006

Damon.

“It’s been three days now. Have you heard from her?” Eric, my beta, asked.

I heaved a deep breath, staring into the swirling whiskey in my hands, “Not a damn word. It’s like she’s ghosting me. She’s not rejecting the gifts, but she’s not responding either, not even a ‘thank you’ from her.” I blurted out, my voice strained with frustration, “What else can we add? I have exhausted all ideas of being a Prince Charming yearning for his princess.”

“Maybe you should stop. Giving her more gifts will seem desperate. She might get suspicious of our actions, and we don’t want that.”

“So what do we do?!” I yelled, slamming my fists on the table in anger, “How else do I convince her? How do I make her accept me? You are very much aware of what is at stake here!!”

“Let’s be calm. We can’t…” Eric was still talking when a light tap on the door interrupted him. 

Shit. 

I cleared my throat, adjusting myself before speaking up. “Come in.”

Speak of the devil… I thought, watching the very topic of our frustration stroll in.

She was dressed in an elegant blue gown and a pleasant smile on her face, “Greetings, Lycan King.” She began, bowing her head.

My gaze flickered to Eric and then back to her, “You may rise, Lyra. I told you before, there’s no need for formalities. You can call me Damon.”

She smiled, “I’ll keep that in mind. I see you’re busy, I might as well come back later.” She said, and was about to leave when I spoke up.

“There's no need for that, Eric was just leaving.” I turned to Eric, “Weren’t you?”

He nodded quickly before walking out. Lyra came closer, “You didn’t have to. I would have returned later.”

“Not when you have been ghosting me for three days now.”

She chuckled, taking a seat, “I was just thinking about everything.”

A smile formed on my face, “So have you come up with a conclusion?”

She rolled her eyes and my ears rose eager to hear her response, but instead, “We will come back to that, let’s talk about the gifts.” She replied, and I cleared my throat, disappointed.

“What about the gifts, Lyra?”

“I honestly don’t want to sound ungrateful or awkward, but were you sending the gifts so that I could give a positive response?”

Shit. 

Was I that obvious? 

I smiled, “Oh no! Why would I?” I countered, “Like I said, Lyra. I won’t force you to make a decision, my behavior won’t change if you reject my offer, nor would the treatment. The gifts were just to make you feel welcome, comfortable and special…”

“The flowers did smell nice.” She replied, “And I do appreciate every one of them. Thank you.”

I nodded, and she stood from her chair, was she going? 

I stood up too, “Are you leaving? I thought you had come here to…”

“Give a response?” She completed it. It was so damn difficult to figure out what she was thinking, not when she had a charming smile on her face. “I did. I was just taunting you.” She replied, returning to her seat. I came around to where she was seated, and sat on the corner of the table.

“Although I still didn’t get any valid reason from you…it doesn’t change the fact that you helped me…saved me from that pack and I will forever be indebted to you.” She began, and I could already tell where this was going, “You have treated me so nicely since I got here. I have been elevated from a mere beggar to being treated like royalty, and it’s all thanks to you…so…”

“Lyra.” I cut in, my voice soft. “I don’t want you to make your decision because you feel indebted to me. You owe me nothing. I only did what a true leader would.” I said, reaching out to hold her hands, “You deserve to be treated like royalty. They don’t deserve you.”

“You keep saying that, but in the real sense they don’t need me. I’m nobo—”.

“Somebody. You need to stop belittling yourself, Lyra. I brought you here to show you…teach you that you shouldn’t let people dictate your life. You shouldn’t let people's words define you.”

She smiled, standing up, “Thank you. About the offer, I have made my decision.” She began, and I nodded at her to continue. I knew she would, yes, it was impossible to say no after everything I had done for her.

 “I’ll be your contract Luna for the duration of time needed.” 

Yes! 

 “I am not doing this because I feel indebted, but because I want to help out with whatever situation that’s going on.” She concluded and I engulfed her in a hug, joy flooding my chest, “Thank you. Thank you, Lyra.” I kept on muttering as my hands tightened the grip on her waist. 

We stayed together like that for minutes, after which she cleared her throat before pulling away, “… I guess you’re excited.”

Beyond excited!

“This will solve all my issues.” I replied, forming a smile on my face, “I promise you won’t regret this decision.”

“So what next? Do you announce me? Or how is this going to work? How long? How…”

“Calm your nerves. We’ll start with contract signing, after which I will host a ball to announce you as my Luna.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She muttered.

I quickly brought out the file from my desk.

 Everything was going well and I was beyond delighted. I handed it to her, and she looked a bit skeptical before taking the file and opening it. 

I sat across, my gaze fixated on her as she went through it. 

She wasn’t saying anything yet, and so I decided to speak up, “we could read them together, if you have questions, I’ll answer them.”

She raised her gaze to meet mine, “I already have questions.” 

“I’m all ears.”

“I, Lyra (last name here) have given conscious consent to abide by the following regulations and requirements of this contract; 

1) I shall not conceive any attachment to the Lycan

2) I shall not ask questions about the Lycan’s past.

3) I shall not conceive any romantic feelings towards Lycan Damon. 

She turned to me with furrowed eyebrows. “Why are the first three highlighted?” 

“They are the requirements that are most important to follow for all of what’s happening to work out,” I explained. 

She slowly nodded and turned back to the contract as she read out loud;

4) I shall not inform anyone of the existence of this contract.

5) I shall not flirt with anyone throughout this year of the contract. 

6) I shall not contact Lycan Damon after the end of this contract under any circumstances.

7) I shall engage in romantic gestures with Lycan Damon when in public.

“Romantic gestures? What kind of romantic gestures are we talking about here?” She questioned again.

“Anything you are comfortable with. It’s just to show we are affectionate and make our relationship look real, but it can be removed if you don’t want it.”

She nodded before continuing, “8) I shall sleep in the Lycan’s chambers until the duration of the contract is over.”

9) I shall stay for the duration of the yearlong agreement or risk losing the Lycan’s promise. I, Lyra (last name here) promise to adhere to said rules and am aware of the outcomes if I break any of these regulations,” She concluded before looking up at me.

“This would only last a year,” I added, trying to sound more convincing than I’ve ever done.

Her gaze returned to the file, after which she took the ink, signing on it. 

Perfect. 

“Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to this, Lyra.”

“I think you’re mistaken. It should be Luna Lyra now.”

I chuckled, her sense of humor was amazing. “We should celebrate, Luna Lyra…”

“There’s no need for that, Ly… Damon.” She replied, standing up, “Just give me updates on what next, I’ll be in my room, having a session with my bed.” She joked, and I was about to respond when the door creaked open.

We both turned, and I nearly cursed out loud at the sight of the person swaying her hips confidently into the room. 

“You didn’t tell me you had a visitor, Darling.” Devika muttered, her heels clicking on the marble tiles. 

Lyra's gaze shifted to me and I could tell she had millions of questions to ask.