Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 242 A Long Story
The night was going exactly as Ann had hoped it would. Lexi had been correct in her initial assessment of Aoife, she really was a dark horse.
The Bellevue alcohol barely seemed to touch her and as the omega’s brought across the third bottle of the evening, the mood was high.
“Honestly though, I think there’s a lot of people who would kill to be in your position,” Aoife gushed as Lexi snorted in disagreement.
“Then they can have them, seriously. Having one guy watch your every move and try to tell you what you can and can’t do was unbearable enough, but now I’m supposed to have two? Well, that’s just plain rude” She moaned as she scowled at her glass.
Aoife laughed.
“I’m sure it will get easier. You just need the grumpy, stiff one to accept that it is what it is, then everything will work out, you’ll see.”
“Grumpy and stiff…? Allen? No… he’s already…” Lexi frowned in confusion as Ann and Aoife burst out laughing.
“No! Greyson! He’s completely the brooding type. Allen looks at you like a lost puppy when you aren’t paying attention.” Aoife giggled.
“Pfft. You should have seen him at the beginning “ Lexi scoffed as Ann nodded along, “He was always angry whatever I did and on my case with his ‘Stop doing that, you can’t do this, why are you like you are’ blah blah blah” Lexi intoned perfectly mimicking Alien’s voice.
“To be fair though, you did enjoy poking him frequently, just to get a reaction.” Ann teased. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Lexi answered sweetly as they collapsed into laughter. When they caught their breath again, Lexi casually took a long sip from her glass and placed it back on the table, eyeing Aoife with interest.
“So what about you? How did you and Felix meet?” She asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Oh! Erm, well… it’s kind of a long story,” Aoife stammered, suddenly looking rather self-conscious. “That’s okay, we’ve got ALL night long to talk about this.” Lexi grinned as she took another sip Aoife glanced between Lexi and Ann before her shoulders slumped in defeat and she reached for her glass.
“Okay fine. But it’s terribly boring.”
“That’s okay too We can’t all have drama-filled lives like Queenie over there.” Lexi quipped as she gestured towards Ann.
Aoife took a deep breath and stared down at her fingers wrapped around the rim of her glass as she argued with herself in her head.
Should she tell them the whole story? The absolute truth of how they met despite the Dubois swearing her to secrecy? Would it really change anything?
She swore internally and lifted her glass to her lips, draining the crimson liquid within as Ann and Lexi exchanged a glance.
“Okay, so I lied. It’s not really a long story, and I’m not sure whether or not you’ll find it boring.” She said after she had wiped her mouth self-consciously, “My parents are magick users, I’m witch born if you must know, and I had sworn to the Dubois that I wouldn’t repeat this to anyone. So please, regardless of if this changes your opinion of me, I need you to keep this to yourselves.”
Ann and Lexi’s faces became very still and serious as they nodded somberly.
“We already knew you were witch-born, actually.” Lexi said softly, “Papa sensed it. You have the same energy as my mother’s side of the family. So, really, if you think about it, I’m witch-born too… the Daemon just adds a little extra spice into the mix.”
The relief on Aoife’s face was almost breathtaking as she nodded and smiled softly.
“That explains why I felt a connection as soon as I met you.” She said quietly, nodding to herself with newfound confidence, “Okay then where do I even start?”
“The beginning is usually a good place.” Lexi quipped dryly with a teasing grin as Aoife snorted. “Thanks, that was really helpful Lexi.” She replied sarcastically, before continuing. “So, a few years ago, one of my extended family members had managed to get on the wrong side of one of the Dubois. It was one of the brothers…Jasper, I think it was, but I could be mistaken. I suppose it doesn’t really matter how the disagreement started or who started it, what matters is what came after.”
Lexi visibly tensed at his name, but Aoife carried on, seemingly not noticing the tension in the air. “When Jasper came to collect what he felt was due, he had brought along a small contingent of men… wolves… whatever, as well as his younger brothers. He was there with his father’s blessing, to collect on what they said was owed to them and maintain the Dubois’ reputation and honor.”
