Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty One

ALIYAH'S POV

I spent most of my time on the laptop Daemon had gifted me. Sometimes, I watched movies; other times, I looked up information about magical creatures. Turns out humans did suspect that non-human beings roamed the earth, but out of fear for the unknown they dismissed these theories as 'fairy tales' or 'myths.'

Daemon had been distant lately, and it troubled me. Speaking about the devil. I spotted a note on the table. I picked it up, a small smile curving on my face.

'Meet me at the yard.' the note read.

For some reason, I had imagined that Daemon's handwriting would be perfect- just like everything else about him—but the words looked as if they were written by a seven-year-old. I found it both funny and cute.

I headed to the yard and spotted him standing with his back to me. I stopped halfway. The man waiting was a bit shorter and thinner than Daemon, with dirty blonde hair.

As if sensing my presence, he turned to me. That was definitely not Daemon. I should have taken advantage of his brief hesitation to run back into the house, but I was frozen in place. There was something about his unique gold eyes-they seemed familiar. I felt like I knew him but couldn't recall where I had seen him before. A part of me was certain this wasn't our first meeting.

"That's because it's not."

Had I said that out loud?

"No. But I can sense your questions-plus your facial expressions give everything away.'

He walked to me.

"Don't come any closer," I warned him, and he stopped immediately.

"I won't hurt you," he assured me, but I couldn't believe that.

"Who are you?" I asked, and a smile spread across his lips.

"Come on, take a guess.

Was he serious?

>>

"Yes, I am serious. Make a guess.'

>>

"Stop doing that-whatever it is you're doing."

I couldn't even understand why I was still here, talking to him. I should leave, yet strangely, I didn't see him as a threat.

"Ash had the same eyes," I muttered to myself, remembering exactly why they looked so familiar. The wolf Julia had ordered Daemon to kill had the very same eye color.

"Yes! Ash-well, that's the name you called me."

"That's not possible. Ash was a wolf-you are human." Well, with that eye colour, it was clear he wasn't exactly

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I was familiar with werewolves, but Ash had been a normal sized wolf. I had met him when he was just a baby.

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty One

The man standing before me looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties.

"I had to take that form to protect you."

"I... I don't believe you."

"But you do. You know I am not lying."

"I have to go." I said staggering backwards.

"Wait! You were an orphan before the Empress took you," he said, and I froze. The only people who knew about that were a few of the Empresses, Daemon, and me. They had done their best to keep my past a secret-in fact, they had tried so hard to make me forget it entirely.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Because I was there with you.

I couldn't remember much about the few years I had spent as an orphan, but whenever I tried to recall them, I always saw someone by my side-I just couldn't place who it was.

Now, thinking about him, I realized I truly hadn't been alone. There had been a younger boy, seemingly around thirteen. Slowly, the memories I once thought were lost began to return. That was when I understood why those gold eyes felt so familiar.

"You'd always bring me food-stolen food." I whispered, and he nodded. I couldn't understand why memories that had been out of my reach for so many years were finally returning.

"Because seeing me in my physical form somehow disrupted the magic the Empresses placed on you," he said, answering the question I hadn't realized I'd spoken out loud.

"What if this is all some kind of a trick..."

"It's not. When the Empresses came for you that day, they promised me you would have the best life. They said you would never suffer again and swore to ensure it. So, I let them take you-little did I know the plans they truly had for you."

"What plans?"

"During "The Encounter' the god of light would take over your form. In other words, you would die to give her a mortal form." He said, the exact same thing Daemon had told me, but I hadn't believed him then.

"They wouldn't do that. They had been preparing me for years, making me read all those books and learn all those foreign languages; if they were going to kill me in the end, then what was the use?"

"It was of no use- at least not to you. They wanted you pure and untouched; they wanted you equipped, but all those would only benefit the god of light when the time comes, not you. You were just a vessel for their use."

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