Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 267 The Corpse…
Ann and Adam had been mid discussion regarding potential baby names for each of the pups when a frantic looking Felix practically fell through the doors and into her room.
“They… f*uc*k… Jasper… it was him! He was here… he still IS here!” he rushed out between breaths almost incoherently as he leaned on the table as he tried to catch his breath.
Ann and Adam froze mid conversation as they took in his panicked appearance and they exchanged a look of concern.
“What the f**k has crawled up his a*ss?” Maeve grimaced as she flicked her ears in annoyance.
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Ann ignored Maeve’s snarky comment and sat up, pushing the sheet back a little as she held her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture.
“Felix, slow down…” Ann began in a soothing tone but she was cut off by Felix’s furious glare.
“No, you don’t understand. He’s STILL HERE!” He yelled impatiently as Adam growled warningly at his tone.
“Growl all you want Adam, this is f*****g serious. He killed Aoife, but she wasn’t his target. He meant to kill Ann!”
“What?” Ann murmured in disbelief as Adam stiffened beside her and she could feel his unease rippling outwards like a discomforting blanket.
“Where?” Adam snarled, his eyes flashing gold Baldur’s fury at the threat to his mate and pups began to rise.
“I don’t know where he is now.” Felix hissed in frustration as he began to pace angrily
“Felix, when did you see him? I thought you were with Allen and Lexi?”
Ann still wasn’t back to her normal self and Maeve was still decidedly grouchy because she knew that they were about as much use as a chocolate fireguard in this state. She hated being helpless and this whole situation was infuriating her.
“They were going to see her father and see if there was any news yet from Greyson’s squad,” Felix answered as he shook his head, “I thought it best if I went to get cleaned up and at least try to get a few hours sleep. I wanted to make sure I was on top form for the investigation.”
“Makes sense.” Adam nodded with a thoughtful frown, “So how…”
“I’m getting to it.” Felix snapped as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, “I woke up and just knew that someone was in my room. When I got my hands on them, it turned out it was my dear brother.” He spat furiously, the venom that dripped from his words left no room for misunderstanding about his hatred that he felt for Jasper.
“You have to understand, I haven’t seen Jasper for years, or heard from him directly. The only time I had ever heard anything about him was when my father was in a rage about any previously unknown allegations towards Jasper that had reached him through his intelligence network.” He continued glancing across at Adam, “I told you all this before we returned. I had intended to reach out tomorrow to my contacts in our intelligence network and compile a list of his recent movements.”
“That might still be useful though Felix,” Ann interrupted, “Any evidence we have of his movements or any allegations that have been leveled against him will help us to build a picture of everything that he has been accused of carrying out and more importantly, where he has been doing them.”
Felix nodded as he took a deep breath and threw himself down on the chair.
“He thought you were dead.” Felix said suddenly, staring at Ann with a complicated expression, “He was gloating about the fact that everyone around Adam seemed to die, so I let him keep talking. When I told him that you were still alive, he was irritated… but then when I told him it was Aoife that had died…” he trailed off, clenching his jaw as he struggled to contain his emotions.
“I was his target?” Ann asked as she was suddenly overcome with guilt.
Felix nodded silently as his eyes began to turn red, the unshed tears glistening in the light as he fought to hold them back.
“I’m so sorry…” Ann said, her voice cracking, “If I had known…”
“It’s not your fault, your highness.” Felix laughed bitterly, “The perks of having a psychotic big brother.
You know, he was absolutely beside himself with joy that he had managed to take her from me. He reveled in telling me how he violated her before he…” Felix stood suddenly and walked over to the window, his back facing Ann’s bed.
Adam looked down at his beautiful mate and frowned at the grief that had settled over her face. He had spent the past few hours trying to keep her mind off things, knowing full well how helpless she would be feeling right now.
He reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, but she barely moved.
“Where is he now, Felix?” Adam asked, his tone bordering on dangerous.
“I don’t know. I didn’t take it well as you can imagine, and… well, he’s a slippery f*uc*ker, I’ll give him that. I don’t know how he did it, but he just disappeared.”
“How is that even possible?” Adam growled furiously.
“I don’t know, but suddenly he was gone. Once I’d collected my thoughts enough I came straight here. If Ann was the original target then she could still be in danger.” Felix said seriously.
“Thank you, I appreciate you letting us know so quickly,” Adam bowed his head respectfully to indicate his gratitude, “We will find him, Felix, and we’ll make sure we get answers for
“Your highness! Consort Adam!” An urgent voice called from the doorway as the doors swung open, startling them all.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Adam snarled as he moved protectively to the end of the bed as Felix came to his side, both of them on edge and preparing to shift into their wolves just in case this was some sort of distraction or ploy orchestrated by Jasper.
“My apologies, your highness! Beta Allen sent me.” The out of breath guard saluted them immediately, “There’s been an incident in the cells.”
“What sort of incident?” Felix questioned, narrowing his eyes as he took a step forward.
Adam ran his eyes over the guards uniform, inspecting it for any anomalies that someone who wasn’t familiar with the Enclave’s regiments wouldn’t be aware of, and found nothing amiss. Both he and Baldur relaxed a little, but remained wary.
“Is he ok, is he hurt?” Adam asked.
The guard hesitated and shifted uncomfortably before he answered.
“He’s a little worse for wear, but he’s okay. Beta Lexi is…well, when I left them she was barely conscious. Beta Allen is still in the cells with her. I don’t know what happened, he didn’t say, only that I was to bring you down to the cells, and the other guard was to fetch Lord Brarthroroz.”
“So they’re alone down there?!” Felix asked, his mind racing with the possibility that Jasper would somehow isolate them and take them down himself.
“No, Alpha. The Warden is with them still…” The guard trailed off. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Felix snarled as he strode purposefully towards the guard, who backed away uncertainly.
“Nothing! It’s just…” he stammered hesitantly before his eyes locked with Felix’s murderous glare and his shaky resolve shattered, “Linus is dead and there was another corpse on the floor next to him… but… I don’t know who that was.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Felix snarled only centimeters from the guard’s face.
“The corpse was… charred and still smoldering, Alpha.” The guard stammered as Felix looked back at Ann and Adam incredulously.
But Ann knew instantly. “F*uc*k… Lexi…” Both Ann and Maeve breathed in dismay at the same time.