Payment To the Alpha
Chapter 46

James' POV

"He did that to you?" I asked the man after the shock had settled. He nodded his head and never removed his eyes from mine. I felt as though he was waiting for something. Like he was waiting for me to believe him.

"What's your name?" I asked him and his right eye twitched. All eyes in the room were on him and you could tell he knew that. He was uncomfortable but didn't want it to show. Amber gave me a quick look, showing she noticed the same thing as I did.

"Well?" I asked him again with a raised brow. So many red flags.

"My name is Carlson." He said.

Blade, what do you think?

'I don't trust him.'

Good. Neither do I.

'Let's play along and see where it leads.'

"Well Carlson, you wanted to speak to me, it was urgent you said. Yet here we are and I have to pull the words out of your mouth." I leaned forward and met his gaze with my own. Who is this man? And what the fuck is he doing in my pack? "I understand that you have your reservations when it comes to new people. But I can assure you Alpha, I mean no harm," Carlson said. That was the longest he had spoken since his arrival.

"Then why don't you cut to the chase and tell us why you're here." Alex said, impatiently.

Carlson turned his head, slowly towards my brother, eyeing him before turning back to me.

"I am here because I've heard that you are looking for Crow, and I believe I can help you replace him."

"I don't know what you've heard, but we aren't looking for him," I smirked and looked at Carlson.

"We're waiting for him." I said, waiting too see a reaction. But It didn't come.

Instead it looked as if he became determined. Not the emotion I was expecting. Reading Carlson won't be easy.

"Then I want to wait with you. I want to fight him, I can help." He said. His facial expression and eyes showed nothing but the truth in his words.

"Why? If he did that to you, why would you want to meet him again?" Amber asked.

"Because of what did to me. This wasn't all he did. Before he fought me," Carlson looked at Amber, and clenched his jaw.

"He slaughtered my whole family." Carlson's eyes were now black. He was raging, and I don't blame him. Anybody would want revenge on the person who hurt their family. The problem is, I'm not sure if I believe him.

"I'm sorry for your loss. But I'm not sure that this is the place for you to wait." I said honestly. Because it wasn't. I didn't trust him, and I can't allow a person I don't trust to roam amongst my pack.

Carlson's eyes started to soften up. He showed another side. Now all I could see in his eyes was his pain. Perhaps that's all this really is. He's upset, angry that his family was murdered by the one person we all want to kill.

"I understand," Carlson said as he lowered his head. Regardless of how I feel about him, I guess he deserves the benefit of the doubt. At least if he is here, I can keep an eye on him. And he has seen Crow. He knows what he looks like, which could be useful, seeing as neither of us has any idea.

I looked at Carlson and thought over my decision. My brother looked down at me from where he was standing, and I could tell that he, too, was in conflict with his opinions.

I knew loss, I knew pain, and I knew grief. This man seemed to hold all of those emotions and recognizable traits in his eyes.

"On second thought, why don't you follow Jackson, and he'll show you to a room where you can stay for the time being. I need to talk this over with my Beta, and then I'll call for you to let you know my decision." Carlson's head flew up, and his eyes met mine. He smiled courteously before standing to his feet and bowing his head.

"Thank you, Alpha," He said. I gave Jackson a nod, and he too stood up and escorted Carlson to one of the guest rooms.

When the door had closed, I leaned back in my chair.

"So, what do you guys think?" I asked the remaining members in the room. Alex, Amber, and Sebastian looked at each other. It seemed as though we were all on the same page. Meaning none of us knew whether or not he could be trusted. None of us knew whether he was telling the truth or not, and none of us knew what to do with him. I locked eyes with Sebastian, who seemed tempted to speak. What was holding him back? Sebastian was wearing a long grey coat and clothing he borrowed from one of the warriors.

"Yes?" I asked him, seeing as he didn't speak up on his own. Sebastian faltered with his words for a bit before managing to put together a sentence.

"Alpha, I'm not sure whether or not he can be trusted, as I'm sure you've already guessed. However, I do know what it is like to lose your family to that son of a bitch. If anything he said is true, he deserves revenge." Sebastian said. Not very confidently, but I'm guessing my authority is showing, seeing as the others are fumbling to.

"I see. And you Amber?"

"I honestly don't know. Either he is a mourning husband and father, or he's one hell of a liar."

"All we know is that he's a werewolf. The rest, if we want to know, we have to wait and see.” Alex spoke. I turned my head to look at him.

"And to do so, he must stay." I stated. I guess that's it then. Carlson is staying here.

'Tell Carlson that he's welcome to stay until we get this all sorted out. Make him comfortable and bring him spare clothes. Meet me in my office when you're done.'

"Jackson is tending to our guest. You may all leave," I said before continuing, having one other precaution to put in place.

