Chapter 4 The Contract Luna

Rebekah was elegant, high-born, and perfect in every way an Alpha's chosen mate was supposed to be. She had been standing beside Niklaus earlier like she belonged there.

Now she stared at Freya in his arms as if the world had just betrayed her.

"Niklaus," Rebekah whispered. "What is this?"

Niklaus's body went rigid.

Freya felt it immediately.

The mate bond was new, raw, and uncontrollable, but even through it, she could sense the conflict that flashed through him. His wolf recognized Freya. His body had already claimed the truth. But the man still belonged to another promise.

Rebekah took one step closer, her eyes filling with tears. "Tell me she is lying. Tell me you didn't just call some Omega your mate in front of everyone."

Freya flinched.

Niklaus's arm tightened around her almost unconsciously.

That small movement broke Rebekah.

A sharp sob escaped her. "We were supposed to announce our engagement tonight. Your family agreed. My family agreed. You told me nothing would change."

"Rebekah," Niklaus said, his voice low and strained.

"No." She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Don't say my name like that. Don't make me stand here and watch you hold her."

Freya lowered her eyes, shame and guilt twisting inside her even though none of this had been her choice.

She had not asked the Moon Goddess to give her a mate who already had someone else.

She had not asked to be pulled from a pool and placed in the center of another woman's heartbreak.

Rebekah looked at Niklaus one last time, her voice breaking. "If you choose her tonight, don't expect me to wait forever."

Then she turned and fled from the hall, the banquet doors slammed shut behind her.

Niklaus watched her go, and for the first time since Freya had met him, pain crossed his face.

Jonas also watched in silence, but when his gaze returned to Freya, the darkness in his eyes had deepened.

Niklaus lowered his eyes to Freya. "You're freezing."

Freya wanted to say she was fine, but her teeth were chattering too hard.

Without asking anyone's permission, Niklaus carried her out of the banquet hall under the eyes of every guest.

No one dared to stop him.

Inside a private lounge on the second floor, servants hurried in with towels, dry clothes, and hot tea. Niklaus placed Freya on a sofa near the fireplace and ordered everyone out except his personal assistant.

Freya wrapped the towel around herself with numb fingers.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

The fire crackled softly.

Niklaus stood by the window, one hand in his pocket, his handsome face half-shadowed by the flames. He looked controlled again, almost cold, but Freya could still feel the mate bond pulling between them like an invisible chain.

Finally, he said, "How much debt did your father leave?"

Freya stiffened.

Her shame returned instantly.

"Over 2.6 million dollars," she said quietly. "The pack accepted me as collateral. Until the debt is cleared, I belong to Frostwood as bonded labor."

Niklaus turned his head. "You belong to no one."

The words hit Freya harder than she expected.

Her throat tightened, but before hope could rise too high, his next words crushed it back down.

"My assistant will clear the debt tonight."

Freya looked up sharply. "What?"

"All of it," Niklaus said. "Your father's loans, penalties, legal fees, and any private agreements attached to your name. By morning, Frostwood Pack will have no legal claim over you."

For a moment, Freya could not breathe.

"Why would you do that?" she whispered.

Niklaus looked at her with cold, unreadable eyes.

"Because you are my mate."

Her heart jumped.

Then he added, "And because that creates a problem."

Freya's fingers tightened around the towel.

Niklaus walked to the table and picked up a thin black folder his assistant had placed there moments earlier.

"I was supposed to marry Rebekah," he said. "Her family and mine have political interests tied together. She is suitable, educated, high-ranked, and prepared to stand beside me as Luna."

Niklaus opened the folder and placed it on the table in front of her.

"I will not take an Omega as my permanent mate," he said.

The sentence sliced through her chest with cruel precision.

Even though she had known it, hearing him say it still hurt.

Vicki whimpered softly inside her.

Freya lowered her eyes to hide the pain. "Then why pay my debt?"

"Because the mate bond will not allow me to leave you in another pack's control," Niklaus replied. "And because rejecting you tonight would damage both of us. The bond is too fresh."

He tapped the folder lightly with one finger.

"So I am offering you a contract."

Freya stared at the document.

"A contract?"

"Three years," Niklaus said. "You will come with me to Whitecrown Pack and become my wife in name. In return, I will clear your debt, give you protection, education, money, and freedom from Frostwood's control."

Freya's voice came out very soft. "And after three years?"

Niklaus's eyes did not move from hers.

"After three years, I will reject you."

Niklaus continued in the same calm voice. "The contract will end. You will leave Whitecrown quietly with enough money to live wherever you want. I will then complete my bond with Rebekah."

Pain spread through Freya's chest, slow and heavy.

She had known him for less than an hour.

She should not have cared.

But the mate bond cared. Her wolf cared. Some foolish, wounded part of her that had spent the night begging for rescue cared far too much.

Freya looked at the contract again. The words blurred for a moment, but she forced herself to read them carefully. Debt repayment. Legal release from Frostwood. Marriage registration. Three-year term. Private separation rights. Final rejection clause.

If she refused, she would remain an Omega debt-slave in Frostwood Pack. Berea would continue to torment her, the guards would continue to treat her like property, and Jonas's sympathy would not be enough to erase 2.6 million dollars.

If she accepted, she would become the wife of a man who had already promised to leave her.

"One more thing," he added, his voice becoming harder. "This stays between us. No one else knows about this arrangement. As far as everyone knows, we're a regular mated pair."

"I understand," she whispered.

Freya picked up the pen with cold fingers.

She signed first.

Then Niklaus took the pen and signed beneath hers.

Niklaus closed the folder.

Niklaus contacted his assistant and had new clothes prepared for Freya. "Stay here for the night. Tomorrow, put on these clothes and come with me to my pack house. My mother is expecting us."

She looked at Niklaus, at the powerful Alpha who was now her mate, her creditor, and her husband.

Her voice was quiet when she answered.

"Then I hope you keep your word, Alpha Lockwood."

Niklaus looked at her for a long moment.

"So do I," he said.