The Alpha's Contract bride

Aria

"Could you move that a little to the right please?" A frown made its way to my face almost immediately. They'd done what I just asked them to do but it wasn't looking how I'd pictured it to be in my head. "No, take it back a bit, and a little to the left too."

I stifled a groan the moment they were done. It still wasn't right. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the perfect position to keep the huge decoration.

"That's fine." I sighed, finally giving up. "Just leave it as it is, and make sure everything else is perfect. Nothing has to go wrong tonight. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." The maids nodded in unison before dispersing to get everything else done.

"You." I pointed to another maid. " Make sure these glasses are sparkling before I get back." I ran my thumb over the rim of a glass nestled on the buffet table. From where I stood it looked clean enough, but I wanted everything in here to shine, to sparkle .

Nothing could go wrong.

I took in a deep breath as I allowed my eyes to roam the hall. It was coming together pretty nicely and I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. String lights circled the huge chandelier, lighting up the entire place. The lights were dim, giving the neon lights the opportunity to bathe the hall in a colorful ambience. It wasn't a lot though, just a few flashes from time to time.

To the right was the buffet table, with every variety of meals you could think of and that wasn't all. Imported wine and more were still expected to drop by in the middle of the party. It was a lot, but only the best would do to celebrate the Beta's son, who also happened to be my boyfriend.

My boyfriend. I giggled at the thought of that. Callum and I had been dating since forever and it had been his dream to succeed his father as the Beta of Blue Moon pack. Today would mark the beginning of that dream and I would do anything to make sure it came to pass.

"Ma'am." A gentle tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my monologue. I whirred around, just to come face to face with another maid. " Beta Callum would like to see you."

"In his room?" A wide grin appeared on my face immediately. " Okay, I'll be there right..."

"No, no ma'am." She cut in abruptly. " He said to tell you that he's waiting for you at the balcony."

"Oh." My smile faltered immediately. I had no idea why but that didn't really sit right with me. " Okay. No problem. You may go now."

Immediately the maid disappeared to continue with her work, I headed in the opposite direction. Anxiety gnawed at my sides as I tried to find Callum, but I shook it off.

It was probably nothing and I was just overreacting.

I hoped.

"Callum." His name rolled of my tongue the moment I found him. It wasn't a hard task as he stood out in the vast enclosure. His broad back was all I could see and as he stared down at the garden below, a thought popped into my head.

"Callum." I rushed at him gleefully, before wrapping my arms around him. A content smile formed on my lips as I took in his scent, before burying my head closer. " I missed..."

"You're here." His voice was curt, cold. My smile disappeared as he pried my hands away from his body.

"Callum?" I called out, confusion laced in my voice. " What's- are you okay?"

"Yes." No. From his entire demeanor I could tell something was wrong and I didn't like it one bit. " I need to talk to you."

"Okay." I pushed back the dread that coiled around in my stomach. " Is anything the matter? The party's already started and guests will start trooping in...."

"I can't continue this with you, Aria." Callum let out, his gaze as hard as steel. My blood ran cold as the weight of his words pressed down on me.

"What?" I let out breathlessly. " Callum, what are you saying?"

"I reject you, Aria Delaney." This couldn't be happening. It just wasn't possible. " You are weak and have no right to be by my side..."

"If this is a joke, stop it." I cut him off. Beads of sweat lined my forehead as my heart thundered in my chest. It had to be a prank. Callum had a reputation for always pranking people so this was one of them right? It just had to be. There was no way....

"It's not." Callum took a step back. " You're a weak and puny omega who has no right to be by my side. You're worthless and can never amount to anything, so I reject you."

I sank to my knees immediately. The world around me blurred as tears streamed down my cheeks. My ears buzzed as his words rang over and over in my head.

No, no. It just wasn't possible.

Whatever doubts I had flew out with the wind as Callum's receding footsteps reached my ears. My heart split into a million pieces, and an intense jolt of pain spread through my chest. It gnawed at my sides as I let out a gruesome shriek.

How could he do this to me? Just how? I loved Callum and he loved me too, so why? Why did he have to do this to me?

My chest hurt as I pressed my palm against it. If I was being honest, I had no idea which hurt more, the fact that Callum had just smashed my heart, or his rejection. Even in a million years, I definitely didn't see this coming.

Tears streamed down my face and sobs wracked my body. My knees weakened, and I sprawled to the floor.

