Chapter 0002

Neah

Don’t make a sound. Don’t make a sound.

I knew Alpha Dane was studying me. They all did, no one could ever quite believe how someone could do something so disgusting as poisoning their own parents. I stood there, with my head hanging low, wishing for the ground to open up and suck me in.

There are movements around me. He was standing directly in front of me. With a rough finger, he tilts my face up towards his, forcing me to look at him. Slowly, his hand latches onto my throat but he doesn’t squeeze. “You poisoned your parents?”

“I was six.” I splutter. “I just made them lemonade.” My voice comes out all squeaky as I try to defend myself. I could barely remember my parents, but I could remember all the guilt I had been made to feel since that day.

His crimson eyes flash to my brothers. “Hardly seems fair to blame a six-year-old.”

“A six-year-old should know the difference between plants.” Alpha Trey snaps

“Sounds to me like she was set up.” Alpha Dane shrugs his shoulders, letting go of my throat. “We all know that standard wolfsbane doesn’t affect us anymore. We evolved from that shit centuries ago.”

What? What did he mean? Wolfsbane wasn’t lethal. It had been drummed into me since I could walk.

“Which only leaves Blood of Wolfsbane.” Alpha Dane mutters

“You weren’t there, Alpha Dane.” My brother muttered through gritted teeth as his eyes narrowed to slits. “It was Wolfsbane.”

He nods his head. “You are right, I was not present.”

Great, now there was someone else who could remind me of something I had done by accident, years ago.

“But tell me this, where would a six-year-old get Blood of Wolfsbane?”

“I didn’t ask you here to talk about my slave!” Alpha Trey spits. “Or what happened to my parents.”

Alpha Dane grabs his leather jacket from the chair. Unlike other Alpha’s he seemed to dress more casually. A simple black tee and jeans covered his huge frame. And unlike other Alphas, his arms are bare of tattoos, not a single bit of ink poked out anywhere.

“You’re right and now I have a few things to mull over.”

“I thought we agreed.” My brother exclaims

“Nothing has been signed. Now I will show myself out.”

The moment he is out of the office, both my brother and Beta Kyle round on me. “What the fuck did you say to him?” My brother demands, slamming a hand into my stomach.

“N..nothing. Well, he just asked me why I smelled funny.”

“Did you tell him?” Beta Kyle demands. He was practically spitting in my face. I hated him. I hated him so much that I had vowed to one day get my revenge and rip his stomach out through his mouth.

“WELL?” My brother yells when I don’t immediately respond and smacks me across the side of the head.

My head involuntarily moves up and down. “But I didn’t say it was you.” I tried to sound strong and confident but it just came out as a whisper. If they weren’t Wolves, they probably wouldn’t have heard me.

My brother's hand locks into my black hair as he yanks my head back, sending a shooting pain through my skull. “If you have ruined this, you won’t see daylight again.”

He drags me by my hair from the office and down the hallway towards the basement door.

“Please….” I beg. “He was an Alpha…I… I had to answer him.” My cheeks burn with my tears as he flings the door open.

On the other side of the door is Alpha Dane. He is leaning against the wall with his arms folded, staring out at us. My brother's hand falls from my hair, relieving the pressure on the back of my skull.

“Alpha Dane, I thought you had left.” Alpha Trey murmurs angrily.

“I said I would show myself out. I thought I had found the door. Instead, I found a basement, riddled with your sister's strange scent. Is this how you treat your family?”

“As I said,” my brother holds his ground, “She is responsible for the death of my parents, so yes, this is what she deserves.”

“You should keep your nose out of other packs' business!” Beta Kyle adds.

Alpha Dane laughs. “If I agree to this deal, everything about your business becomes my business. So tell me, what would your punishment be for her? No food, locked away for a week, beatings?”

“We don’t….”

“Really?” He cocks a brow, “You expect me to believe that you would have just let her sleep? I have already stopped you from hitting her once. " His eyes roamed over me. "She is underfed, bags hover under her tired blue eyes. For a sister of an Alpha, she is certainly not treated like one. Regardless of what she allegedly did when she was a pup.”

“She did it!” Alpha Trey seethes “And she has nothing to do with our deal.”

“That’s for me to decide.” His crimson eyes flicker around the hallway. “Where is your mate? I would be interested to know how she feels about this.”

I close my eyes, silently begging my brother not to call his Luna. Luna Cassandra is worse than Beta Kyle and Alpha Trey together.

“On second thoughts, why bother her, I’m certain she is just as vile as you.” He sneers

I peer through slits to see his crimson eyes on me. There was no reason for him to defend me and yet he was. I was a nobody, no one special. Just who everyone called a traitor. Only instead of being given a death sentence, my brother decided to make me spend my life suffering.

“I have a proposition for you, Alpha Trey.” Alpha Dane is smirking at my brother

“We have already agreed on terms.”

“Well, I’m adding one. And if you don’t agree, you will not get my help. Instead, you will become my enemy. And we both know you don’t want that.”

“I take it that your new terms have something to do with her?” Alpha Trey mutters through clenched teeth.

“You would be correct. Let me take her away to my pack and then you, Trey will have a deal.”

Me? Why would he want me?

As my brother and his Beta discuss me, Alpha Dane is still studying me. His look made me nervous. What could someone like him possibly want with me?

“Deal.” Alpha Trey sticks out his hand for Alpha Dane to shake. He doesn’t take it. Instead, his crimson eyes shift from me to my brother.

“I will have paperwork drawn up and will return tomorrow.” He cups my face, “Ensure you have everything packed.” He drags his thumb across my bottom lip and strides to the opposite end of the hallway and straight to the front door. He knew exactly where the front door was, so what was he up to?

He pauses at the door. “If I find out any one of you has laid a hand on her. The contract will be the last thing you need to worry about.” He struts out, slamming the door behind him.

“Get out of my sight!” My brother snaps at me.

Hurrying away, I make my way up the stairs and into my tiny bedroom. It was practically empty, the only things I had were a few changes of clothes. It would take me less than a minute to pack

By morning, I hadn’t slept. Alpha Danes questions were on repeat and why was I so interesting to a Wolf like him? There was a reason he had the biggest pack. They were known for their fighting abilities, that’s why my brother wanted to link Moonshine with Alpha Danes pack, but where did I fit into all this? And what the hell is Blood of Wolfsbane?