Payment To the Alpha
Chapter 47

~1 MONTH LATER~

Avery's POV

I grabbed the glass of water that was standing on my nightstand aggressively and threw it across the room. The glass hit the wall and shattered into a hundred pieces that laid across the floor.

"IT'S BEEN A MONTH, NATASHA!" I shouted. I was succumbing to the anger and frustration that had been slowly building for the past month.

I grabbed the nightstand and threw it up in the air. It landed harshly on the floor, breaking the drawer. The only thing perhaps in the room that wasn't broken was the framed picture of James and me. It was lying safely on the bed.

"I know, sweetheart, it's time soon, I promise." Natasha said from the chair she was sitting on. I turned my head and looked at her in disbelief.

"YOU SAID THAT A MONTH AGO!" I shouted.

"I know," Natasha remained calm. She had one leg over the other, and her hands were clasped in front of her, laying on her knee. I shook my head, dragging my hands over my face.

"You say you know, but after this, you can go home to your family. To your mate. I can't do that, Natasha, and it's killing me," I said. Desperation was evident in my voice.

For one month, I had been isolated from the people I love. Seeing Natasha once in a while did the job in the first week, but after that week, everything went downhill. I met Natasha lesser than usual. I had to be more careful on my walk and limit my time outside so as not to be spotted.

I had to go every day with constant worry about James' well-being as well as the others.

I couldn't make the nightmare scenarios stop. I couldn't make the nightmares stop. I would wake up in the middle of the night after a dream about James getting killed by the wizard and the pack being slaughtered.

Sweat would dribble down my face, and my breathing hitched in my throat. I couldn't make it stop.

No matter how many times I thought about the plan, the outcome, the fact that the wizard would hopefully be killed, it didn't help. It didn't help me keep my sanity which was slowly fading with every passing moment.

"Avery, it's almost time. I can feel it." I dropped to the floor and leaned against the wall. I pulled my knees up to my chest. What if when he finally comes and the war begins, James will have forgotten about me? What if he's moved on or doesn't believe that I will come back?

What if I lose him?

The only family I have ever truly loved. The only people that ever loved me.

James' POV

"James, you need to calm down," Alex said. My eyes were pitch black, and all I could see were interferences standing in my way.

"Don't you fucking dare tell me to calm down," My breathing was heavy and ragged. My chest was heaving and my nostrils flaring. Alex stared at me. He didn't show what he was feeling, and I didn't care.

"IT'S BEEN ONE FUCKING MONTH, ALEX, AND SHE'S STILL NOT HOME!" I growled, trying my best to restrain the urge to hit something. Or someone.

"Yes, but-" Alex was cut off by a knock on my office door. I turned to my brother, and we both looked at each other in confusion. Everyone had been informed not to disturb.

"Come in!" I yelled from the seating area. The door opened up slowly, and a hesitant man carefully stepped in. It was Carlson.

"I-I'm sorry to disturb Alpha,"

"Everyone has been told not to disturb us. What is this regarding?" I asked. Sounding angrier than I had hoped.

"Um, it's about your Luna. I was wondering when I'd get the pleasure of meeting her?" He asked me. Alex's head turned my way quickly. Fearing for what was to come. And fear he should.

In less than a second, I was in front of Carlson, holding him up by his throat.

"YOU DO NOT EVER ASK ABOUT MY LUNA! IS THAT CLEAR?!" I growled, and I saw the panic on the man's face. I tossed him across the room, and he hit the wall, knocking down a painting that was hanging there.

He stayed down for a while before seeing that it was okay to stand.

"I'm sorry, Alpha. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries." He said.

"So why did you?" I asked him. Who the fuck comes into my office and asks about my girl? For no reason at all.

"I simply wanted to know when she will be back." Carlson said. Trying his best to sound confident, although it didn't quite work. His eyes faltered, and he looked down at his feet than looking at my eyes.

He knew who I was by now. He had been with us for nearly a month. Carlson integrated well with the others. He was a good fighter. He never went for a run with the other pack members, though. He never showed his wolf. I do wonder!

"Look at me." I demanded. Carlson raised his head and looked me in the eyes.

"The Luna won't be back. She has left, for good." I said, and there it was. That flicker in his eyes. It was anger.

"Wha-What do you mean, Alpha? The pack doesn't have their Luna?" He asked me. He cleared his throat and straightened his back. I looked at Alex, who had his eyes glued to Carlson. Alex's eyebrows were furrowed, and his arms that were earlier crossed were now hanging on his sides.

"That is exactly what I mean. That's what this meeting was about." I said. Sounding undeniably honest. Alex and I knew that I was lying, but Carson didn't.

He looked at me in disbelief. His lips were pressed into a thin line. In all his time here, nobody had noticed any strange behavior. I had around-the-clock surveillance on him, and it showed nothing. He talked to the others, helped the pups, fought with the warriors, and ate with the youths. He seemed as ordinary as they come. The one thing that the ranked members noticed was the fact that he never shifted.

We had tried everything to get him to show us his wolf, but with every suggestion we laid forward, he somehow turned it around. As if he didn't want us to see what his wolf looked like.

"Say, Carlson, would you like to go on a run? To blow off some steam? I know I certainly need to." I said, stepping towards him. He stayed in his spot and raised his head.

"Actually, Alpha, I promised some of the pups that I would play with them and teach them some fighting moves. Perhaps another time?" He said. He may not notice it himself, but his face had changed completely.

