Payment To the Alpha
Chapter 36

Unknown POV

A bucket of ice-cold water was poured over me. It was laced with wolfsbane, making every part of my skin that the water touched burnt like acid.

"Wake up!" I heard someone shout, it wasn't the Alpha, but he held authority, probably the Beta, what was his name again? Oh right, Alex.

I slowly peeled my eyes open, ignoring the burn damage that made my eye sockets glued together.

I was healing quickly, and I was beginning to be able to make out certain details. In front of me, there were two men, and I could smell a female was standing behind me. How kind, they brought me a snack.

"If you answer my questions, I might spare your life, but if you lie or refuse to talk, I can promise you a slow and painful death." I gulped, that was definitely the Alpha, and I see where he gets his reputation from.

"I understand." His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes were dark, meaning his wolf was trying to surface. Let's not let that happen, I saw what his wolf did, and I don't want a re-run of that show.

"Good. First question, what's your name?"

"My name is Sebastian."

"Why are you here?" I can't, he will kill me, but if I don't, then the Alpha will kill me, so I guess, either way, I'm dead. So I might as well have some fun going down.

In one swift motion, I was up on my feet and standing behind the delicious-smelling female. I wonder who she is. However, the second I stood behind her and placed my hand around her throat, she gripped it, bent it, and using her knee, she broke the bone by my elbow.

"AH, YOU BITCH!" I screamed as I held my arm with my other hand. I'm going to kill this slut.

I started to shift, but I couldn't. Why the hell can't I shift?

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sebastian."

"Natasha?" Why is Natasha here? She's gonna blow everything.

"It's nice to meet you again. Clara, would you mind giving us some privacy?" She asked who I'm presuming is a warrior.

Clara looked over at the Alpha, who, with a slow head shake, gestured for Clara to leave. She bowed her head and left the office.

"You two know each other?" The Alpha looked between Natasha and me, I threw her a helpless look, but she was always stubborn, not giving a fuck about you when it came to the truth. We were never really friends.

"He knows my father." Oh, you bitch.

"I will ask you again, why are you here?" The Alpha asked me as he dug his fingers into my wound, making me nearly faint from the pain. I may be a werewolf, but I'm a rogue, which automatically makes me weaker than a wolf who belongs to a pack and definitely weaker than an Alpha.

"The girl! I was told to get the girl!"

"James," Natasha said in a warning. James removed hand from my arm and instead delivered a sucker punch to my nose. I heard the bone-breaking as the blood came spilling out. I fell to my knees. This is it, my last breaths.

"Who told you to get the girl?" You really don't want to know the answer to that, James.

"You sure you wanna know?" I asked him, at least I asked, the decision was up to him.

"Who?" He asked, seething through his teeth. His eyes were glowing. His wolf was in charge.

"Jack." I felt a hand wrapped around my throat as I was lifted off the ground.

"WHY THE FUCK DOES JACK WANT AVERY!?" He isn't my Alpha, yet my wolf was wincing, and he had his tail between his legs. "B-Because he heard that she was h-happy, and they couldn't accept that, they paid a hefty amount of money to... get the girl and t-they were pla..ning to sell her to the Wiz-ard." I felt the grip around my throat being released, not one second before I passed out, and I dropped to the floor. "We had a deal," James said as his eyes bore through mine.

"They went back on the deal. They don't care anymore, they don't care about the soul contract either, nor the locking spell. I'm sorry, Alpha, but I had no choice."

"YOU HAD NO CHOICE? You could've said no!"

"He has my daughter. Yes, they offered money, but I didn't accept it, none of us did, but then he took my daughter and some of the other pups, and we had no choice." As I looked into James' eyes, I could see the sorrow swimming around in there. He was upset, he was sad, heartbroken even, and he truly loved this girl.

"Looks like Lily was right," I began as I struggled to get up on my feet.

"This girl sure is special. She said something about an unbreakable love, something she wished all her children would experience."

"You knew my mother?" James asked me. He and his Beta looked at me, scanned me to see if I was lying.

"

Lily and I were close growing up. I belonged to the Half-moon Pack. I knew Avery's parents too. On occasion, we would run over to your pack, and we would all hang out when your mother was younger. She had several recurring dreams. She said she believed she talked to the moon-goddess, we all told her she was crazy," I looked down, laughing at the memory.

