The Alpha’s Contract (Taylor West) novel Chapter 242

“Her miserable life ended when he killed her. And maybe that was one good thing that came out of their marriage.” Her shoulders drop and her hands shake as she fills her cup with tea. “I certainly wasn’t.”

It takes me a second to realise what she is telling me. “You... you were a product of rape?”

Her shoulders hitch up as she takes a deep breath and bobs her head.

“Did he…did he ever…..”

“No. There was one time, where I thought he was going to hurt me, but he turned on my mother instead. Do you see why I thought Cassandra was offering me a better life? She made me promises. She made me feel worthy. She made me feel safe.”

Exactly how she made me feel before her and Trey set me up and destroyed me.

“I know now that she was a bitch to you. But at the time, she gave me the opportunity to have something better. To not be waiting for the day when my father finally decided I was old enough for him to rape me. And I took it. And that is when everything fell apart.”

I could feel Nyx’s sorrow as we listened to her story

“I believed every ounce of information that she fed me. I believed every damn lie she told me about you. I should have been smarter. I should have realised after my upbringing that trust is more than bribes. I see why you don’t trust me, Neah. I see why you don’t want to trust me. I wouldn’t either but I swear that I will never stop trying. You can keep hating me. You can keep acting like I’m the scum of the earth. But I will not stop trying to make up for what I did.”

“I don’t hate you.”

Her hand taps the table, my words catching her off guard. “You…you don’t?”

“I used to wish that you had actually killed me. That you ended my existence.”

“I’m sorry.” She reaches out to take my hand, on instinct, I recoil and she she looks heartbroken.

“The hardest part of having you here, is that you are a constant reminder that you could have ended my suffering and you didn’t.” I shake my head, half a smile creeping across my face because my reasoning sounded ridiculous. “Stupid right? Especially when my mate is the Alpha of this pack. If you had killed me. My sons wouldn’t exist.”

“No.” She mutters, her brows knitting together. “No, it’s not stupid. You were looking for a way out. Even if the way out was death.”

‘It sounds like she was brainwashed.’ Nyx mutters. ‘Cassandra played on her desperation.’

I had been there. For years I thought Trey was my brother. For years I believed that I had been solely responsible for my parents death.

Her brown eyes flicker up to me. “You wish that I had killed you back then. I wish I had never met Cassandra.”

“You wouldn’t be a Lycan.”

“I know.” She shrugs her shoulders again and I stare at her, surprised by her announcement.

“Hurting you and letting Cassandra bite me are two of the worst decisions I have ever made in my life and I can’t change either of them. But I can use one to help you in any way I can, if you let me. Starting with that bitch that calls herself your half sister.”