The low din of music reached my ears after a couple of minutes. I had no idea how much time had passed, but I was way past caring at this point. With a sniffle, I pulled myself on my feet. I had no particular destination in mind, but I trudged on, allowing my feet lead the way. Ultimately, I found myself heading in the direction of the hall. The party was in full swing now and it made me sick to my bones.

I swiped a bottle from the tray of the first waiter that crossed my path. Without any caution, I downed its content in as many gulps as it took. I didn't do too well with alcohol, but to hell with that.

Another waiter passed and I grabbed one more bottle. It went on like that, till I was on my fourth bottle. And drunk. Very drunk.

I staggered deeper into the party. My knees buckled and I chuckled hysterically. A couple of quizzical glances were thrown at me, but I didn't care. I didn't want to care about anything or anyone. Not even about Callum.

"Aria." I spun around to the sound of my name. All it took was a blink, and a man appeared in front of me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm f-f-fine," I slurred. The drinks had messed with my senses, and my vision blurred. Something about his voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it now. I didn't want to. I just wanted to drink. "But-but-but you see Callum? He's not. He's not fine.. He's an asshole, and he will rot in hell."

"Aria, you're drunk."

"Duh." I cackled. "But you can't prove it."

Going closer to the man, I sniffed him. His fragrance was... nice. So nice I inhaled again. It made me heady, and when I reached out to steady myself, he grabbed me. His arms were firm, and I found myself leaning into him with a grin.

His scent enveloped me in a comforting way. I touched my hands to his face and sighed. His lips were too soft, even his hair. I liked this man. "Do you want to fuck me?"

"What? Wh- wh-" he stuttered, clearly taken aback by my brazen request. "Aria, you need to rest or...."

Before he could get any more words out, I pressed my lips hard against his.

Aria

I let out a groan as I slowly stirred awake. Tingles spread through my limbs as I turned and tossed. My eyes were heavy and if it were up to me, I wouldn't bother opening them again. What was the use? The last thing I wanted was to set my eyes on Callum after what he'd done to me just a couple of moments ago.

How could he? How could he reject me, moments to his party where he was supposed to announce we were mates? How could he let me wander......

Wait...

I pressed my eyes tighter against each other as I tried to recall what happened next. After Callum had walked out on me, what happened? I took a few bottles of alcohol and then what?

"No." I gasped out loud as I jolted up, peeling my eyes open immediately. Maybe if I hadn't, I would have had more time to think things through. The moment I opened both of my eyes, a bolt of pain shot through my head.

I stifled a groan as I cradled my head in my hands. I'd never felt so much pain before and if I was being honest, it felt like my head was this close to exploding.

"Please." I moaned in pain. This was why I rarely got drunk. In fact, I always avoided the darn thing. " Please make it stop."

There was power in the tongue, someone always said, but I never took it seriously, until now. Not too long after I'd muttered that quick request, the pain eased up. It wasn't totally gone, but at least, I could turn my head to the side without it feeling like it would roll off the next minute.

Confusion streaked my features as I turned to the right. The huge wardrobe in the hotel room came to view and it still didn't look familiar until something caught my eye. My scarf, dangling just on the knob of the wardrobe doors. Slowly, I trailed the scarf to more pieces of clothes on the floor.

My breath hitched in my throat as I took them in. The clothes were strewn around, but still managed to form a straight line that led to the bed. That wasn't even the crazy part. They looked like the ensemble I wore last night.

Returning my gaze to the bed, I picked up a black shirt. It wasn't mine and didn't look like Callum's. Something or someone was under the duvet. I yanked the cover down, and a scream tore out of my throat. Someone was in the bed, and it was no other than Damon. The same Damon I knew.

Damon startled awake. On his knees, he grabbed a pillow above his head and aimed for the invisible enemy. "Where is it? What's happening?" he asked all at once. His eyes wandered everywhere until they returned to me. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is someone-"

"What are you doing here?" I cut in, my heart thundering in my chest. Like I hadn't just gotten the biggest shock of my life, I felt my eyes widen as I took him in. He wasn't wearing a shirt. "And where are your clothes?"

"I don't know." For someone who'd just woken up in someone else's hotel room, Damon looked pretty chill about the whole situation. I guess it was one of the traits he'd picked up as the alpha's son. They had to be calm always, no matter the situation. "Should be around somewhere."

"Really?" Confusion and anger tainted my voice. "How dare you come into my room, without clothes and ..."

The frown on his face made me pause. Wait a minute. Damon wasn't the only person without clothes. A string of yells slid past my lips as I peeked under the duvet. My perky boobs and flushed skin stared back at me. Red hue tainted my cheeks, and in one swift motion, I pulled the duvet higher, pressing it flush against my chest.

