Alpha Nocurne's Contracted Mate

With the groups positioned in place behind a crumbling wall and covered by Lord Brarthroroz’s cloaking, they waited for the
entrance of the ruin to clear of the few coven members that had appeared outside and stood chatting mindlessly.
Once they disappeared inside again, Lord Brarthroroz glanced back at the people waiting behind him with a smirk, lifted his
h*and and motioned for them to advance.
Lexi’s heart was beating wildly in her chest with excitement without a trace of fear as they crept over the remaining distance
between them and the entrance, making their way quietly down the remains of the crumbling staircase and onto the dirt trodden
walkway that cut below the ground floor of the ruins and into the gaping maw of the entrance to the cave system.
They managed to reach the first branches of the main passageway and the assigned groups split off from the main party and
advanced down the tunnels. The muted sounds of the first violent confrontations echoed within the tunnels and Lexi felt sure her
heart would smash through her chest with the excited pounding as they moved further forward.
Title of the document
Only when they reached the second branch of the cavern and the groups began to move off, did they cross paths with a very
surprised looking group of coven members.
They screamed in fury as they ran towards Lord Brarthroroz’s cloaking and as they broke through they froze momentarily in
surprise at the towering form that stood before them with a malicious grin on his face, and flanked by a small army.
Even as they gathered their wits about them, they didn’t have chance to act because with a simple abrupt lift of his h*and that
sliced through the air, they were flung upwards into the roof of the cavern, their heads connecting with the slimy rock with a
sickening crunch before they fell to the floor.
“Four down and the rest of a coven to go?” Lord Brarthroroz commented lightly as he strode forwards, “They broke through the
cloaking though so now it has broken. Prepare to meet resistance and be ready to fight back.” He continued casually as he
stepped over the heap of bodies that were slowly oozing blood across the passageway.
Allen and Greyson glanced at each other as they increased their pace to keep up with Lexi and her father and subtly shared a
concerned expression as they took in Lexi’s expression of morbid delight and her hauntingly lit eyes, one eye a furious crimson
fire and the other an ethereal electric blue and green swirling storm.
Small skirmishes broke out around them as members of their party rushed forward to meet the attacks that now began to come
from all sides, and the air filled with the furious growls, snarls and screams of the shifters and their prey. The scent of blood

began to fill the air and Lexi inhaled deeply.
Even the stench of rotting flesh that assaulted them as soon as they entered the cavern did nothing to diminish the look of
demonic delight on her face as she and her father ran to the middle of the enormous cavern that had opened up around them.
“Pity,” Lord Brarthroroz grunted as he took in the sight of the eight large daemons that had been standing in front of the doors on
both sides and were now barreling towards them furiously, “This will actually require a little effort on our part.”
Allen and Greyson looked towards the figures barreling towards them with a mixture of horror and disgust. They were roughly the
same size as Lord Brarthroroz as he was now, with mostly humanoid figures, yet the heads of what looked like bulls.
Lexi snorted as she raised her arms towards the closest aggressors and two of them froze, before immolating instantly on the
spot.
“f*****g minotaurs,” She mumbled as she turned her attention to one that had effortlessly swept to wolves to the side with his
abnormally large axe, sending them yelping across the floor and slamming into the wall.
She could feel her souls surging together, twisting their energies around each other as she directed them outwards, never
melding together but desperately wanting to. She flicked her wrist as the minotaurs arm jerked to the side and he looked at it with
what would pass as surprise, before she brought her arm in a violent arc and the creature watched helplessly as it embedded its
axe deeply in its own skull, before dropping to the floor, twitching.
“Three down already Papa,” she laughed, as the corpse of the minotaur burst into flames and she shuddered pleasurably, “Are
you keeping up?”
“Why do you always insist on making things into a competition?” Her father snorted as he dispatched the third and watched as
Lexi directed the final two to run at each other, their axes raised before simultaneously bringing their axes in opposing, sweeping
arcs and slicing cleanly through each other’s necks.
Lord Brarthroroz turned to his daughter with a raised eyebrow as the heads rolled across the floor and a white, misty substance
rose from the two minotaurs that had fallen and flowed towards Lexi, wrapping itself around her arms and seemingly absorbing
into her skin.
“Five to three Papa, I win,” She smirked triumphantly as he rolled his eyes.
“I hope you’re keeping track Lexi,” Lord Brarthroroz warned as he wagged a f*inger at her, “Do not allow one to feed more than
the other, otherwise...”

“Yes, I know, Papa. Balance for the souls. I got it.” She grinned as the sounds of battle began to fade around them.
“Did she just...” Greyson asked quietly as Allen nodded and clapped him on the back, already anticipating his question.
“Absorb their lifeforce and feast on their souls?” he murmured quietly as he locked eyes with Greyson, “yeah...pretty much.
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of our mate and her insatiable souls.”
With the main chamber clear and more of their party beginning to filter down to them with the tunnels and entrance now secured,
their attack force waited patiently for their next orders.
Lord Brarthroroz strode forward a few paces and frowned as he focused intently on each door for a few moments before
returning to the group.
“The door to the left ...I’m not sure what lays behind there but my best guess is that it extends further inwards into the heart of
these ruins. I would suggest sending two of the mimics for support with a small force to explore a little way.” Lord Brarthroroz
advised, his face serious, “There may be cells beyond...but I cannot say for sure.”
“The door to the right... I am certain they hold a flesh crafter there,” Lord Brarthroroz continued with a growl, “The stench of
rotting flesh emanates from there so it is possible you will encounter greater resistance there if there are... abominations
remaining.”
“As for the door in the middle,” Lord Brarthroroz sneered as his face darkened, “The scent of Eromaug is heaviest there. That
door is mine.”
Greyson nodded, still clearly a little shell shocked that his fated mate ate souls to feed her own souls, but cleared his throat and
did his best to present a normal front to his men.
“Okay, divide into three groups, two of them with mimics please. The men assigned to Lord Brarthroroz and Lexi will remain the
same, unless you are injured and in which case we’ll swap you out, and the group with no mimics among them will advance with
us.”
The party efficiently did as he asked, the mimics joining their groups without needing to be directed and Greyson nodded in
satisfaction.
“Group one will head towards the door on the left, Group two to the left. The third group...” Greyson began before his orders
were interrupted by the sound of a door scraping open.

They turned as one to face the sound, revealing the middle door that had cracked open slightly as a small figure emerged with
her head down, clearly not realizing the predicament they were about to find themselves in. As soon as they raised their head,
their eyes widened in shock and fear as they took in the size of the force before them.
“You’ve got to be f*****g kidding me,” Lexi scoffed as her eyes flashed dangerously. “Ada?!”