Alpha Ch. 04

In silence they listened to the last words of the lullaby.

"Your daddy coories doon, my darling, doon in a three-foot seam, so you can coorie doon my darling, coorie doon and dream."

Eala said crept out of the room with Corban and stared around at the faces watching her. Her cheeks heated.

"You were listening?"

Anton shrugged. "You've got a real talent there little one."

Drago took her hand and led her down the stairs. She could see something was troubling him but before she could ask Nix pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you for today. I hope we'll be seeing you for Orion's birthday."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Nix kissed her cheek before pulling Drago to her. "Come back soon OK?"

Outside Drago swung his leg over his bike and she climbed on behind him. They didn't bother with helmets and he peeled out of the drive. She couldn't speak as they sped along the road but she could feel he was tense. When they reached his house he took her hand and pulled her inside. His council followed and she looked around at them feeling the tension in the air.

Drago took hold of her arms and looked intently into her face.

"Eala I need you to promise me something."

"OK."

"I need you to go upstairs and wait there for me. Promise me you won't come out."

"Drago what's," she didn't even finish her sentence before he shook her gently.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

He kissed her forehead. "Good girl." He turned back to his council and nodded. They filed through a door just before the kitchen and she watched as they descended stone steps into darkness. She could hear voices but then the door closed and silenced them again.

She dithered. Her curiosity was killing her. She looked up the stairs then back to the door. She stood rooted to the spot for nearly ten minutes before she swore under her breath.

"Fuck it."

She pushed open the door and followed them down the stairs. The walls were heavy grey stone. The stairs were pitch black but as she descended she could see a flickering light up ahead. She walked down a short corridor towards the light then stopped as it opened out into a large room. The rooms were the same heavy stone and it was lit by torches around the walls. It was filled with people. They were knelt on the floor and at the end of the room she saw Drago and the others. they were all naked. They all had grave looks on their face and Drago was speaking.

"Sarah Wynters. You have been brought before the Council of your Pack tonight to answer for your crimes against a human. Do you have anything to say before we begin?"

"Please Alpha."

A woman was knelt on the floor in front of Drago slightly in front of the rest of the people. She too was naked and her hands were held in front of her. Her hair was dark and matted. Her head was tilted upwards as she stared into Drago's face.

Drago nodded and Lucius stepped forwards. "Sarah Wynters, you have violated the laws set forth for our kind by the Order. By biting and turning a human you have put your Pack in danger. The punishment for this crime is death."

Ealasaid clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Please Alpha it was a mistake. Please forgive me."

"This is not the first time you have violated the laws with a human. You were warned that I would not be able to protect from this. You have left me no choice; I cannot put you ahead of the safety of the rest of my Pack."

"Please!" Sarah was screaming now. She threw her hands up and Ealasaid could see thick silver cuffs on her wrists. "Please Alpha!"

Drago knelt in front of her, pushing her hair back from her face he kissed the woman's forehead.

"We will meet you in the next life and run free once again."

He stood and Ealasaid watched as his face changed. His eyes glowed yellow, his teeth elongated into sharp fangs and his hands curls as his nails turned to thick claws. The men surrounding him also changed and as Ealasaid watched Drago pulled the woman up by the hair. He sank his sharp teeth into her throat, ripping it out.

A mournful howl rose from the Pack and Drago looked up. His mouth was covered in blood, it dripped over his chin and down his throat. His eyes fell on Ealasaid and his face turned ashen.

"Eala."

"You killed her." The whole room turned to look at her. She stepped into the room and the people knelt on the floor parted to let her through. "You killed her."

"Eala let me explain."

"You don't need to explain." She moved slowly through the room. She knew she should feel scared but she only felt numb. "I know what you are."

She reached the front. She stared up at Drago and despite himself he felt pride well in his chest. She stood tall amongst his Pack with no sign of fear.

"Show me."

"What do you mean."

"I want to be sure. I want you to show me." She said nothing else, simply waited.

Drago took a deep breath. This could be it, the moment he lost her forever. Closing his eyes, he let the change take over.

