The Alpha’s Contract by Taylor West

Chapter 0448 Blair "You wantto walk Kade to school?" "Please don't talk with your mouth full." Mum scolds me. "But yes." "Isn't the school like two hundred feet from here. You could watch him from the window." "I could, but the entrance is around the other side." "I'm not allowed to leave the house unless I'm being watched." "Maddie has agreed to watch you from afar. All you have to do is walk him there, make sure he goes inside and cstraight back. I would but Braelyn has been awake most of the night. I need to get her to settle." Hlook at my little sister, clinging to mum as she lets out little whimpers. Last night was about the only night I wished I could leave the house.

"Okay." I agree, only so I can try and find out what is going on with the little brat.

"Thank you." Kade stares atas he pulls his bag onto his back and even without my Lycan I can see that he hates the idea. "I'm not a baby." He snarls at"Then maybe you should tell mum, because she askedto walk you." "Only because my stupid sister was up all night." "HEY!" I snap at him and he actually seems surprised. "Braelyn is a baby. She cannot tell anyone what is hurting or if she wants something. Maybe you will realise one day that we all have bad days, no matter how old we are." "Whatever." We leave the house and immediately he kicks over one of mum's plants. Stamping it into the ground.

"You say you are not a baby but you are certainly acting like one." "Fuck off!" He glares atand even I'm shocked. He turns eight tomorrow, not eighteen... "Are you serious right now?" I fold my arms across my chest and he copies me.

"I'm not scared of you. Maybe you should be scared of me. Now that you haven't got your Lycan." I grab hold of his shirt collar and drag him back to the house. He tries to punchand kick me, but I'm intelligent enough to keep him at arms length.

Pushing open the front door, Calihan stares atwith wide eyes.

"Where's mum?" "Her bedroom." his blue eyes move to Kade and then past us. "Dad is going to be so mad." Looking over my shoulder I see Ryken marching towards us. A deep frown on his face as his hands ball into fists. Calihan disappears while Kade tries to get out of my grip.

"Care to tellwhat's happening?" Ryken demands "She hit me!" Kade pulls himself free of my grip or maybe I let him go at the shock of his response. I wasn't really sure.

Ryken's eyes narrow to slits as he stares at me. "Basement." "You don't...." "Basement." He repeats. His tone deep. I nod and turn away, just to hear him tell Kade to go to his room.

"But dad...." "I said bedroom, now." I don't hear anything else as I slip through the door leading down to my room.

Sitting on my bed, I keep my eyes locked on the door at the top of the stairs. Waiting for Rykens inevitable appearance. Kade was going to be the reason everything goes tits up for me. Not unless I can prove otherwise.

My leg jigs on its own, like I have no control over it. It moves faster than the beat of my heart as a drop of sweat makes its way down my spine.

There's a knock on the door.

"Cin." I whisper Ryken appears, the floorboards creaking below his feet. He steadily plods down the stairs and lets out a heavy sigh as he reaches the bottom.

"What happened Blair?" I tell him exactly what happened. Repeating Kades words exactly. There was no way I was letting a seven year old be the reason I die.

"I have to ask." "I didn't hit him. It was like I said, I grabbed his collar and brought him back inside. Ask Maddie." Thad seen her watching us, though I hadn't mentioned it to Kade.

"Maddie?" "Like I said, mum askedto walk him to school, I reminded her that I couldn't leave the house unless I was being watched. She said Maddie would watchand I saw her." He sits on the bed next to me, "Sadly, I believe you." "You do?" "I'm as surprised as you are. But I believe you because you didn't seewatching you." "It was a test?" I scoff "You like Maddie, I wanted to make sure she wouldn't cover for you. I saw what he did with my own eyes. I heard exactly what he said to you." "Then why didn't you intervene?" "I wanted to see how you handled it. If you had hit him, this would be a very different conversation." "I'm trying to not get killed." I mutter "But if you don't do something, that kid is going to end up killing someone." "Speaking from experience?" I don't answer but we both know I am.

"What are you going to do?" I ask quietly "I need to get to the bottom of it. I can't fix anything if I don't know what is causing the issues." I nod in agreement. Though Kades attitude would suggest this has been building for a long time.

I spend the rest of the day in the sethen basement, slipping out to use then bathroom or grabbing something to eat. I figured if I just stayed out of Kades way, it would help a little. After everyone has gone to bed, I make my way up to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and sit at the counter, thumbing through one of mum's many books.

"Why are you awake?" Kade makesjump. I was still trying to decide if the lack of hearing was worse than the lack of scenting someone.

"Kade, you should be asleep." I whisper "I asked you a question." I gesture to the glass. "I was thirsty." He walks to the other side of the counter and stares at me. "Are you here to hurt us?" "No. Why would you ask that?" "You left before. You left mum,and Calihan."

"That was a long tago and it was a mistake." I couldn't see his hands and it was makingnervous. "Sometimes, we make mistakes. Sometimes, they are so bad that they ruin our lives." "Why?" "I lost my Lycan because of my choices." "Because you were stupid. That's what he said. You were stupid and you needed to be punished. Everyone is stupid." "Who said that?" He continues to stare atand right now, more than anything, I wish I could link mum or Ryken.

"What's in your hand?" He smiles and lifts his hands to showthat they are empty. "I'm going to bed." He turns and runs away.

My heart pounds in my chest.

"Mum?" I mutter running for the stairs just as Kade slams his bedroom door. I dive into her room to find her fast asleep with Braelyn next to her. Calihan is tucked up in his bed too. Ryken. Where is Ryken? I find him asleep in Braelyns room, most likely wanting speace and quiet. I close my eyes and let out a breath. At least he hadn't hurt them, but who was he talking about. X