The Alpha’s Contract
P2- Chapter 0009

Damien

I sigh as I leave the house and make my way across the grounds, preparing myself for the worst. I hadn't been called in since the incident with Kade.

As I approach, children are already leaving the small school, but the session wasn't over yet.

The teacher greets me at the door, her face etched in concern. She gestures for me to follow her. Before she even points her out, I see Dottie's trainers sticking out from under a desk. "I can't get through to her." The teacher tells me in a whisper. "She is inconsolable."

I hear Dottie's little whimpers and snuffles telling me she has a snotty nose. "How long has she been like this?"

"The tears have been on and off since her arrival. I will be outside if you need me."

"Dottie, come out."

Her toes twitch, but she doesn't move.

"Dottie, I can move the desk, but I want you to come out and talk to me." The snuffles continue, yet she doesn't speak.

Squatting down to the floor, I see she is hugging her teddy bear tightly. Her bright green eyes laced with tears. Red, puffy cheeks shine from where she had been rubbing them. "Dottie?"

"Daddy's in trouble!" She croaks as the tears break free.

"Brax?"

Her eyes drift to her feet. "A fire and scary water."

"Come here," I pull her out and wrap my arms around her. I couldn't tell her that Brax would be fine, not when I didn't know what was happening.

"I think... I think Daddy is going to die." She chokes as she hugs me.

"How do you know?"

She shrugs and scrunches her face. "He said he loved me and to be good."

"You heard him?" I was confused; she was so young, but then again, he was her birth father, and Hunters had abilities that others didn't.

"Uh-huh."

I couldn't link Brax. He refused to be a part of the pack. That made him unreachable by anything other than a phone. "Have you tried talking to him?"

She nods.

"He hasn't said anything else?"

She shakes her head.

"He told you there was a fire?"

"No." She whimpers, her eyes hovering on mine, "I felt it."

What did that mean? How could she feel something that was happening hundreds of miles away?

"When did you hear him?"

"Breakfast." It explained why she suddenly wasn't hungry anymore and why she asked to walk to school alone. "Is he with Klaus?"

She shrugs.

"Let's go and see Neah and Dane in the new packhouse." I smile at her.

"I'm in trouble?"

"No, of course not. I just want you to tell them what you have told me. Can you do that?" "Yes, Daddy."

We walk across the grounds to the pack house. Dottie clings to me the entire way, refusing to let me put her down. I could feel her fear and her worry. It radiates off of her in ways that you don't usually feel from other children. I was sure she hadn't even discovered her full range of abilities, at the same time, she still had a long way to go before she gained her Wolf.

I step into the packhouse, and Dottie finally relaxes enough to look around. "Wow!"

Evrin and Logan come charging out of one of the side doors, crashing into my legs as Dane appears. "Boys, try not to knock him over." He pulls Logan from my leg and swings him up onto his shoulders. "If you are looking for Samara, she is in there With Neah.” He nods at the office.

"Actually, we need to talk to both of you."

His eyes shift to Dottie. "She might be a while. Can you tell me?"

Dottie nods as I lower her to her feet. "Daddy is in trouble. I think he is going to die."

"Brax," I add when Dane cocks a brow at me.

"Let's get some ice cream." Dane winks at her, and Dottie and Evrin chase him to the kitchen as I glance at the office door. I hoped they were working things out.