All Chapters of THE CONTRACT WIFE OF THE DEMON WOLF: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

AARONI did not sleep after Lena left me in the study. I remained in the chair for a long time, staring at the closed door while every part of our argument played through my mind again.She had accused me of controlling her, and I could not tell her she was wrong. I had watched her movements, checked the people around her, and made decisions about her safety without telling her the reasons behind them.I had convinced myself that keeping her safe was enough to justify everything I did. Sitting alone with her words, I had to admit that from Lena’s side, it looked exactly like what she feared.I had given her no reason to trust me with the things I kept hidden. She knew there were parts of my life I refused to discuss, but she did not know that those secrets affected every decision I made whenever she was in danger.The comparison to Zain bothered me more than I wanted to admit. I knew what Zain had done to her, and hearing her say that I was becoming another version of him made me unde

YERAI stopped being subtle the morning after my father agreed to help.Whispers hadn't worked. The article hadn't worked. Even the attack on the estate, which cost me a small fortune and two men I'll never be able to use again, hadn't managed to shake Lena loose from that man's protection. Every time I aimed something at her, she came out the other side sharper, more respected, more untouchable than before, like the whole territory was watching her survive things on purpose just to spite me.So I stopped aiming small.I sat with my father's contact for two hours going over the guest list for Wildcat's Founders' Gala, an event I've attended every year of my life without once caring who else was in the room. This year I cared about all of it. Sponsors would be there. Council members. Every Alpha family with money and influence worth having. Reporters, plenty of them, cameras ready for anything that looked interesting enough to run by the next morning.If I wanted Lena destroyed somew

LENAThe speech went better than I'd let myself hope for.I got through the third paragraph without stumbling once, the one I'd rewritten four separate times the night before, and by the time I reached the closing lines the room had gone quiet in that particular way that means people are actually listening instead of waiting politely for their turn to network. When I stepped back from the podium, the applause lasted longer than I expected, and for a second I just stood there letting it settle over me, my hands still trembling slightly against the edges of my note cards.Sponsors who'd barely acknowledged me two months ago found their way over one after another, offering compliments that sounded genuine instead of obligatory. A man from one of the larger firms told me the club's new direction had convinced his board to double their commitment for next season. Someone else asked if I'd consider speaking at an industry event in the spring. I answered every question, shook every hand,

LENAMore men appeared at the far end of the ballroom, moving through the crowd with the same purpose as the attackers who had already come for us. There were at least six of them, maybe more behind the guests running toward the exits, and the sight of them made me realize this attack had never been about frightening a room full of people.Aaron saw them too.He shifted in front of me despite the blood soaking through his shirt, placing himself between me and the men as if his body could still keep all of them away. His breathing had become rough, and one hand remained pressed against his side, but when the attackers started moving toward us, he lowered it and raised both fists."Aaron, you're hurt.""I know."His answer came through clenched teeth, and he didn't look back at me. The men kept coming, spreading across the ballroom so they couldn't all be taken down at once, while the remaining guests pushed and shoved toward the doors.I could hear people shouting for security, altho

LENABy the time morning came, Aaron's face was everywhere.The video from the gala had spread through every social media platform before either of us had managed to sleep, with different clips being reposted under different headlines and strangers arguing about what they had witnessed. Some called Aaron a monster, others called him a werewolf, and several accounts were already talking about the Krane family as though they had uncovered a secret that had been hidden for generations.I sat at the kitchen table with my phone in my hand, scrolling through one clip after another. I watched the video keenly trying to understand it all.There was Aaron fighting the attackers. There was Aaron changing. Then there was the moment he turned toward me and hurt my arm, followed by the part everyone seemed most interested in, when I walked toward him instead of running away.The comments beneath the videos were moving so quickly that I could barely read them.She wasn't afraid of him.Who is that