"Keep an eye on him at all times. If anybody asks, you say he's a guest and nothing more, nothing less. If he is to speak to any of the pack members, one of you must be present. Understood?" "Yes, Alpha."

As the others were exiting my office, Jackson showed up.

"Alpha," I gestured for him to have a seat and handed him a water bottle.

"I need you to look around for something without anyone noticing. I need you to replace out as much as you can concerning our new guest. And as I told the others, keep a very close eye on him." Jackson bowed his head, indicating he understood.

"So, off the book," Jackson said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and took my seat.

"How are you, man? You seem to be holding up a lot better than before, but I can imagine it's still challenging." I released a breath and turned around on my chair, facing the window.

"She's out there, alone. I won't be able to rest until she's back home, safe, where she belongs. Until then, I will be doing everything in my power to speed up the process." I told him and spun back around. Jackson nodded his head raised his water bottle in a toast.

I chuckled, but nevertheless, I followed his gesture and raised my bottle.

"To the future," He said, and we both drank. I need to make sure to protect my family, as Avery is protecting me.

Avery's POV

Lydia and I were sitting on my bed and reminiscing about the past. Everything we had done, everything we planned to do, and all of the craziness in-between.

"Did you know?" I asked her quietly as I chewed on a Dorito. Lydia knew what I was getting at, seeing as we had talked about my so-called family for the past thirty minutes.

"Did I know what?" Lydia asked me. I looked at her with a raised brow and waited for her to answer my question. She sighed and shook her head.

"Yeah, I knew. I'm sorry, Aves. There were so many times that I wanted to take you and run, take you away from that misery. You never realized their lack of love for you because, in your head, it was normal. You saw how they treated Isabel, yet you refused to believe that there was a divided love between you," It was true. There were so many different occasions that their true colors would show, but I refused to acknowledge it.

They were my family, and I didn't want to believe that they didn't care. So I chose to rather live in a lie than to face the truth.

"Don't criticize your choices," Lydia said as she grabbed my hand.

"You wanted a family. Many people would have done what you did in a situation like that. Because facing the truth would mean losing those you believed you love. And that pain isn't something one normally chooses to go through." She continued.

"I've missed you so much." I said as I wrapped my arms around Lydia and held onto her tightly. Something I'm going to do for the rest of our lives.

"I've missed you to Aves,"

The sun was starting to set outside the window. Natasha had gone on an errand and would be back soon, and Lydia was asleep with her head leaning on my shoulder.

I held the picture of James and me in my hands, caressing it like I did every day how I wish for all of this to be over.

"I'll be home soon." I whispered to the picture.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," My head snapped to the door, and my breath hitched in my throat. It couldn't be. Am I dreaming?

"Hey there, sweetheart, I think it's time we had a talk." He gritted through his teeth as he took short menacing steps towards me. Lydia was still sleeping beside me. I wanted to get off the bed and run, but I couldn't leave her. I pushed myself up against the wall as hard as I could. Thinking that it might be some sort of protection. There was nothing else I could do. He was standing beside the bed, Jack, the man I believed to be my father. He raised his hand and was ready to strike. As always, I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

"AVERY, GET DOWN!" Natasha yelled from the door as she lifted her hands, and Jack was thrown into the wall.

Natasha came running up in front of me, shielding me while holding her grip on Jack. He was Immobilized.

"YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES WHEN BEING ATTACKED?!" Natasha scolded me. I shrugged and shrunk back on the bed. I really needed to stop closing my eyes.

I looked behind me to see Lydia still sleeping. How could she not wake up?

My eyes grew wide, and I felt myself starting to hyperventilate. With a shaky hand, I reached over and slowly placed it on her neck.

"No, come on." I begged as I pressed harder. I felt it. She was breathing. She had a pulse. But why isn't she waking up?

"She's under a spell. Give her this!" Natasha yelled and threw me a dried piece of plant. I looked at it and then back at Natasha.

"What do I do with this?!" I screamed in panic. Jack was struggling to break free, and Natasha was visibly struggling to keep him at bay.

"Put it in her mouth!" Whatever magic Natasha is doing, it's powerful. Everything in the room started to move, her hair was flowing, and the winds were making it hard for me to move. Like there was a storm brewing in the room, and you were waiting for the lightning to strike.

I quickly opened Lydia's mouth and pressed in the plant before closing it up. She still looked to be deep asleep.

"Come on, Lydia, please, wake up." I begged. I stroked her head and kept an eye on Jack in the meantime. He wasn't supposed to be this strong.

If Natasha's magic could contain James, then Jack shouldn't be much trouble.

Unless, Oh no. I looked at Natasha in panic, only to see that she was already looking at me. She showed me a weak smile. Her eyes looked drained. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

The winds in the room were growing stronger. Natasha's dress was aggressively flowing around.

I shook my head. This can't be happening. Her eyes are growing weaker by the second.

