Contracted to the Single Daddy Alpha

Chapter 8

Freya

Lily's body laid frozen on a pile of clothes. Her skin is pale. Her eyes shut unconsciously.

My heart clenched with a burning sensation. Rage and sorrow consuming me in an instant. I ran towards her, lifting her fragile body from inside the trunk.

Celeste and the guard seemed to be arguing or struggling against themselves, but I’d tuned them out. My entire attention was on Lily's solemn face.

I fall on my knees, clutching her body close to my chest. “Lily?” I called softly, tapping her cheek. “Please wake up”

Tears prickled at the corner of my eyes. I’ve barely gotten to know her. “Celeste couldn’t have been so cruel to poison her, right?” I thought hopefully.

“Relax,” Celeste drawled behind me, “it’s only nitrous oxide. She’ll be fine. Right now, she’s just having a nice, long nap.”

Heat rose behind my eyes, rising as well in my chest. I whipped around at her, and a growl rippled through my chest.

The terrifying, animalistic sound surprised even me. For all I knew, my wolf had been dormant since forever, but she chose to rise to the surface now. Why now after all these years, after all my stepfather’s torture to force it out?

I ignored all those questions as my eyes snapped to Celeste. The guard has her locked in place, forcing her struggling figure to submit with her hands behind her back.

I reacted instinctively, my hands moving without my control. I swiped at her thigh and she screamed. She was lucky her neck wasn’t the closest thing I could reach.

“Arrggh! You freak!”

But then, I began to realize that something was wrong.

The edges of my vision were dark, but other than that I saw very clearly. My chest heaved up and down unnaturally. My breath feels cracked and monstrous.

Celeste winced like a pup as she struggled against the guard’s hold. I thought she was overreacting as usual, until my gaze dropped to the amount blood oozing out of her thigh.

I have never felt anything like this before. My ears caught sounds that should have been miles away. Even my sense of smell seemed heightened. I could even perceive the scent of a furry rabbit, digging through dirt deep in the woods.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The guard asked, reaching out his free hand to touch my shoulder.

But for some unknown reason, that felt like a threat. My hand moved again and I swiped at his arm also.

He groaned and cursed under his breath, stepping backward and clutching his bleeding arm. Freeing Celeste in the process.

“Oh goddess! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

I stopped myself mid-sentence when I realized my voice was inaudible.

I was present, but then again I wasn’t there. It was as if my body was taken over by someone else. By something else. Like I was thrown into the backseat of a car while someone else drove.

But who is this someone else?

“I’ll rip your head off for touching her!” A voice spoke through me, hoarse and dry as my attention snapped back to Celeste's frightened face.

“You crazy b***h!” Celeste staggered back, fear evident on her face. “It was just a harmless prank!”

“You’re dead!” I moved quickly to pounce on her, but the guard stepped in my way. I feel foolish to leave Lily on the ground, but whatever took over me forgot to care.

“Ma’am, you need to calm down or—”

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before I switched the direction of my momentum. My hand grabbed his throat and I slammed him against the wall with terrifying speed.

Celeste took advantage of my distraction. She moved fearfully fast, and in less than three seconds. She’d reached into the window of the guard shack, pushed the gate buzzer, and jumped into her car. The barely opened gate scraped the sides of her car badly, her improperly closed trunk bouncing from her reckless driving.

I snarled at her fleeing car, but the guard tried to free my grip from his throat. My attention was then snapped back to him again. I raised my claw, watching the reflection of my red-glowing eyes dancing in his watery but defiant one.

This isn’t me. I fought the dangerous urge to rip skin from his face. But I could only fight for so long, until my wolf proved to be stronger.

A growl ripped through my chest as I brought my claws down on his face, but surprisingly they didn't land.

I looked over my shoulder, glaring at the force stopping me from taking this innocent guard’s life.

And when my eyes land on him, my heart breaks at the sight of what I’m seeing.

“What has gotten over you?” Alpha Adrian asked with a tone laced with annoyance, but it isn’t that that shattered my heart to the bottom of my stomach.

Resting sleeping against his chest was lily. She was still unconscious, but somehow had her hands wrapped around Adrian’s neck. How stupid of me to have left her on the ground?

Whatever thing took over me seemed to vanish the instant we made eye contact. Now, I was left with the consequences of an outrage that wasn’t fully mine.

An outrage that would change how Adrian looked at me.

Alpha Adrian’s gaze slowly moved from the bleeding guard to the slowly shutting gate, then finally back to me.

The disappointment in his eyes was far worse than anger. In fact, I would prefer his anger at this moment.

I let go of the guard, who feigned false bravado in front of his Alpha by straightening his uniform. He glared at me for a second too long before walking back to his post.

Now, I’m left alone with my guilty conscience in front of Alpha Adrian.

“Lily,” I gasped, the wave of my real worry finally hitting. “Is she okay?” I asked, reaching to touch her.

“She’s fine. I hear her steady heartbeat,” Adrian flinched slightly, avoiding my contact with her. “I’ll have the pack doctors look over her.”

“I’m sorry…..I don’t know—I’m-” my words came out in a ridiculous stammer.

Alpha Adrian remained unfazed as he cut me off. “Go to your room now, Freya.” His voice was quiet and controlled. “We’ll deal with this tomorrow.”

I opened my mouth again to speak, but there was a finality in his voice that couldn’t be argued with. Moreover, he was already turning away and walking back into the mansion.

A small part of me was happy that Lily didn’t experience whatever monstrosity just took over me, but another one part of me is sad, knowing that Adrian just did. Would he still want me close to Lily after what he just saw? Would I still get to sign that contract?

I stood on the same spot, watching with an absent mind and a broken heart as the guards and maids all shuffle back to their respective positions.

A thunderstorm boomed through the sky and that seemed to catch my attention. A few droplets of rain hit my face as I gaze upwards.

Lightning flashed through the stormy clouds. It looked exactly like the sadness brewing inside me. Dark and heavy. A series of questions formed in my mind, but only one stood out.

“What if I’d already ruined my chance of holding my daughter again?”