"She knew what would come to happen to our pack and to Madeline, but she swore me to secrecy. I still didn't believe her until the day where it all came crashing down. Multiple attacks were taking place, and then the Luna got kidnapped, she came back, and suddenly a while later, she was pregnant. I met up with Lily and asked her how the hell she knew. She had just shrugged and looked at me sadly, telling me,' It was the moon-goddess'. I couldn't call her bluff after that. She knew everything. I told her that we must tell the others, but she refused. She said that this has to happen, she said that it was fate and that this was all part of something bigger, that we had to let everything take its course. You were just a child, and she barely ever talked about you or your siblings. She did everything to protect you.

And then it happened, our pack was ruined, hundreds dead, the Alpha and Luna called for a truce after that, some pack members joined the rival pack, and some found homes in neighboring packs, and some of us, like me the ones you slaughtered out there, became rogues and have been living on our own ever since. Our leadership abandoned us, all because they didn't believe we would win and maybe wouldn't have, but a real Alpha couple fights with their pack until the end. They chose the end before it could choose them."

Amber's POV

"So you're really feeling better, huh?" I asked Avery with a hint of uncertainty. I didn't want her to pretend like she was fine just to please me or the others. However, I could smell my brother on her, so I'm guessing something perked up her mood. "I'm fine, Amber, I promise! Seriously I haven't felt this good in a long time. I would really love to hang out with you, though, outside these bars, maybe a spa day and then some shopping?" She looked at me with puppy eyes and a big pout.

That did sound really nice, so much so that I'm actually considering it. "We'll have to ask James first." I said, and she bobbed her head up and down. I guess some fresh air and a shopping mall wouldn't do any damage.

'Hey, Avery wants to go shopping and have lunch. Is it okay if we leave?' I mind-linked at my brother.

'Sure, just keep an eye on her at all times and never let her out of your reach. The rogues were after her.'

'WHAT?!'

'We'll talk about it later. Just keep Avery safe.'

"Uhh, Amber..." I heard Avery's voice and broke the mind link. Her eyes were wide open, and her finger was pointed towards my face, and that's when I felt that my canines were out and my claws were out. I calmed Stella down and retracted my canines and my claws, and looked back at Avery. She smiled nervously at me. I stood up and reached out my hand for her to grab.

"They're not gonna pop out again, right?" She asked, and I just rolled my eyes and took hold of her hand, pulling her up to her feet.

"Let's get you showered and changed. Then we're leaving." I told her.

"YAY!" She said, jumping up and down like a little girl. I sometimes forget that she's only eighteen years old with everything going on, but then again, given the circumstances, I think she has had to raise herself for a long time.

"Amber!" Avery whined from behind me as we walked through the mall. "I know that this was my idea, but my legs hurt, my stomach is growling at me, and I'm tired." She said as she pouted, we had been in three different stores and spent around one hour in each one. I guess it was time for lunch. I stopped beside a bench so that Avery could rest her legs. "Fine, let's eat, and then we hit the spa." Her face lit up, and after she had rested and massaged her legs for a few minutes, we walked out of the mall and headed to a sushi shop not too far away. It was right beside the spa, so it was perfect.

What Avery didn't know was that Kaden was sitting in a car that was following us in case something were to happen. So after my brother told me that the rogues were after Avery, my eyes and ears have been on high alert the entire time.

We sat down at a round table in the corner. Kaden came in not too long after and sat on the other side of the restaurant, Kaden and Avery hadn't met, so she wouldn't recognize him, and even if she did, she knew that we have warriors with us whenever we leave. I wanted her to believe that it was only the two of us.

Our food came out ten minutes after we had ordered. There weren't a lot of customers in the restaurant, which was great for privacy. "This is so good!" Avery moaned as she put a piece of sashimi in her mouth. I giggled and ate my California rolls, and we sat there talking. It was lovely. I have girlfriends, but I've never had a sister, and that's exactly what Avery was, she was my sister, my family, and I'll be damned if anything ever happens to her.

"How come you're feeling so good all of a sudden?" I asked her, genuinely curious as to what changed. Avery tensed a bit upon hearing my question but quickly relaxed, and a smile grew on her face. I can't say it was honest though. "I honestly don't know, I just feel amazing, and whatever happens, whatever goes down and however things turn out, I am so grateful for you, and for Alex and James, you guys gave me a family." She answered as she took my hand. I found her response a little weird, almost like she was planning something or like she knew something that I didn't. I shook that feeling away, wanting to focus on Avery.