We were both naked. Well, I was covered with the duvet.

"What? Wh- why?" It was my turn to stutter and that didn't even help at all. It made no sense. Why were we both in my hotel room, without clothes and under the same duvet? "I don't understand."

"Don't you remember?" Damon prodded. I still couldn't wrap my head around how he was so calm in all of this. "Tell me you remember what happened last night?."

"No, I don't. " My voice was barely a whisper and even though I had no idea what happened, I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to find out. "I don't have the faintest clue."

"Try to remember." Damon nodded, like he was encouraging me. "Do you remember what you did last night, maybe that'll help."

"I remember I and Callum's conversation. He rejected me." No matter how many times I said it, it still didn't sound real enough, but deep down, I wished it was nothing more than a nightmare I would wake up from. "Then I grabbed some bottles of alcohol..."

"...and you got drunk and bumped into me." Damon finished up for me. "Does that ring any bells?"

My eyes widened in shock at his response. In fact, they did. Like a flip had been switched in some part of my brain, everything I struggled to remember came rushing at me.

I'd kissed Damon. I'd kissed the Damon son and asked him if he wanted to fuck me.

Fuck.

"I take it, you remember now." The cheekiness in Damon's voice was evident but I was too embarrassed to focus on that right now.

I cringed as I replayed the memories. Not only did I kiss Damon, I'd turned him on. I'd peeled off his clothes with so much fervor and pushed him on my bed. The loud moans I let out as he caressed my butt and fondled my boobs resonated in my ears. I'd hissed in pleasure as he sucked on my nipples, one at a time and I definitely enjoyed it when he slipped his erection inside me.

I even....

"Asked me to marry you." Damon grinned, like he was reading my thoughts. Without any warning, he continued. "You couldn't stop talking about Callum and how he broke your heart so you asked me to marry you."

This was unbelievable.

"And I accept." Damon was enjoying this too much. Way too much for my liking. "It's unconventional for the lady to ask the man's hand in marriage, but I accept I..."

"Stop!" I shrieked, cutting him off. " Just stop talking."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Yes!" I flailed my hand in the air. "Can't you see? Everything is wrong. Every fucking thing."

"Aria..."

"I never asked you to marry me." I spat. "I didn't mean it. I was drunk as hell and I didn't know what I was saying."

Call me crazy, but I swear I watched Damon's face fall immediately.

"What?" Damon's voice dropped to a low monotone. "What do you mean?"

"This was a mistake." I watched his face twist with a million emotions. He finally settled on what seemed to be like disappointment and fury. "I was drunk and emotional and I didn't know what I was saying. I didn't mean any of it..."

"Yeah." He quipped abruptly. "Yeah."

"Damon..." I called out to him softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean...."

"It's fine." His voice was cold. Icy even. "No worries."

"If it's not a bother could you escort me to the function tomorrow?" I pressed on. "I was supposed to go with Callum but..."

"I'll pass." Damon was on his feet immediately. I watched his back as he slipped on his clothes. Taut muscles rippled behind him, but the view didn't last long. "Have a nice day, Aria."

These were his parting words as he walked out of my hotel room, right before slamming the door shut.

What the hell was that?

Damon.

No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get it out of my head. In fact, with every passing second, her voice grew louder and louder in my head, her facial expression taunting me all the more.

"I never asked you to marry me." she spat. " I didn't mean it. I was drunk as hell and I didn't know what I was saying."

Really? I was just supposed to believe that? Was that really the truth?

I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn't count the number of times I'd done it in the last minute, but I was sure if I kept on with it, my hair would start falling out.

Even the alcohol wasn't helping matters. I'd drank and gulped an unhealthy amount of that sweet poison, and I still hadn't gotten any results. If anything, it only made things worse.

I shut my eyes as I finally allowed my thoughts take over. At this point, I wasn't sure I had any other option.

I clutched my fist as her moans from the other night reached my ears. Aria had always been beautiful, but as I stared at her bare skin, she looked nothing less than a goddess. Her tiny waist fit perfectly in my arms as I scooped her up and on top of me. She'd squealed and kissed me back, arching so perfectly that I had no other choice than to cup her from behind.

She'd nuzzled me and palmed my front, all whilst whispering sweet nothings in my ear. But even with all of that, I didn't let the ecstasy of the night cloud what was obvious and right in front of me. She was upset and all I had to do was ask, and the moment I did, she started talking.

