The Alpha's Contract

The Choice

Fifty-eight minutes.

I stared at Marcus's text message, my hands trembling as another howl pierced the air. From my window, I could see injured wolves being carried back toward the pack house. Blood stained the ground where they passed.

This was my fault. Marcus was attacking these innocent people because of me.

Fifty-five minutes.

Sarah burst into my room without knocking. Blood splattered her clothes, though she didn't appear injured.

"We need every able body in the medical wing," she said tersely. "Can you help?"

"I—yes." I followed her, shoving the phone in my pocket.

The medical wing was chaos. Wounded wolves lay on every available surface, Dr. Chen moving between them with grim efficiency. The metallic scent of blood was overwhelming.

"Maya, here!" Dr. Chen thrust bandages at me. "Apply pressure to any bleeding wounds. Sarah, I need more morphine from storage."

I dropped beside a young wolf, barely out of his teens, with deep claw marks across his chest. His eyes were glazed with pain.

"It's okay," I whispered, pressing bandages to the worst wounds. "You're going to be okay."

"Luna," he gasped, and I flinched at the title. "They... they knew exactly where to hit us. Where our patrols would be."

My stomach turned to ice. Of course they knew. Marcus had been selling information—he probably knew every pack's patrol schedules.

Forty-three minutes.

More wounded arrived. I worked mechanically, trying not to think about the deadline ticking away. These people were suffering because Marcus wanted me back. Every wound, every drop of blood, was on my hands.

"The Alpha's coming!" someone shouted.

Crew strode in, human form but covered in blood—not his own, judging by his purposeful movements. His eyes found me immediately.

"You're supposed to be in your room."

"People needed help—"

He crossed to me in two strides, cupping my face in his hands. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm—"

"Alpha!" James appeared, equally bloodied. "We drove them back, but they'll regroup. This was just a test."

"Double the patrols. Move the elderly and children to the safe house." Crew's hands dropped from my face as he shifted into Alpha mode. "And find out how they knew our weak points."

Thirty-one minutes.

I couldn't let more people die. These wolves who'd shown me nothing but kindness didn't deserve to pay for my existence. But if I went back to Marcus...

"I need air," I mumbled, stumbling toward the door.

"Maya—" Crew started.

"Just for a minute. Please."

He nodded slowly, but I felt his eyes following me as I left.

Twenty-six minutes.

I stood in the garden, my phone heavy in my hand. One text. That's all it would take. "I'm coming." Two words to end this.

"You're thinking about running."

I spun to find James watching me, his blue eyes knowing.

"I'm not—"

"He's your brother. He hurt you for years. And now he's hurting us to get to you." James stepped closer. "You think leaving will save us."

"Won't it?"

"No." His voice was flat. "Marcus wants you back to tie up loose ends. You know too much, even if you don't remember it. He'll kill you, then come for us anyway because Crew challenged him."

"But—"

"Your parents' death wasn't the beginning of Marcus's crimes, Luna. It was just the first one that mattered to you."

Eighteen minutes.

"What do you mean?"

James pulled out his phone, showing me a photo. A young woman with bright eyes and a warm smile. "My sister. Rebecca. She disappeared three years ago while traveling through Reed territory. Last seen at a bar Marcus frequented."

My blood ran cold. "You think Marcus—"

"I know Marcus killed her. Just like I know he killed at least six other young wolves who got in his way over the years. Your parents were just the murders that gave him the most power."

Twelve minutes.

"Crew knows?"

"Crew's the one who's been investigating. We've been building a case for two years, but Marcus is careful. Then we heard about you—the sister he kept as a slave, who supposedly killed the only people who could challenge his claim." James's expression softened slightly. "Crew was supposed to just negotiate, gather more intel. But when he saw you..."

"What?"

"He called me that night. Said plans had changed. Said he couldn't leave you there another day." James stepped closer. "I've known Crew for fifteen years. I've never heard him sound like that about anyone."

Eight minutes.

My phone buzzed. Another text from Marcus: "Seven minutes, sister. I have fifty rogues ready. How many of your new pack will die for your selfishness?"

