EPISODE FOUR— The Marriage Proposal

Aldrich's POV 

The room froze.

And of course, it was not from the air conditioning in the room. Or the coldness in my blood.

But from the tiny, trembling Omega who stared at me like she wasn't afraid of anything else in the world. Or maybe she had already died and now, she wasn't afraid of death anymore.

Make me your Luna.

The audacity.

The insanity.

Gods…. that smell of frosted cherries and warm amber, with a shadow of winter roses. Fuck. That smell was seductive, feminine and impossible to ignore. 

There was something I couldn't explain about it—it felt like a scent that shouldn't have existed, yet so familiar that it felt like I should grab her, and breathe her until my wolf feels giddy. 

And again, as I stared at her into her beautiful green eyes, I felt some kind of calm even in the midst of my storm.

She should be grateful I’m letting her go. If all things are equal, no one walks into my territory and goes scot free—especially not a strange woman like her. But the moment I held her neck earlier, my wolf protested, resisted and he refused letting me harm her. 

When I left her neck, I could barely control myself. My wolf wanted to claw it way to the surface and really claim her which I found really strange. This was the first time he has ever shown interest in a she-wolf. 

And here she was, offering herself as my Luna. LUNA! How does she come about that?

Of course, I needed a Luna. 

I already hated Christmas so much and now, I'm faced with the Elders ultimatum to get a Luna before Christmas. They think a Luna would complete me—they think a Luna would be able to curb my madness and ruthless as if I even give a damn about some Luna by my side. I bet it would make no difference at all.

I  stared at her for a long moment—hoping she'd turn away quickly and take the chance of leaving that I had given her, but she didn't leave. She stood tall, confident and it was clear that she knew what she wanted.

My lips curled into a smirk as I puffed a smoke. I walked over to the couch in front of her and lowered myself to it, crossed my legs and folded my arms across my chest.

“Alpha,” Evander began, his voice tight with irritation. “I will get her out of here right away.” He wanted to grab her but I raised my hand to stop him. 

I know I shouldn't listen to her—but she was too intriguing to want to cast away. She was just as beautiful as she was fierce and I really wanted to know more. Even though I won't consider her words, I should play around with her a little.

“You want to become my Luna?”  

I had to ask again because any one who knows me—or heard about my ruthlessness—wouldn't dare offer to be my Luna. I couldn't find a woman who was willing to be my Luna and that was why Evander advised that we get into an anonymous contract marriage.

“Yes, Alpha,” she answered, her voice was confident—too confident. 

I scoffed, found her so intriguing. “Why should I make you my Luna?”

“Because you need a Luna.”

“Why did you want to become my Luna?”

“I want to become your Luna because we are perfect together,” she answered with a straight face but I can tell she is lieing.

Oh… this is crazy. “Oh, you expect me to believe that? To believe that you offer to be my Luna because you are the perfect match? Wait… did you even know me at all?”

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me intensely… and fuck, her soft gaze burned into me fiercely and I feel myself getting vulnerable; it seemed like she could see past my fears, my pains and my Christmas curse. She could even see the monster I turned into every Christmas eve.

She shook her head. “I'm not very familiar with the outside world, Alpha… so, I'm afraid I can't seem to recognize you.”

Not familiar with the outside world? How is that possible?

I nodded. “That explained everything.” I leaned forward. “So tell me the real reason why I should make you my Luna.”

There was a long, tense pause… “Because I need you to survive.”

“Need me to survive?” I repeated, my brows furrowed in confusion.

“Yes, Alpha. I recently found out that I'm not my parent's daughter and I have been offered to Alpha Leon of the SilverHowl Pack in exchange for them to climb up the social ladder.”

Her eyes watered with unshed tears. “Alpha Leon is my mate for four years. I thought he loved me but it turned out that everything was a lie and I called off the wedding today because I feel like I might lose my life if I get married to him.” She pressed her thumb to her eyes. 

Her pains made my wolf howled in anger—as if he wants to avenge her; she sure looked like she was so sure that she was going to die.

“Alpha Leon? That man is my rival. What did you think would happen if he learns that I married his ex-mate.”  

Leon is actually obsessed with bringing me down. Evander said he was like that because I was living his dream life but if only he knew the monster that I was.

“There will be war. But Alpha, you don't seem like a man who is afraid of Leon's war, or am I mistaken about you?”

I  didn't answer, because of course I'm not afraid of Leon's or anyone's war.

“So what is in it for me?”  I said, my tone was calculative. Of course, I'm not about to put everything at risk and marry some strange woman with no benefit attached. 

“Marry me, Alpha. Protect me from Leon and I will make sure I become the perfect Luna for your pack.”

I'm not too impressed. “Anyone can be a perfect Luna, young lady. So, tell me… what makes you unique.”

She didn't respond immediately, then she smirked. “I heard you talked about some curse earlier, I don't know… but maybe I can help you break it.”

My mouth parted open, then I burst into laughter—the sound was sharp and mocking. “You've got guts, Omega. Too much guts and that made me impressed. You can't help me with the curse, but don't worry, I will marry you.” 

“Alpha!” Evander spat. “You can't make marry some—”

“How about we get into a contract marriage until next Christmas and of course, I will offer you protection that would last a lifetime,” I said, cutting Evander off sharply. He can't figure out why I'm lenient towards her.

I had to make it a year contract marriage because I wasn't sure if I will still be breathing by next year Christmas.

Her smile was radiant as she fell to her knees. “Thank you, Alpha.”

My wolf jumped in ecstasy at her happiness. I waved at her to stand up.

“So which family did you come from?” I want to know the family that treated her so badly.

“The Hartwells family of the SilverHowl Pack.”

My brows knitted in confusion at the familiarity of the name. “Hartwell family?”  I snapped my head towards Evander who was still fuming. “Where have I heard that name before?”

“Wait… Alpha!” He was shocked. “The Hartwell family? Their daughter—Mia Hartwell was the candidate for Luna.” 

Then he turned his wrist and stared at his Rolex watch. “And she should be here any moment from now for the contract signing.”