Apparently, her boyfriend of four years had rejected her, right before an important function, all because she was a weak omega. While I was sad at how hurt she was, I couldn't help but feel something else underneath. Hope? Or dare I say Happiness?

I wasn't sure what I was feeling and I wasn't going to think about it, until...

"Marry me." She'd whispered in my ear. A shudder raked through me and I paused momentarily, just to be sure.

"Marry me." She'd said again, proving that I hadn't just imagined what I heard. "Will you marry me?"

I didn't give her an answer right away, but her excitement had stoked something in me, a fire she extinguished the very next morning.

She didn't mean it. She was drunk and nothing more.

"Argh!" I let out in rage. Without thinking, I swiped at the nearest object that stood at the top of my desk. A loud noise pierced my ears and I realized I'd just shattered my favorite mug. Great, just frickin great

"Who is it?" Three knocks at the door pulled me to the entrance of my room. After a couple of seconds without a response, I added. "Come in."

"Good evening, sir." One of our butlers walked in. He bowed, before continuing. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I bring news."

"What is it?" I chimed. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know." The man shook his head. "Or more precisely, I'm not sure I'm in any position to speak. The Alpha wants to see you."

"Dad?" For some strange reason, that didn't sit right with me. I loved the old man, but he could be a handful. "Why would he want to see me?"

"He didn't say." The butler chorused. "He's waiting for you in the lounge room."

He excused himself after that.

What could father want? If it was a trivial issue, he could have sent the message along with the butler or even sent a text. Going to meet with him felt like I was walking into a trap, and I didn't like it one bit.

I shook my head as I headed out of my room. The lounge room wasn't far from here, but it was going to take a while to get there.

The pros and cons of living in a mansion if you asked me.

"Dad?" I called out as I knocked against his door the moment I got there. A couple of seconds passed, before I knocked again. "Can you hear me?"

"Come in." Father's gruff voice came from the other side of the door, and without wasting so much as a split second, I pushed the huge mahogany door and walked in.

"Good evening, Dad." I greeted the sixty something year old man sprawled on one of the lounge chairs in the room. "You called for me?"

"Yes." He quipped as he set his newspaper aside, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon actually. You've always been known to take your sweet time."

"Dad..." I trailed off whilst mirroring his experience. "You know it's not like that...."

"What I don't know, is how you're faring in the family business." He cut me off. "How's that going?"

"Great, very great." And it was true. Ever since Dad handed me a portion in the family business, I'd made it my sole goal not to make any mistakes, and from the looks of things, I was doing a pretty neat job, but that wasn't all.

Aside being the owner of a chain of industries, Dad was also the Alpha of Blue moon pack. For years, he'd led a whole pack of werewolves and very soon it would be my turn to ascend the throne.

"That's nice. I'm proud of you." His smile faded the moment the words were past his lips. "But that's not all."

"It isn't?" I didn't like where this was going, at all. "What else...."

"The coronation is only a couple of days away, a week max and you still aren't ready." Dad chimed.

"I am. I'm ready to..."

"You're not." He cut me off abruptly, a stern look overshadowing his face. "You're not and you know this."

"What-t-t?" I stuttered. "What else could be missing? I have...."

"Your Luna." I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his words. Doing that would only enrage him the more. "You're forgetting your Luna, Damon."

"Dad, I don't think...."

"Exactly!" He snapped and I pulled my lips into a thin line. "You don't think. That's why you haven't gotten a Luna yet."

"I don't need one, dad." I clenched my jaw. "I can rule the members of the pack without one."

"Not under my watch, you won't." He huffed. "I won't let you."

"But Dad..."

"No buts!" He yelled. "This has gone on for way too long. If you don't get a Luna on or before the day of your coronation, I will not be stepping down."

"What!?" I exclaimed. "You can't be serious about that...."

"Oh, I am." His face was stoic and it only meant one thing. He meant every word of it. "No Luna, no coronation. Now leave."

Without so much as another word, I marched out of the lounge room.

What was I going to do now? Where was I supposed to find a Luna? And in the span of a couple of days too.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, hoping it would calm my nerves, it didn't. If anything, I felt all the more anxious.

Dad was as cheerful as he could get, but whenever he stood on something, he usually never budged, and unfortunately, this was one of those situations.

A thought popped into my head suddenly. Or more accurately, a certain woman's words.

"If it's not a bother could you escort me to the function tomorrow?" Her voice rang in my ears..."I was supposed to go with Callum but..."

If I wasn't mistaken, she wanted me to escort her because she wanted to make him pay for what he did to her.

What if I tweaked her plan and proposal and took it up a notch?