The Alpha's Contract Bride

Chapter 10

ARIA.

I was in deep trouble. Knee deep trouble. You know the kind of trouble where no matter how hard you tried to be optimistic, there was literally no way for anything good to come out of it? That was the kind of trouble I was in and more.

My heart thundered in my chest which each step I took. The more I pressed my feet against the ground and tried to push myself farther, the more I faltered. My breaths were ragged and I wouldn't be surprised if I passed out anytime soon, but even if I did, I'd deserve it.

All my life, I'd always had a knack for testing nature, fate, literally anything that was out of my control. My mum always said it would get me into trouble one day but I never believed her, until now.

My feet hurt as I ran. The night was dark, and all of a sudden, all the stars were no longer visible. A chilly wind nipped at my skin and tossed my hair around, but that wasn't going to stop me. I had to get to Damon. I had to get to the venue. Fast.

Beads of sweat lined my forehead and dripped down my neck and face when I finally stopped and I only stopped when something reached my ears. I heaved a sigh of relief and pain as the low din of drums and music filtered the air.

I made it. I hoped.

My bones hurt as I dragged my feet down the hill. As I took a descent to the other side, I caught a good view of the river shore. Since generations past, every ceremony that was important in the werewolf culture had always been performed around this river and apparently, this one wasn't going to be an exception too.

The many decorations took my mind off the searing pain in my bones and the burning sensation underneath my feet. I wouldn't even be surprised if I'd worn out the sole of my slip-ons.

String lights hung from one pole to another, creating the illusion of little fireflies dancing in the night. Flamed torches lit the grounds, making the night even brighter. Loud cheers and applauds pierced the night sky as children giggled and dancers flaunted their skills. It was the ceremonial dance, but it still intrigued and enthralled everyone every time it was performed.

“Aria? I turned to the direction my name came from. “Is that you? Where have you been?”

“Uh..” I stuttered, trying desperately to remember his name. Damon had mentioned it a couple of times but I still couldn't recall it. “You're …Oliver… Lucien, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded, a bit frantically. “But I can assure you my name isn't the most important thing right now.”

“Is something wrong?” A part of me didn't want to hear the answer to that question because I already knew. Yes, there was a problem and I was the cause. “Is something wrong?”

“I don't think it's my place to say…” my heart dropped at Lucien's answer. What had Damon done? No, what had I done?. “Have you seen Damon?”

“No.” I gulped. Anxiety swirled in my belly as sweat lined my palms. “lucien, is something wrong? You can tell me….”

“I'll take you to him.” Was all I got. Before I could get any more words out, Lucien was already on his way, leaving me behind.

“Wait!” I called after him. Jolts of pain shot up my leg as I tried to catch up to him . All around me, the celebration raged on, but I couldn't bring myself to care. The details might be vague, but I knew nothing good could come out of all of this.

Shit.

“There he is.” Lucien announced before stoping abruptly. If I wasn't slow on my feet, I would have bumped right into him. “Just take it easy, and good luck.”

“Lucien, wait….” He was already out of sight before I could get anymore words out. “Great.”

I'd barely had any time to muse, before realization set in. I was alone, with Damon. Fear nipped at my skin as the wind rustled by, sending a shiver down my spine. We were in an open field and on another side of the river, but I was very well aware of his presence, and even though he had his back to me, I could tell he was mad. No, furious.

“Damon?” My voice was soft, barely existent over the roar of the wind. My ears buzzed as the wind rustled by, tossing the hem of my garment around. “Damon, can you hear me?”

Silence. I felt my heart drop to my feet. My heart picked up its pace as I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“Damon.” He could hear me, I knew he could but for some strange reason, he'd decided to not grant me an audience. “Damon, please listen to me. I can explain after and…”

“Do you still want to get married?” His question caught me off guard. Like a confused pufferfish, I opened my mouth and closed it again. Suddenly, it felt like I'd lost the ability to make any words, talk less of a correct sentence. Damon must have noticed my hesitation because the tone in which he asked his next question was far from friendly. “Do you still want to get married, Aria?”

