An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 20

Lenah arrived at the wooden doors of the infirmary. A clock chime echoed through the house, a reminder of just how early it was.

It was dark and quiet as she looked up and down the corridor in case someone had heard her despite her precautions. Breathing deeply she dropped the shadows that surrounded her.

She'd never been scared of the dark, it was her home. The shadows been her oldest friends as they swirled around her. The night was her domain hence why she was here at this time.

Pushing open the door quickly she stepped into the light, momentarily disoriented as she looked down at the startled wolf sitting at her desk, an open book still in her hands.

Lenah had used the shadows to conceal every sign of her existence even her footsteps and heart beat. She knew that to the woman in front of her it would appear she had simply appeared from the shadows.

"I'm afraid you can't be here orders of the Alpha. No one is to see him." The woman's voice wavered as she looked at Lenah not quite meeting her eyes.

Lenah wasn't surprised that Ryan would have stipulated this but she wasn't going to back down. Right now she knew Ryan was out running patrols so it has to be tonight.

"I just want to talk with him, you can stay in the room if you like but I won't be going away." She watched the woman gulp slowly as her eyes once again travelled over her.

Wearing jeans and a simple cotton top, she knew she looked like any other teenager and yet this woman knew the power she wielded. It was why she was so scared of her.

Lenah continued to wait, hoping the woman's fear would be enough to allow her further into the room. She really didn't want to have to knock out the young wolf to achieve her goal.

After a few agonising moments the wolf stepped out of her way and walked back behind her desk.

Breathing deeply, Lenah pressed on further into the room passing empty bed after empty bed until she came to the one and only occupied one.

A small curtain was drawn around the last bed and she pulled it roughly to the side so that she was staring at the one patient that was in the infirmary.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the slut of the Alpha and what can I do for you?" Elder Michael's snide laugh grated over her nerves and she heard the startled, angry outburst from the female wolf not far behind her.

It had become common knowledge that her and Ryan were dating, or at least that was the simplified version they were telling everyone, so disrespecting her like that showed disrespect to the Alpha.

Lenah prayed that the young wolf remained where she was and didn't get involved. Thankfully she heard no movement from the other side of the room. Clearly she was just as terrified of the elder currently tied to the bed, as Lenah herself.

Taking a seat across from elder Michael she looked over the man. She could see the slight greying hairs and small wrinkles that betrayed his age but the most prominent feature was the dark bruises that covered most of his face.

His wounds had healed well, leaving only the bruising and Lenah couldn't help but believe he deserved worse. The man's cold brown eyes lingered over her and his gaze making her feel sick.

"Why don't we drop the mask girl? I've shown you my true face isn't it only fair you show me yours." The man's condescending smirk annoyed her no end.

She decided to take up his offer and dropped all of her glamour spells. Seeing the man visibly recoil back as her power floated around them was more than satisfying.

Lenah could feel the shadows in the room getting drawn to her as she sat on the uncomfortable chair. They floated around her obscuring her body from the man in front of her but leaving her face completely on show.

"Why have you come here?" She could hear the fear in the man's voice as he tried to look away from her. She laughed cruelly at the man which only had his fingers clenching in nervousness.

"You sound nervous elder Michael." Perhaps toying with the man wasn't the best thing she could have done but it plicated something inside of her.

"You and your useless Alpha have no idea who you're dealing with." The lethal tone of his words had Lenah gracefully rising to her feet.

She watched as elder Michael tried to edge away from her in his small single bed.

"No elder Michael, I think it's you who don't understand who you're dealing with." Fear flashed in the man's eyes.

"So you're here to rough me up some more since your boyfriend didn't do a good enough job." The words were meant to be brave but Lenah knew the man was terrified. He was prepared to go against his Alpha but he wasn't prepared to die.

"No. I'm here to tell you if you ever endanger this pack or harm Ryan I will do something far worse to you than rough you up." She smiled darkly down at the man as she moved to walk away.

"And just what do you think you could do to me. Not even the mighty Alpha could break me with his strength. How would you possibly stop me?" The man just didn't know when to keep quiet.

Lenah stared at him, feeling the shadows swirl excitedly around her as they sensed her magic flowing.

"Your Alpha is able to break every bond in your body." She paused as she walked back round to face the elder.

"But what I can do is far worse." Gently she stroked a finger down elder Michael's arm and watched the man went rigid with pain. She bent low to whisper in his ear.

"You see elder Michael I can break your mind."

Elder Michael opened his mouth in a silent scream at the horrors Lenah was showing him. Horrors from his own past.

Lenah broke contact with elder Michael's skin ending her connection to his memories and watched as the man collapsed back against the bed unconscious.

She hated delving into people's minds like that. Hated the fear it caused and the backlash she felt but there was no choice for it. The last thing she wanted was for elder Michael to harm her mate again.

Walking back towards the door the female wolf was already stood nervously waiting for her.

"I heard what you said to him." Lenah wasn't surprised, their conversation hadn't been all that quiet so she waited for the girl to continue.

"You really care about protecting the pack and the Alpha." The girl said it like a statement rather than a question but Lenah still nodded her head.

"What did you do to him?" She didn't sound upset just curious as she peered back towards the elder with a look of distaste on her face.

Lenah smiled at the girl but thought carefully over what she was going to say. Moving her hand around in front of her she pulled the shadows around her hand so the girl could see them.

In happier times she would have laughed at the girl's awestruck expression.

"Shadows don't just exist in the physical world. They also exist in the mind. It's where we lock away our deepest fears and everyone of our regrets." She watched as the girl's eyes widened and she simply moved her head in understanding before walking back to her desk and sitting down.

Lenah doubted the girl had really understood her explanation but saw no reason to scare her anymore than she had already tonight.

"I would really appreciate it if Ryan doesn't hear about this." She knew Ryan would have a fit if he knew she'd come down here and truthfully she was afraid of what he would think of her powers.

Perhaps in time she'd be brave enough to show him every part of her but for the moment she was too scared.

"Of course, he won't hear anything from me..Luna." The title startled Lenah as she looked over the girl who was smiling widely at her before picking up her book again.

Without saying anything else Lenah walked away down the corridor. Her heart ever so slightly lighter from the girl's words.