I allowed him to leave, not wanting to mind-link anyone whilst he was in the room.

I gave him a nod, and he turned on his heel and walked out of the office.

'Do not let Carson leave the territory!' I said in the mind-link to all warriors and ranked members.

Alex looked at me and then back the door.

"Something is off with that guy, huh?" He asked me.

"It sure is. The question is what, and why did he have such a need to meet Avery?" I asked no one, really. I merely spoke aloud.

'Alpha, Carlson is in his room. It seems he is packing.' Jackson said through the mind link.

Alex and I went to Carlson's room, and sure enough, he was gathering his belongings.

"Going somewhere?" Carlson spun around. He looked jumpy, as if he didn't expect someone to visit him.

"My brother and I were thinking. Why is it you want to meet the Luna?" I asked him.

He scoffed and shrugged, shaking his head. He continued packing the little things he had in his bag and zipped it up. He put the bag on the floor before turning back to us.

"It's nothing, Alpha. I simply feel that I should take my leave now." He said.

"But I thought you wanted to meet the wizard? Get revenge and all that?" Alex asked him sarcastically.

Carlson didn't take well to his tone. His eyes got serious, and he stepped towards us.

"I do, but something tells me that this isn't the place to wait," He said, spitting venom with words.

"Yeah, you're probably right. We can handle the wizard on our own anyway. He's pathetic and weak, a coward if you will." Alex said, crossing his arms and smiling widely.

Carlson's eyes were growing black, his body was tense, and his hands were balled up into fists.

Something about degrading the wizard made him mad. I wonder why? It was as though he wanted to protect the wizard as opposed to fighting him.

"Enough of this. Why don't you grab your bag, and we'll go downstairs, grab something to eat, and then you can be on your way." I said, extending my hand for Carlson to grab. He looked at me for a moment, his body starting to relax.

"Sounds good." He said and shook my hand.

We were in the kitchen and eating lunch. Alex and Carson were talking about the fighting and the wizard. Nothing to demurring as we didn't want our guest to up and leave just yet.

I was waiting for the final piece before I could put everything together.

And then I sensed it, the final piece to unraveling the truth.

"Hello Natasha," I said when I smelled her walking into the kitchen. I looked to my left and saw her standing a few meters away, staring at Carlson. My gaze turned to him, and once again, he tensed.

"Who's your guest?" She asked me as she came closer. Natasha extended her hand, which he took and shook.

I saw Natasha's face upon contact and knew that something was way more off than I thought.

"Natasha, this is Carlson. Carlson, meet Natasha." I introduced them both and then leaned back and waited for the mask to drop.

Natasha pulled back her hand and gave Carlson a polite smile.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said with a slight head bow. Leaving me utterly confused. I thought there would be some sort of revelation.

"Likewise," Carlson said.

I looked between the both of them and leaned forward, placing my hands on the table.

"Carl, come play with us!"

"Yeah, I wanna punch!"

Two pups came running into the kitchen and started pulling at Carlson to go with them.

"Well, I guess a little play before departure won't do any harm." Carson said with a big smile on his face.

"No!" Natasha started before seeing everyone's confused faces.

"I mean, does your teacher know where you are? Ms. Wallis gets worried when you run off like this." Natasha said to the two pups, who lowered their heads and pouted.

"But we want to play," One of them whined as her bottom lip trembled.

"You can play later. Now go replace Ms. Wallis." Natasha said.

The two pups grabbed each other's hands and ran off, pushing each other and playing chase on the way out. When they were gone, Natasha's face faltered. With a swing of her hand, she closed the doors to the kitchen. She turned around to face Carlson, who was standing as well. He had a grin on his face, and he was pretentious. Natasha raised her hands, causing a whirling wind to move across the kitchen. With it came glass, porcelain, and utensils. It all gathered behind her before she swung her hands forward, aiming it at Carlson. I jumped to my feet,

"Natasha, what the fuck are you doing?!" With the flick of her right hand, I flew to the other side of the room and Alex to the opposite side.

I saw the objects flying at Carlson, but instead of running or moving, he stood still, awaiting the damage. He raised his hands in front of his chest, his palms pointing outwards, and as the objects were about to hit him, they instead turned to smoke and evaporated.

He was a wizard? What the fuck is going on here?

"We'll be seeing each other soon," He said with a grin before ripping his necklace from his neck and tossing it on the ground. As he did, he too disappeared into thin air. There was no sight of him.

Natasha looked blankly at the emptiness in front of her.

I stood up and walked over to her. I pulled out a chair, and Natasha sat down. Her face looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"Natasha, what was that? He's a witch?" She looked at me, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Did you tell him anything about Avery?" She asked me.

"What does that matter?"

"Did you tell him anything about her?!" She repeated, louder and more impatiently. I nodded my head.

"He only knows what I allowed him to. I told him that Avery isn't coming back. He showed an interest in her. I said that she's gone, for good." Natasha closed her eyes and sighed.

"I need to move her. She's not safe. Prepare your warriors. The war is about to come. I give it 48 hours maximum." She said and stood to her feet.

"Who was he, Natasha? He smelled like a werewolf and told us about the wizard, how he had slaughtered his family and then attacked Carlson. Is he working for Crow?" I asked her. If he did, I've fucked up badly. Natasha looked at me. She took her hand and laid it on my shoulder.

"That was Crow, James."