Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred and Forty One

I tried to keep it from her because I didn't want her to worry about me, but as the days passed, it became harder to conceal.

The withdrawal symptoms had kicked in hard. Kaida was only aware of the progress I was making, but I didn't let her know what I had to endure. I wiped away the blood trickling from my nose. It had been five days since I stopped taking the doses of wolfsbane, and every moment had been pure torment. Breaking free from my addiction' was easier said than done.

I rarely got any work done. The withdrawal symptoms were impossible to ignore- involuntary shaking, random bleeding, a relentless pounding in my head, dizziness, irritability, and the tiny lapses in time that seemed to stretch wider with each passing day without my doses.

I stared at the bottle of aged bourbon spiked with wolfsbane, sitting on the wooden cabinet. all I had to do was reach out, take a drink, and it would be all over; the pain would disappear. I hadn't realized when I rose from my chair and made my way toward it. I picked it up, pulled off the cap- then Kaida's face flashed through my mind. I had to do this for her.noveldrama

With a sharp breath, I let the bottle slip from my grasp, watching in agony as the very last spiked liquor shattered against the floor.

"Alpha." A voice called, cautiously.

I turned around, expecting to see Austin, but it was Phil.

Phil was more reserved than the rest of my advisors; he only approached me when he had important information or when I summoned him. But this time, neither seemed to be the reason for his visit.

Without the wolfsbane, my senses were sharper than ever but that didn't make things any easier. If anything, it only made them more... overwhelming. So overwhelming that I still ended up missing things, like Phil's arrival. I had been too caught up in my own head to hear him coming

"Why are you here?" I asked, and it was a reasonable question; in my state, I didn't think I could still ask reasonable questions.

"You are bleeding." He pointed out, but that was not an answer to my question. Usually masking my emotions was easy, but now I couldn't help but feel irritated at the fact that Phil hadn't answered my question. "You've been a... mess lately and I believe I know what is happening to you."

"No, you don't." My addiction to one of the deadliest banes was a secret-one that only a few had any idea about.

"I might be quiet, but that also makes me a keen observer. I know about your... immunity to wolfsbane." Now he had my full attention. He took a step back as if to create a good distance between the both of us. "It had always been speculation-l had no real proof. But after the incident at the Gray Moon Pack, I dug deeper. Still, I wasn't certain until two days ago. I watched you and knew something was off."

"That still doesn't explain why you are here."

"Join me for a drink, Alpha. You could use some time off from work."

Until now, I hadn't even considered whether drinking 'unspiked' alcohol might take my mind off things. I was committed to ending my addiction to wolfsbane, but that didn't mean I had to stop drinking. Maybe the hard liquor could still offer me some of the numbness it once did

We got to the bar, and it was empty-not even the bartender was present. Phil poured me a glass of whiskey before pouring one for himself. I downed mine in one go, waiting for the numbness to set in, but I felt nothing. I took three more glasses before realizing it wasn't working. Even the strongest whiskey couldn't dull the edge. I

Chapter One Hundred and Forty One

knew what my body craved-it called out to me-but I couldn't have it.