Fated To My Ex-Boyfriend’s Father

4: New Contract

Ariana

“What?” I whispered after finding my voice.

The alpha king dragged a hand over his face, a sigh escaping his lips before he focused on me again, and a shiver of fear rolled down my spine.

“I won’t repeat myself twice.” He growled and I gulped, mind racing hard as I struggled to comprehend what he meant because my brain suddenly refused to work.

“But… I don’t want this.” I whispered, struggling to breathe again from how terrified I was currently feeling. The king leveled me with a sharp, unimpressed look and I shivered, the frightened feeling within me heightening at once.

“It’s bold of you to think you have an option in this situation.” He pointed out calmly and I swallowed emptily, hands tightening on my pink dress.

When he began to approach me, I inched backward from fright, with my heart lodged in my throat. I didn’t stop till my back was against a cold pillar, and that was when he finally stopped a few inches away, another unimpressed look across his face as he looked me over, making me feel like I was a literal dirt on the ground.

“This whole situation is your fault.” He announced and my eyes widened. “I don’t know why the moon goddess would choose you of all people to be my fated mate, especially considering how long I waited for a fated mate before giving up on that shit.” He continued, voice hard and my stomach was curled tightly from nervousness.

“I- it wasn’t my fault though. I didn’t ask to be mated to you, nor am I the reason for this curse, and I’d very much like to be rejected instead.” I breathed out before I could stop myself, and as his sharp eyes focused on me while he took a step closer, I completely stopped breathing.

“Watch your mouth around me, hm?”

I was too nervous to speak so I nodded like a bobble head and he took one step back, making me able to breathe again.

“Aren’t you from the Winterbane family?” He suddenly asked as he took a closer look at me, and I stiffened at the mention of my family name. He took my silence for an answer and his mouth thinned almost immediately before disgust settled in his eyes.

“How can the heavens be this cruel? My fated mate turned out to be the daughter of the man who betrayed me the most in my entire life? How ironic.” He let out a bitter laugh at the end and at first, I swallowed emptily while biting on my tongue to avoid saying something that might get me killed tonight.

But I ended up deciding to be out with it, because I had always wished to be opportuned to say these words to his face.

“My father didn’t kill your past mate though. He’d never do something like that! You punished him for something he never did. Someone framed him and because of that, you ruined our entire lives.” Tears pricked my eyes at the end of my sentence and as silence stretched out between us, I realized that I might have really overstepped this time.

When his hand settled on my throat, I completely stopped breathing. At the back of my mind, I was aware that he wasn’t strangling me, but I was too frightened to drag in a breath. When the king leaned down till I could feel his breath on my face, my legs almost gave out and I’d have fallen If it wasn’t for the pillar behind me.

“Notice how this slim throat easily fits in my hand? That’s how easily I’ll snap it into two if you refuse to watch your mouth around me.”

When he dropped his hand, I sucked in a desperate breath in while gasping hard. My lungs burned hard and my heart was still pounding hard.

“I won’t do it. I refuse to be mated to you even for a curse I don’t care about.” I whispered fretfully and this time, he laughed.

Again, I knew I stepped out of line but I didn’t care.

“Would you rather be locked up with your mother?” He asked and I stiffened. He was completely unfazed and I briefly wondered how someone could be this cruel.

Gods. I hate him so f*****g much.

I ended up averting my gaze and he scoffed as he completely backed away.

“That’s what I thought,” he said as he turned away, and as I crumbled on the ground, I desperately wished there was something I could use to stab him in the back right now.

I wasn’t allowed to leave the palace tonight, and was given a bedroom to sleep in. The room looked way nicer than the house I and my siblings have been living in alone for the past ten years.

I couldn’t sleep throughout the night, because I felt like a prisoner, and already dreaded the next day before the day broke.

Once it was morning, I was led to the king, in his office this time. He was sitting behind a desk, signing some documents and I took a better look at him this time. His long blond hair was in a bun behind his head, but some curls framed his face.

Despite my utter hatred for him, he still looked ridiculously hot if I’m being honest.

If I met him in a completely different situation, I wouldn’t know he had a child, much less one as old as Vlad. Vlad is nineteen years old. The alpha king looked like he was in his early thirties, but I didn’t know his actual age. He was mateless since I could remember, and last I heard, he wasn’t interested in taking one, hence why the pack didn’t have a Luna presently.

He glanced up and my breath hitched in my throat as his grey eyes took me in, instantly looking unimpressed but unnerving, right before he slapped the documents at my side of the table.

“I’ve drawn out a contract for the two of us. Take a seat while we discuss the terms.”

I awkwardly sat in the seat opposite him, then he began.

“It’s a contract marriage on paper and nothing more, and the marriage would last only a year. I’m already working towards getting the curse broken, and as soon as it’s sorted out, even without the one year being up, we’ll break off the marriage and I’ll sever the bond between us.” He began, voice brisk and husky, and my stomach kept clenching every now and then.

“Again, it’s gonna be a contract marriage on only paper. We’ll stay in different rooms, and won’t interact unless necessary. I’ll never touch you, so always keep that in mind. You’re the furthest thing from my type, and I can never touch someone my son has already touched.” He paused for a moment to take me in. “Plus, you’re way too young for me.”

He arched a beautiful brow this time.

“I was told this morning that there’s some rumors going around about you cheating on Vlad, which was why he dumped you. Have you no self respect? Cause that, along with the family you’re from, is gonna be a very big stain on the throne and I’m very certain the pack members would never accept you as their Luna.”

I shifted around awkwardly, my face growing hot. “Um, Vlad or anyone else has never touched me before; I’m still untouched. That’s a rumor instigated by Vlad and someone else.” I defended myself but the king snorted and waved me off.

“Sign the contract anyway.” He said as he nodded to the documents laid out before me.

As I signed the documents, I was still in so much shock, still unable to believe that my life could drastically change in the blink of an eye like this.

From being betrayed by people I completely trusted, to being forced into a contract marriage and mate bond with the biggest enemy of my life.