Ealasaid watched, transfixed, as his skin began to move, rippling over his muscles as though water moved underneath it. A snarl ripped from his chest and he fell forward onto his hands and knees. His skin split and when his face turned back to look at her she saw his mouth and nose pushing forward into a snout. She could hear his bones snapping as they reshaped. The noise brought back memories that made bile rise in her throat.

Where Drago had stood there was now a huge black wolf. Her head didn't even reach the beasts shoulder and she could feel its hot breath on her skin. She held out her hand almost instinctively and the wolf pressed its muzzle against her hand.

"I fucking knew it."

*

A knock came at her cell door. Ealasaid turned and watched as the door opened. A guard came in. He watched her warily and held his gun tightly.

"You have been allowed down to the mess hall to eat."

She stood and held out her hands. The guard locked the cuffs around her wrists and motioned her out of the door. She walked calmly, she knew there would be Guards watching her but she could never see them. When the reached the mess hall she sat at the end of one long table and waited. She could hear the whispers of the other prisoners but kept her eyes trained downwards.

A tray was slid in front of her and she picked her up fork. It was difficult to eat with the heavy shackles around her wrist but she simply enjoyed being out of her cell. Eventually the Guards watching her relaxed and moved away leaving her to eat in peace. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and sighed as she heard someone sit down beside her.

"Well our champion has graced the rest of us with her presence." Ealasaid rolled her eyes and continued to eat. "What too good to socialise with us?"

She turned and looked into the grey eyes of the man sat next to her. His mouth split open in a smile and she saw sharp teeth.

"You really are pretty. Why are you wasting your time with the mutt?"

"Is there any answer I could give that would make you go away?"

He smiled wider. "Come on baby I could show you something special. You ever been fucked by a Vampyre?"

His hand moved to rest on her thigh. She clutched the plastic fork in her hand. His hand travelled up her leg and she felt sick.

"I'm getting out of here soon. I could take you with me? I think you would make a pretty little wife for me."

"Don't touch me." Her voice was cold and her yes flashed dangerously. She held the fork tighter and felt it snap beneath her fingers. The jagged edge pressed into her palm but she didn't feel the pain.

"Come on baby. I bet you could be real sweet if you tried."

He moved his hand higher, sliding between her legs and she lost it.

"I said don't fucking touch me." She swung her still shackled hands round and buried the sharp edge of the fork into his neck. He jumped back clutching at his throat as the blood spilled out between his fingers.

"Hey!"

Ealasaid felt hands on her and she was yanked backwards. She swung her hand again, blindly, and felt the warm spray of blood as she connected with flesh. More hands gripped her shoulders and a sharp blow to the back of her head made her eyes blur. She dropped her makeshift weapon and fell back onto the floor. A heavy, booted foot connected wit her stomach and she curled into a ball.

She was dragged from the mess hall. The shouts of the other prisoners followed her down the corridor. She was flung unceremoniously back into her cell and her head hit the stone floor. For a moment she was still. Her head pounded and her stomach heaved. Forcing herself to her knees she bent over and retched, bringing up everything she had just eaten.

Falling back to the floor she stared at the metal door. She tried to force the tears back but they spilled down her cheeks. She sobbed.

A little while later the door opened again. She knew that it would. Gentle hands lifted her and sat her on the bed. Sinoff unlocked the shackles from her wrists and knelt in front of her. Behind him she could see two Guards, their weapons trained on her. The second she made a move she would be shot.

"Why do you protect him? All you have to do is tell us where he is and we'll let you go."

She laughed. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? We both know I'm not getting out of here, not as I am anyway."

"Just tell us where he is. I promise you nothing else will happen to you."

"You can't promise me anything. You don't decide what happens to me, you answer to higher people." She met his eyes. "And if they want to know where Drago is they're going to be disappointed. I will never tell you where he is, I won't be the one to put him back in this place."

Sinoff stared into her determined face before sighing and leaving the room. The Guards locked the door and Sinoff took his phone from his trouser pocket. Dialling quickly, he waited for an answer.

"Has she told you?"

"No. She refuses to tell me where LaBelle is." Sinoff paused, working up his nerve to ask his next question. "Why is he so important? We have a Pure One, why does LaBelle matter?"

