Payment To the Alpha
Chapter 37

Avery's POV

"So you were going to kidnap me!? On behalf of my father!?" I asked Sebastian in shock.

I had been briefed on what had happened, why, and who Sebastian was. Needless to say, we haven't started off on the best of terms. But I still couldn't shake the sense of familiarity that came from him.

"Yes, and as I said, I'm sorry, but he has my daughter. I didn't have a choice." Sebastian said, and I could see the pain he carried. It must be an unbelievably terrifying feeling knowing someone has your child.

"I understand. I really do. But I have to ask, what was he going to do with me?" He looked over at James, who nodded his head. "He was going to sell you to the wizard." My mouth did an O-shape, and my brows lifted, and as I let it sink in, I just rolled my eyes and scoffed. I wasn't that surprised that my parents wanted to make money off me.

"I see." I said.

"You say you knew Lily and my parents. Did we ever meet? I have this feeling that I know you."

Sebastian stroked his injured arm and smiled sadly at me.

"When you were two years old, we started realizing that we were going to lose the battle. Even though we had the Knights on our side, the opposing pack had a much too powerful witch on their side. So when your parents planned to make a run for it and leave us to die, you came crawling out on the field. They didn't pay much attention to you even then. I picked you up, and you put your tiny hand on my cheek. It was like feeling the sun warm my face, the light you exuded. I didn't know what it was. But then your parents came and took you away. I had been so distracted that I didn't notice the witch's eyes on me, she did some spells, and I prepared myself for whatever was to come. But it never did.

She looked frightened by the realization. She kept lifting her hands up and down and chanting something, but nothing happened. I wasn't affected. Her eyes shifted to a friend of mine only a few feet away, and she started chanting again, he was in his wolf form, and every bone in him broke before he collapsed and died, blood pouring out from his eyes and ears as he shifted back. After that, she left. She was too scared or startled by the fact that her magic didn't work on me, and as was I. It was then that I realized that whatever you had done protected me from her magic. You protected me. I used to babysit you, I was a warrior, but whenever your parents were too busy or too tired from pretending to care, I took you, and you would sometimes be with me for a week at a time.

We would play, go on adventures. We actually went to visit here once too, the Blood Moon pack. I was visiting Lily, so I brought you with me. I guess some part of you felt that I didn't deserve to die. You protected me, Avery."

"And you were going to sell her to the person we're trying to protect her from. Nice way to repay someone for saving your life." Alex snapped at him. "Alex, my father, has his daughter. I said that I understand and that it's fine and it is, plus I think everyone is forgetting something fundamental about the story." I said as I looked around at everyone. When my eyes landed on Natasha, she was smiling, and I knew that she picked up on it too.

"You did magic." She said, and everyone's eyes perked up as they looked at me.

"Does that mean that I'm a witch?" I asked as I kept my eyes on Natasha. I already knew the truth, but I couldn't say that, and I wanted to see what they would say. "Well, you already know that you're related to one, so yeah, perhaps the genetics from the witch's side is that strong." She responded, not the truth but not a lie. I'll take it.

"That's pretty cool, you guys." I squealed as I looked at James and Alex with a smug smile and a raised eyebrow. "Haha, yes it is a cupcake. Perhaps you can kick ass after all."

"Oh, that she can. She just doesn't know it yet." Sebastian said as he looked at me with a soft smile and loving eyes. "Your daughter, perhaps we can help you with that. I'll make a few calls." James said as he looked at Sebastian. "I would be forever grateful." He responded.

"Great! Well, as you guys do that, Alex, I thought that now that I'm almost normal again, we could give training another shot? I promise I won't get mad." My voice sounded weak, and it was. I felt terrible for how I acted towards him the other day. My head was tilted to the side, and I pouted when he took too long to answer. "Sounds great, cupcake." I bit my cheek, fighting back the annoyance from that name, and smiled at Alex. I went up to him and grabbed his hand as we walked out of the office.

