Alpha Brothers - The Beta (book 2)

Chapter 23

Chapter 23
Archie
After breakfast, I made my way down to the basement making sure that I wasn't followed. It was time for one and one time with Kaylie.
I opened the door to a frail looking, Kaylie. Her head was dropped as if her neck didn't even have the strength to hold it up. Her fingers clawed at the chair rests, trying to get rid of her pain. Her hair was a mattered mess and her skin had become scaly and cracked.
"Come to gloat?" She snarled, her voice rough and dry from her thirst.
"I came for answers," I told her shutting the door behind me.
Taking a pin that I had placed in my pocket earlier out, I pricked the top of my finger. As soon as I did, her head rose with her flared nostrils. She fought against her chains, trying to get to my blood.
"Want some?"
Stupid question.
Slow and cautiously I raised my finger to her lips. Her eyes turned a darker red than my own blood and her nostrils flared even more. I allowed just one drop to touch her lips but that's all she needed. I took a step back watching as she healed herself.
"Okay, now that you feel better, I want answers," I told her getting straight to the point.
"You think just because you gave me blood that I'm going to fold that easily. I'm stronger than I look."
"I know. But I need to know why Adin's back in town."
"I don't know. I'm not with Adin anymore."
All I could do was laugh. She was still trying to deny it.
"Come on, Kaylie. I've been doin' this a long time. They always deny any knowin' of it before foldin'. All you have to do is admit that you're still workin' for Adin."
"Really, that's all I have to do?" She asked not expecting an answer, "I've seen you at work. Not many people could make someone crack under five minutes without even touching them with a weapon. But I created you. And I taught you a lot more than how to get answers out of someone."
I nodded, biting my lip, trying to control my anger. Of course she was bringing that up.
"You can tell your precious little mate to send me a thank you card once you've finally screwed her. I mean I'm the one that made you -."
"You shut the hell up!" I yelled at her.
"Hit a nerve, did I? Finally. I'm glad I mean something to you."
"You mean nothing to me," I growled through my teeth.
"If that was true, I'd be dead right now."
"The only reason that you're not dead is because I need answers and your goin' to give them to me."
"I want to go down memory lane first. Starting from the day you left."
"What about it?" I asked, my voice raising.
"Adin thought I had something to do with it. I was held in those damn cells being tortured for answers for months!"
"That's not my problem."
"Damn right it is. You are a fool Archie. Did you honestly think it would be that easy? That there wouldn't consequences!"
"My family needed me, that's all that mattered."
"United Forever!" She shouted, "There's a reason that we all wear that tattoo."
Before I could stop myself, I burst into laughter.
"What?" She snapped, "What's so funny?"
"Your right. That's how I knew that you were still workin' for Adin," I watched as her whole face dropped, almost just as funny as before, "like you said before. I can get answers under five minutes without even touchin' a weapon. You might have been my coach, but I will always win."
At that she faught against her chains, trying to get at me.
"I made you!" She roared, "You were the seed but I made you what you are!"
"Just answer my questions and I will let you go," I told her, getting tired of this.
"Like hell I will. I would rather burn then help you."
I shrugged, "fine."
I paced over to the table and took a box of matches. In one go, the match sparked a light and not even thinking about it, I pushed it into her shoulder. Screams erupted from her chest as I watched parts of her shoulder crumble to ash like a piece of burning paper.
As her screams died down, I asked again, "why is Adin in town?"
"He wants you apart of the group again!" She yelled holding back her tears.
"What?"
"His business is bigger than ever but so are his enemies. He rather wants you to re-join the group or make your life a living hell. Starting with that little mate of yours!"
With all my strength, I slapped my hand across her face. I was too furious to even notice the burning feeling in my hand as I watched her entire cheek turn red.
"Does that make you feel better, Archie?" She asked sending daggers with her eyes at me, using that seductive voice of hers.
"Don't," I warned her.
"I always loved it when you were rough. Not many men can pull it off but you can. Another one of your many talents."
"You shut the hell up!" I yelled at her.
"Don't you want to relive those moments. I bet you even dream about us from time to time. Not many people have the chemistry that we had."
"We had no chemistry," I told her, "it was just convenient. Nothin' more."
She through her head back and gave a bitter chuckle.
"What?" I snapped.
"You're not the only person in the room that can hear the steady beat of a heart. And you just lied."
I narrowed my eyes at her knowing that she was trying to scare me. Trying to make me question what I really felt for her, which was nothing. Amy was the first woman I had ever cared for.
As if reading my mind, she added, "you might not be lying to me but you are lying."
"It doesn't matter if there was any chemistry before, it's done now," I told her.
"Because of your little mate. How does she rank in your line of lovers?"
I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to see what she would get out of this.
"Do you want me to say that she doesn't compare to you? That not even my mate could please me like you could because it's wrong. It's a bigger lie than before! I love my mate more than anythin' and not even some ghost from my past will stop that, do you hear me?" She stayed quiet waiting for me to continue. I took a step forward, pointing my finger at her, "so when I let you go, you tell Adin that. I don't give a tiny rat's arse about his plans. He can do to me as he wishes. But I will never join his group!"
With that I stormed out of the cell, slamming the door as I did. The sound was louder than a gun shot and rattled through the narrow pathway between cells. I felt I could breathe again after that. I had dealt with one demon from my past and survived. And though Adin was the devil, I think I could take whatever he through at me. Maybe.

