Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty One

I never believed I could do it, but as I stared at him with my lagger buried in his heart, I couldn't stop the tears that slipped from my eyes, they weren't tears of

relief.

"You should never have lied to me, Daemon," I said. His eyes never left mine, even as he collapsed to the ground, his hands clutching the dagger protruding from his chest as if to pull it out. Black blood seeped into his gray shirt. I didn't wait to watch. I ran straight to the room where the girls were kept, but as expected, it was locked.

I rushed to the weapons room, grabbed a gun, and returned I had never used a firearm before, but I had a rough idea of how it worked. I fired at the lock three times-missed twice, but on the third shot, I hit my mark. It was purely accidental,

I could hear my own heart hammering, each beat a painful attempt to break free from my chest.

The door swung open, revealing the three girls huddled together, trembling in fear. But that wasn't the first thing I noticed-the first thing I noticed was that they weren't in chains. That was good. It seemed luck was indeed on my side.

"P-please don't k-kill us," one of them begged.

"I am here to set you free. All of you." I said, expecting to see a spark of

happiness in their eyes; there was none. They didn't move; they just stared at me.

"I am setting you free; leave this place, go on with your lives-I am sure some of you have family; return to your family...”

I trailed off when I noticed they still sat there, making no move to flee; did they think I was trying to trick them? Couldn't they see I was trying to help them?

"I know what you're doing," the eldest said. I had never heard her voice before, but I was surprised by how sane she sounded. “You want us gone so you can have him all to yourself."

What?

"He kidnapped you..."

"No, he didn't." The third girl said. "We agreed to come. This is our home now." "He was going to kill you!" I said I was frustrated and irritated by their stupidity

"We also know that."noveldrama

What the hell was wrong with them? "It doesn't matter now; he is dead, and this is our chance."

The oldest stared at me; for a moment I saw the flicker of sadness in her eyes, but then it was gone. "He is not dead. You can't kill him." She said,

"I stabbed him through the..."

There was no point in arguing; if they liked being locked in here, then they could stay. I had wasted enough time trying to convince them.

I grabbed Daemon's car key from the table and bolted out of the house. The car was only a few steps away. I ripped off the cover and jumped inside. I had never driven before, but I had watched him drive, and I was a quick learner. After a few tries, the engine roared to life, and I sped away

It had been five hours of driving and I still hadn't spotted any houses; the road seemed to stretch on and on.

I finally had a moment to process what I'd done. It all happened so fast-one moment, we were talking; the next, I had driven a dagger through his heart. My hands trembled against the steering wheel as the weight of it sank in. I

would never see him again. A sob broke free from my lips.

I still loved him-I realized, and every part of me wanted to turn the car around and try to undo what had already been done. I was crazy for even thinking that, but at that moment that had been exactly how I felt.

When he was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in The Pit, I had cried my eyes out. I hated being away from him, and I hated knowing it was all my fault he was down there. But even then, I had clung to a flicker of hope- because he wasn't dead yet. Despite everything I knew about The Pit, part of me still believed. But now... now he was gone for real.

I hadn't seen the figure until I slammed into it. I could have sworn the road had been empty, but maybe I'd been too lost in my thoughts.

I stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind me. It could have been an animal... or a person. But judging by the dent in the car, the impact had been hard-hard enough to cause serious injury or, worse, death.

I frantically searched for the person or animal I had hit but found nothing-no blood, no sign of impact... nothing. I might have convinced myself that it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but the dents on the car were proof enough. Feeling completely unsettled by everything, I got back into the car. Strangely, I felt safer locked inside. I rested my head on the steering wheel, taking deep breaths until my racing heart finally calmed. Sitting up, I turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. I tried again. Still nothing.

Something caught my attention in the rearview mirror-a figure seated behind me. "Daemon," I gasped.