James' POV

Avery and Alex were about to leave my office, but before they did, Avery turned around and walked up to me, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, okay?" She said with that soft, melodic voice. "You better." I said as I grabbed her cheek and kissed her hard and long before letting go.

Her cheeks were flustered, and she kept her eyes on the floor as they walked out.

The tension in my office could be cut with a knife, Sebastian and Natasha were having a staring contest, and I was just standing there with a lifted eyebrow, wondering how the fuck I ended up here.

After a few moments of neither of them breaking eye contact, I decided to speak up.

"Either you two kill each other, or we get on with trying to save your daughter. Which will it be?" Sebastian looked at me eagerly while Natasha was looking like a smug ten-year-old who just won.

"Great, let's do this."

I had been calling around ten different packs. None of them had any idea where Jack might be, and they didn't have any interest in helping mainly because they thought the Smiths had some powerful people on their side. "Do you know who they have, backing them up?" I asked Sebastian after I hung up the phone call from the tenth pack.

"I honestly don't. I have heard stories going around that they sided with an enemy pack, and some say that they work for the wizard, but nobody knows the truth." He answered.

We don't have much to go on, and calling the wrong pack for help could draw unnecessary attention to ours. "Maybe we don't need to look for her. They wouldn't harm her, knowing the penalty for such crime. The wizard wants Avery. Sooner or later, he is going to come searching for her. I bet he will have the Smiths and your daughter when he does."

It was mostly a hunch, but as of right now, that's all we had to go on. Crow would come looking for Avery, and when he did, he would bring any and all means necessary to make sure she goes with him. If the Smiths were going to use Sebastian's daughter as a ransom, then she would come with them too.

"We will have to sit back and wait, I'm afraid."

"YOU WANT ME TO WAIT WHILE MY DAUGHTER IS OUT THERE BEING HELD BY THOSE SONS OF BITCHES?!" Sebastian roared, shaking the paintings on the wall. He has a strong wolf.

"You trespassed onto my territory with the intention to kidnap my girlfriend, injuring my warriors. If sitting back and waiting isn't good enough for you, then, by all means, I'll kill you instead." I growled as I got up in his face, ready to break the fucker's neck.

Sebastian wisely stepped back and bowed his head. His wolf may be strong, but mine is and will always be the strongest in this country, and he will be respected as such too.

I mind-linked Damon,

'Tell three of our best warriors to go searching for Sebastian's daughter. I have a shirt of hers in my office. I don't want them back until she has been found.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

"The shirt that belonged to your daughter give it to me." He handed me her shirt, and Damon came up not long after, taking the shirt to the warriors so that they could catch her scent.

"Thank you." Sebastian said. His eyes were glistening. He was on the verge of crying.

"Have a seat. We need to talk." I gestured for him to sit down on the sofa as I took a seat in the armchair.

"You said that Avery protected you against magic. How come you weren't protected by Natasha's?" I had been wondering this ever since he told the story, but I didn't want to ask in the presence of Avery in case I already knew the reason.

Sebastian looked over at Natasha,

"Does he know?"

"Yes." She answered, and his head turned back to me.

"They share the same bloodline. That's why it didn't work. The protection Avery put on me could only be removed by her or by somebody who shares the same blood. Natasha's little stunt removed the protection."

"You were going to shift. It wasn't a little stunt. I was keeping your ass from killing everybody." Natasha snapped.

"I wasn't going to kill James, who I'm guessing you're referring to because he and his family are the only ones you've ever given a damn about. Except for yourself, of course. I only wanted to kill the bitch." I gave away a warning growl, and Sebastian started shifting uncomfortably on the couch.

"You touched her, she responded in the way she should have, and when you speak of the members of this pack, you speak with respect." Blade was now surfacing, taking control. Whatever happened hereon after was up to Sebastian.

"My apologies, Alpha. I just haven't heard of many female warriors."

"In this pack, anyone who wants can be a warrior. Everyone is equal." I said as I lifted my head. I had always prided myself on the fact that we had both male and female warriors. I heard how other packs never let women out in wars and battles. To me, that was baffling.

