The Alpha's Contract Luna

Chapter 6

Nadia Cole had spent the previous night on Amara's couch, eating Chinese takeout and explaining why her fake husband was apparently a werewolf.

Amara had listened without interrupting.

Then she'd asked, "So, does he turn into a wolf when he's angry, or is that just his face?"

Nadia had laughed so hard she'd nearly dropped her noodles.

It had been the first time she'd felt normal since Alistair Thorne walked into Roman's penthouse and turned her life upside down.

Now, at eight on Friday morning, she stood outside Amara's apartment building with a coffee in one hand and a message from Roman on her phone.

ROMAN: The car is downstairs. We leave for Blackthorn Estate at nine. You can still decline.

Nadia read it twice.

He was giving her a choice.

It shouldn't have mattered as much as it did.

She typed back.

NADIA: I'll come. But if anyone tries to sacrifice me to an ancient moon goddess, I'm billing you for emotional distress.

His reply came a minute later.

ROMAN: I'll inform the council.

She smiled into her coffee.

Then she stopped herself.

She was going to meet a room full of werewolves. Smiling at Roman's messages was not a priority.

Probably.

The drive north took them out of Manhattan's crowded streets and onto highways bordered by bare trees and stretches of autumn colour. The city gradually disappeared behind them, replaced by small towns, wooded hills, and quiet roads.

Roman sat beside her in the back of the SUV, answering emails on his phone.

Nadia watched him for a while.

"Do you ever stop working?"

"When necessary."

"That wasn't an answer."

He glanced at her. "I took yesterday evening off."

"You spent it pacing your living room and looking like a man attending his own funeral."

"I was thinking."

"That sounds exhausting."

"It can be."

She turned back to the window.

For several miles, neither spoke.

Then Nadia asked, "How many people know what you are?"

"In the pack? Everyone."

"And outside it?"

"Very few."

"How do you keep it secret?"

"Carefully."

She looked at him. "You know, for someone who claims to be honest now, you're still very committed to vague answers."

Roman put his phone away.

"Most people don't believe in werewolves. Those who do tend to treat us as a threat. We keep our lives private because it protects our people."

That answer made sense, at least.

"So this council," she continued, "what exactly do they want from me?"

"To establish whether you're connected to Mooncrest."

"And if I am?"

"They'll have questions."

"That sounds harmless."

"Some of them won't be."

Nadia turned fully towards him.

"Are you warning me?"

"Yes."

"At least we're making progress."

He held her gaze.

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

She wanted to ask why he sounded so certain. Instead, she looked away.

"Let's get one thing straight," she said. "I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself."

"I know."

"Do you? Because you have a habit of stepping in front of me whenever something happens."

"Would you prefer I let something dangerous reach you?"

"I'd prefer to know what the danger is before you decide how to handle it."

Roman was quiet for a moment.

"That's fair."

Nadia looked at him, surprised.

"You're agreeing with me rather often lately."

"Don't get used to it."

"There he is."

His mouth curved into a small smile.

For the first time that morning, the tension between them eased.

Then the SUV turned onto a narrow private road, and the estate came into view.

Nadia forgot what she had been about to say.

Blackthorn Estate looked less like a home and more like a place designed to survive a siege.

A large stone house stood at the top of a wooded rise, surrounded by thick forest and a long iron fence. Security cameras watched the entrance. Several smaller buildings stood beyond the main house, connected by paved paths.

There were people everywhere.

Some carried boxes. Others worked near the buildings or crossed the grounds in pairs. A few stopped when Roman's SUV arrived.

They weren't staring at the vehicle.

They were staring at Nadia.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked.

"No," Roman replied.

"Then why is everyone looking at me?"

"They're curious."

"That's a polite way to describe it."

He opened his door and stepped out.

Nadia followed, straightening her coat.

A tall man with broad shoulders approached them. He looked to be in his early thirties, with short dark hair and a friendly expression that contrasted sharply with the guarded faces around him.

"Roman."

"Darius."

They clasped hands.

Darius then turned to Nadia.

"You're Nadia. I've heard quite a bit about you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Good things, I hope."

"Mostly complaints about your contract revisions."

"Then the legal department is finally developing an appreciation for my work."

Darius laughed.

Roman gave him a warning look.

"What? She made a joke."

"I noticed."

Nadia liked Darius already. Anyone who could make Roman look mildly irritated without appearing afraid of him deserved some respect.

"Welcome to Blackthorn," Darius said. "Ignore the staring. The pack hasn't had much excitement lately."

"Is that what I am? Excitement?"

"Among other things."

Before she could ask what he meant, Roman placed a hand lightly against the small of her back and guided her towards the house.

The contact was brief.

Still, Nadia felt it.

So did Roman.

His hand disappeared almost immediately, and his expression tightened as though he'd caught himself doing something he hadn't intended.

Nadia pretended not to notice.

It was easier for both of them.

The council meeting took place in a long room on the ground floor.

A heavy wooden table stood in the centre, surrounded by nine chairs. Tall windows overlooked the forest, and a stone fireplace occupied one wall.

Alistair Thorne sat near the head of the table.

Beside him were several older men and women, all watching Nadia with varying degrees of suspicion.

Roman took the chair at the head of the table.

Nadia remained standing.

