Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 208 The Start of The Horror Show
The lounge Lexi had taken Allen to was pretty much deserted at this time of day. There weren’t too many people who enjoyed a liquid brunch at the enclave clearly, but that served Lexi’s goals just fine.
“So, are you going to tell me or not?” Lexi asked impatiently as soon as the omega that was acting as waitress deposited their order and disappeared off into the recess behind the bar.
Allen sighed and picked at the edge of the table absent-mindedly as he debated how best to answer her. She was right of course, and Orvar agreed with everything that she said. Not that it surprised him. When it came to Lexi, Orvar was clearly biased.
‘It’s not biased, it’s being intelligent enough to realize when you’re wrong, and let’s face it Allen, you’ve been wrong a lot so far.’
‘I didn’t ask for your commentary on my choices that I clearly regret, Orvar.’ Allen snapped as his mind went into overdrive.
‘No, but you’ll get them anyway…’ Orvar replied with a smirk and was about to continue when Lexi tutted impatiently at him
“Sorry, wolf talk…” Allen shrugged apologetically with a tight smile.
“You do realize that this whole talking to yourself thing makes you seem more than just a little psychotic, right? Hearing voices and answering them will usually get you a one-way ticket to being committed to the local asylum.” Lexi replied half seriously.
Allen snorted.
“If I could lock him away in there sometimes just to get a bit of peace, I might actually consider it for a viable vacation spot.”
‘Good luck with that. Humans and their drugs won’t shut me up because I’m part of you.’ Orvar grumbled as he slumped to the floor moodily as Allen pointedly shut him out.
“Look, I don’t even know where to begin with this Lexi…” He trailed off helplessly as she rolled her eyes and took a long gulp from the glass she clung tightly to in her hand.
“The beginning is usually a good point.” Lexi quipped nonchalantly with a wave of her hand, the liquid inside the glass sloshing a little too close to the edges of the glass for Alien’s liking.
“I… had a… falling out with Felix’s brother…” Allen answered haltingly, as he stared into his glass.
“No s**t Sherlock.” Lexi snapped in exasperation, “I already figured that out. What did you argue about?”
“Well, I was trying to tell you…”
“Then s*hu*t up and tell me!”
“How can I shut up AND tell you? It’s physically impossible!” Allen countered, desperate to delay the inevitable, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
“Allen…” Lexi growled warningly as her eyes flashed that angry hue of crimson that warned of her rising temper. They stared at one another at a standoff before Alien’s shoulders sagged and he tore his eyes from hers in defeat. “The Dubois family have always been a rival of sorts,” Allen explained finally as Lexi studied him carefully.
“In what way?”
“Well, the fact that they are neighboring Kingdoms and all that. They coexist peacefully of course, but there’s always an underlying sense of them trying to prove that they’re superior in different ways.”
“Ah, so the standard d*ic*k-measuring contest you boys like to crow about then.” Lexi smirked. “We’re not all like that you know.” Allen scowled, which just made Lexi’s smirk transform into an even wider grin of amusement.
“Sure You keep telling yourself that big boy,” Lexi teased as she gestured for him to continue. “So, you boys have a rivalry, got it. How is that different from every other pack out there?”
Allen shifted awkwardly in his chair and took a sip of the whisky in front of him, circling the liquid inside the glass and watching it intently as it swirled furiously, crashing over the ice cubes within like a raging storm at sea, the movement of the liquid almost perfectly mimicking the tempest of emotions within him.
“This one is personal. There was an incident a few years ago, during a competition,” Allen explained quietly, his voice dropping to a hushed tone full of darkness and pain and Lexi felt herself suddenly overcome with a feeling of foreboding “Felix’s brother, Jasper Dubois has a reputation for being viciously cruel and uncompromising in all aspects of his life. He was the same in competitions and when it came to ranked fighting, he would settle for nothing less than first place.”
“Bit of an arrogant little t**t then, yes?” Lexi asked softly, as Allen’s mouth turned up into an ironic grin as he met her gaze.
“Yeah. You could say that. Adam floored him though, in seconds at this particular match and he didn’t take it well. Knowing full well that he couldn’t retaliate against the son of the Alpha of the Dark Moon, he decided to try against the Beta’s son … me.” He continued, holding eye contact until the ghost of pain flashed across his eyes and he lowered his gaze back to his drink again.
“I was the same back then as I am now, although my temper was worse and my mouth less guarded. Although I met him fairly when he issued the challenge, the challenge was anything but fair. He cheated outrageously, but as the son of a neighboring king, no one stepped in when he produced a very unique set of knuckle dusters adorned with tiny little spikes that were designed to inject wolfsbane directly into the bloodstream anytime that he successfully landed a hit during the fight.”
Lexi’s mouth set into a grim line as she listened intently This Jasper sounded like he needed a lesson in humility, that was for sure.
“Adam was incensed. He knew what was happening but was prevented from acting, forced to stand on the sidelines and watch as I was beaten to a near pulp thanks to the wolfsbane absolutely annihilating my strength They signaled for the match to end but he didn’t stop. It took six of them to pull him off me and as I lay unconscious on the ground, he turned to Adam with a grin that showed just how truly unrepentant he was.”
“So that’s the rivalry? The fact he beat you to a pulp?” Lexi asked, wanting to understand his pain, but the dark chuckle that escaped his throat made her blood run cold
“Oh no, that was just the start of the horror show. As he was dragged away, shouting threats and insults to anyone that would listen, his attention fell on the figure of a distraught girl running across the field towards where I lay.” Allen said, his voice cracking slightly as he sagged against the table, with his head in his hands.
“My little sister…” Allen forced out, his voice strangled in his throat, “I couldn’t protect her Lexi… none of us could…”