“He’s as far from honorable as anyone can get,” Lexi seethed, “but do carry on.”
A small frown appeared on Aoife’s brow as she wondered if Lexi had also had some sort of a run-in with Felix’s older brother, but she decided not to ask about it just yet and continued quietly
“Jasper being Jasper, had already entered the commune forcefully and located our house, and he didn’t waste anytime in kicking the door down and confronting our family Things got a little.. heated, shall we say, and before we knew what was happening he had my mother pinned against the wall and was adamant that he was going to s**»****r every last one of us for the insult he felt that he had suffered.”
“I had been in my room, going over a few things that I hadn’t finished for college, when I heard the noise from downstairs, so I rushed out onto the landing As soon as I got to the top of the staircase, I was instantly pinned in place by the most intense pair of eyes that I had ever seen.”
“Felix’s?” Ann asked softly as Aoife nodded gently.
“Yes. He murmured something that I couldn’t quite make out, but as soon as he realized what his brother was intending to do to my parents, he tackled him to the ground. It was utter chaos as his men didn’t know what to do and their other brothers’ stood at the sides unsure of what was going on. It wasn’t until Felix pinned Jasper and screamed at him that if he was going to murder his mate and her family then he would stop at nothing to see him burn, that the rest of them stepped in to support Felix.”
“Huh.” Lexi snorted softly, “I hadn’t realized that they even had other brothers I thought it was just
Jasper and Felix.”
Aoife laughed bitterly.
“Well, they don’t have other brothers, not anymore, not really.”
“What do you mean?” Ann frowned.
“Well most of them died in what I would call suspicious circumstances, but nobody wants to see it. The ones that weren’t killed are on life support in a private facility that only their father and mother may visit.” She said simply as Ann and Lexi exchanged a look between themselves.
Had Jasper really killed his own siblings too?
“So, let me get this straight, Jasper killed all of his siblings and the Dubois refuse to do anything about it?” Lexi snorted in disbelief.
“I… I… I never said Jasper was definitively responsible for it!” Aoife stammered quickly, looking behind her in fear as if expecting some retribution from somewhere.
“Lexi, calm down. I know the bar is empty but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people lurking outside that we aren’t aware of.” Ann said as she reached for her arm and patted it gently.
“Sorry,” Lexi mumbled in apology as she stared intently at Aoife, “But you suspect he had something to do with it right?”
Aoife nodded miserably.
“I’d be stupid not to, but you don’t understand…no one can say anything against him in their household. He is like a god in their eyes and can do no wrong. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“A god is he?” Lexi sneered, “I’m happy to put to the test just how immortal he is…”
“Lexi,” Ann admonished sharply and Lexi scowled in response as Ann turned back to face Aoife, “Listen, we know Jasper has done some terrible things in the past, and we know just how hard it is to get his father to force him to take responsibility for anything he’s done, I just want you to know, if you need a safe place , you have one here.” Ann offered gently as Aoife smiled up at her.
“Thank you, but it’s okay. Felix protects me and if I can keep my head down then there won’t be any repercussions. Short of forcing the king to abdicate, or getting rid of Jasper entirely, there’s nothing much that can be done.”
“Oh believe me Aoife, Jasper will get his comeuppance, we’ll make sure of it.” Lexi ground out as Ann nodded in agreement.
“The only question is if he’ll face his responsibilities and pay what the law demands for his crimes, or whether he’ll pay for it with his life,” Ann added seriously as she reached for the bottle to refill Aoife’s now empty glass.
The mood had taken a dive for sure, but at least they knew a little more about Jasper and the situation at the Dubois’s residence.
One question weighed heavily on Ann’s mind though, Felix’s’ father seemed far too complacent in his position, almost exactly as her father was. Narcissa wasn’t to blame for the Dubois family’s circumstances, but perhaps her coven was.