Ch. 29：Blackmail

‘Mate,’ the quiet voice of my wolf said in my head and as if hearing the voice, Noah’s eyes sharpened.
“You are a beautiful wolf, Carrot.” He spoke in a cherry tone that spread goosebumps all over my skin.
My wolf just saw him for the first time so even though I wanted to run as Noah approached, to put distance between us, my body went into lockdown. A shiver wracked through my wolf as Noah came closer and stroked my fur.
“A pure white wolf,” he muttered, his words followed by chilling laughter. “You are beautiful but it would have been fitting for you to be a brown wolf.” I stepped back from his touch but he followed me.
‘Is this – Is this man truly our mate?’ My wolf asked with a shudder. He had not yet displayed his cruel side for her to see but my new instincts screamed danger.
‘Unfortunately,’ I answered my wolf.
‘His wolf –‘ Her soft voice whispered. ‘There is something wrong with his wolf.’ I perked up at that.
There was something wrong with Noah as a person, not just his wolf. He had a narcissistic personality and even if I knew little about him, I knew of his psychopathic tendencies. After all, he pushed me down a balcony before and accused me of attempting suicide with a cruel smile on his lips.
‘His wolf isn’t sane,’ my wolf whispered. ‘It is like –‘
“Why do I feel you are judging me?” Noah’s smile turned even more dreadful. “Carrot, I am thrilled to witness your first shift as your Alpha.” His voice turned soft and my wolf flinched at the sudden change in the air around him.
‘I do not like him,’ she declared. ‘We have to reject him,’ she urged.
‘I’ve done that but he refused the rejection,’ I mumbled. A slight shiver racked through my wolf again.
“Are you listening to me?” Noah whispered in my ear.
I’d been too focused on my wolf to listen to him but I felt something cold against my side. For the second time that night, my body went into lockdown. I froze like a deer when I felt the cool metal of a knife digging into my side. Still as a board, I forced my heavy head to nod as the metal pressed closer to my skin.
“Good girl,” he breathed into my ear, withdrawing the weapon.
Noah sat crossed leg on the ground, turning his blade this way and that, the shiny metal gleaming under the moonlight.
“I have a job for you,” he said, putting the weapon away. “If you hadn’t run off like that, you may have had a different job but this is much better,” he mumbled.
His words made no sense to me but he continued to speak without pause. He raised his head to the moon, his hands braced on the ground behind him, a faraway expression twisting his face.
“I never dared to dream this far but I have a smart mate.” He grinned at the skies and I shivered, taking a step back. A twig snapped underneath my paw and his gaze snapped back to me. The smile on his lips turned cold and cruel.
“Don’t even think of escaping me a second time, Carrot.” His eyes flashed and my wolf whined.
It seemed Noah had gotten worse since the last time I saw him when he came to feed me in the dungeons like a dog. His eyes which used to be cold now had a terrifying gleam in them. I could see dark circles around his eyes even in the dark and his smile was especially chilling tonight.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you. Andrew is dead.” My body went rigid and I shut my eyes tightly.
I wondered what would have happened to Amanda and her son for releasing me. A part of me knew they would be in danger but there was nothing I could do for them so I foolishly hoped they would not be caught.
Amanda was in her late forties and Andrew was her only child, her only family since her mate died many years ago. Why did she do that? Why release me when they knew they would get in trouble?
“I was going to hang him but I fed him to the rogues instead.” I swallowed at the smirk on his lips. “Except you want the next person who offers you help to meet the same gruesome fate as he did, you will do as I say. There is no escaping me this time.”
What did this bastard want from me? I’d never been as terrified of Noah as I was then. The look in his eyes had my wolf whimpering and his cruel smile told me he meant what he said. He’d rejected me and tried to kill me and marry me off to an old, perverted Alpha. I knew he hated me but it couldn’t be my fault because I’d done nothing to him.
‘What does he want from us?’ My wolf asked with a shudder.
“You must be curious about what I want from you.” His lips pulled up at the sides. “It’s simple because you are already on the right path. I didn’t think you had it in you to seduce such a high-ranked man but you must have some secret skill.” He shrugged.
I used to have nightmares of Noah finding me, of him beating me to a bloody pulp, running my charade and dragging me back to Red Lake – if Killian didn’t kill me on the way for daring to deceive him but it seemed I was wrong. Noah rubbed his hands together and I didn’t know him enough to understand his mannerism but he almost seemed excited.
 “The Alpha King has something of mine so he must give me something in return.” If I was in my human body, I would nod my head in understanding.
Blackmail.
He wanted to use me to blackmail the king. A chill spread inside of me.
“I was going to use you to get Alpha Norman’s pack but since you ruined my plans, you will have to get me the pack with your ‘mate’s’ authority.” His lips curled. “I want Silver Lake pack so figure out a way to get it for me.”
Noah was smart, I would give him that. I didn’t know how he planned to use me to get Silver Lake pack under his control but I knew he had a sinister plot. He knew he couldn’t blackmail Killian on his own because the Alpha King would drive a dagger into his heart before he completed his sentence so he wanted to use me.
“If the way he dotes on you in public is to be believed, then you already have him wrapped around your fingers so it should be easy. If not, then figure it out. I am giving you two weeks.” His eyes gleamed under the moonlight.
Even if I had Killian wrapped around my finger which was far from the truth, there was no way he would give me another man’s pack to give to yet another man.
“And if you think of sicking him against me –“ He made a sniping gesture across his throat and I shivered. “I’ve heard he humiliated the queen so imagine what it would look like for him if I go to the queen with the truth about his mating.” He laughed, the sound chilling in the cool night.
He had something against me and Killian. Even if by some absurd miracle, I found a way to convince Killian to make him the Alpha of Silver Lake, he would come back for something else. As long as he had something to blackmail me with, he would continue to return. He’d continue to use me.
I needed a plan to get rid of him once and for all.
“It may be hard, Carrot,” he patted my fur, “But I expect you and your mate to do your best.” I shrank away from him. “Now shift. I’ve been talking to an animal all this time. I have to make sure you understand.” I continued to inch away from him but his eyes dared me to run.
“Don’t test me,” he snarled, his eyes flashing the red of his wolf.
I was about to take a step back when a blow landed on the side of my head. My wolf whimpered as he hit me with the handle of his dagger.
“You are still as arrogant –“ He paused then cussed. “Someone is coming.” He looked back. “I am sure you understand me, Carrot, so I will see you later.” With that, he broke into a run, shifting as he went and disappearing into the night.
My legs became too weak to hold me up. I sat, bending my back legs. Noah – he’d become even crazier. I didn’t know what he planned but I could not let him ruin my life again. Killian would kill me before he let someone use me in blackmailing him.
Speak of the devil –
He walked into the woods with purposeful strides, his eyes fixated on me as he stalked forward.
“You stink –“ he sniffed me, “of another man.”