"I know," She whispered to me. She knows. Then she knows what he is doing, what she's letting him do to her. Only to protect me. Natasha is dying.

As Natasha was fighting with the last of her powers, a loud howl was heard from behind me. I looked back and saw that Lydia wasn't lying in bed any longer. She had shifted. She was baring her teeth, and saliva was dripping down from her mouth.

She pushed with her hind legs and jumped over the bed to stand in front of her mother. Jack's eyes when he saw her made me realize that he was just as weak as they said. His eyes were bulging out of his head at the sight of Lydia's wolf. She growled at him, and just when Lydia was about to lunge at Jack, Natasha fell to the floor.

My head jerked back to Jack.

"This isn't over." He said before shifting to his wolf and trying to run past Lydia, but she had other plans in mind. Lydia took hold of his hind leg and dug in her canines.

Jack whimpered in pain, and that's when I remembered that this is exactly what he had done to her. When Lydia was satisfied, she pulled back, and we watched as he scurried out of the room on the three legs he could support himself on.

I ran up to Natasha and fell to the floor beside her. Lydia shifted back and went to sit on the other side of her mother. She grabbed her hand as well and checked for her pulse.

As she did that, an amused smile crept up on Natasha's face.

"Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?" She asked as her eyes fluttered open.

Both Lydia and I released a breath of relief and helped Natasha to the bed.

"You knew what he was doing, yet you didn't stop. Why?" I asked her, befuddled.

"I think you know why." Natasha answered, her voice sounding weak.

"Let's get one thing straight," I said as I looked at both Natasha and Lydia.

"Nobody is allowed to die for me. Is that clear?" Lydia scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tell me, why are you here again?" Lydia asked. I didn't know how to respond because I knew what she was getting at.

"You're here, hiding because you didn't want to put anyone in danger. You left a pack with hundreds of highly trained werewolves to live alone in order to keep them safe. I mean this with all my love Aves, you really can be an idiot sometimes. Whether we die to protect you or not is up to us because that's exactly what you're doing. You would have let him take you had my mother not shown up. Because you knew that if you hadn't, he would have taken me."

I bit my cheek to keep myself from saying something stupid. Lydia was right, about everything and there was no denying it.

"Good. Now on a different note, what do you mean 'you knew what he was doing?" Lydia asked me before looking at her mom.

"Jack isn't that strong on his own. Alpha or not, he shouldn't have been a match for Natasha's magic unless he was protected by magic himself. The wizard had protected him, knowing that if someone came to my rescue, they wouldn't be able to win against him. He was draining your mother of her powers by fighting back. He could have probably broken free right away, but he wanted her weak, and by weakening Natasha, he was weakening himself. Which is why when you woke up and came for him, he knew he wouldn't be strong enough to fight." I explained, and Lydia looked at her mother with such love in her eyes. She went and sat on the bed, wrapping her arms around Natasha.

"But I don't understand. How could he replace me?" I asked Natasha, and she looked over at Lydia with a smile.

"I hid your scent, Avery. I never hid Lydia's." She said knowingly. As if she wanted this to happen.

I gave Natasha a confused look and was met with a wink.

"Yes, Avery, this was meant to happen. I needed the wizard or someone who works for him to come out of hiding, and now he has. But don't worry, he won't remember a thing. You're not in any danger after we've left." I was honestly more confused than ever. That explanation didn't do much of explaining.

"I'm sorry..., huh?" I asked. My face scrunched, and my eyes squinting.

"The plant you gave to Lydia to wake her was wolfsbane mixed with Ginkgo leaves. The wolfsbane was to kickstart her heart and nerves with pain. The Ginkgo leaves are more commonly used to treat memory loss. However, if treated right, they contribute to memory loss. They can erase the memories of a person for up to an hour, which this one did. When Lydia bit down on his leg, she injected it into his system." Natasha said, and it dawned on me.

"Okay yeah, that I understood." I said with a nod.

"But doesn't this mean that I can't be here anymore?" Lydia asked. She pouted and sat upon the bed, her hands hanging by her side. Natasha's smile fell at the realization.

"What, no! She has to be here. I need her! I'm already closed off from everyone else. You can't take her too!" I yelled in defense. She can't take my only friend. Sure, Natasha would still come, but it's not the same! Lydia is like a security blanket. Whenever we're together, it just feels like things are going to work out.

"I'm sorry, girls, but no, Lydia can't come here anymore. And we have to leave tonight. I'm sorry, sweetheart." Natasha said and looked at me. I couldn't say that I liked it, but at least there was something Lydia could do for me.

"Then I'm going to need to ask you for a favor." I said and looked at Lydia with pleading eyes.

"Anything," She said.

"Go to the pack, my pack. Be with them, please. I think they could benefit from your bubbly energy, and I need to know that they're looked after." I said with a smile that didn't feel all that true.

"I promise,"