CHAPTER THREE
OCTOBER, 7, 2018
DEEPWATER PARK
CARTER
I finish off my vodka in one swift gulp as I prepare to get the fuck out of here. I'm done with this party. Events like this never fail to irk me because I'm almost a hundred percent certain that everyone present here has a fake smile latched on their faces as they try to curry favor. The only reason I attended is to seek the necessary information from this pack.
I navigate my way through the crowd and towards the balcony to get some fresh air and maybe some peace and quiet while I'm at it because my beta is on a mission and I can't leave him alone.
But to my dismay, the balcony sitting area wasn't empty like I had thought it'd be.
I grimaced at the back of the lady who's occupying my space but I could hardly make out her face as her long black wavy hair covered most of her face and flowed to her waist.
I motioned to leave but before I could take a step further, she turned around to face me.
I recognize her as Alpha Damian's daughter. Out of habit, I raise my brows, my eyes roaming over her features to know if she poses any sort of threat but she doesn't. She seems nervous but that's not unusual, it's hard to see someone who's not intimidated by me. But aside the nervousness, there's something more.
She's trouble, I could tell-- given that her father always tries to hide her from the public. It's even a surprise she's here.
I can tell just by looking at her that she has an ulterior motive. She seems so out of place yet her gaze is filled with an unspoken challenge.
She gathers her emotions and walks up to me. "Hey," she says, I could tell she was trying to make small talk which I'm not a fan of so I frowned, my cue for her to walk away but she ignored my attitude, her attention to a passing waiter. She grabs two champagne glasses and hands me one. "It's a beautiful evening, isn't it? I'm Hailey, what about you?"
"What do you want?" I refuse her offer and go straight to the point.
I've met many women who brazenly approach me and try to seduce me while some others try to network with me for money and connection. She's no different from them, I could tell.
"Isn't it nice to relax and enjoy this cool evening breeze? The stars are twinkling beautifully" She smiles, and downed the content of the two glasses in one go. She winced as a result of the effect of the alcohol and her cheeks flushed.
"What do you want?!" I ask again, but this time, I made use of my overpowering Alpha tone which no wolf could disobey.
As expected, she shrank back but immediately smiled to mask her fear, her gaze challenging. The way she looks at me, it's not like the ogling gazes I'm used to. She's looking at me like I'm the last piece to a very difficult puzzle.
"I want you." She says.
My head snaps up at her words as I look at her, wondering if I heard correctly. I'm barely able to restrain myself from pouncing on her and ripping her head off her body for disturbing my evening.
"Don't misunderstand my words, I don't want you in that type of way." She chuckles mischievously, and maybe to clear the awkward air, she adds, "not unless you're down"
The way she throws herself at me, irritates me. I began to walk away but her hand on my arm stopped me causing my frown to deepen. "Hands off!" I caution, my voice sounding just as cold as I wanted it to. If there's one thing I detest the most, it's physical contact and I will make sure she knows that.
"Sorry" she backed down immediately and then said, "please hear me out!"
"What is it that you want?"
"I need your help" She finally opens up then waits for me to respond and when I don't, she continues, "I need your help to take revenge on my ex mate and friend."
"And what makes you think I'd love to get involved in your failed love story bullshit." I ask her, impatience marring my features. I don't know why the fuck I'm even entertaining her.
"Because you also need my help." She deadpanned.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Her words have me bemused. This is the most amusing thing I've heard all week. She's far too confident for her own good.
"Now tell me, Hailey," I began, calling her by her name for the first time, maybe that way, she'd know her place. "How do I need your help?" My brows slightly up and my head cocked to the right in amusement.
I am Alpha Carter, the supreme Alpha and much to my knowledge, everyone is below me so there's nothing a simple wolf like her could do to help me.
She smiles. My arrogance amuses her like she's sure that by the end of the day, I'd be on her side.
"I know you need a mate and Luna in order for you to take full ownership of your company. We can form a team and achieve our aims" she offered
I frown, wondering how she got to know about this but her offer doesn't interest me and I turn to leave but stopped in my tracks when I heard her next words.
"I know about your mate's disappearance and i can help you find her" The moment she uttered those words, I saw red. Fury and rage clouded my sight and I turned and wrapped my hand around her neck, choking her.
