The Alpha's Contract Luna

Chapter 2

Nadia Cole had handled angry husbands, dishonest wives, and divorce settlements that could bankrupt a small country. Yet none of them had prepared her for Roman Veyne.

She sat at her desk, staring at the faint silver mark near the base of her thumb.

It had appeared when she shook Roman’s hand. A crescent crossed by a thin line. Strange, beautiful, and gone almost as quickly as it came.

She rubbed it with her other thumb.

Nothing.

“Wonderful,” she muttered. “Now I’m developing imaginary tattoos.”

Her phone rang. Amara’s name flashed across the screen.

Nadia answered. “If you’re calling to ask whether I’ve changed my mind, the answer is no.”

“Good morning to you too. And no, I’m calling because you told me you were meeting Roman Veyne yesterday. You conveniently forgot to mention that you might actually marry him.”

Nadia leaned back in her chair. “It’s a business arrangement.”

“Marriage is not a business arrangement, Nadia.”

“Tell that to the lawyers who negotiate prenups for a living.”

Amara sighed. “You’re really doing this?”

“Yes.”

“For money?”

“For thirteen million dollars.”

Silence.

Then Amara said, “I take back everything I was about to say. Thirteen million is a very persuasive argument.”

Nadia laughed despite herself.

“Still,” Amara continued, “Roman Veyne is not exactly known for being warm and cuddly. The man looks like he fires people for breathing too loudly.”

“That’s his problem. I’m marrying his bank account, not his personality.”

“And what happens if you start liking him?”

“I’ll book an appointment with a therapist.”

“Nadia.”

The concern in her friend’s voice softened Nadia’s smile.

“I know what I’m doing,” she said. “Six months. We follow the agreement, collect our separate benefits, and walk away.”

“Then promise me you won’t let him control your life.”

“I won’t.”

After the call, Nadia opened her laptop and returned to work.

She had survived her father’s business collapse, creditors who treated her like a criminal, and years of rebuilding her own career. She would not let a billionaire with a dangerous smile turn her into an accessory.

Her inbox chimed.

FROM: VEYNE GLOBAL LEGAL DEPARTMENT

SUBJECT: MARRIAGE AGREEMENT — REVIEW REQUIRED

The attached document contained thirty-seven pages.

Nadia opened it.

By page four, she was annoyed. By page nine, she was offended. By page fifteen, she was considering whether she could charge Roman for emotional damages.

The agreement gave him broad authority over their public appearances, residence, and security arrangements. It also included vague language about his right to make decisions concerning their shared household.

Nadia picked up her red pen.

“Absolutely not.”

She deleted the clause granting Roman final authority over her movements. She added provisions protecting her finances, legal practice, privacy, and right to refuse physical contact. She insisted on separate bedrooms and an unambiguous termination clause.

By the time she finished, the document looked as if it had survived a small war.

She sent it back.

Twenty minutes later, her phone rang.

Roman.

“Your legal team needs better lawyers,” she said by way of greeting.

“Good morning to you too, Nadia.”

“Your contract is a beautifully formatted attempt at kidnapping.”

A pause.

Then Roman laughed.

It was brief and low, but genuine enough to catch her off guard.

“k********g?” he asked.

“You want control over my movements, my residence, my schedule, and my public appearances. You forgot to include a clause requiring me to ask permission before using the bathroom.”

“I’m beginning to regret hiring you as my future wife.”

“Excellent. We’re making progress.”

“I assume you have objections.”

“I have replacements. I will keep my career, my money, and my independence. We will have separate bedrooms. Neither of us will touch the other without consent. And when the six months are over, neither party gets to sabotage the other’s exit.”

Roman was silent for a moment.

“You don’t trust me.”

“I don’t know you.”

“Fair distinction.”

“Also, I’m not one of your employees. You can’t manage me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Your contract suggests otherwise.”

“I’ll review your changes.”

“Have your lawyers review them. You seem emotionally attached to the original document.”

This time, she heard the smile in his voice.

“You’re always this difficult?”

“Only when people give me a reason.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

“Try not to send another thirty-seven pages of nonsense.”

She ended the call before he could respond.

Across the city, Roman lowered his phone.

He should have been irritated. Instead, he found himself smiling.

That was unacceptable.

She is ours.

Ares’s voice rumbled through his mind.

Roman’s smile vanished.

She is a human woman signing a contract.

She is our mate.

“Enough.”

Darius, standing near the office door, looked up. “Did you say something?”

“No.”

“You were speaking.”

“Then you heard nothing.”

Darius wisely kept quiet.

Roman moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Land stretched beneath him, busy and restless. He had built his company by recognising risks before they became problems. He had led the Blackthorn Pack by making decisions without hesitation.

