Alpha Nocturne's Contracted Mate

Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell

Chapter 241 A Good Friend and Ally

Ann blinked at Lexi in confusion.

“Wait, I don’t understand. What are you saying? Are you related then? And., wait, why would I feel that

she’s familiar?”

Lexi stopped and turned to Ann, sighing slightly.

“Because, Papa said that before she died, my mama and yours were good friends. She tried to help

her fight against whatever it was that was smothering her soul but… well… you know the rest.” Lexi

explained seriously, all humor gone from her face as she suddenly seemed almost melancholy, “So it

turns out, both of us have been around the type of energy that Aoife carries with her. Papa thinks she’s

a witch too, not like Narcissa or Ada though, the ones that were hunted to extinction around the time

that mama., well… you know.” Lexi trailed off sadly.

“But, wait… I thought there were no other witches left. Did they escape then?” Ann asked eagerly.

This information was monumental. Adam’s family had close ties with a so called ‘good’ witch who had

helped them with the charms that warded off the dark magick and given his grandmother a reputation

for being impervious to evil, but the only thing that remained of that legend was the heirloom jewelry

that Ann wore religiously every day now since Narcissa had successfully kidnapped her thanks to her

own stupidity “Papa had no idea until he chanced upon Aoife with Felix. He says it has a certain smell

to it, like… sunshine and dewy meadows, deep earthy forest scents, you know, that kind of thing, like,

nature at its purest.” Lexi explained carefully, “It’s the same branch of magick that my mother had, that

the witch’s soul inside me holds.”

Ann nodded gently.

“So it appears that Aoife would indeed be a good friend and ally to have.” Ann mused as they walked a

little slower toward her quarters.

“Yes. Papa is sure that she either doesn’t know about Jasper’s transgressions, or that she is powerless

to speak out against them. Think about it, the Dubois family must know her parents, and from what

Papa says, the witches are proud of their lineage. Each member of their family is like a branch or a root

of a tree that gets stronger with each generation as the magick condenses from the parents in each

child born. The larger the roots and branches within a family, the more powerful the family and its

offspring. If they’ve been living in secret for so long…Ann, what if they’ve threatened to eradicate her

family if she speaks against them? What if they have them imprisoned?” Lexi said, biting her lip as she

looked at Ann with worry in her eyes.

“Try not to overthink this Lexi. Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet, okay? We don’t know the full story,

and hopefully, tonight will bring us a little closer to Aoife. We have a lot of time to get to know her whilst

the boys are away. Then, if she feels close enough to us at any point to reach out for help, then we can

offer her safe haven if she needs it.” Ann reasoned cautiously, “I know you want to bring Jasper to

justice as much as I do, but we can’t afford to make any mistakes when dealing with the Dubois… that

includes not jumping to conclusions, Lexi.”

“I know, I just… I feel so damn helpless with all of this. I want to bring that heartless, overgrown poodle

to justice, for Alien’s sake. and for the sake of all of his victims.” Lexi exhaled furiously.

Being unable to act as she usually would, was close to torture for Lexi, but she was willing to play the

slow game if it meant getting what they needed. If she gained a friend that could help her learn more

about her mother and her own lineage then that was just a bonus.

“And we will Lexi, I promise. But right now, I need you to wipe that scowl off your face and get yourself

back into the happy-go-lucky Lexi that was here a few minutes ago. Unless you want Aoife to be

profoundly unsettled with your brooding.” Ann grinned as she pulled her friend into a hug and gave her

a reassuring squeeze.

Lexi sighed as she relaxed into the hug for a moment, before taking a deep breath and pushing away

from Ann, regarding her with a mischievous look.

“Fine. As you wish, Queenie, serious Lexi has now been put away safely so that wild Lexi can come

out to play.” She grinned wickedly as she continued, “Last one to Aoife’s door has to buy the first

round!”

Ann watched her helplessly as Lexi yelled loudly before sprinting off down the corridor. How she was

able to run in those heels was completely beyond Ann, there was no way that she was going to beat

her even in her flats.

As they arrived at Aoife’s door, slightly out of breath and giggling like teenagers, the door opened to

reveal a rather bemused-looking Aoife.

“Are you two okay?” She asked, a slow smile forming on her lips as Ann and Lexi struggled to catch

their breath between fits of giggles.

“Yeah,” Ann managed to get out finally, “Lexi decided that immaturity was the way forward tonight with

a race to see who would reach your door first.”

“Immature but smart,” Lexi corrected triumphantly, “Now you have to buy the first round, Queenie.” Ann

snorted and rolled her eyes.

“The jokes on you Lexi, drinks are on the house tonight courtesy of our incredible bar staff,” Ann

retorted with a smirk, laughing again as Lexi’s face fell.

“You mean I ran in these heels, and nearly broke my neck for nothing?!1’ she protested loudly as Aoife

giggled behind her hand helplessly.

“If I ran in those heels and that dress though, I think I’d be more worried about spilling out over the top

of it,” Aoife commented dryly as Lexi’s head whipped around to look at her in surprise

“And here was me thinking that you were a timid little cutie pie with a respectable background,” She

chided teasingly as she leaned forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her bedroom and into

the corridor, “I think you’re a dark horse, Aoife.” She continued with a smirk as Ann closed Aoife’s

bedroom door as Lexi led her off down the corridor.

“Me?” Aoife squeaked as Lexi peered at her closely.

“Yes, you I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re going to outdrink us all.” Lexi sniggered as Aoife

looked over her shoulder at Ann helplessly.

Ann grinned and shrugged, letting Lexi take the lead with conversation as she quickened her pace to

catch up with them.

“Queenie and her stunningly beautiful and witty second in command are off duty as of now,” Lexi

grinned, “Tonight Aoife, you’re going to be spending time with Ann and Lexi No titles, no stupid

restrictions with etiquette and decorum, just plain old Lexi and Ann. I hope you’re prepared for it.”

Aoife seemed to swallow nervously as she looked between Lexi’s predatory eyes that held a wicked

glint, and Ann’s now subtly altered demeanor. She briefly wondered if she had done the right thing by

accepting their invitation for a girl’s night but tried her best to shake her reservations away.

These two women felt nothing like the aura’s of the few women that frequented the Dubois residence.

There didn’t seem to be any pretense in the way that they treated her, nor was there any false

niceness. It actually felt like they were being genuine with her which was a nice change

Aoife bit her lip though as her mind filled with self-doubt. If they found out that she was witch born,

would they reject her friendship? What if they already knew and just wanted to use her for their own

gain? She sighed internally. Only time would tell on those factors, one thing was for sure though, her

life certainly seemed to be following the trajectory of the prophecy that her mother had warned her

about.

It really was true what they said. There was no fighting fate once it had wrapped its icy fingers around

you.