Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Five

Chaos erupted people spoke over one another, everyone desperate to be heard.

"Enough," I snarled. "You bicker like children. I am not for one side or the other this pack is one, and everyone will be treated equally. You're right that I don't deserve this position, but..." I paused, weighing my next words. " The Alpha will return" I assured them.

Keith spat on the ground. "That's a lie, and you know it. You did something to him, and he's not coming back."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. "I did what I did to help him I hated the fact that I lost it, but I felt the need to let them know. "I love him, and I will never stop loving him."

"And yet here you are, taking his title and taking over his pack. You didn't do this for love, but greed-greed for power. What you fail to realize is that you might claim the title as yours, but loyalty and respect are not passed down; they're earned." Keith finished; with one cold glance at me, he turned around and walked away. Many others followed.

"You can't let them talk to you this way; you have to do something." Austin said, but once again, I shook my head.

"He's right," I said. Austin and Phil stared at me like I'd lost a nut. "I have yet to earn their respect. If I thought I could step in and claim both the title and their loyalty, then I'd be the fool. It's a gradual process-one step at a time. And this... this went better than I expected." I said, my gaze drifting back to the others still kneeling before me. Most were from the Dawn Pack, but among them were a few Nightshade members.

This was more than I should ever expect-I kept telling myself that.

But when I was finally alone, locked in my room, I cried. I cried until there were no more tears left.

That night I dreamt of Alexander coming back, and then everything was back to the way they used to be.

I made my way down to the dungeon, stopping at Aric's cell He was asleep.

He looked like hell. Dried blood stained his clothes, and his face bore the brutal aftermath of his beating- swollen, bruised, and marked with cuts. Pain was etched into him as he lay on the cold, bare floor.noveldrama

I banged on the cell bars. His eyes snapped open, wide with alarm. Without hesitation, I unlocked the gate and stepped inside.

The guards kept their distance, though their earlier surprise still lingered as I stepped into the criminal's cell unarmed. Well, they didn't see the gun I had brought along but I hadn't brought it for protection-I wasn't afraid of Aric. Even if he weren't chained, beaten, and confined, I still wouldn't fear him.

The moment he saw me,

his eyes

widened.

"Kaida," he called, lunging toward me, but the chains yanked him back, stopping him short. "I'm so sorry, Kaida. Please, I beg you-forgive me. Please." "Forgive you? Really?"

"I know nothing I do can ever make up for it, but I need your forgiveness. I can't live with myself after what I did to you."

"You never told me about your sister." I said to him and that ended his pleas. "I-I couldn't tell you."

Chapter One Hunted and it fire

24 BOPRIS

"Why? Why couldn't you tell me?

"She compelled me not to."

"But everything else you did betraying me, betraying your pack-had she compelled you to do that too?" I asked, unaware of the tear slipping down my cheek.

"No... I did that on my own," he admitted. "She didn't compel me."

"How could you? I trusted you, Aric; you were supposed to be my friend."

"I know..."

"No, you don't! Friends don't try to rape their friends! They don't help kill their parents! They don't betray their trust!

You were never a friend, and I trusted you. Do you know how many fucking times I stood up for you? Alexander would have killed you, but I begged for your life. Do you remember the time you kissed me and he walked in on us?" I questioned, but I didn't need his reply; I continued. "He thought we were together. He thought I was about to cheat on him—and he was ready to kill you for disrespecting him, in his own pack, with his mate. I had to make him believe that I never... that there was never anything between us.

He didn't believe me when I told him I was a virgin. He thought I'd been with you. I had to prove it to him-bhad to let him..... take my virginity just to convince him.” I paused. “And that was just the first of many times I stood op for you. I did it because I cared about you—I would have given my life for you. And you betrayed

me.

Something strange happened. Aric broke down in tears.