Payment To the Alpha

"Me and Natasha were talking earlier in the conference room and-"

I stopped talking when my office door swung open and slammed into the wall. Alex and I quickly got up on our feet.

And there she stood.

Covered in blood.

With a knife in her hand.

"James...help me..." Avery raised her hand out in front of her with the blade pointed inwards and was about to lunge it into her stomach.

"NO!" I jumped over my desk and with my werewolf speed I ripped the knife out of her hand and slammed her onto the wall. Pinning her hands to her sides.

"No, please no!" She yelled on top of her lungs as she tried to squirm out of my grip. In this moment I was glad she was human. Her human strength was nothing in comparison to mine or any other wolf, but especially mine.

I was pulled away from Avery by a force and was held in place in the middle of my office.

Avery was still as well and couldn't move a muscle. Natasha walked in with her arms raised keeping us frozen.

"Let me go!" She had no right using her magic on me. I'm the alpha and this is my pack. I felt Blade surfacing, furious by the disrespect. He was baring his teeth and ready to fight. I felt her hold getting lesser by the second.

"James, I will let you go but you need to stay there. You cannot go close to Avery understood?" Her eyes were glowing red as she spoke.

"Do you understand?!"

Blade, stand down!

'No, she's our mate!"

I know but there is nothing we can do. Natasha can help her. STAND DOWN.

'I swear by the goddess if she gets hurt...'

He was baring his teeth, saliva dripping from his mouth. And his nostrils flaring.

The chances of her getting hurt are far greater if we don't let Natasha take care of her.

Listen to me you mutt, I understand, she's our mate but we need to stand down. We will be right here the entire time!

'No. You don't understand. You keep denying your feelings for her when mine are as clear as ever. You want to love her but you're not letting yourself. When will you accept her, before or after we lose her?'

I won't let that happen.

'Neither will I.'

His last words weren't a statement, it was a warning. This damn dog.

I felt my eyes change back from their golden color to my normal blue as Blade stepped down. I know he's pissed at me right now but I do care about Avery. More so than anyone thinks.

I felt Natasha's magic on me die down and I was able to move again. So was Alex, I hadn't noticed how he was under her magic as well but I saw how he fell to the ground because she had held him while he was lunging at her.

Natasha looked at us, making sure we stayed where we stood before she started walking towards Avery. She was using both her hands, one holding Avery still and the other doing only goddess knows what. Avery's eyes turned white again and her mouth was open as if she was being exorcised.

Avery's POV

'Avery, you need to fight.'

How? How do I fight something that I do not see?

'How do you fight what you do see?'

I see my opponent and then I charge at it. No thinking, no planning. I see him and I know what to do. Or I chance and deal with the outcome.

'We will talk about your fighting strategy another time because that truly sounds like a terrible mess. But you know what you need to do. You charge. Not physically but mentally. Fight, Avery.'

Who are you?

'I'm not at liberty to tell you that just yet, but don't worry child, we will meet soon.'

Natasha's irises are as red as blood with prominent black veins crawling around her eye globes.

Her hands are keeping me still. She's using her magic.

She's strong.

Stop.

Natasha sure has grown stronger.

STOP!

The voice in my head is getting louder and louder. How am I supposed to fight? He's still weak from the extrication Natasha did on me. But he is still stronger than me and when he wants to get through, he does.

I see James and Alex staring at me like I'm a ghost. I see James' finger twitching, it must be hard for him to let go of control.

There is only one way to fix this. I need to kill Natasha, it's probably her doing this to me.

Wait what? No!

She needs to die, I have to kill her.

I see a knife laying on the pedestal to my right.

I am so sorry.

"AARRGGHH!" Everything I had, went into breaking myself free from Natasha's hold.

I saw James starting to panic as he tried to rush over. Natasha held up a finger and James stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is happening to her!?" Don't worry James. I'm gonna fix it.

"She's breaking free. Avery you need to try and fight him, I'm almost done!"

Now why would I want to fight when I can kill?

I felt a wicked smile form on my face and everyone else sees it too by the looks of it.

Let's play, shall we.

I felt my entire body working to break the hold. Then I felt it shatter, like putting pressure to a window and seeing it crack before it completely breaks, that's what it felt like.

I'm free, but I can't move. What the hell is this?

She must die, she's ruining everything!

My blood began to boil. My nails dug into my hands and I felt the veins in my temple start to throb. My shoulder went back and my head up as my lips tightened and formed a thin line. My nostrils were flaring and I felt my eye brows furrow.

'FIGHT AVERY!'

"AARRGGH!!" It hurts! Like someone is trying to press my skull together, turning my brain to mush.

Fight. I need to fight.

I was moving my arm, it was shaking trying to rise. Me feet were trying to move and my eyes were set on the knife laying on the pedestal beside me.

Fight. I need to fight!

I pressed my arm down with all the energy that was left in me and held it by my side. It was like moving against gravity.

"Avery I'm almost done just a minute more!"

"HURRY!!" I couldn't keep him out much longer. I wasn't keeping him out. I was fighting him for dominance inside my own mind. I was at war with myself.

Fight Avery.

Fight.

Kill. Her.

I was shaking. My entire body was shaking from top to bottom and my hands were clutched together so tightly that I felt the blood circulation stopping. I pressed my lips together and my eyes were closed tightly. Everything and anything to focus.

I slammed the back of my head to the wall as hard as I could in frustration. I felt the drops of sweat falling from my face.

"Please hurry! I can't..."

"Almost there sweetheart, keep fighting."

Easier said than done. I thought to myself.

Stop fighting me.

Never.

Stop fighting. You want to kill her.

I... I don't. You do.

Stop fighting me AND KILL HER!

"NO!!" I fell to my knees. My body hovered over them as I finally broke down. The tears wouldn't stop. I was shaking like a scared puppy and sweating like I had run a marathon.

Why am I bleeding?

I felt a body cover my own. I didn't mind. I embraced and welcomed the comfort. The only comfort that could calm the storm going on inside me. He could catch the lightning and throw it away, suck in the thunder and blow it out in the form a tornado, putting everything back in its place.

of

Yes. I welcomed it.

"Sweetheart?" I felt a hand on my hand and lifted my head. Natasha was standing there with her hands cupped in front of her and her eyes back to normal.

"We're all done." Her smile could warm you on the coldest of nights. I mustered up enough energy to smile back at her. Albeit a weak one.

"Thank you. Again." I said as I gave her a minor head bow.

"Anytime. Now you need to sleep. I promise nothing will disturb you this time." I nodded at her, agreeing that I needed sleep.

James carried me to my room again as I was too weak to walk.

He placed me down again and his eyes lingered on my face as if he was trying to memorize it.

I took his hand into mine and drew shapes with my finger on his palm.

"Stay with me?" James looked at the clock. It was 4:30 already.

"Practice starts at 7:00. But I would love to stay with you till then." He sported a kind smile as he got undressed, leaving his boxers on and climbed under the covers.

I don't think that I will ever be able to look at his semi-nude body without blushing.

I laid his arm under my head and I snuggled in close to him. I felt safe in his arms. Something I really needed right now.