Alpha Xander: His Contracted Luna

ONE YEAR AGO

He planted a kiss on her cheek, making her turn red, and wrapped his hands around her waist as he drew her closer to him, "By this time next year, I'll be done with my program at Harvard," she giggled as he planted a kiss on her forehead, "And we'll finally be together-"

"-Forever," she completed for him as she stared into his eyes lovingly, her arms wrapped around his neck. It was one of the best moments she had when she was with him.

"Forever," he repeated as they locked lips, engaging in a brief yet passionate kiss before he begrudgingly pulled away from her.

"I should get going now," he told her in a sad tone as he picked up his traveling bag.

She hugged him from his back, tears trickling down her face, "Next year... don't you dare forget," she threatened jokingly.

He turned to her and gave her hands a light, reassuring squeeze, "This time next year, you'll go from Catherine Brown to Catherine Lindse. I promise," he assured her as he kissed the tears from her eyes.

She sniffed in a chuckle, "I have something for you," she announced before making her way towards her closet.

He shuffled on his left foot, "I don't think it's necessary," he itched his head in embarrassment, knowing fully well what she was going to give him. It wasn't the first time nor the tenth time.

For the 6 years they had been together, it had been like a routine of hers, and although he always rejected it every time, she always found a way to get it to him.

She brought out a slightly bulky brown envelope and stretched it to him, "Here, take this."

He glanced at the envelope and then at her, "I don't know how many odd jobs you must have taken up to get this, but like I always say, I can't take this," he pushed the envelope back to her.

She stared at him with a defiant look, "What are you talking about? You can't possibly reject it," she stated before adding, "I have no one except you in this world and we can't both be dropouts, so take it to support yourself," she urged him as she took his left palm in hers and placed the envelope in it.

He glanced at the envelope, his eyes watering, "Thank you Catherine but you really shouldn't have. You could have saved up to go back to college with all the money you've been giving me," he sighed.

She hugged him tight, "It really doesn't matter to me. So long as you are happy, I am."

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THE PRESENT

She removed her hair band and her long, dirty blonde hair fell in curls down her skull, before stopping above her ass. She picked up a comb and brushed her hair before making her way toward the full-length mirror.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. A pair of white, knee-high boots complimented the strapless, black gown she had on. The gown hugged her body tightly, showing all her curves, and stopped at her thighs.

Silver jewelry adorned her neck, wrists, and ears as a smile played on her dolled-up face, "Perfect!" she squealed in her fruity voice excitedly as she picked up her silver purse and her white, leather jacket from the bed before briskly making her way towards the front door.

Lavender. She immediately dashed back into the room and picked up the bottle of lavender perfume she had specifically prepared for the event since he loved the smell of Lavender.

She brought out her phone and checked the time. Shit! I'm running late. She immediately dashed out of the house, locked the door, and sped into her worn-out car.

"Mrs. Catherine Lindse," she blushed at her words and started the engine, "I can't believe this is happening," she squealed, tears brimming in her eyes.

She looked up at the roof of her car, trying to stop tears from falling on her face as it would ruin her makeup instantly.

"Mrs. Catherine Lindse," she repeated again and laughed in joy before driving towards the restaurant where she was to meet her boyfriend. After a long drive, she arrived at the restaurant and nervously made her way towards the door while wearing her jacket.

She took deep breaths as she stood in front of the door, and made her way inside the restaurant. The restaurant was simply decorated, yet breathtakingly beautiful. She didn't have time to admire it as her eyes darted around, searching for him.

A female waitress walked up to her, "Miss. Catherine Brown?" she asked.

What was Jack planning?

"Yes, I'm," Catherine affirmed with an excited smile.

"Please come with me," the waitress told her before making her way towards the door nearest to the restaurant counter. Catherine followed closely behind her, wondering what she would find behind the door.

She walked through the door to see it was just an entrance to a hallway with several doors on the side. The waitress kept walking so Catherine continued following her, "This is the room," the waitress announced, stopping at one of the doors.

"Oh... thank you. Ummm..." Catherine trailed off as the waitress walked away with a bored expression on her face. How rude!

She carefully opened the door and saw Jeremy, who was on a phone call, seated at a beautifully decorated table for two that had several bottles of wine on it.

"...now. It won't be that long, I promise. She's late for some reason but I promise to be with you in a while. Just let me get this over with..." she heard him saying and a confused expression made its way to her face.

