The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 19: Chapter 19
You are reading The Alpha's Gamble, Chapter 19: Chapter 19. Read more chapters of The Alpha's Gamble.
NOAH
Keeping my eyes open without revealing how murderous I felt when I saw her battered front was hard enough. The cuts and bruises, the wounds to her ribs and her waist... but then I saw her in the bathroom, her back. The words were carved into her skin. It was a fucking message…to me.
Written on her skin.
I knew what wounds were covered by her pants, the fucking mark on her thigh, and the deep cuts from their claws but through all of it, nothing had been personal, not like that message.
‘Next time we’ll keep your bitch, Noah’
There won’t be a next time with Maddie, but they’ll see me soon enough.
I barged into Logan’s room and swiped a t-shirt that hung on his chair, mine got wet when I filled the tub for Maddie and tried to figure out how the fuck that bubble soap worked. After pouring in half the bottle, I started mixing the water like a soup with my arm, being splashed with waves of water at every turn, but at least it worked. It was supposed to be good for soothing the skin; at least, that’s what Olga told me when I bought it from her in the herbal shop downtown. The plan was to put it in Maddie’s room before she woke up, pretending that Mother had bought it for her, but I didn’t have time after my dad pulled Logan and me into his office for a talk. A talk. He told us to leave her the fuck alone, in those exact words, and while Logan bitched about it being Maddie’s idea I just sat there, silently agreeing with my father for the first time since I was five.
I hurried down the hall and out the door, ignoring the footsteps that followed me as I neared my car.
The engine roared to life, and before I drove off, the passenger door opened up. Logan jumped in, buckled his seatbelt, and looked at me with a slight fear in his green eyes.
Good, maybe he can keep me from killing anyone. The second I got behind the wheel I saw Maddie’s face when I undressed her. I hated the way she closed her eyes when I took her shirt off or how she hugged herself like a child in fear.
We drove back to the Timber Pack in silence. This time, I didn’t park the car outside the border. The wheels screeched against the dirt, clouds of dust rose around when I sped through their town, and black tire marks burned into the gravel when I pulled the brake outside the packhouse that Maddie set on fire. She didn’t know that she would but we did. Rosemary is highly flammable, and the flames would engulf everything in its way. We knew that she would never burn a house- not willingly; it was also too risky and would take longer to set it on fire, so knowing the house was made of pinewood, we told her to set the bushes aflame, knowing it would envelop the house soon thereafter, and looking at it now, there wasn’t much left of the backend of the house, but they had been quick to extinguish the flames. That’s too bad.
I got up, Logan was fast behind me, and Alpha Driton stood with a few of his men pointing and throwing orders for construction.
He turned his head, his eyes glowed, and his lips turned down in a snarl.
“Alpha Driton.” I greeted him, but I didn’t extend my hand. I was afraid I’d cut his off if it was to close.
“Noah,” he spat. “To what do I owe this displeasure? The deal I made with your father was under the condition that you never set foot here again.”
I remained collected and forced a thick mask across my face.
“Again? I’ve never stepped foot here once, fortunately, I take pride in which packs I choose to enter. This visit is an exception.” Alpha Driton could never hide his dismay or any emotion, for that matter. He didn’t have to; they were known for their mercenaries, not their hospitality.
“What is it you want?” the middle-aged man stepped closer and dropped his hands to his sides but held a strong stand, and his warriors gathered around us.
“One of your men engraved a message on the back of a pack member of mine,” I said, feeling the mask fall before I forced it back in place. His lips tugged up in a disapproving smile.
“Yes, the firecracker. What about her?” the restraint I had right now should be fucking rewarded, the smug grin on the old man’s face made it near impossible not to sucker punch him or at the very least throw his body through the shambles of his house.