"That is none of your concern. The Senior Agents will come to speak with the girl tomorrow. She is no longer your responsibility."

"She's a good girl. She doesn't deserve this."

"Be careful Doctor. Anyone would think you care for the girl."

"She's a child, she needs to be protected not exploited."

"Noted. You will not see her again."

Sinoff listened to the click as the phone was hung up. He glanced back to the door his mind racing at what the Senior Agents would do to her.

*

Drago waited outside the door to their bedroom. After he had changed Ealasaid had run from the room and locked herself inside. Raising his hand, he went to knock but pulled back. he could admit to himself that he was afraid. He didn't know what would await him on the other side of the door.

"Eala?" He called softly but there was no answer. "Can I come in?"

For a moment there was silence then, finally, the sound of the lock turning. She opened the door and looked up at him. He had dressed in his jeans and cleaned the blood from his skin but all she could see was the wolf.

"You're a Werewolf?"

He shrugged. "Not quite."

She turned and walked away. He followed her in, closing the door behind him and watched as she stood in the middle of the room.

"I guess I owe you an explanation?" She didn't answer. "I'm a Lycan."

"There's a difference?"

"A Were is made, a Lycan is born." He sighed, he hadn't told this story in years. "My parents come from two old bloodlines. Both were born to human parents but with no trace of human blood. It's rare but it still happens. In my family there is no human blood."

"What about the others?"

"All of the others were turned, born human and made Were."

"I see." She was quiet as she thought. "That woman? She turned a human?"

"More than one. She put the Pack in danger. It was kinder this way, if the Order had gotten hold of her they would have made her suffer. They would have made all of us suffer. I had to protect them." He paused. "You don't seem very shocked by any of this."

She laughed but it was cold. "I told you that I have secrets. Guess it's only fair that I tell you." She sank onto the edge of the bed. "My dad was a Protector for the Order."

"He worked for them?" Drago clenched his hands into fists as he remembered what the Order had done to him.

"And his dad and his dad. It goes way back. I knew about these things since I was a kid. If my dad had lived long enough he would have trained me to be a Protector, my brother too. Call it the family business." She sighed. "You know what I am then?"

He nodded.

She lent her head back and closed her eyes. "How about I just start from the beginning?"

"I think that would be best."

"I was born in Scotland. My daddy died when I was five. He had been hunting a Pack that was abducting humans and forcing them to fight. Some sort of underground tournament. He got too close and they caught him. He got away but one followed him. He led the Pack right back to me." She blinked the tears away. Her accent was stronger, she didn't bother to try and hide it. "One night daddy didn't come home. Calan turned up a few days later."

She twisted her hands in her lap. "My mum is a good woman. Even when she made the wrong decision she did it for the right reasons. She thought Calan would look after us."

"What did he do?" Drago forced his voice to be calm.

"I don't know much about Pure Ones but I know there are two steps to complete the change. I was so young when they performed the first but I remember every second. It hurt." She swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't want to cry in front of him. "I already knew how to fight and with the Fae venom I'm stronger and faster than any human but I am still human. That other side of me is there but I fought every second of every day to stop it from taking over. I still do. He would fight me so the Pack could watch. He said if I refused then he would kill mum and Tavish."

"Tavish is your brother?"

"Yeah. I couldn't lose them too."

"How did he die?"

"He found out what Calan was doing, what he was. He went down there, he was going to offer himself instead. Said it would be better entertainment to see a full human fight but they didn't listen. I was there when he died. They put him in a cage with seven Weres on the full moon. They made me watch. They said if I told anyone else what was happening then they would do the same to mum." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I couldn't let that happen to her."

"I'm so sorry little one."

She looked back to him and forced a sad smile. "So am I."

"So you've managed to control that side of you since you were five?" She nodded. "How?"

"Because I know what would happen if I don't control it. Some says are harder than others but I just think if I stop trying people will get hurt. I don't want to see anyone hurt again."

"That's amazing."

"That's my life." She closed her eyes for a second. It felt good to finally tell someone everything. She had been carrying her secret for 13 years.