What is he talking about? Is this another surprise? An odd feeling crept through her body making its way to her chest.

She coughed lightly trying to get his attention from the phone or whoever he was calling, with her signature smile on her face.

Jack turned to her with a shocked expression, "You guessed right. It won't take long," he said into the phone before hanging up.

"You're late," he pointed out sternly with an irritated expression on his face. Shocked was an understatement for what she felt.

She chuckled nervously, "Sorry, I was just trying to look my best for you," She said making her way towards him to give him a kiss but he held her shoulders, stopping her.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Her eyes danced around in perplexity.

What in the world is happening right now? Is this part of the surprise? This can't be a surprise, Jack never let his emotions out on her.

"What do you think you're doing?" he questioned, "And why are you all dressed up?"

She felt her heart sink at his words. He was different and now she was having doubts, "You are going to propose to me... right?" she asked without wasting time. "You asked me to meet you here."

He burst into laughter and she couldn't help the feeling of dread that freely pulled and tied its knots below her stomach., "I won't even waste my time. Why would I, a Harvard graduate, propose to you, a college dropout? You seriously don't expect me to stoop myself to your level," he scoffed.

"What do you mean? What is all this? Tell me this is part of your surprise? Okay?" She pleaded softly. "Just end it at once."

"Snap it out Catherine Brown. This is reality, not some fantasy book."

Catherine felt a hurricane of pain hit her, "I...I don't get it... I sacrificed everything for you... We've been together for 7 years. I'm literally the reason you could graduate from Harvard... You said we'd get married... you..." she trailed off in tears as she fell to the floor, "You said I'd become Mrs. Lindse. I did everything for you Jack... You can't do this," she bawled.

Jeremy stared at her sorry state concededly, "And because you did those things, I didn't humiliate you in public. Do you think this private room is for free? You should be thanking me instead of complaining," he told her.

She looked up at him, her mascara running down her face, "Tell me this is a joke," she cried out again.

His face scrunched up in disgust, "You should see yourself right now. You look like a total joke," he glanced at his wrist-watch, "I wish I could join your pity party, but I have somewhere to be right now. By the way, the bottles on the table are for you. You can thank me later," with that said, he waltzed out of the room leaving Catherine weeping loudly on the floor.

"I should've known it was a dream. Nothing ever goes well for me," she cried.

She wiped her tears and made her way toward the bottles of alcohol.

***

"Fuck you,. Jack! I hope you rot in hell!" Catherine laughed with tears streaming down her cheeks as she sped across the streets. She had left the restaurant drunk and was now speeding through the streets with no idea where she was headed.

"Shit!" she cursed as she pressed her left foot on the brake pad, but it was too late, she had hit something.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Was that a dog or a cat?

She got out of the car and staggered towards the front of her car to see she had hit two doglike animals and one was lying in a pool of its own blood making her gag.

There was something eerie about the animals and so she made to flee but the sight of blood made her feel dizzy and she passed out on the ground.

The sounds of bones breaking filled the air as a man with torn and bloody clothes got up from the floor with a groan.

"What the fuck was that car?!" he cursed in annoyance as his eyes fluttered open.

He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He fell to the ground as he gasped for air. Is the link to my mate being severed?

Tears fell from his eyes as he gasped for air and struggled to breath. The pain was making it unable for him to breath or do anything. He fell to the ground, held his neck and began rolling around, trying to deal with the pain.

What is going on?

Why is the link being severed?

I wasn't rejected, nor did I reject my mate, so why am I feeling this pain?

Different thoughts wandered his head as he tried to hold on to his consciousness. His face was now blue and it became even more difficult for him to breathe.

The pain suddenly left as quickly as it came, making him release a sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to die," he chuckled in relief, before turning his head in the right direction.

The sight before him shocked him terribly and he felt his heart sink as he stood on his feet. He made his way to a wolf that was laying in a pool of its own blood - his mate.

He finally understood why the link had been severed, it was because she was dead. He wasn't really bothered about her death. It personally didn't affect him, but he knew how it would affect his position.

"Could this be the hand work of those elders?" he asked himself as he stared at the lifeless body of his mate. He shook his head, dispelling the idea, "No, they wouldn't. They only wanted to dethrone me because I was mateless, but now..." he glanced at the dead body of his mate.

He felt anger rise within him. Not anger at the death of his mate but anger at the one who had ruined all his efforts to retain the throne of his family.