Amy
Liv, Allie and I sat on the lounge talking about Archie and I. It was the new thing in the house I guess. Everyone was trying to wrap their heads around it. I was included in that. Callum sat at his desk pretending to do paper work but I doubt his mind was on it.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Liv started, "you went clubbing the other night to hook up with another guy to prove to Archie that he can't own you before jumping into bed with him the same night."
"Okay, when you say jumping into bed, it makes it seem that I slept with Archie. As you can see, I'm mark free," I told her, gesturing to my bite mark free neck.
"But you want to be with him?" Allie asked, already knowing the answer.
I nodded, "yeah I do."
"Wow," she said, shocked, "someone that actually loves Archie. I never thought it was possible."
"Allie," Callum said, piping up.
"Sorry, your right," she corrected, "Graham's the one that will never find love."
"Not better Allie," Callum warned her making her roll her eyes.
"Can't you go somewhere else?" She asked him, "This is girl time."
"Well, my desk is here. The way I see it, you three can go anywhere."
She scoffed, "your not even doin' paperwork."
"I'm tryin'," he said in that hopeless tone, making me laugh.
"Hey Callum, I need your help," Archie said, pacing into the room.
He halted to a stop when he realised that Callum wasn't alone.
"Oh, hi, girls," he said trying to move over to Callum without us noticing.
I frowned, trying to work out what he was up to.
"What are you doing?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Oh, I just need help with somethin'," he said clicking his fingers, his voice too high for normal.
"What's goin' on?" Callum asked getting his attention.
"I need you to come with me," he told him.
"I don't know, Brother. This paperwork needs to be done," he teased.
"Come on, Callum. Since when do you ever do paperwork?"
He shrugged, "that's true. Okay, come on."
I eyed them carefully as they paced out of the room as if they were never here to start with.
It did annoy me that Archie didn't trust me enough to tell me about secret wolf business. But if these past couple of days have taught me anything, it was, if someone tells you that you don't need to know, you generally don't need to know.
"What was that all about?" Allie asked, annoyed that she wasn't in on it as well.
I shrugged, "who knows?"
When we fell into silence, my mind began to think of questions I found only Liv and Allie could answer.
"Okay, I need you tell me that the whole mate thing isn't that bad," I said in such a hurry, I feared that I would have to repeat it.
"What, no," Liv said as if shocked.
"Really, because I feel like it's going to be worse than marriage."
"It's better than marriage," my sister reassured me.
"How?"
"Well, for one, the lad won't cheat on you," Allie answered.
I couldn't pretend that, that wasn't pretty good. I don't think I could stand Archie cheating on me, not after Deke.
"Okay, that's one good thing. What about another thing."
"There's really not much to say other than you've got a man that will love you for the rest of your life," Liv told me, not making me feel better.
"That's what I'm afraid of. Archie for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but that could change."
"Amy, it's not that simple," Liv told me.
"I know it's not, that's why I'm talking to you about it. People change. What if, one day, I wake up and that spark that we have now isn't there. But there's nothing I can ever do about it because I'm chained to him."
"Amy, you freaking out over nothing."
"Aye, and that spark never goes away," Allie told me, "seriously, I've seen old people goin' at it and -."
"Allie, do we really need to know the rest of that?" Liv asked.
Allie shrugged and scoffed, "prude."
Before they started on an all-out bawl, I asked, "well what about him marking me, I mean does it hurt?"
All eyes were on Liv as she thought about it. She was actually thinking about it!
"Well, let's just say that he picked his time well."
I frowned, I was so stressed out that I could barely think logically
"What does that mean?"
"It means he does it just before you orgasm," Allie cleared for me.
"Why couldn't you just say that, prude?" I asked my sister.
"Well I," she sighed, "but I'm not a prude. I've done a lot of non-prude stuff over the last year."
"Oh please don't tell me. That's my brother," Allie groaned, "I've avoided being friends with my brothers' girlfriends for this very reason but I actually like you guys, so if you could keep the details to a minimum that would be great."
"Noted," I said.
"Deal."
When we fell into silence again, I asked, "What about you, Allie? Do you have anyone?"
She shrugged, "Never anyone special. Wolf guys are just so high maintenance and human guys are just wimps. And I don't think that I would be with someone that I'm, you know, stronger than."
"Fair enough. What about other creatures?" I asked, feeling the words weird on my tongue.
She scoffed, "Yeah right. Who am I goin' to brin' home? A vampire, a witch. My parents would be rollin' in their graves if I didn't brin' home a werewolf."
That's when I realized. My parents would be doing the same thing right now.
"Do you think Mom and Dad would be proud of us?" I asked Liv out of the blue.
She had the same face I had.
"Um, I don't know. They always wanted good husbands of us –."
"Just not werewolves," I buttered in before she could finish before I turned to Allie and said, "No offence."
"None taken. I feel the same way about humans, well, some anyway."