3-The Contract

CHAPTER 3

ARIA

“You have one week,” he said, sounding more like a challenge than anything. He shot me one last look as if to say, ‘Don't bother wasting your time,’ then stalked out, the crowd dispersing after him.

I collapsed fully on the ground, tears threatening to spill from my eyes, but I controlled them. My nails bit my flesh as my heart bled. Cajoling the Blackstone alpha into forging an alliance was almost an impossible task.

Alphas of noble packs had tried but failed. My only shot was with Rhett because he was the future Alpha, and his father, the king, was unapproachable.

I've heard stories about him. Rhett talked about him the way you’d talk about a rogue wolf who didn't make the loudest noise or make an appearance but knows everything happening around him. Wild. Unpredictable. Unhinged.

Everyone feared him. A glimpse of his face set scoundrels petrified, running away to hide.

Blackstone Alpha, Zane Blackwood, held a powerful clout over the Alpha Council, and everyone wanted to tap into that resource.

I’d met him once when I visited Rhett’s packhouse. But he has stared at me the whole time like I was an insignificant trifle. He hadn't attended my failed engagement party with Rhett, which summed up his kind of person. I had no intention of meeting him again, but desperate situations called for desperate measures.

He probably wouldn't spare me a second glance. And truth be told, I didn't want to serve as a pawn to forge another alliance, but I didn't want to seem like a coward…like a failure to my father. I wanted to prove that I was more than the limits he caged me in. That I wasn't like my Mom.

After a long time of deep thoughts and debating, I sighed, coming to a decision.

I would go to the Blackstone pack to strike a deal with Rhett's father, Alpha King Zane. If it works out well, fine. If it doesn't, it wouldn't be the end of my world.

Hopefully.

I pulled myself up, went into my room, grabbed my car keys, and drove out from our pack borders, towards the entrance of the Blackstone pack, which was too far from our pack for me to walk.

Under normal circumstances, cars were useless to werewolves who could run nearly as fast as a car, especially if that werewolf was on a mission like mine.

After hours of driving, I finally arrived at the biggest pack in the kingdom. Compared to my father’s pack, the Blackstone pack was ten times bigger. The pack was surrounded by an iron dome that protected them from attack. They were the pack with the best warriors-massive, fearless, and emotionless, just like the man who ruled them, Rhett’s father.

After getting out of my car, I met the Pack butler who immediately brought me to Alpha Zane’s office.

The atmosphere had Mint. Sex, smoke, and leather smell with a blend of eucalyptus and cedar.

It stirred something primal within me, making my wolf purr. She had been quiet the whole evening while she licked the wounds of her broken bond with Rhett, but right now, it was as if there was something in the air that made her feel alive again.

I felt him first—eyes, completely focused on me. I turned to the right, and there he was

Zane Blackstone sat like the fucking king he was. His posture was commanding yet observant, like a fox.

A girl knelt between his legs, her head bobbing up and down as she gave him a blow job, while his hands fisted in her hair, guiding her down his length.

Not only that, around him, two frilly blondes ran their hands through his body while another two red-haired women held a bucket of ice and a bottle of whiskey in their hands respectively.

All the ladies were naked, but his eyes weren't on any of them. His eyes were on me.

I looked away quickly, my gaze darting everywhere but his face, even as my skin crawled at the scene before me.

Feeling like I'd walked into something I shouldn't have, I turned to leave, but he spoke, his voice smooth and deep like he was bored.

“Wait,” he said, and I turned.

Without a word, he nudged his head towards the exit, and the girls rose to their feet, brushing past me as they scuttled toward the exit.

An awkward yet intense silence descended on us as he tucked himself back into his pants. I didn't see his junk because my eyes were glued to the ground, but I could tell he was massive because of how long it took him to pack it back in.

I dismissed the thought, my gaze moving to his face as he rose. Under the dim light, I couldn't see his face, but I could tell his shirt was unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up to his elbow.