After discovering the council of were-elders were planning to dethrone him because he was mateless, he had spent quarter of his family's fortune to hold a party and had invited all the were-packs so he could find his mate and when three different packs didn't bring their Omegas, he took it upon himself to visit each pack to meet the Omegas.

He had finally found his mate. Thankfully, she was weak and submissive but someone had killed her just like that.

He glanced at the car with anger and made his way towards it. Where was the driver? Could they have fled?

He was just about to turn away when he saw someone laying on the floor. A woman?

He could hear her heart beating due to his heightened senses and made his way towards her. She had killed his mate and so she didn't deserve to live.

He squatted by her side, "You've got to be kidding me," he scoffed in annoyance when the strong smell of alcohol hit his nostrils, "She was drunk driving?" he felt a wave of anger hit him, his eyes reddening as his finger nails sharpened and grew longer.

An idea suddenly lit up in his head making his anger mildly subside as his eyes returned to brown while his fingernails shortened and became dull.

"No one knows who my mate is and they can't prove someone isn't my mate either," he voiced out his thoughts as he stared at the woman that was still passed out on the floor.

Getting up from his feet, he made his way towards his mate, "There's no time to waste. I need to bury her quickly," he picked up the lifeless wolf and made his way toward the nearest bush.

He took his wolf form and began digging as quickly as he could, not wanting anything to further complicate the issue at hand.

---------------

FLASHBACK

"I want to see the human world," she told him as he started a fire, "This is the closest I've ever been to it," she added when she saw the look of disapproval on his face.

"I won't let you go there, it's too dangerous," he refused as he got up from the ground.

She turned to him, a pleading look in her eyes, "Xander, please. I just want to see what the human world looks like. Because of my failing health, I've never been let out of my pack and the same will happen once I become your Pack's Luna. I don't know when I'll die, but seeing the human world for once will make me die without regrets," she pleaded.

He felt his heart go out to her but he didn't have time for sightseeing so he refused, "I'm not here to tend to your requests. I'm only here to take you to my pack as my Luna. Now, sit here while I go get you water. We can't travel this late at night, considering your condition," he instructed her.

She nodded her head in defeat, her eyes brimming with tears. He immediately made his way toward the river bank, but when he got back, she was nowhere to be found.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

He dulled his other senses and heightened his sense of smell and when he picked up her scent, he used it to chase after her.

She was crossing the road in her wolf form when he finally saw her. He let out a sigh of relief because she was safe but then saw a car speeding towards her.

He let out a roar to warn her as he leapt towards her, trying to get her out of the way but it was too late, the car hit them both.

---------------

THE PRESENT

"I can't believe this is happening," he sighed tiredly as he concealed the grave properly, "If only she had listened to me and not wandered off."

It was too late for regrets and so he made his way towards the human on the ground, picked her up and put her in the front seat before getting into the driver's seat and starting the car. He took one last glance at the woman and drove into the bush.

---------------

Catherine groaned in pain as her eyes fluttered open, "Where am I?" She wondered as she sat up in bed.

A bed? Why am I in bed?

"You're in my room," a melodious, baritone voice boomed from her right.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice to see a pair of brown eyes peering into the depths of her soul and she let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Who are you?" she questioned as she moved back, creating a distance between them.

"I'm Xander and I won't hurt you," he assured her before continuing, "Now, you killed my mate so you have to be my contract Luna," he concluded making Catherine burst into laughter which immediately switched to a scream as he took his wolf form.

"Mate?" Catherine scoffed incredulously at the young man in front of her. "I don't understand what you are talking about. Stop this trick of yours."

"Really? A trick?" He asked peering down at her, his gaze made her uneasy and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was more than he seemed.

She did what anyone would do after being captured by someone you don't know.

"Help!" Catherine yelled loudly, racing toward the door in fear. Her heart beating ferociously against her ribcage, threatening to burst.

The wolf blocked Catherine's path and tears began rolling down her face. Is this where I die? Is this what everything in my life will amount to? Death at the hands of a mythical creature?

The wolf took back its human form, "Like I said earlier, I won't hurt you, so just calm down, okay?" he assured her but it was easier said than done.

Although she nodded her head in agreement, the fear in her eyes couldn't be masked. Xander rubbed his temples.

"Just sit," he instructed her, pointing his fingers in the direction of a couch at the left side of the room.

Catherine looked in the direction of his fingers and quickly looked back at him.