Yet a handshake with Nadia Cole had unsettled him more than any hostile takeover.

The silver mark had appeared on her skin. Ares had recognised her instantly, with a certainty Roman could neither explain nor dismiss.

His wolf had not reacted that way to anyone before.

“Find out who she is,” Roman said.

“I already started,” Darius replied. “Her professional records are straightforward. She’s a divorce lawyer, six years in practice, no criminal history. Her father’s business collapsed a few years ago, leaving significant debts.”

“And her mother?”

Darius hesitated.

“That’s where it gets complicated.”

Roman turned.

“Explain.”

“Most of her mother’s records are incomplete. Some documents have been sealed, and the name listed on an older record is different from the one Nadia uses.”

“What name?”

“Mooncrest.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

Ares stirred, suddenly alert.

Moonborn.

Roman’s jaw tightened.

The Mooncrest bloodline had not been mentioned openly in Blackthorn territory for decades. The council treated it as a dangerous piece of history, something better buried than understood.

His father had warned him about it when Roman was young.

If the Mooncrest bloodline ever returns, do not let the council find them first.

At the time, Roman had assumed it was another one of his father’s cryptic warnings.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

“Keep investigating,” Roman said. “Quietly. I want the truth, but nobody else gets access to this information.”

“Not even the council?”

“Especially not the council.”

Darius nodded. “Understood.”

“And don’t approach Nadia about it.”

“Why not tell her?”

“Because I don’t know what this means yet.”

It was a reasonable answer.

It was also a lie, though Roman wasn’t ready to admit it.

He didn’t want to see fear in Nadia’s eyes. Not before he understood why the sight of her had awakened something inside him that had been silent for years.

---

By late afternoon, Nadia had approved most of the revised agreement.

She was preparing to leave when another email arrived.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT: COHABITATION BEFORE THE WEDDING

She read it twice.

Then she called Roman.

“Tell me this is a joke.”

“It isn’t,” he replied.

“You want me to move into your apartment before we get married?”

“Seven days before the ceremony. The board expects us to present a convincing picture of stability. The pack council has similar expectations.”

“Your board and your council sound exhausting.”

“They can be.”

“Then marry one of them.”

“Nadia.”

“Roman.”

“We need to appear comfortable around each other. Living separately until the wedding would make that harder.”

She stood and began pacing.

“You are asking me to move into a stranger’s home.”

“My home has several bedrooms.”

“That’s not the point.”

“You’ll have your own suite, with a private bathroom and a lock. Nobody will enter without your permission.”

She stopped pacing.

“And my work?”

“Unaffected.”

“My finances?”

“Separate.”

“My privacy?”

“Protected.”

“By whom? You?”

“By a security team that will answer to you regarding your personal movements and access to your suite.”

Nadia considered that. It was better than the original contract, though she still disliked the arrangement.

“One more thing,” she said.

“What now?”

“I need a car.”

“You have a car.”

“I have a machine that makes a noise like a dying lawn mower. Yesterday, it sounded as though it was trying to communicate with the dead.”

Roman was quiet.

Then he laughed again.

“You want me to buy you a car?”

“I want a reliable vehicle. You’re the billionaire. Use your imagination.”

“Send me your requirements.”

“Good. And I choose it myself.”

“Agreed.”

Nadia returned to her desk and studied the contract one last time.

Six months. Thirteen million dollars. Separate bedrooms. Her own career, money, and choices.

She could manage that.

She had negotiated difficult settlements before. Roman Veyne was simply another difficult client with too much money and an inflated sense of control.

At least, that was what she told herself.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll move in seven days before the wedding.”

“I’ll have everything prepared.”

“Make sure my suite has a proper desk. I work from home sometimes.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. Keep your wolf-sized ego out of my bedroom.”

Roman went silent.

Nadia frowned at her phone. “Are you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Good. Then we understand each other.”

She ended the call.

Roman stared at the screen long after it went dark.

She is coming home, Ares said.

“She’s moving into my penthouse.”

Our home.

Roman poured himself a drink and left it untouched on the desk.

He had agreed to a six-month marriage to protect his company and satisfy the council. Nadia had negotiated her independence, and he had accepted her terms because he needed this arrangement to work.

That was all.

But the Mooncrest name changed things.

If Nadia belonged to that bloodline, the council would not see her as an ordinary human woman. They would see her as a threat, a weapon, or something to control.

And if Ares was right about her being their mate, Roman had another problem entirely.

For the first time in years, he was afraid of what he might lose.

Protect her, Ares growled.

Roman looked out at the city lights.

“I will.”

He only hoped that, when Nadia discovered the truth, she would not become the one person he could never afford to lose.