Seconds later, he stepped out of the shadows to a brighter side, and immediately, the air thickened with something foreign yet primal. At the first sight of him, my heart raced and my mind went blank in shock because of how good he looked.

His looks were sinful.

It didn't matter how many times I had seen him; I could never be prepared for how beautiful he looked in his ripe age.

He had an entire body carved by the heavens and an imposing aura that commanded a silent power, making everything seem small, dimmer, and insignificant. His eyes were as green as emeralds yet deep as the depth of the ocean, and they seemed to be piercing into my soul, entrapping me, and drawing me in.

With eyes like that, I couldn't blame the girls from earlier. Even I would go on my knees in front of him if…

‘Goodness, Aria,’ I hissed, dismissing the thought from my head. That's not why I am here.

“Aria,” he called. His voice was so low and silky, so dangerously alluring that it seemed to seep into my bones, and I swallowed hard.

My nerves frayed as I gazed up at him, but the longer I stared at him, the quicker my skin grew cold. My idle hands smoothed the bodice of my dress as I tried to calm my erratic breathing.

“Alpha Zane,” I replied, bowing hastily.

“Sit,” he said, inclining his head towards the chair across his imposing.

“Thank you,” I murmured, not meeting his eyes. Yet I could feel his scalding gaze like a force of nature, sharp and penetrating with an intensity that made me want to shrink back. Yet there was something else, too, something that made my heart stutter in my chest.

“I assume you’re here because of the situation between Rhett, you, and your brother, am I correct?” He asked. I nodded.

“So what do you want me to do for you?” he asked again. His voice exuded power, not just the masculinity of an Alpha male that made my cheeks grow a shade darker.

He hadn't looked away. Not once.

His viridian green eyes were quizzical, almost like he saw every piece of me, the desperation, determination, and the vulnerability I try so hard to keep buried inside me.

“I do not enjoy repeating myself, Aria,” he said, leaning at the edge of his table, swirling his whiskey while fixing his gaze on me.

The intensity of his eyes made me want to shrink back. I could barely breathe under its weight; still, I forced the word out of my throat.

“Alpha King Zane, I’m in dire need of your help.”

He sipped his whiskey while keeping his eyes fixed on me. “I’m listening”

“You must have heard that I am no longer engaged to your son, Rhett,” I breathed. “His actions have not only left me heartbroken but helpless. My father had ousted me as his heir and declared Roman as his new heir. Not only that, he’d declared that I would resume Wolfspire. The only way to get back my birthright and not go back to Wolfspire depends on whether or not I get to forge an alliance with you…”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly, nudging me to go on. I took a deep breath.

“I need you to help me form an alliance with you.”

Alpha Zane didn't look away or say a word. He didn't waver. He was calm, unshaken, and far too composed for a man who had my future in his hands.

The way his green eyes pierced me was unsettling, as if he were weighing my very soul. I honestly couldn't tell if he was intrigued or disgusted by my request.

I tilted my eyes to meet his and noticed he was still watching me with the same unreadable expression, his gaze steady. Then after what seemed like an eternity, he leaned forward, whispering.

“Do you have any idea what you’re asking, little wolf?” He asked, amused, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking his feet.

My throat was dry, so I nodded.

“You are ambitious.” His words were cold and clinical. “Ambition is admirable, but it's dangerous. It drives greatness but also involves risk. Are you ready to take risks, Little Wolf?”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Yes,” I said, suddenly regaining my confidence in front of the man who made me feel naked under his gaze.

He smiled, then cocked his head to the side. “ Then, I have no option other than to help you,” he said, pushing from the table and walking to me.

His scent of cedar washed over me like a heady perfume, and an undeniable shift prickled at the edge of my senses. It wasn't an attraction; it was something deeper, something that gnawed at me, screaming at me to run.

“But it will come at a price. You will have to give me something in return.” His deep, dark, and low voice sent chills up my spine.

