Chapter 2: The Rival's Marriage Contract

"Give me the ring," I demanded. 

Evelina tried to pull her wrist from my grasp. I tightened my fingers just enough to stop her without hurting her. "Maquia, let go."

"When you return what belongs to me."

The event staff moving through the adjoining hallway had gone silent. Evelina glanced toward them before lowering her voice. "Caelan only asked me to keep it safe."

"Then, why are you wearing it?"

Her lips parted, but no answer came. I looked at the ancestral ring on her right hand, then at the counterfeit on mine. I had spent years protecting my younger sister from gossip, pack politics, and consequences she was never prepared to face. I knew every expression she used when she was frightened.

This wasn't fear. 

This one was guilt mixed with determination.

"Remove it, Evelina," I commanded her.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Her chin lifted. "Because he gave it to me."

The confession settled between us. For a moment, her hazel eyes became distant. A mind-link. Before I could demand whom she had contacted, hurried footsteps crossed the marble foyer.

Caelan entered with two Redfang security officers behind him. His dark suit jacket was unbuttoned, and irritation sharpened the handsome features I had trusted for six years. He didn't look at me first. His attention went directly to Evelina.

"Are you hurt?" he asked in a soft tone.

The question struck harder than any denial could have.

Evelina shook her head. "No."

Only then did Caelan face me. "Release her."

I let go, not because he ordered me to, but because I finally understood how quickly she had reached for him, and how quickly he had answered. "Why is she wearing the Luna Ring?" I asked.

"This isn't the time."

"Our mating ceremony is tomorrow. I can't imagine a more appropriate time."

Caelan's jaw tightened. "You're creating a scene over a piece of jewelry."

I squinted my eyes from how ridiculous he just said. "An ancestral ring you replaced with a counterfeit." I raised my left hand. "Did you think I would never discover it?"

His eyes flickered toward the replica. The absence of surprise confirmed that the exchange had been deliberate.

"Where did you have it examined?" he demanded.

"That's your concern?"

"The Luna Ring is Redfang property. You had no right to show it to an outsider."

A laugh without humor slipped out. "Apparently, I never had the Luna Ring at all."

Evelina moved closer to him. Caelan's hand settled at the small of her back so naturally that neither seemed to notice.

But I did.

"Tell her to return it," I demanded.

"No."

One word erased six years of excuses before I could create them.

"The ring does not belong to you personally, Maquia," Caelan continued. "It belongs to Redfang and to whoever becomes its Luna."

I stared at him. "Whoever becomes its Luna?" I parroted. 

So, he was saying the one who was wearing...

His expression remained carefully controlled. "Everything will be explained at tomorrow's ceremony."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"We are not discussing it here."

"How long, Caelan?" I asked in an earnest tone.

Evelina flinched. Caelan shifted slightly in front of her, shielding my sister from questions he should have been answering himself.

For six years, I had negotiated his contracts, strengthened his Council position, and defended every decision that made the other Alphas doubt him. Yet the first time I demanded honesty, he treated me like an inconvenience standing between him and the woman he truly wanted to protect.

"Attend the ceremony," he repeated. "You'll have your answer."

"You intend to humiliate me in front of both packs."

"I intend to make the decision that is best for Redfang. If you care about the alliance, you'll wait until tomorrow instead of causing unnecessary damage tonight."

There it was.

He still expected my family's territory, corporate influence, and Council votes. He simply no longer believed he needed me to obtain them.

I lowered my hand and looked at the counterfeit ring. "Fine," I said. "I'll wait until tomorrow."

Relief softened Caelan's features. He mistook my composure for surrender. "Go home to Silverpine and rest," he said. "We'll speak before the ceremony."

I glanced at his hand against Evelina's back. "There's nothing left to discuss." I walked out before either of them could answer.

My driver asked whether we were returning to the Fairmont residence. I looked at the city beyond the tinted window and remembered olive eyes beneath cold afternoon light.

"Take me to Nightfall Tower."

The headquarters of Castellane Holdings rose above the northern business district, its black glass reflecting the last streaks of sunset. I expected security to delay me.

Instead, the receptionist rose the moment I entered. "Miss Fairmont. Alpha Azriel is on the top floor."

"He knows I'm coming?"

Her professional smile didn't shift. "He instructed us to admit you whenever you arrived."

Whenever, not if.

The private elevator opened directly into Azriel's office. Glass walls overlooked the city, while digital maps of pack territories glowed across one side of the room. Azriel stood behind his desk, his sleeves rolled to his forearms. He dismissed the two executives seated opposite him without asking why I had come.