"He's threatening to send more rogues," I whispered.

James read the message over my shoulder, then did something unexpected—he laughed.

"Let him try. He just showed his hand."

"What?"

"Coordinating with rogues is a violation of pack law. This text is evidence." He grabbed my phone, taking screenshots. "Besides, Crew's called in reinforcements. Three allied packs are sending warriors as we speak."

Four minutes.

"But people will still die—"

"People die in war, Luna. And make no mistake, your brother started a war the night he killed your parents." James's voice was gentle but firm. "The question is: are you going to let him win?"

Two minutes.

I thought about the young wolf I'd bandaged, calling me Luna with such trust. About Dr. Chen's anger over my poisoned wolf. About Sarah preparing clothes for me weeks ago because Crew had been planning to save me before he'd even met me.

About Crew's eyes when he'd said he believed I was innocent.

One minute.

I took my phone back from James and typed a response to Marcus:

"Come and get me yourself, coward."

Then I hit send.

James whistled low. "That'll piss him off."

"Good." My wolf stirred, stronger than she'd been in years, fed by pure rage. "I'm done being his victim."

The phone rang immediately. Marcus.

I answered, putting it on speaker so James could hear.

"You little b***h," Marcus snarled. "You just signed your new pack's death warrant."

"No," I said, surprised by how steady my voice sounded. "I just signed yours. Every threatening text, every coordinated rogue attack—it's all evidence of your crimes. The Council will—"

"The Council believes you're a murderer!"

"But Crew doesn't. And he has allies who'll listen when he presents evidence." I took a breath. "It's over, Marcus. You can keep sending rogues to die, or you can run. But either way, I'm never coming back."

"You're nothing without your wolf! Weak, pathetic—"

"She's recovering." The words came out as a growl that surprised me. "Dr. Chen found the wolfsbane you've been poisoning me with. My wolf's coming back, and when she does, I'm coming for you."

Silence. Then: "You can't remember that night. You'll never prove anything."

"Maybe not. But Crew will. He's been investigating you for years, Marcus. Did you know that? Every murder, every deal with rogues, every crime you thought you'd hidden—he knows."

Another long silence. When Marcus spoke again, his voice was different. Colder. More dangerous.

"Then I guess I'll have to kill him too. Just like I killed Mom and Dad. Just like I'll kill you."

The line went dead.

James and I stared at the phone.

"Did he just—"

"Confess. Yeah." James was already typing on his phone. "That was recorded. We've got him."

Crew appeared in the garden, moving with inhuman speed. "Maya, what's wrong? I felt—"

James held up his phone. "Marcus just confessed to killing their parents. On a recorded line."

Crew's eyes blazed with triumph, then immediately found mine. "Are you okay?"

"My wolf," I said wonderingly. "I can feel her. Really feel her. She's angry."

"The antidote's working faster because of the adrenaline," Dr. Chen said, appearing with Sarah. Had everyone been watching me?

"Marcus's going to run," I said. "Or he's going to do something desperate."

"Let him try," Crew said darkly. "The allied packs are here. We have three hundred warriors surrounding our territory. If he comes, we'll be ready."

But I knew my brother. He wasn't stupid enough to attack directly, not now. He'd wait, plan, strike when we least expected it.

"This isn't over," I warned.

Crew pulled me against him, and I let myself lean into his strength. "No, it's not. But you're safe. You chose us. That's what matters."

Looking around at these people who'd fought and bled to protect me—a stranger, an outsider, someone their Alpha had brought home on a whim—I felt something I hadn't experienced in six years.

Belonging.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Now," Crew said, his voice carrying the promise of retribution, "we make Marcus Reed pay for every crime he's committed. Starting with murdering your parents."

My wolf howled inside me, no longer a whisper but a growing roar. She wanted justice. She wanted revenge.

And for the first time in six years, I was strong enough to help her get it.

But as we walked back to the house, surrounded by wounded but victorious pack members, I couldn't shake the feeling that Marcus's confession had been too easy. My brother was many things, but careless wasn't one of them.

What game was he really playing?