Chapter 13
1649 Words
Aria
It was a marriage certificate. My name was already printed there next to his, waiting for a signature that would tie my life to his forever.
I felt a surge of cold fury, being the only wolfless doctor to him, was he trying to tie me down to him.
"You’re joking. You honestly think I’m going to sign this? I want nothing to do with you, Dante. You’re my abductor. You’re a criminal."
Dante didn’t look bothered by my outburst. He just leaned back in his leather chair, lazily crossing his arms over his broad chest. He looked so calm, so cocky, like he had already won and was just waiting for me to catch up.
"It’s for your own good, Aria," he said. His voice was smooth, like he was talking about a business deal instead of my life. "The world is a dangerous place for a woman with your...history. This paper keeps you safe."
"Safe?" I let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "I was safe in New York. I was safe in my own home until you showed up and destroyed it."
I didn’t wait for him to respond. I grabbed the paper with both hands and ripped it down the middle. Then I ripped it again, and again, until it was nothing but a pile of white scraps on his expensive desk. I felt a small, sharp spark of victory. I looked him in the eye and smiled, my heart pounding with adrenaline.
"There. Your little plan is ruined."
Dante didn't look angry. He didn't even look surprised. Instead, he started to laugh. It was a low, dark sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He reached into a drawer under his desk and pulled out a thick stack of papers. He dropped them onto the table with a heavy thud.
There must have been fifty copies of the same contract. All of them identical. All of them waiting for me.
My heart sank. The victory I had felt a second ago vanished, replaced by a deep sense of devastation. He had thought of everything. He knew I would fight, and he had prepared for it. He was playing a game, and I was just a piece on the board.
"I have plenty of paper, Aria," he said, his golden eyes dancing with amusement. "We can do this all day if you like."
I slumped back in the chair, feeling the weight of the situation crushing me. I looked at the pile of contracts and then back at him.
"Why?" I asked, my voice small. "Why do you want to marry me? Is this about love? Do you honestly think you love me after two days?"
Dante’s expression didn't change. "I have my reasons. Love has nothing to do with it."
I scoffed, trying to find some way to hurt his ego. I was the Viper. I had millions of dollars in the bank. I wasn't some girl he could just buy.
"You can't afford to be my husband, Dante," I said, leaning forward and putting as much smugness into my voice as I could. "I have more money than I know what to do with. I have power in the city. You’re just a man on a rock in the middle of the ocean. You have nothing I need."
I expected him to get angry. I wanted him to roar at me, to show me the monster I knew was hiding under that expensive shirt. But he just looked amused. He leaned forward, his face inches from mine, and the sheer power coming off him made my breath hitch.
"I could buy everything you have with a snap of my fingers, Aria," he said. His voice dangerously low. "Your clinic, your tower, your reputation... I could make them all disappear before lunch. Don't mistake your bank account for real power. In my world, money is just paper. Influence is what matters. And I have more of that than you can imagine."
I went silent. I looked at his eyes and realized he wasn't lying.
Dante wasn't some rich Alpha throwing his weight around. This wasn't Lucas trying to scare me with empty threats.
Dante Rinaldi was the Capo of the Obsidian Syndicate.
I'd heard the rumors. Everyone in the underworld had. The Syndicate didn't just control territory. They controlled everything. Politicians. Judges. Police chiefs. Pack Alphas. They had their hands in every dirty deal on the East Coast.
And Dante wasn't just a member.
He was the King.
The man who gave orders that made other men disappear. The man who could walk into a room full of Alphas and have them bow their heads. The man who owned people the way I owned scalpels.
I'd been so focused on surviving Lucas, on building my empire, that I'd forgotten there were bigger monsters out there.
And I'd just walked straight into the den of the biggest one.
My clinic? He could shut it down with a phone call. My patients? He could make sure no one ever came to me again. My reputation? One whisper from him and I'd be blacklisted from every hospital, every pack, every territory that mattered.
I wasn't safe.
I'd never been safe.
I'd just been lucky enough that no other big syndicate had noticed me before.
Until now.
"This isn't forever," he said, his tone softening just a little. "Read the fine print. The contract only lasts until Leo is healed. Once he’s back on his feet and his magic is stable, the marriage is over."
I looked at the top paper on the pile. I scanned the words. He was telling the truth. It was a temporary arrangement.
"Marrying me makes you the Queen of the Underworld," Dante continued, watching me closely and gauging my reaction. "It gives you my name. It gives you the protection of the Obsidian Syndicate. And in exchange for healing my son, I will give you my army. I will give you the weapons and the men you need to get your revenge. I know you want to destroy the Silver Moon Pack and make them tremble under your feet, Aria. I can make it happen in a week."
I felt a cold shiver run through me. My revenge. It was the only thing that had kept me going for six years. I wanted to see Lucas on his knees. I wanted to see my foster parents lose everything. I had been trying to do it with money, but Dante was offering me blood. He was offering me the power to actually wipe them off the map.
It was too tempting to reject. I hated him, but I wanted what he was offering more than I wanted my freedom.
But saying yes meant I was bound to him. It meant I was his, at least for a while.
"I have rules," I finally said, my voice trembling. "If I sign this, I want my own terms added."
Dante shrugged, looking like he had expected this. "Go on."
"We don't act like we’re married in private. No touching. No shared rooms. I do my job as a doctor, I stay in the guest suite, and you stay in yours. We only pretend when we have to."
Dante immediately shook his head, his eyes darkening. .
"No." he said.
"What do you mean, no?"
"Signing that contract means everything about you belongs to me already," he said, stepping around the desk. He moved so fast I didn't even see him. He stood over me, his presence overwhelming. "I’m not looking for a maid or doctor, Aria. I’m looking for a wife. And a wife stays in her husband's bed."
I felt the blood rush to my face. "You... you can't be serious. You want me to sleep with you?"
He leaned down, gripping the arms of my chair and caging me in. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body. He smelled like the ocean and trees, a scent I didn't think I'd like but here I was drowning in it.
"I want you where I can see you, touch you, and know you're mine every single second. I want to wake up and see you in my sheets. I want to feel your heart beat against mine. You won't be hiding in some guest room like a stranger. You'll be in my bed, under my body, where you belong.”
My breath hitched.
"You don't do surgeries halfway, and neither do I do anything halfway. If you want my army, you give me yourself in return. Every inch. Every breath. I don't want a partner, Aria. I want a woman who is completely mine. If I want you, I’ll take you. If I want to hold you, I will. You’re signing yourself over to me.”
I was dumbfounded. I stared at him, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. He was insane. He was a monster. I opened my mouth to tell him to go to hell, to tell him that I would rather die than do all that and be his wife for real.
"I won't..."
I didn't get to finish the sentence as Dante suddenly leaned down and crashed his lips against mine. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was dominant and possessive, tasting of bourbon and power. It was meant to silence me, to show me exactly who was in control.
I tried to push him away, my hands hitting his solid chest, but it was like trying to move a mountain. My head spun, and a strange, terrifying heat flooded my body. My knees went weak, and for a second, I forgot why I was fighting him.
I felt like I was drowning, and he was the only thing keeping me afloat.
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