“It’s simple. I want you to point me to the warrior who left that message.” his eyes flickered behind me, and I knew then that the man responsible was among us. He was close, and had this been any other pack, I could’ve listened to his heart pick up speed and the pearls of sweat falling from the side of his face. But these weren’t normal werewolves, they were emotionally handicapped with a fucked-up mentality and no remorse for anyone or anything they harmed. It was who they were, their core sustained on bloodshed and malice.
I took a step toward Alpha Driton and coiled my fingers.
“I know he’s here; point me to him.” He clearly took offense to my order and if I ever start to give a fuck, I’ll let him know.
“It was me.”
I turned and looked at the fucker who spoke with a smile. A prideful grimace twisted on his scarred face, and he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
All I could envision was the sound of his screams as I cut his tongue off and shoved it in his eye socket.
“What is your name?” I asked and stepped closer.
Logan followed behind me, keeping a short distance by staying close enough in case he was needed. That was a quality I appreciated about him; however narcissistic and apathetic he was, he always had my back and never questioned my actions.
“Who’s asking?”
“Noah Reed, Alpha of the Obsidian Pack.” I reached out my hand while gesturing with the other behind my back for Logan to stay back. Five fingers straight meant stand back, three fingers meant be ready, and a closed fist meant blood.
“Future Alpha, is it not?” this motherfucker.
“Yes, it is still Jack who rules the Obsidian Pack; now he’s a real Alpha and not some child play make-believe with the big boys.” He continued, earning a lowercase laugh from the spectators.
I smiled and heard Logan’s subtle sigh behind me.
“What’s your name?” I asked again. He smirked and shrugged his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Ah fuck,” Logan dragged his feet when he stepped back, and I shook the hand of the man in front of me. I tightened the grip, his features twisting in a grimace when his fingers cracked, and when I felt him start to tug his hand back, I pulled him in, grabbed the back of his neck, and extracted my claws. I stabbed them into his waist, his warm blood coating my fingers and a sharp gasp flooding my ear. It was fucking arousing, hearing a person draw that breath, the one that housed all the pain they felt and the sinking feeling of it possibly being the last. Holy fuck.
I heard the people around us stepping closer, shifting the rocks under their feet, and someone was snarling as they watched.
Keeping my eyes open without revealing how murderous I felt when I saw her battered front was hard enough. The cuts and bruises, the wounds to her ribs and her waist... but then I saw her in the bathroom, her back. The words were carved into her skin. It was a fucking message…to me.
Written on her skin.
I knew what wounds were covered by her pants, the fucking mark on her thigh, and the deep cuts from their claws but through all of it, nothing had been personal, not like that message.
‘Next time we’ll keep your bitch, Noah’
There won’t be a next time with Maddie, but they’ll see me soon enough.
I barged into Logan’s room and swiped a t-shirt that hung on his chair, mine got wet when I filled the tub for Maddie and tried to figure out how the fuck that bubble soap worked. After pouring in half the bottle, I started mixing the water like a soup with my arm, being splashed with waves of water at every turn, but at least it worked. It was supposed to be good for soothing the skin; at least, that’s what Olga told me when I bought it from her in the herbal shop downtown. The plan was to put it in Maddie’s room before she woke up, pretending that Mother had bought it for her, but I didn’t have time after my dad pulled Logan and me into his office for a talk. A talk. He told us to leave her the fuck alone, in those exact words, and while Logan bitched about it being Maddie’s idea I just sat there, silently agreeing with my father for the first time since I was five.
I hurried down the hall and out the door, ignoring the footsteps that followed me as I neared my car.
The engine roared to life, and before I drove off, the passenger door opened up. Logan jumped in, buckled his seatbelt, and looked at me with a slight fear in his green eyes.
Good, maybe he can keep me from killing anyone. The second I got behind the wheel I saw Maddie’s face when I undressed her. I hated the way she closed her eyes when I took her shirt off or how she hugged herself like a child in fear.