When the doors closed behind them, he regarded me with a calmness I suddenly wanted to shatter.

"You told me I would know where to find you," I said.

"I didn't expect you quite so soon." A small smile plastered his lips.

That sounded like a lie.

"The real ring was on Evelina's finger," I told him.

His expression barely changed, but something dark and satisfied moved through his olive eyes. "Then, Radcliffe is an even greater fool than I believed."

I approached his desk. "You want Redfang's eastern trade corridor, am I right?" I asked, looking directly in his eyes.

"I want several things." His gaze traveled over me. "The corridor is one of them."

"Silverpine controls the adjoining territory. I'm offering Nightfall permanent access."

"In exchange for what?"

"Marry me before tomorrow's ceremony."

A moment of silence followed before Azriel slowly placed his pen on the desk. "Say that again."

"Marry me."

"Why me?" he asked. "There are other Alphas who would marry you for less."

"None of them could register a covenant tonight, withstand Redfang's retaliation tomorrow, and enjoy humiliating Caelan as much as you would."

He was the bane of Caelan's existence, I would like to add. But I didn't want to feed his ego anymore.

His upper lip curved. "Hmm... Flattering." 

"Accurate."

"And you trust me?"

"No." I placed both hands on his desk. "I trust you to honor an agreement once you sign it. That is more than I can say for the man I intended to marry."

He came around the desk and stopped in front of me. "Do you understand what you're offering, Maquia?"

"My hand. My territory. Silverpine's political support." I held his gaze. "And the pleasure of watching Caelan lose all three."

"You came here angry."

"I came here prepared to negotiate."

His mouth curved. "That was what interested me about you the first time."

"Is that a yes?"

"Under one condition."

I waited. If it would be deemed for me in a difficult position, I would try to negotiate.

"This will not be a temporary arrangement," he said. He lifted his hand, gently brushing a few strands of hair from my forehead, and I found myself holding my breath. His eyes lingered there before returning to mine. "You will enter Nightfall as my wife and Luna. You will live under my roof, stand beside me publicly, and remain when your revenge is finished." He lowered his arm afterward.

I squinted my eyes from his condition. "You're asking for permanence."

"I don't rent what I intend to keep."

The possessiveness in his voice should have sent me toward the elevator. Instead, I remembered Caelan's hand resting against Evelina's back.

Heaving out a sigh, I tried so hard to control my emotions. "Fairmont Group remains under my control," I said and leaned backward. "You receive access and an alliance, not ownership. Silverpine decisions still require my approval."

"Agreed."

"Neither pack absorbs the other."

"Agreed."

"And you don't interfere with my position as Silverpine's heiress."

Azriel stepped closer. "I have no desire to diminish you, Maquia. That would defeat the purpose of marrying you." A knowing smile spread across his lips.

He contacted his general counsel. Twelve minutes later, a lawyer and a Pack Council registrar entered carrying two tablets and a printed covenant. Far too quickly.

I questioned the timing, but Azriel merely said powerful Alphas kept competent people available.

I read every clause. I amended the language governing Fairmont assets, removed a provision allowing Nightfall unrestricted use of Silverpine property, and limited Azriel's corporate authority within my family's company.

He accepted every change without argument while only the permanence clause remained untouched.

The registrar entered our information into the encrypted Council database. I signed the printed covenant first. Azriel added his signature beside mine before pressing his signet ring into the ceremonial seal.

Our names appeared together on the registrar's screen.

Maquia Fairmont and Azriel Castellane.

Legally married under Pack Council law.

"There," I said, setting down the pen. "The agreement is sealed."

Azriel's olive eyes lifted to mine. "Not yet."

"What else could possibly—"

"A marriage should be sealed with a kiss."

I stared at him, creasing my forehead. "That wasn't one of the conditions."

"Neither was pretending to be my wife." He rose from his chair. "Yet you seem determined to do exactly that."

"Azriel, I'm not—"

His fingers closed around my jaw, and his mouth claimed mine. The kiss began with calculated control, as if he intended only to prove a point. Then, my hand caught the front of his jacket.

Azriel took it as permission. His arm locked around my waist and pulled me against him. The restraint vanished from his kiss, replaced by a hunger that felt older than the contract between us. My thoughts scattered beneath the pressure of his mouth.

When he finally released me, my fingers were still twisted in his jacket. "What the hell... was that?" I breathed.

His thumb passed slowly over my swollen lower lip. "Your first lesson as my wife."

"And what exactly was I supposed to learn?" My eyes lowered to his lips before returning to his olive orbs.

Azriel's mouth curved. "That I don't sign contracts for anything I have no intention of claiming."