Alpha Nocurne's Contracted Mate

They approached the outer ring of the crumbled defenses of the overgrown ruin, moving as stealthily as they possibly could.
Lord Brarthroroz had been good enough to extend a barrier around the group that would keep the noise of their movement
muffled and the team hidden from sight, but it was only really effective if there was no one close by to see the movements of the
undergrowth around them.
So far, they hadn’t come across any scouting parties as they moved and it had mostly been plain sailing.
Lord Brarthroroz led the group with Lexi, Allen and Greyson behind him, and the rest of the ranked wolves and fighters spread
across in groups of five as they walked.
Title of the document
As they drew closer and began to set up a field base and perimeter under the cover of the surrounding forest, Lord Brarthroroz
moved a little further forward to rendezvous with the Mimic’s that had been waiting patiently for their arrival.
The other ruin they had been waiting to hear back on had turned out to be unoccupied, and that team had begun to circle back,
agreeing to rendezvous with the assault force and lend what support and aid they could.
They had also received gleeful reports back from the h*andlers of the Cambion’s who had been dispatched to the Containment
facility. They had managed to rescue a few shifters that had originally been part of Greyson’s team, but had been taken prisoner
early on in the days before the expedition had managed to set up the defenses for their base of operations.
Although they were still in the process of clearing the various levels, the h*andlers assure Lord Brarthroroz that the Cambion’s
were quite literally having the time of their lives with their victims, and the people that had been rescued so far had been
escorted back to the perimeter without incident, and collected by the medical teams to arrange transportation back to the
Enclave.
Lexi helped unload some of the equipment as others began to set up the medical tents and command center, with Greyson and
Allen assisting in everything that they could.
She could feel Greyson’s eyes watching her as she moved around, but now was not the time to discuss personal issues between
them and as he finally plucked up the courage to approach her, she sighed internally.
“Lexi...”

“Look, you had all the time in the world to discuss this on the way here. Now is not the time.” She snapped as she stacked
another box of medical supplies on the ground in the designated tent.
“I know,” He said hastily, clearly struggling to stop himself from reaching out to her, “I just wanted to apologize for...letting my
urges control me. I never wanted to be that way. That’s why I left...well, nevermind that. We can talk about it later. I just want you
to know that I’m sorry and I don’t ever want to hurt you. If it ever gets to that point... “ He trailed off, leaving his meaning clear.
An awkward silence passed between them as Lexi eyed him shrewdly.
“Noted.” She said coldly, “Anything else?”
“No, I just.. didn’t want to go into this without making things right beforeh*and.” He mumbled as he hung his head and his
shoulders drooped.
“Right?” Lexi snorted, “Do you really think this apology will make it right?
Because it won’t. It’s a start for sure, but you have a metric f*uc*k-ton of making up to do after all of this over, boy.”
“Boy?” Greyson blinked in confusion as Lexi sneered at him distastefully.
“Yeah, boy.” She reaffirmed, “No man would ever dream of treating their soul mate that way, and the ones that do...well let’s just
say that there’s a special place in hell reserved just for them to experience everything that they put their mates through for
themselves, with glorious attention to detail.”
Greyson swallowed nervously and nodded.
“Understood.” He murmured as he jammed his h*ands into his pocket and
glanced back at where Lord Brarthroroz was making his way back to the camp.
“Good!” Lexi said brightly, “Now, can we get back to focusing on the task at h*and please? I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve
had my fill of drama and gossip for a lifetime, and I’m quite looking forward to melting the faces of Narcissa and Ada, just for
being slimy f*uc*kers and managing to find a way out of answering for their crimes..”
Greyson cracked a small smile that matched Lexi’s and they began to walk towards her father who had re-entered the makeshift
camp, bringing the two mimics with him.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat and refilling their water bottles, they gathered in the hastily erected command tent and listened
carefully to what the mimic scouts had to say.
“The tunnel’s really aren’t as complex as some of the structures that we’ve seen before, but they are busy on the inside in all of
the branches,” one of the Mimic’s explained patiently, “If you can imagine an ant hill...it’s very much the same.”
“We followed the first four branches but they didn’t seem to lead anywhere other than to sleeping quarters and various rooms for
their day to day needs. The main bulk of the activity seems to be from beyond the main chamber which you’ll get to if you follow
the main tunnel that you first enter into.” The second mimic advised as they quickly sketched a loose map on the blank pad of
paper they had given him.
“Is there anything we should be concerned about in the main chamber?” Greyson asked, his face focused in a serious scowl.
“The scent of decaying flesh hangs in the air throughout, but it is strongest towards the back of the main chamber. There are
three doors at the back end, two of them are heavily guarded and we thought it best not to draw attention to our presence by
attempting to pass.”
“I see.” Greyson frowned as Lord Brarthroroz waved his h*and dismissively.
“I can clear one set of guards while Lexi clears the others,” Lord Brarthroroz said in an unconcerned tone, “We will just need a
few of you to ensure that we are not attacked so that we can focus on the groups.”
“Understood.” Greyson nodded as he cast his eyes around those assembled, “Allen and I will move forward with Lexi and Lord
Brarthroroz. We’ll need possibly four more to ensure that we aren’t surprised during the attack.”
An ocean of h*ands rose, all of them eager to assist and Lexi found herself flooded with a feeling that she could only describe as
pride.
Were all these men and women truly willing to protect her and her father with their lives? It all seemed a little surreal to her,
especially after the years she had spent being looked down on.
As much as she hated to admit it, she actually felt a little emotional and had to bite the inside of her l*ip to try and stop her from
spilling the tears that were rapidly welling up in her eyes. She focused on the sound of Greyson and her father selecting the final
members of their team to distract herself and suddenly found her h*and encased by another.

She turned and saw Allen standing stoically at her side, his facial expression not betraying a thing as he squeezed her h*and
tightly, letting her know that he was there for her. It should have calmed her, but instead, she felt her throat become tight as she
fought the sob of gratitude that threatened to break free.
“Excellent, the rest of you will split into four groups,” Greyson stated as he began explaining their plan of attack and gesturing to
the crude map in front of them.
“Groups one and two will split down the tunnel branches with group one splitting to clear those on the left, and group two to clear
those on the right. Group three and four will follow us through the main corridor and progress to the main chamber. Once we’ve
eliminated the guards, well assess the situation and move forward from there, but the first priority is to clear to the chamber,
understood?”
A chorus of “Yes Commander!” rose from the men and women, and the sound gave rise to a cascade of goosebumps that
erupted across Lexi’s skin.
She was fully aware that she had never shied away from confrontation, but this feeling as they stood on the cusp of battle was
intoxicating. Lexi knew with certainty then, that if her best friend, the Alpha Queen ever called for her to fight in her name, she
would dive headfirst into the conflict without hesitation.
She felt more alive than she ever had before and her souls hummed with excitement within her. Soon, both her lust for revenge
and her souls insatiable thirst would be sated and the thought filled her with radiant joy.