"S-sure," her voice quivered as she made her way toward the couch with her eyes trained on him. She was scared he would attack her while her back was turned.

'Don't turn your back on your enemies.' It was something Jack had told her.

"I'm not an animal. I won't just attack you," he assured her in frustration as he also sat on the couch. He stayed at the far end, not wanting to frighten her away by being too close to her.

"Says the one who turns into a wolf at will," Catherine snapped venomously, before clamping her hands over her mouth at her outburst. Oh, God! I just hope he doesn't get mad at me.

He stared at her in annoyance, "Can we just talk like civilized humans?" he requested.

Says the one who isn't even human.

She nodded her head and stared into his eyes, trying not to show her fear. If worse comes to worst, I'll just have to escape.

"And don't even think of trying to escape from here. You're in my pack and they wouldn't hesitate to kill or torture an intruder," he explained to her, making her jaw drop in shock.

"Do werewolves read minds?" she questioned in suspicion.

"No, but I read faces," he stated before continuing, "I want you to be my Contract Luna. That is, you'll have to pose as my mate for a period of time till I ascend the throne."

Wait! What?

"Is this some sort of Joke?" she scoffed, "How can I, a human, pose as your mate... as your Pack's Luna? It's as crazy as it sounds," she told him.

Xander stared at the woman in annoyance. He can't believe she dares to put up an air of importance in front of me. What is a human in front of a werewolf?

"All I need you to do is pretend to be my Luna, it's not that hard. Being human doesn't mean anything. There are cases where werewolves had humans as their mates so no one will suspect anything," he paused, letting her take in the information.

He continued after a while, "You will be well taken care of and I'll make sure you're protected. Once I ascend the throne and rightfully become the Alpha of the pack, I'll fake your death and you can leave... You can go back to your world and live your life as you please."

He watched as she pondered the offer, but then she shook her head, "No, I'm not interested. I won't feel safe in the midst of werewolves and I refuse to live the rest of my life in fear. How sure are you that no one will find out about this? Not to mention, I don't know how politics works in this place-"

"Moreover, my life is already dramatic enough. I'm not interested in getting involved or mixed up in all these supernatural dramas, so no, I refuse. I'd like to go home now. Thank you for hosting me," she began standing up.

A frown made its way to Xander's face.

"Wait!" he boomed.

Catherine froze in the middle of getting up before sitting back down. Oh Boy! What have I gotten myself into? How did I even get here?

"You're Catherine Brown, twenty-five years old college dropout-" he started but she cut him off.

"I'm pretty sure I know my life story, you creep, what are you getting at? And why were you even stalking me? Also, why does it have to be me? I'm clearly not interested and I know I'm attractive but werewolves aren't my type," she stated, making him burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" she questioned with a deep frown etched in her face.

Xander stopped laughing and stared at her in amusement, "I can assure you that you aren't exactly my type either... although it could still work. Anyways, I know you're struggling right now and if you accept this contract, you will not just go back to your world as a free woman but you'll go back filthy rich-"

"-I investigated everything about you and apparently, you're in dire need of cash, especially after you were most likely dumped by your Harvard love last night, which explains your sorry state. I know your financial status and I will see you through college and still give you enough money to make you not just financially stable, but crazy rich. I'll take you from Zero to Hero."

'...You'll go from Catherine Brown to Catherine Lindse.' A frown settled on her face as she remembered Jack's words a year before then. Xander's words sounded just like his.

She stared at him in anger, "Like hell I'd believe you. I've told you already, I'm not getting myself involved in your supernatural shit, so please, leave me alone. I'm not interested, okay? Thanks!" she got up from the couch and began making her way towards the door.

Xander was shocked at her sudden outburst. He hadn't said anything to warrant her anger. He was hoping he wouldn't have to use his last card. Just why Catherine?

"You do realize this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't killed my mate?" he questioned her, making her freeze in her steps.

She turned to him slowly, "What are you talking about?" she asked him.

"Last night, you ran two wolves over while drunk driving," he started, feeling guilty at using his mate's death as leverage, "It was my mate and I... She was weak and sick, and so she died from the impact," he stood up from the couch and turned to her.

"If you hadn't killed my mate, I wouldn't have asked you to play the part. You started this. You should end it," he deadpanned, making Catherine drop to her knees.

"Will you be my contract Luna?" he asked her.

"Yes," she agreed.