would have done that to Neah."
"I'm more concerned with the guy thinking he is better than everyone else." Dane murmurs
"I wouldn't worry about it. You have more than enough people here to protect everyone." I shrug my shoulders.
"What if he is already here?" Neah asks. "Lycans have been arriving in groups for days. Some have even said they found each other on the way here. What if that is what he did?"
"There is no one here by the name of Cooper." Damien mutters. He had been keeping a checklist of everyone.
"You heard her, 'if it was even his real name."" Neah scowls
"I wouldn't worry too much, every asshole shows themselves eventually." I turn to walk away and Damien stops me.
"Where were you this morning?"
"Do I really need to answer that?"
"Dottie was looking for you."
"I was watching."
"She didn't need you to watch, she needed you to be present."
"I saw you Damien. You wanted to punch Ryken into the ground, how do you think I would have handled it? My guess is, you already know the answer. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business I need to attend to."
I walk off across the grounds, disappearing behind Mallory's burnt out home and dip into the forest.
It's not long before I could hear Madison talking to someone.
"I don't know. It's always been like that." She tells someone with a heavy sigh, like she had been repeating the same thing for some time.
"I don't buy it. Lycans always have their Lycans. You don't just wake up without one." A male responds
"I didn't! I told you, this is how it's always been. Not that it is any of your business."
I quietly make my way through the trees.
"Sorry." The guy replies. "I'm just curious about these things. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Did you hear that our Alpha didn't have her Lycan for most of her life?"
"I did, but I don't think that is really any of our business. She is still our Alpha. And if you keep asking, people are going to think you have some sort of problem with it."
"You are right. Sorry. I guess, I dunno, you seem different to the others. I thought maybe you could help me understand a few things, like why we are here, what does she want from us."
I roll my eyes, and start making a lot of noise as I make my way to them.
"Someone's coming." The guy mutters
"I know, I'm not stupid or deaf." Madison retorts.
She seems to have this tendency of throwing sarcastic comments out, but not actually taking in what is happening around her. He was trying to get information from her.
"Brax." she mutters when she sees me and lowers her chestnut eyes
"We're not doing anything." The guy mutters
"No, you just happen to be following a woman into the forest." He has strange eyes, green with little blue flecks.
"I didn't catch your name." Though I remembered his arrival yesterday. He was difficult to read. Not necessarily untrustworthy, but not open either. Dorothy had given him one of her stickers and I had to trust my daughter's opinion. It didn't mean I couldn't keep an eye on him.
"I was just going for a walk." Madison tells me.
"And I was just making sure she is alright." The guy gives me a huge grin with perfect white teeth. "There is alot going on around here. You can never be sure." He looks me up and down. He knew very well who I was. And he is suggesting that Madison needs protecting from me.
"What's your name?"
"Ash, Ash Thomas."
"Right."
Madison smiles at me. "Ash was just going."
"Are you sure? I mean...." He gestures his head at me.
"I've been here a while, Ash. If he was going to shoot me, he would have done so by now."
Ash bobs his head and weighs up whether or not he should go.
"I suggest you go." I mutter, taking the choice from him.
He looks back at Madison. "Are you sure?"
"I'm fine, like I said, Brax won't hurt me."
He nods and walks away. Madison goes to speak and I put my hand over her mouth, listening to the footsteps move away.
She waits for a few minutes and then pulls my hand away. "What was that for?"
"I don't like him."
"I would never have guessed."
"Was this for my benefit, Madison? To have someone follow you into the forest so I would come running."
"No. And how did you even know I was here?" She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.
"I know a lot of things, but if you want him to stay alive, I suggest you don't let him touch you."
"You can't keep me a secret forever, Brax."
She starts unbuttoning her shirt, backing up against a tree. Trailing my fingers across her stomach, my tanned skin is a stark contrast to her paleness. She shudders against my fingers and her arousal is quick to fill the air.
It was wrong, but I found myself less and less capable of refusing her, especially when she tasted so good against my tongue.
Her body tremors as my tongue circles her belly button and her hands slide into my black curls. I'm just starting to loosen her jeans when the guy calls out.
"Hey Maddie, I forgot to ask....."