"It is rarely heard of, but it is admirable."

"That is why we are the strongest pack because we train everyone to reach their full potential, to fight, and to win." Sebastian looked at me with amazement brimming in his eyes, but also confusion was written on his face.

"You are just like your mother. She would never take credit for anything either. James, this pack isn't the strongest and the most feared because of the warriors. It's because of their Alpha. People don't fear and respect your pack. They fear and respect YOU." He said, and I bit down hard,

"A pack is only ever as strong as their Alpha, which is why we lost, both the battle and our dignity." Sebastian continued. He leaned back onto the couch as he remembered the downfall of his pack. I had heard of it. It was bloody and gruesome. They never stood a chance.

Avery's POV

"Get your lazy ass up and start punching me!" Alex yelled at me when I laid down on the grass, catching my breath, and enjoying the endorphin rush happening inside me right now.

"Oh, come on, five minutes!" I whined, but before I could fully enjoy the feeling, Alex grabbed my hand and yanked me up on my feet.

"You can rest later. Let's do this." He said as he held the pads up, and I started throwing punches. I may not be strong, but I actually made his arm move at least a few inches with the right technique and breathing.

"You got this cupcake!" I stared him dead in the eyes and threw another punch. This time, his arm moved a lot more than a few inches, and his mouth made an O-shape.

"Haha, that was AWESOME! Now I know what gets you going, anger." He said with a smirk. I was really wondering when we could remove the pads, and I could punch him in the face, preferably after drugging him so that I could run away once I had hit him.

"Alright, we're done for today. You did great, Avery. It's good to have you back." A sense of guilt washed over me when I saw the happiness in his eyes. He had been so worried. They all were.

But I needed to follow my heart.

"It's good to be back. Come on." I said as I grabbed his arm, and we went to sit on one of the benches next to the training fields.

"What's on your mind?" Alex asked me before he gulped down the water from the bottle.

"I wanted to apologize to you for how I acted the last time we worked out. I don't know what got into me. I could say it was the wizard and make myself feel better, but I'm not entirely sure that it was. Maybe partially. But anyhow, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, I think it's lovely how much you care about me, 'and I'm just not very used to it." I said as I shrugged my shoulders and put my hands on my knees. Certain conversations made me uncomfortable, and the ones where feelings were exposed were the worst ones.

"It's okay. You're going through some weird shit, kid. There's nothing to apologize for. I will always care about you and protect you and annoy the shit out of you. Because that's what family does." He said as he took my hand and looked me in the eyes. He was sincere. This is going to be harder than I thought.

"Alex, umm, you're like the brother I always wish that mine was. You're so loving, joyful, and serious all at once. You can make anyone laugh and cry at the same time. You're so special, and I want you to really understand that" Alex's smile dropped and was replaced by a frown, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes were scanning mine.

"I need you to know how special you are and how eternally grateful I am for everything you've done. I know that in the beginning, I was just supposed to marry James and that I was sold to him, but along the way, something changed. You guys have become my family, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."

"Avery, what's going on? Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" I bit my tongue and dug my nails into my hand, trying to fight back the tears.

"I'm not. It's just. You never know what's gonna happen. We have no idea what we're about to face. I just want to know that I've said everything in my heart, so I don't have any regrets." I said, hoping it would somewhat comfort him, reassure him in some way.

"Nothing is ever going to happen to you, Avery. No one will let it."

That's the problem. I thought to myself.

"I know. Alright, enough of this. Seriously, everything is fine. I just needed to get that off my chest. Let's go eat. I'm starving."

I stood to my feet and started walking before I realized that Alex wasn't behind me. I turned around and saw him sitting on the bench, looking out over the fields.

"Hey, you coming?" I asked him, and his head turned to me slowly. He showed me a sad smile before getting up. I could see the sorrow in his eyes. He knows.

'No, but he assumes that he does. So leave it that way.'

The voice in my head that I now know who it is said. Her voice only comes in moments where I'm desperate. And this was truly one of those moments.