"Before we begin," she said, "I'd like to know why I've been summoned."

Alistair folded his hands.

"You haven't been summoned, Miss Cole. You were invited."

"Interesting distinction. Did the invitation include a two-hour drive and an audience of people who look as though they'd rather see me chained to the fireplace?"

One of the women at the table frowned.

Roman leaned back in his chair.

"She's asking a reasonable question."

Alistair ignored him.

"We need to establish whether your family has ties to the Mooncrest bloodline."

"My family records are incomplete. I already told Roman that."

"And your mother?"

"She died when I was young."

"Did she ever speak of her family?"

Nadia thought about the dream she'd had, the woman beneath the moon, and the strange words she'd heard.

Ask your mother.

"No," she said. "Not that I remember."

A grey-haired woman seated near Alistair leaned forward.

"Do you have any unusual marks on your body?"

Nadia went still.

Roman's expression hardened.

"That question is unnecessary."

"It's relevant," the woman replied.

"Not to you."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Nadia looked between them.

"Can someone please explain why my hand is suddenly a matter of national security?"

Nobody answered.

That silence told her more than she wanted to know.

She placed both hands on the table.

"I came here because I was told I might learn something about my mother. If this is just an excuse to inspect me, we're finished."

Alistair studied her.

"You have her temper."

The words struck harder than Nadia expected.

"You knew her?"

"I knew of her."

"That's not the same thing."

"No," he admitted. "It isn't."

For the first time, his expression showed something beyond suspicion.

Regret, perhaps.

Before Nadia could press him, the grey-haired woman spoke.

"Mooncrest was not an ordinary bloodline. Its members possessed abilities that even our oldest records failed to explain. The council believed the line had disappeared decades ago."

"And now you think I'm one of them?"

"We think it's possible."

Nadia glanced at Roman.

He hadn't looked away from the council once.

"Why does that matter so much?" she asked.

"Because some bloodlines carry power that should never fall into the wrong hands," Alistair said.

"And who decides whose hands are wrong?"

Nobody answered.

Nadia gave a humourless laugh.

"Of course."

She pushed her chair back.

"If you want information about my mother, I'll help you find it. But I'm not a weapon, and I'm not joining your little political game."

Roman stood.

"The meeting is over."

Alistair's face darkened. "You don't have the authority to dismiss this matter."

"As Alpha, I have the authority to decide what happens under my roof."

"This is larger than your household."

"And she's my guest."

"She's your intended wife," Alistair corrected. "Which makes her a concern for the entire pack."

Roman's voice dropped.

"Choose your next words carefully."

Nadia had heard that tone before. It was the voice of a man accustomed to being obeyed, and for the first time, she understood why people were afraid of him.

But she also saw the tension in his shoulders.

Roman wasn't simply angry.

He was worried.

And whatever the council knew about Mooncrest, they weren't telling him everything either.

The meeting ended without answers.

Darius showed Nadia to a sitting room overlooking the grounds while Roman remained behind to argue with the council.

She sat by the window and watched a group of teenagers race across the lawn. One of them moved so quickly that Nadia briefly wondered whether she'd blinked at the wrong moment.

She rubbed her eyes.

"Don't do that," she muttered to herself. "You are not going to start seeing things."

The door opened.

Roman entered, looking as though he'd aged several years in twenty minutes.

"That was unpleasant," Nadia said.

"It could have been worse."

"That's what people say before things get worse."

He sat across from her.

"The council won't leave this alone."

"Because of my mother?"

"Yes."

Nadia looked out at the trees.

"Did you know any of this before you met me?"

"No."

"Did you suspect it?"

"Not until the mark appeared."

She looked down at her hand.

The skin was bare.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"You're the Alpha. Surely there's a book somewhere. Werewolf Mysteries for Beginners."

Despite himself, Roman smiled.

"I'll check the library."

She shook her head, but the joke had done little to ease her worry.

"Roman, I'm serious. If my mother was part of this world, I deserve to know."

"You do."

"And if the council decides I'm dangerous?"

His expression grew cold.

"Then they'll have to answer to me."

Nadia studied him.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Taking my side. You barely know me."

For a moment, Roman seemed unable to find an answer.

Then he said, "Because you came here looking for the truth, and they treated you like a threat before giving you a chance to speak."

It was a reasonable answer.

It was also kinder than she expected.

Nadia looked away before he could see how much it affected her.

"Well," she said, "don't make a habit of being decent. It'll ruin your reputation."

"I'll try to recover."

She laughed softly.

The sound surprised them both.

For a few seconds, they sat in comfortable silence, looking out at the trees.

Then Roman's phone rang.

He checked the screen and answered.

"Yes?"

Darius's voice came through, urgent enough that Nadia could hear it from across the room.

"Roman, you need to come to the east wing. We found something in the old records room."

"What?"

"A file. It was hidden behind the wall panels."

Roman stood.

"What file?"

A pause.

Then Darius said, "It has Nadia's mother's name on it."

Nadia rose so quickly that her chair scraped against the floor.

Roman looked at her.

For the first time since she'd met him, he seemed genuinely uncertain about what to do next.

Nadia grabbed her coat.

"Let's go."

Because whatever her mother had hidden, Nadia was done waiting for other people to decide when she was allowed to know the truth.