"You ready for a massage?" I said as we were heading out of the restaurant. "You have no idea." Avery groaned.

We were walking towards the car, Avery was talking about how rejuvenated she felt, and I made a mental note to book a spa day for the two of us at least once a month.

"Anything else you wanna do before we head home?" I asked her as I started up the car.

"No, I would really like to go home, maybe spend some time with Alex. Now that I feel better, he might actually be able to teach me how to fight." She said with a smirk on her face.

And so we drove home.

As I parked the car, I saw Sofia outside talking with Amanda. I decided to listen in on their conversation.

"You're going to get caught if you continue this." Amanda whisper shouted to Sofia, her phone rang, and Sofia walked away. What the hell is that girl up to?

"Amber?"

"Hey Amber!?" I snapped my focus back to the car and saw Avery was trying to say something.

"Are you okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a thing that I need to sort out. Why don't you go replace Alex." I told her with a smile as we exited the car.

"Alright, and hey, thank you so much for today. You have no idea what this meant to me." She said as she hugged me.

"Anytime, Aves, I love you."

"I love you too." And with that, we pulled back, and Avery went into the house. I went to see what the bitchy she-wolf was up to. But I couldn't help the sickening feeling that something was up, the look on Averys' face, and the display of her gratitude and love as if she was thanking me for something that wouldn't last.

Avery's POV

I went into the house and saw several of the pack warriors and members walking around, but as soon as I entered, many of them turned their eyes on me and started whispering to each other. Do they know?

"Hey, Avery!" I looked to my left and saw Chase jogging towards me with a big goofy smile on his face. When he reached me, he wrapped his arms around me, and I reciprocated the hug.

"Hi, Chase," I said with a smile as well, his happiness easily rubbed off on you.

"How are you?" He asked; his eyes lingered a little too long, I saw the pity in them, and I don't know why, but seeing someone pitying me makes me frustrated.

"I'm good, thank you, but Chase, please stop looking at me like I'm some broken little girl." I said with a smug smile on my face. I didn't want him to think that I was mad at him, so I tried to be funny. I can't say I succeeded, though.

"Sorry." He said as he cleared his throat.

"Does everybody know?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer, but not knowing felt just as bad. Chase looked around the hall at everybody whispering and watching sneakily.

"Yeah, umm, unfortunately, there has been some talk about you around the pack, but the gamma has made it clear to everyone that it's forbidden, but they can't be around to keep tabs on anyone all the time, sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay. Honestly, they can't possibly know everything that's going on with me because even I don't." I said and jokingly slapped his arm.

"Do you wanna grab something to eat?" Chase asked me and pointed towards the kitchen.

"I actually had lunch with Amber earlier, but thank you. Have you seen Alex? I really need to talk to him?"

"Of course, the Beta is with the Alpha in his office." He answered and put his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. "Thank you, Chase, for everything." I hugged him one more time, really appreciative of everything he has done for me since I came here. He's been friendly from the start.

I made my way up the stairs and headed towards James' office. As I reached closer, I started hearing a familiar voice. The door was slightly opened.

I pushed the door open further, not wanting to sneak up on them in case they were having a private conversation. There was an unfamiliar man standing on the carpet, bloody and bruised, but why did he sound so familiar?

"Avery!" James called with a big smile on his face. My hands were clasped in front of me, and I smiled at them all.

"Sebastian, this is Avery," James said, but his eyes darkened at the mention of my name when he looked at Sebastian. James came over and put his hand on the small of my back, urging me to walk towards the unknown man. There was something about him like I had seen him before. Sebastian bowed his head in acknowledgment, and when I saw why he didn't give me his hand, my hand flew to my mouth, and my eyes grew three times the size.

"Holy shit, sorry, babe!" James shouted as he stepped in front of me, covering the horrific sight that had been burnt into my skull.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" I yelled. However, the words came out muffled because my hand was still covering my mouth. I was afraid I might throw up if it wasn't.

"I got a little too handsy on a certain female warrior." He said, and suddenly, any urge to throw up disappeared, and in its place was a desire to do to his other arm what the warrior had done to this one.

James carefully steps aside, leaving the man on full display.

"Hello, Sebastian." I said I looked him dead in the eyes. I had seen those eyes before.