"I was taken by the Order after my parents died." He came and sat on the bed next to her. "Years ago, before you were born, Lycans were seen as trophies to other races. Humans, Vampyre's, other Weres would hunt them for sport. My parents were killed by humans. They were kept in a cage for entertainment then their heads were mounted on a wall. I searched for months after they were taken but by the time I found them it was too late. I had never harmed a human before but seeing them like that," he paused and took a deep breath. Even now the image of his parent's wolf from ripped to shreds still haunted him.

"I hunted down every last human that had hurt them and the ones who had come to see them. Humans used to pay money to come and watch the transformations. It was sick. I killed them all. The Order found out what I was doing and came after me. I managed to stay one step ahead of them until the very end. I got careless. a Lycan can force the change even without the moon but we have to be careful. If we do it too often it messes with our head. I was close to loosing the humane side of me when they found me."

He looked at her carefully. He expected to see disgust in her eyes at what he had done but there was none. She simply waited for him to continue.

"They kept me in silver, I couldn't fight back. Every month on the full moon they would put me in the Pits and force me to fight. I would still change but I was weak, it made for good entertainment. I thought I was going to die in there until I met Lucius. He was just a kid when they brought him in, not much older than you are. He was scared but strong so they put him in the Pits. We protected each other. He helped me get my strength back. The guards didn't know but I could feel it, I felt like an Alpha again. I waited until the next moon and when they came to take me to the Pits I ripped them to pieces. Lucius unlocked my chains and we fought our way out. He has been with me ever since."

"Drago." Her voice cracked and he pulled her to his chest. Holding her tightly he dug his fingers into her skin, desperate to feel every inch of her.

"Do you think I'm a monster?" His question tumbled from him. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to know the answer.

"Yes." He felt his heart tear. "But so am I." She looked up at him with a weak smile. "Maybe we're made for each other."

"I think we are."

She turned her face up and kissed him. His mind went blank and he pulled her closer to him. He pulled her onto his lap and dragged her t-shirt over her head. She arched her back pushing her fingers through his messy hair as she kissed him.

Ealasaid reached between them. Her quick fingers undid the button and zip on his jeans. Drago lifted his hips and pushed his jeans down. Her cheeks were burning and she met his eyes. His heart lurched at what he saw there. A bright heat that let him know she excepted everything he was.

"Drago." His name was a breathy whisper.

He stood and lay her down on the bed. He lent over her and ran his hand down her neck.

"Your skin is always so soft." She was trembling beneath his fingers. He moved his hand down to cover her breast. "You're like silk."

He crawled onto the bed and his lips followed the path his fingers had taken. He kissed over her stomach and along the waistband of the jeans she still wore. He tugged them down and threw them away then flipped her onto her stomach. A soft gasp escaped her at his sudden movement before it turned to a moan as his hand smoothed over the curve of her ass. He leant down, biting gently, before he slapped the round globe of one cheek.

Ealasaid giggled and pushed back against his hand. A deep growl tore from his chest and he spanked her again, harder. He watched the red mark bloom on her pale skin before rubbing his hand over the print. He moved behind her and pulled her up onto her knees. Her chest still rested on the bed and she felt his eyes on her exposed pussy. He wrapped his arms around her thighs pulling her closer to his mouth. He ran his tongue over her and collected her sweet juices. Her hands clutched at the sheets beneath her and she buried her face down to hide her burning cheeks.

Drago held her tighter and pulled her closer. His tongue took another slow lick over her skin before dipping down to find her clit. His fingers dug into her skin and he feasted. His tongue worked her clit, driving her higher until she was trembling uncontrollably.

"Drago please." She didn't even know what she was asking for. Her mind was blank and she couldn't think as her orgasm grew.

Drago pressed his tongue harder against her clit. He moved faster and a cry fell from her lips as her hips thrust back against him as her orgasm gripped her. Her nails curled into the sheets and she tried to move away but his arms around her kept her where she was. His tongue didn't stop moving against her and she struggled. Her body was on fire, her stomach clenching as he pushed her orgasm higher. She bit down on her arm trying to keep quiet. She was suddenly very aware that the house was full of people.