“I thought of that prior and came up with a proposal…” he raised two fingers, silencing me.

His expression was unreadable, cold and calculating as if he was deciding my fate right there and then.

“If I helped you, the price would be on my terms.” He raised an eyebrow, and I swallowed.

“Name it. I’d do anything,” he looked up, smirking, opened a folder, scanned it, then looked back at me.

“You want an alliance with me.”

“Yes”

“And you’ll do anything?” His voice was silk and smooth, like a warning.

I hesitated. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

He scanned the folder again. “Then marry me.”

For a moment, I couldn't process what he was saying. The words hung in the air, almost surreal.

I blinked. “What?”

“Be my wife and Luna for one year,” he repeated again, almost leisurely. “ In exchange, I'll forge an eternal alliance with Nightwind pack, in your name, make Rhett and Roman grovel before your feet, but you have to put whatever happened between you and Rhett aside and sign a contract to be my Luna for a year.”

“I am sorry, Alpha Zane, but I don't go around jumping in beds to gain favours…especially not with a man who almost became my father-in-law,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Rhett and I are two separate legal entities. Your relationship with him shouldn't affect your relationship with mine. As a business major, you should understand that concept.” His lips curled up.

“You’re joking.”

“I don't joke.”

I shook my head. “Why would you even want to marry me? What are you looking for? A wife to decorate your title? A political pet? Someone to parade around and pump babies into? From what I've seen, you have many of those lined up, so why me?”

Zane raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flicker behind his eyes, something awfully similar to amusement. Perhaps interest.

“The women you saw with me has nothing to offer except sex or momentarily pleasure."

My ears perked. 

"Are you saying none of that is expected of me if I get married to you?"

 "All I want from this marriage is an heir so sex is inevitable."

The words rang out like a death sentence.

“That's not a reason to get married.”

“It is for me,” His lush lips suddenly spread into a smile–even if it was more like an evil grin–and he turned to look at me.

“The wedding date will remain the same. Unchanged,” he continued. “I’m not a very patient man, Aria Nightwind. I will have my answer before you leave my pack. If you wish not to marry me, then speak now. I do not have the time to make you feel like I want you for your virtues or looks. Truth be told, you aren't my type. I’m compelled to do this as much a you are ”

He said it like he was offering a business deal—no emotion, no warmth, just cold facts, portraying every bit the man people whispered him to be—cold, rich, arrogant.

His words weren't kind or loving, and I felt that I was nothing more than a pawn in the whole arrangement. Yet the more I processed his request, the more I realized this was my only way out. What other way was there to secure an alliance with the Alpha King himself than marrying him?

I thought about the perks of marrying him, and the offer began to make sense. Not only would I get even with Rhett, I’d be devouring Roman in his own games, beating my father’s expectation and securing my position as the Nightwind Heiress.

But what would people say?

To hell with whatever people say. I didn't care anymore.

I killed the questions immediately, as they started to take root in my head.

There might be no dignity in marrying my ex-mate’s father, but there was also no dignity in my ex-mate cheating on me with my brother.

Without Zane, my life would be a losing battle, and I might as well kiss everything goodbye. His offer is the only thing that secures my future, and all I needed to do was sign some papers and bear a child.

“Do you accept, Aria, yes or no?” He asked once more, and I nibbled my lips and took a deep breath.

“Yes,” I said. “I will be your wife for a year, and I will give you one child, Your Majesty. But after that, I must be allowed to leave your palace and return here, to my home, where I would take my father’s place beside him as crown princess.”

Zane Blackstone nodded in silence.

“We have a deal, Aria Nightwind. The wedding will happen tomorrow and you don't have to worry about anything. Just show up. I’ll handle the rest,” He said, and my shoulders relaxed immediately, a sigh slipping past my lips.

If Zane said he would handle the rest- my pack, his pack, my father, the media, and the elder council, then he would.

One year.

What was the worst that could happen?