All Chapters of A Contract With The Cursed Alpha: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Lucian POVLuke slid a tablet across the table as I approached.“Our outer perimeter is secure,” he began, his voice calm but focused. “Every employee has been verified twice, the catering staff arrived on schedule, and every guest vehicle will be screened before entering the grounds.”I skimmed the report.“No problems?”“So far, none.”His answer came quickly.Too quickly.I looked up.“What are you not saying?”Luke let out a quiet breath before enlarging a file on the screen.“We’ve been reviewing Steven Reynolds’ recent business dealings.”The name settled heavily between us.Luke continued.“His financial records look clean.”“They should.”“He has also been meeting with several investors over the last two weeks.”I raised an eyebrow.“Investors?”“On paper.”Luke tapped another photograph.“In reality…”Several faces appeared.None of them looked like financiers.One man had a long scar running across his jaw.Another had been photographed leaving a private gambling club after

Steven POVI slowly wrapped my fingers around the stem of the champagne glass Luke had quietly handed me earlier. I did not drink from it. I simply needed something steady to hold while I reminded myself where I was.This wasn’t Steven’s world.It wasn’t mine either.Tonight belonged to Lucian.And somehow…He had chosen to stand beside me.Steven stopped less than two feet away.“So,” he said with a slow smile that never reached his eyes, “I thought I was imagining things.”His gaze swept over me from head to toe.The gown.The pendant.The heels.The confidence I was trying very hard to wear.His expression hardened.“It really is you.”Laila folded her arms immediately, her perfectly painted lips curving into something between amusement and contempt.“I knew she looked familiar,” she said lightly, loud enough for nearby guests to hear. “I just couldn’t believe she’d actually show up somewhere like this.”A few conversations around us quieted.People weren’t openly staring.Not yet.

Steven POVOne of the guards moved back toward the entrance.“Our job stops here Mr. Reynolds."His voice was calm almost not caring.“I would suggest not trying to go in."Before I could say anything he walked away.The gates shut.The sound of the lock made me feel worse.For a while neither Laila nor I said anything.Cars with guests arriving late kept coming through the gate without stopping for us. The drivers didn’t even look at us before going through the gates we had just been pushed out of.I looked down at my suit.Italian fabric.Custom shoes.A nice watch.An hour before I felt like I belonged with people like Lucian Sterling.Now…I looked like a man who had dressed for the life.Laila was the first to speak.“I can’t believe that just happened."She wrapped her arms around herself not because she was cold but because she was embarrassed. She looked at the house with a sad face.“I didn’t answer."Because if I did I would have to say more.The whispers.The stares.The wa

Lucian POVI rested both palms against the polished mahogany desk and lowered my head for a moment.“What are you doing?” I muttered quietly to my own reflection.The question wasn’t rhetorical.I genuinely didn’t know anymore.When this arrangement began, everything had been simple.Find Anna.Protect her long enough.Complete the marriage.Finish what destiny demanded.Leave the rest to time.Somewhere along the way…Those clean lines had blurred.I no longer found myself protecting only the mission.I was protecting her smile.Her confidence.The fragile courage she rebuilt one painful decision at a time.That had never been part of the plan.A bitter smile touched my lips before disappearing again.Three centuries.Three hundred years of discipline.Three hundred years of never allowing emotion to interfere with purpose.Then one woman arrived carrying broken trust in her eyes, and suddenly my carefully constructed distance felt…fragile.Dangerously fragile.I had lived long enoug

Lucian POVThe morning after my conversation with Anna settled over Sterling Cross Tower without fanfare, yet the silence carried the unmistakable weight of a campaign finally set in motion.Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city beneath a blanket of pale sunlight, while executives hurried through schedules that would shape markets before lunch, but my attention remained fixed on a different battlefield entirely. Numbers could be rebuilt, companies could recover, and fortunes could be made again. Character rarely survived exposure.Luke entered my private conference room carrying a leather portfolio thick enough to pass for a legal archive, and the familiar efficiency in his movements reminded me why he had remained beside me longer than almost anyone else.“The overnight reports are ready,” he said as he placed the portfolio on the polished table. “Three investment groups accepted our proposal, one is still negotiating, and Steven Reynolds has no idea any of it is connected.”I nod