The Alpha's Contract Bride

Chapter 15

Aria.

My heart thudding loudly in my chest was the only sound I could hear in the entire room. I had no idea whom to lay the blame on; if it was on my heart that had refused to go back to its normal pace, or the huge hall I was in that was basically making everything echo all around.

I wanted to get out of here, fast.

It didn't matter what I wanted, the truth remained that no matter how badly I wanted it, nothing was going to change. At least, not until we'd met the Alpha.

Damon and I had come to see his father. Today, I would be officially introduced as Damon's wife and the new Luna. Usually, these things were done before the marriage, but since I and Damon's marriage wasn't exactly conventional, I guess nothing else was supposed to follow the laid out protocols.

I sucked in a mouthful of air, as I wrung my fingers and played with them on my lap. I'd been doing that for the past hour now and still no sign of Alpha Kieran or Damon. Damon had left a couple of minutes ago to go and look for him. Right now, I was currently waiting for both of them in the large hall where the Alpha usually met with important people for meetings and all of that.

“Good day, alpha.” The sound of someone's voice at the door was all it took me to jerk up my head. “ I would like to see you and discuss…”

The rest of his words faded into silence as his gaze fell on me. Something twinkled in his eyes and I shivered.

What was he doing here?

“Aria.” Callum chorused as he walked inside. His footsteps echoed with each step he took and I blindly followed. “It's a surprise seeing you here.”

“I, um.” I stuttered. I still had no idea why I seemed to lose my voice when he was around me. It made no sense. “ I'm here to see the Alpha.”

“Oh.” He paused, his mouth forming into the shape of the letter O. After a couple of seconds, he walked towards me, a cocky smile on his lips. “I was just about to ask why, but I guess that's not necessary. You're the Luna now aren't you? So you get to see the alpha anytime you choose.”

“Callum…” the rest of my words hung in my throat as he cut me off.

“Pardon me, my Luna.” Callum bowed,his other hand going to the small of his back. If there was anything I'd picked up from his little gesture, it was obvious he was mocking me. “I almost forgot my manners for a moment there.”

“Callum, stop.” If there was anyone who made me feel guilty about all of this , it was him. And I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about it. “Why are you acting like this?”

“I'm the one who's acting?” Callum's laugh was shallow. “Says the person who literally got married in the space of days.”

“I. I..” I swallowed the huge lump that had formed in my throat. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, Callum was still right.

“Has the cat got your tongue now?” Callum was livid. “Come on, I'm waiting for your filthy excuse. I'm listening.”

“Callum, you have to believe me, it wasn't my doing.” I blinked a couple of times, willing the tears to stay where they were. “I know how this looks like , but I swear you have to trust me.”

“Trust?” Callum cackled and I winced. “You want me to trust you? After all you've done? You're literally another man's wife right now.”

Yes, all of that was true but why couldn't Callum just understand that I had a reason for doing that. Couldn't he see that….

“You're nothing but a whore.” My eyes shot open at those words. Instead of the once calm Callum I had fun with for four years, I was met with a blazing red monster who exuded nothing but anger. “A gold digger and nothing more. You probably thought, Damon was better than me so you decided to go to him instead. Not only did you go to him, you even had him marry you.”

“It's not like that.” I croaked. “You have to believe me. I didn't have a choice. It was either this or Damon….”

“What happened to Damon?” He cut me off. “What does he have to do with this?”

I pressed my mouth shut immediately.

Panic swirled at the pit of my stomach as I tried to figure out the next step. There was no way Callum would calm down unless I told him the truth. Maybe if I did, he would finally understand that I didn't have a choice and I was only trying to help Damon.

“Fine, I'll tell you why I did it “ Without thinking about it too much and before I would talk myself out of it, I blurted out those words, the exact same time Callum let out the words. “Answer me!”

“Tell me what?” Callum cooed after the silence that followed after. It was shocking how the intensity in his voice seemed to tone down a bit in just a couple of seconds. “What do you want to tell me?”

“I didn't want to marry Damon in the first place.” My voice echoed as Callum listened with rapt attention. “I only got married to him because…”

“Because what?” Another voice interrupted us. The moment I recognized who it was, I froze. “Aria?”

I said nothing as more footsteps reached my ears. Call me crazy, but I could swear I heard Callum mutter a string of curses underneath his breath. Without turning back, I already knew who it was. From the way the sole of his shoes slid against the tiles, you could tell he was furious.

“Aria.” Damon grabbed me by the arm before turning me to face him. He was livid and his eyes did a good job in portraying that. “What were you about to do?!”

“Nothing.” The tiny way I let the word slip past my mouth wasn't convincing at all. “Nothing, I was just telling him…”

“The reason she got married to you.” Callum stepped in. With the way each man squared their shoulders, I wouldn't be surprised if a huge fight broke out here and now. “Can't I ask?”

“No.” Damon snapped. “If you have nothing else to discuss, I'd suggest you leave. Now.”

Callum's gaze darted from me to Damon and back to me again. Without so much as a word, he stalked out, his footsteps echoing in the distance.

“What the hell was that all about?” Damon wasn't having it. He was angry and I could feel the rage radiating from him. “What were you about to do just now?”

“Nothing, I…” I stuttered incoherently. I'd been caught and there was no way around it. “I just…”

“Were you really going to tell him?” He snapped. “If I hadn't walked in, you would have just told him everything?”

“Damon, I…”

“Are you mad?” Damon blared. From the corner of my eyes, I caught the hand by his side shaking uncontrollably. “Did you even think about it first? The consequences? What do you think would have happened if you told him? That he would take you back? In case you forgot, we're doing this so you can get back at him. I still don't understand how you want to do that if you keep on surrounding him like a moth to a flame.”

“Just listen to me and you'll understand..”

“No, you listen to me.” I pressed my mouth shut. “My coronation ceremony is tomorrow, and by rights and rituals, you're meant to be there. If I so much as hear or see you with Callum again, the deal’s off.”

“What?” My blood ran cold immediately. My lungs felt dry and I found myself gasping for air. I did all of that and more, but nothing could distract me from dwelling on damon's next words.

“If you so much as blink at the damned man.” Damon's voice sent shivers down my spine. “We're done.”

Shit, what was I going to do now?