CHAPTER FOURHAILEY"I can be your mate for appearance until you get your inheritance" I offer. However, I didn't think he was taking the bait, I could feel his disinterest against my skin.When he turned to leave, I panicked and used the last card on my sleeve."I know about your mate's disappearance and I can help you find her" I blurted, hoping it'd interest him.To my relief-- and maybe horror, he turned around and held me in place, choking me. God, was he strong. The way he held my neck, if it wasn't for the moon goddess's grace, maybe I'd have died a second time."What do you know about Alanna?" He tightened his grip on my neck, forcing me to speak."There's no way you'll get an answer out of me when you keep choking me" I croaked but kept a straight face, it was quite difficult but I needed to impress him. Even with his hands wrapped tightly around my neck, I still had a sharp mouth. I was crazy but the wine made me brave and I knew it.But my craziness had paid off as I saw a
CARTER"There's been complaints from the elders and shareholders about you, the company and the pack." My father sat opposite me in my office. After he handed over the company to me, he rarely ever visits the company except for pressing needs.I wouldn't say this case was the same because I personally didn't see this as something important. Once again, he's become the voice of the elders who constantly nag and question my matelessness.But this time, I'm not listening to him. Infact, my thoughts are on a certain dark haired and blue eyed feisty little lady. She's got my mind occupied, her offer I mean, the whole morning and I've barely been able to get any work done.Not one person knew of Alanna's disappearance because I kept it a secret and by that means, I haven't been able to get any lead on her whereabouts. So naturally, Hailey's offer interested me. I loved my pride but I loved my mate more."Carter" My father's voice woke me up from my reverie. "Are you with me?"Though I didn'
HAILEY"Marry me" His words came as a shock to me. When I proposed that we form an alliance, I didn't mean it as such. It was only meant to be for show and not realistic but he sounded as serious as it could get."You're joking, right?" He had to be because I didn't survive death caused by a jealous friend and cheating mate saga only to get entangled with another man. "You don't mean we should get married like for real, right?"Carter frowned. His expression annoyed like he would prefer to be anywhere but here. "I don't have all the time in the world, Miss Hailey. You have just twenty four hours to make up your mind, after that, the deal is done." then he made an attempt to walk away but I grabbed his arm to stop him."Give me time to think about it." I tried to reason with him, "marriage is not a thing to be taken lightly."Carter gave me a look of understanding "Whenever you're ready, you know where to find me." He then gave me his card and with that, he strolled away and I couldn'
C&M ENTERPRISESHAILEYMarveling at the sight of the building, with my head held up high, I drew in a deep breath and walked towards the main entrance.Today, my life was going to change for the better. I had made up my mind to accept Carter's proposal and with his help, I'll destroy Maya and Tristan. If everything goes as planned and we achieve both our goals, we'd go our separate ways. I plan to go far away from here and live a quiet life.I spotted the receptionist immediately I stepped in, and naturally, I walked up to her. "Welcome to C&M enterprises, how may I help you?" She greeted with a polite smile on her face."I want to see Carter, your boss." I said simply. Her brows furrowed slightly when she heard me call Carter by his face name. Apparently, she had never heard anyone call him that as they always refered to him as Alpha or boss but since I had addressed him by his name, she thought I was special to him. Was I? I doubted that."Do you have an appointment, miss?" She aske
CARTER'She's the one who needs my help, I can do well on my own' This line had become my mantra since few hours ago and i couldn't be wrong.I barely restrained myself from groaning out loud because of the frustration growing in me. I pinched the skin between my brows to get ahold of myself. I don't need Hailey, she needs me. She was the one who approached me first, meaning that I'm more useful to her than she is to me. I could find my mate with or without her. I really didn't care if she comes or not. I am the supreme Alpha for a reason.The board members all kept mute when my phone beeped out loud. Under normal circumstances, I would have ignored it and continued the meeting but I wasn't interested in sitting here any longer.I picked up my phone to see the reason of interruption, it was a message from my receptionist that someone was in my office.Automatically, my mind drifted to Hailey but I quickly sidelined the thought because if it were to be her, Malachi would have told me
HAILEYI got married, though not real but I'm married.I sat beside Carter in the back seat of his car and stared down at the marriage certificate in my hands.For a fake marriage, the certificate had good quality. Well, I don't expect anything less from Carter. He is supreme Alpha for a reason."It's too late for regrets" I hear Carter's mocking voice mixed with amusement say to me."I didn't say I am regretting. Don't put words in my mouth." I scowled at him."With that look on your face, one would think I forced you into this marriage" He chuckled as he relaxed into the luxurious leather seat of the car. He seemed to be enjoying this way too much."Technically, they won't be wrong because it isn't a pleasure getting married to you." I retorted speedily. I would never let this man win me in a tongue war. If I can't win him in a physical battle, this is the least I should do."You had the opportunity to change your mind but you chose to dive right into my waiting arms" he continued w
CARTERThrough out the ride back from the company, I thought about ways to make Hailey pay for bringing up my mate in a totally unrelated situation. She needed to know that though we were working together, I wouldn't take any nonsense from her. She wasn't in any way worthy of having Alanna's name on her lips. No one was! Alanna was special to me and I wouldn't have anyone disrespecting her in any way.I stepped out of the car immediately it came to a halt and strode out."Where's she?" I asked Caroline, the head maid, who stood by the door. She's been an employee of my mansion since I was young, hence the most reliable."In your room, Alpha" she replied with her head bowed.I wanted to lash out at her for letting Hailey into my room but I decided against it. I was to blame for not instructing her properly. She had assumed that it was only normal that my 'wife' stayed in the same room as me. I breezed past Caroline into the house, taking two steps at a time to get to my room. Yes, I
HAILEYI stormed out of Carter's room, fuming in anger. He was the one who made the first move only to push me away and treat me like a common whore. Incase he had forgotten, he made the rules in the contract and still went ahead to break them, not me.Carter was grating on my nerves and I didn't like it one bit. I walked to downstairs to kitchen because I didn't know where else to go, only to find the maids running about, seemingly trying to prepare a meal. The meal in question wasn't one that could be consumed by two people or was there an event happening that I didn't know about?Curiously, I called one of the maids aside to ask but before I could, Caroline walked up to me, "I've been searching for you, dear""Is there a problem?" I asked. Had Carter annulled our contract and asked her to send me away?"No, dear." She smiled. "We just need to get you ready.""Ready for?" I raised my brows in confusion. Was this some kind of Victorian era where the maids had to prepare the bride f