We drove back to the Timber Pack in silence. This time, I didn’t park the car outside the border. The wheels screeched against the dirt, clouds of dust rose around when I sped through their town, and black tire marks burned into the gravel when I pulled the brake outside the packhouse that Maddie set on fire. She didn’t know that she would but we did. Rosemary is highly flammable, and the flames would engulf everything in its way. We knew that she would never burn a house- not willingly; it was also too risky and would take longer to set it on fire, so knowing the house was made of pinewood, we told her to set the bushes aflame, knowing it would envelop the house soon thereafter, and looking at it now, there wasn’t much left of the backend of the house, but they had been quick to extinguish the flames. That’s too bad.
I got up, Logan was fast behind me, and Alpha Driton stood with a few of his men pointing and throwing orders for construction.
He turned his head, his eyes glowed, and his lips turned down in a snarl.
“Alpha Driton.” I greeted him, but I didn’t extend my hand. I was afraid I’d cut his off if it was to close.
“Noah,” he spat. “To what do I owe this displeasure? The deal I made with your father was under the condition that you never set foot here again.”
I remained collected and forced a thick mask across my face.
“Again? I’ve never stepped foot here once, fortunately, I take pride in which packs I choose to enter. This visit is an exception.” Alpha Driton could never hide his dismay or any emotion, for that matter. He didn’t have to; they were known for their mercenaries, not their hospitality.
“What is it you want?” the middle-aged man stepped closer and dropped his hands to his sides but held a strong stand, and his warriors gathered around us.
“One of your men engraved a message on the back of a pack member of mine,” I said, feeling the mask fall before I forced it back in place. His lips tugged up in a disapproving smile.
“Yes, the firecracker. What about her?” the restraint I had right now should be fucking rewarded, the smug grin on the old man’s face made it near impossible not to sucker punch him or at the very least throw his body through the shambles of his house.
“It’s simple. I want you to point me to the warrior who left that message.” his eyes flickered behind me, and I knew then that the man responsible was among us. He was close, and had this been any other pack, I could’ve listened to his heart pick up speed and the pearls of sweat falling from the side of his face. But these weren’t normal werewolves, they were emotionally handicapped with a fucked-up mentality and no remorse for anyone or anything they harmed. It was who they were, their core sustained on bloodshed and malice.
I took a step toward Alpha Driton and coiled my fingers.
“I know he’s here; point me to him.” He clearly took offense to my order and if I ever start to give a fuck, I’ll let him know.
“It was me.”
I turned and looked at the fucker who spoke with a smile. A prideful grimace twisted on his scarred face, and he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
All I could envision was the sound of his screams as I cut his tongue off and shoved it in his eye socket.
“What is your name?” I asked and stepped closer.
Logan followed behind me, keeping a short distance by staying close enough in case he was needed. That was a quality I appreciated about him; however narcissistic and apathetic he was, he always had my back and never questioned my actions.
“Who’s asking?”
“Noah Reed, Alpha of the Obsidian Pack.” I reached out my hand while gesturing with the other behind my back for Logan to stay back. Five fingers straight meant stand back, three fingers meant be ready, and a closed fist meant blood.
“Future Alpha, is it not?” this motherfucker.
“Yes, it is still Jack who rules the Obsidian Pack; now he’s a real Alpha and not some child play make-believe with the big boys.” He continued, earning a lowercase laugh from the spectators.
I smiled and heard Logan’s subtle sigh behind me.
“What’s your name?” I asked again. He smirked and shrugged his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Ah fuck,” Logan dragged his feet when he stepped back, and I shook the hand of the man in front of me. I tightened the grip, his features twisting in a grimace when his fingers cracked, and when I felt him start to tug his hand back, I pulled him in, grabbed the back of his neck, and extracted my claws. I stabbed them into his waist, his warm blood coating my fingers and a sharp gasp flooding my ear. It was fucking arousing, hearing a person draw that breath, the one that housed all the pain they felt and the sinking feeling of it possibly being the last. Holy fuck.
I heard the people around us stepping closer, shifting the rocks under their feet, and someone was snarling as they watched.
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 19. Continue reading Chapter 20 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.