“Damon.” This was the first time I was seeing him like this. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Damon mad before. Callum, yes. I'd seen Callum furious a couple of times and…..

What was I doing? Why was I thinking about Callum when he was the sole reason I was in this mess in the first place?

“I'm going to ask you one last time.” Damon's voice broke through my chain of thoughts. It sounded more like a threat than anything, but a huge part of me wasn't ready to find out if he would actually go through with it. “Are you still interested in this wedding or not?”

“Yes.” I rushed out my answer in one breath. It wasn't like I had any other options prior, but with what had happened tonight, I wasn't sure I could trust myself not to mess it up again. “Yes, I'm still interested. Now will you listen to me….”

“Let's go.” Damon's voice was cold, and before I could get any more words out, he turned his back to me and headed in the other direction. “We don't have all night.”

“Damon, wait.” I called after him. But no matter how hard I yelled, they all fell on deaf ears.

Without a choice, I trudged after Damon as he headed to the heart of the party.

Only when he'd arrived at a raised platform did Damon stop, and the moment my gaze landed on the white daisies and flowers that decorated the huge arch at the end of the aisle did it dawn on me. This was really happening.

I was getting married.

My eyes scoured the crowd as Damon walked forward, just stopping underneath the arch. Right next to him was one of the elders of the pack. It was his duty to officiate the ceremony, if you could call it that.

By my side, important guests had taken their seats, ranging from wolves that held the highest positions to the lowest ones. From here, I could even make out Damon's father on his seat.

Slow music reached my ears, pulling me out of my reverie and like I was under some sort of hypnosis, I put a leg in front of the other, the end of the aisle my only destination.

As I walked and walked, I did a cursory glance at the guests, until I locked eyes with a particular person.

Callum's black eyes pierced into mine and I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said I could make out the mockery in them. I was sure they meant something more, but there was no time for that now. I was at the altar already.

“Now that you both are here.” The elder started with a smile. “Let's begin.”

“Let's get this over with.” Damon snapped, not bothering to hide the scowl on his face. “The earlier the better.”

A gash slashed at my heart, but I ignored it, pushing the pain to the back.

“Today, we are gathered here to witness the joining of two hearts and the beginning of one journey.” The elder’s voice boomed around. “Today, we're here to witness the union of two hearts in love.”

Damon scoffed out loud. Too loud if you asked me.

“Damon.” He turned to him immediately. “Do you take Aria Delaney to be your Luna, to be your guide in…”

“Yes.” Damon's tone was curt and icy and even the elder wasn't spared from his wrath. “Yes, I do.”

“Very well then.” The elder chuckled awkwardly as he turned towards me. “Do you take Damon, to be your husband and alpha, to rule by his side and fulfill all of your duties?”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Now, you may exchange the ceremonial garlands.” Loud whoops and cheers erupted at the elder’s orders. Two white garlands appeared in I and Damon's grips almost immediately.

Cautiously, I leaned into Damon before gently tossing the garland over his head. Even with the distance that stood between us, it wasn't enough to hide the rage that emanated from his body. Even his eyes held nothing but fury towards me.

I gulped as I waited for my turn and like he didn't have a care in the world, he tossed his garland towards me so hard it almost dropped to the floor.

“Now, I pronounce you Alpha and Luna!”

As the cheers crew louder, a thought popped up in my head; were we supposed to kiss? This wasn't a real marriage, but was I supposed to explain it to them? How was I going to….

“And with whose blessings might that be?” Someone called from behind.

I'd always heard a rumor that if a wedding wasn't interrupted by some hilarious shenanigans, it wasn't a real one.

But as a foreign voice boomed around us and the huge gasps that followed suit, I wondered if that rumor could apply to this wedding too.

Who the hell was that?