Chapter 3
1587 Words
CHAPTER 3
The Proposal
Elena's Pov
I stared at the man in the expensive suit. His eyes were sharp and assessing and missed nothing.
"What does Alpha King want with me?" My voice came out steadier than I felt.
"That is between you and the Alpha." He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me. "My name is Lucas Reed. I am Beta of the Crescent Shadow Pack. Alpha King is waiting at Crescent Tower. A car is outside."
"Elena?" Mom called from the bedroom. "Who is it?"
I turned toward her voice and panic clawed up my throat. I could not let her worry. She was too sick and too fragile and this made no sense.
"Just a minute, Mom," I called back.
I looked at Lucas again. He stood perfectly still and waited. Everything about him screamed power and danger and expectations I could not meet.
"I need to tell my mother something."
"Of course. I will wait in the car."
He walked down the porch steps and I went back to Mom's room. She was sitting up in bed with concern written across her pale face.
"Who was that?"
The lie came easily. Too easily. "A job opportunity. They want to interview me today."
"A job? What kind of job?"
"Administrative work for a pack. Good pay with great benefits." I forced a smile. "I should go. I will be back soon."
She reached for my hand. "Are you sure you are alright? After everything with Ryan..."
"I am fine, Mom. I promise."
Another lie. But what else could I say?
I kissed her forehead and left before she could ask more questions.
The car waiting outside was sleek and black, I have never been in a car this expensive. Lucas held the door open and I slid into leather seats that smelled like money. He got in the front and the driver pulled away from the curb without a word.
I watched my neighborhood disappear through the tinted windows. Small houses with peeling paint and chain-link fences gave way to nicer streets. Then those gave way to downtown.
Crescent Tower rose above everything else. Glass and steel that caught the sunlight and threw it back like a weapon. The headquarters of the Crescent Shadow Pack. The most powerful pack in the region.
I had never been here. My small, failing pack was so far beneath their notice we might as well not exist.
The car pulled into an underground garage and Lucas escorted me to a private elevator. We rode up in silence. I watched the numbers climb. Thirty floors. Forty. Fifty.
The elevator opened directly into an office that took up the entire top floor.
The floor-to-ceiling windows showed the city spread out below like a map. Expensive art hung on the walls. Everything was clean and sharp and designed to intimidate.
And there he was.
Alpha Roman King stood behind a massive desk with his back to me. Tall and broad-shouldered with dark hair. He turned around and I forgot how to breathe.
Strong jaw and ice-blue eyes that cut through me like glass.
He wore a perfectly tailored suit but something about his presence made the civilized clothing seem like a costume. Like barely contained wildness lived just under his skin.
Then his scent hit me.
Pine. Smoke. It was wild and familiar.
My heart stopped.
The stranger from last night. It had to be. That scent was burned into my memory.
But his expression was perfectly neutral. Professional. Cold. No flicker of recognition crossed his face.
"Miss Monroe." He gestured to a chair across from his desk. "Thank you for coming."
I sat because my legs would not hold me anymore. My mind raced. Was this him? But he showed nothing. He was treating me like a complete stranger.
"Do I..." I swallowed hard. "Do I know you?"
His eyebrow raised slightly. "We have never met. But I know of your situation. Your mother's illness and your financial struggles."
The words hit me like ice water. "How do you know about my mother?"
"I make it my business to know things." He sat down and slid a document across the desk. "I have a proposal for you."
I stared at the papers. The letterhead read CONTRACT MARRIAGE AGREEMENT in bold letters.
"I don't understand."
"My pack elders are pressuring me to take a Luna." His voice was calm and businesslike. "I have refused all traditional matches. They are tiresome and come with expectations I have no interest in meeting. A contract marriage solves the problem."
"This doesn't add up."
"It is quite simple and temporary. Business only. No emotional entanglement." He leaned back in his chair. "You need money for your mother's treatment. I need a wife who will not expect love. We both get what we need."
I picked up the contract with my shaky hands and started reading. The terms were laid out in detail.
One year marriage. I would play the role of Luna in public. Attend pack functions. Live in his home. Present a united front.
In exchange, he would pay for all of Mom's medical expenses. The best doctors. The best treatment. Whatever she needed. Plus a monthly stipend that was more than I made in six months.
After one year, a quiet divorce. I would walk away financially secure with enough money to start over.
"Why me?" I set the contract down. "There are hundreds of women who would marry you for money. Why choose someone wolfless? Will that not embarrass your pack?"
Something flickered in his eyes. Gone too fast to read.
"Your lack of wolf makes you manageable. You will not challenge me. You will not have expectations. And frankly, I don't care what the pack thinks of my personal choices."
The words stung like a slap. Manageable. Like I was a problem to be handled instead of a person.
But I thought of Mom. The medical bills. The eviction notice. The empty pill bottles.
I thought of watching her fade away because I could not save her.
"I need time to think," I said.
"You have until tomorrow." He stood and buttoned his suit jacket. "Your mother's condition is worsening. Time is a luxury you don't have, Miss Monroe."
He was right and we both knew it.
I stood to leave and my shirt rode up slightly as I reached for my purse.
Roman's eyes flashed to my lower back. Just for a second. His expression did not change but something shifted in the air between us.
Did he see the mark?
I yanked my shirt down and cleared my throat.
His face remained perfectly neutral. "Tomorrow, Miss Monroe. I will expect your answer."
Lucas appeared and escorted me back to the elevator. I did not look back but I could feel Roman's eyes on me until the doors closed.
In the elevator, my mind spun in circles. The scent. The presence. The way my body reacted to him.
Could Roman be the man from last night?
But he showed no recognition. He treated me like a stranger he was hiring for a job.
Maybe the mark was from someone else at the party. Maybe I was grasping at connections that did not exist.
But that scent. Pine and smoke and wild things.
I was so confused I wanted to scream.
The car dropped me off at home and I walked up to the porch in a daze.
Then I stopped.
Cindy sat on my front steps.
Her eyes were red and swollen. Mascara streaked down her cheeks. She looked up when she heard me and stood quickly.
"Elena, please. We need to talk."
Every instinct told me to walk past her. To slam the door in her face. To give her the same cruelty she gave me.
But she looked broken, nothing like the triumphant woman from last night.
Against my better judgment, I unlocked the door.
"My mom might be asleep," I said quietly. "Keep your voice down."
We went to the kitchen and I leaned against the counter. I did not offer her a seat.
"What do you want, Cindy?"
She dissolved into tears. "Ryan... he was not my fated mate after all. At the ceremony today, he found his REAL mate. Some girl from another pack. He rejected me in front of EVERYONE."
I should feel vindicated. I should feel satisfaction watching her cry.
But I just felt empty.
"I am sorry that happened to you," I said. And I meant it.
"You are my best friend." She reached for my hand but I pulled away. "I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. I am sorry, Elena. Please. I need you."
"We are not friends anymore, Cindy."
"Please don't say that. I know I hurt you but we can fix this. We can go back to how things were."
"No." I walked to the front door and opened it. "We cannot."
"Elena—"
"You made your choice. Now live with it." I held the door wider. "Get out, Cindy."
She stared at me like she did not recognize me. Then she walked past me and out onto the porch. Tears still streaming down her face.
"I am sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry."
I started to close the door.
Then I caught my reflection in the hallway mirror. And in that reflection, I saw Cindy glance back at me over her shoulder.
Her expression was not heartbroken.
It was calculating.
- Writer
