Alpha Nocturne's Contracted Mate

Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell

Chapter 259 A Remorseless Killer

Felix swallowed his own fear and inhaled deeply, forcing all traces of emotion from his face as he held

his brother’s gaze steadily.

He could feel the lazy smirk that was spreading across his brother’s face rather than see it, and Felix’s

wolf reacted accordingly, readying himself to defend at a moment’s notice. He didn’t trust his brother as

far as he could throw him.

“Nervous are you?” Jasper sneered into the darkness, his tone mocking.

“Of what?” Felix growled, “You? We are not children any more Jasper. You don’t frighten me.”

Jasper’s disbelieving laughter rang in his ears as he reached up and gripped Felix’s wrist tightly with

both hands, his bony fingers digging painfully into the skin.

“No? Then why is your heart beating so quickly?” He continued to mock as he increased the pressure

on Felix’s wrist, laughing as he twisted his arm away easily and pushing him backward.

“You would react in the same way if you woke to find an intruder in your quarters whilst you were away

from home.” Felix snapped as he turned and flicked the light on in order to see him better.

Jasper had always been more comfortable in the darkness, moving easily within the shadows and Felix

didn’t want to give him any advantage in this situation.

As the bright light from the fitting illuminated every hollow of Jasper’s once handsome face, Felix

suppressed the gasp that threatened to betray his concern for the state that his brother was in. They

had been close once, as brief as it had been, and it was the familial blood tie that pulled at his

conscience now.

He looked horrendous. Jasper’s sickly complexion and dark bags surrounding his eyes looked all the

more severe with his once lustrous black hair pulled back into a loose half ponytail, greasy wisps

hanging limp from his scalp and accentuating the gaunt lines of his face.

He was still handsome, but in a haunting, ethereal kind of way.

“What happened to you?” Felix grunted as he folded his arms in front of him whilst Jasper began to

pace slowly around his room, picking up various pieces of the decor and pretending to examine them

closely.

“Nothing happened, little brother.” Jasper shrugged, leaning against the cabinet as he c****d his head

to the side and a lazy grin spread across his face, “I am as I have always been.”

“A psychotic reprobate?” Felix sneered.

“Ah you wound me with those words,” Jasper said holding his hand over his heart as he fixed him with

a sorrowful gaze, “I am nothing but the hand that delivers judgment on those who deserve it.”

Felix snorted as he narrowed his eyes.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep easier at night I guess Why are you here Jasper? I haven’t

seen you for years and now, out of the blue you suddenly show up when things are beginning to kick

off here. Why now? Why here?” he pressed suspiciously.

With Jasper’s sudden appearance within the Enclave, Felix had an awful feeling that he may have had

something to do with the attempted murder of the Alpha Queen, and quite possibly been involved in

some way with the rogue attacks all along the borders.

He and Adam had discussed it in depth during the breaks between successful raids on the oppressed

villages that the Rogues had taken control of.

The rogues themselves were far too well supplied and coordinated to be alone in their movements and

initially they had suspected a single mastermind lay behind their targeted attacks.

They had assumed it was the work of the Excidium Coven before they left but now, with Jasper’s

appearance right in the middle of everything, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was somehow mixed up

in all of this.

After all, years of silence and little communication and now he shows up here, of all places, it was more

than a little suspicious.

“What if he was involved in Aoife’s disappearance too?” Felix’s wolf growled warningly, “He is a

remorseless killer with no morals and no scruples…”

“No.” Felix replied firmly as a flicker of doubt penetrated his heart, “He wouldn’t stoop that low…”

“Don’t be so sure,” His wolf snorted, “He murders and violates children without a second thought, do

you really think he would bat an eyelid at violating our mate too?”

Felix didn’t answer, watching Jasper quietly as he mulled his wolf’s theory over in his head.

“He hated Aoife from the first moment he laid eyes on her. Even more so when we claimed her as our

own.” His wolf pressed insistently.

“So tell me, little brother, what news of your little diplomatic foray into this … primitive kingdom. I hear

the Alpha Queen is a pretty little thing, and mated to Alpha Nocturne too, perhaps I will pay her a visit,

for old times sake…” he said with a sly smile, leaving the sentence hanging in the air between them,

but Felix knew exactly what he was referring to.

“Where were you last night?” Felix asked suddenly, taking Jasper by surprise.

“Why is that any of your concern?” he answered a little too defensively for Felix’s liking.

Felix knew he had to be careful with how he approached this. He didn’t want to be the one who gave

Jasper the information about Aoife’s disappearance so he had to be careful about what he said.

He wanted to find out exactly what Jasper knew and, without him incriminating himself with knowledge

that he shouldn’t have, Felix would have no reasonable reason for suspicion to accuse him outright. “I

only wondered because of everything that’s been going on here. Considering the mess that we

returned to last night…” Felix began carefully, doing his best to feign nonchalance and relying on his

wolf’s confidence to keep his heart beating at a steady rate so as not to betray his ruse.

“Ah you weren’t here?” Jasper asked as a smirk of understanding crept into the corners of his mouth.

“No, I was away on a joint operation with Adam to clear the rogues out of the occupied villages, when

he received the call about Ann..” He trailed off, deliberately leaving out any incriminating evidence.

“Ah yes. Such an unfortunate situation. Ironic though, considering that everyone Adam loves ultimately

ends up dead.” Jasper said solemnly, “Perhaps he is cursed.”

“Wait, Ann’s dead?” Felix asked with a frown, thoroughly confused.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Jasper smirked as a strange light seemed to dance in his eyes, “She was

murdered in her bed last night. Some assassin I would think…”