The Alpha's Contract Bride

Chapter 13

Aria.

I stood rooted in my spot as I allowed it all to play in front of me. If I was being honest, my brain had frazzled out so much that I couldn't think of anything else to do than stand where I was. I know it looked bad, but instead of springing apart and trying to salvage the situation and failing miserably at it, I would rather not implicate myself any further. That was a good idea, right?

Right.

I hoped.

I swallowed the huge lump that had formed in my throat. My eyes darted around, but they didn't dare land on the face of the third party that had joined us unannounced. The embarrassment that had whipped me in the face was more than enough punishment. I felt my anxiety levels slowly climb to the top as my palms became sweaty. Controlling my breath became a hassle and I was sure if I spent ten more minutes in this situation, I was going to pass out.

Callum on the other hand, didn't seem to be bothered at all. His beady eyes bore into mine, and I swear, I could still see the anger in his eyes, challenging me to give him an answer to the question he'd asked before the interruption. His grip on my arm tightened a little bit and I whimpered, trying desperately not to get a word out.

Was he blind, and had suddenly gone deaf too? He was well aware of the person who had just joined us so why was he still holding on to me?

Yes, it was late and they might not have a good view of what was happening, but that didn't give him the right to still keep his hands on me. What if…

“I believe, I asked a question.” My ears perked up as the voice of our guest cut through my thoughts. I hadn't caught a glimpse of her face yet, but if her voice gave anything away, it was the fact that she was furious. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Ma'am.” I broke out of Callum's grip immediately. I wiggled my arm for a couple of seconds before he finally got the message. “Good evening ma'am. I actually, we didn't see you there…”

“Of course you didn't.” She bit back and I clamped my mouth shut. It wasn't unexpected of her to be this harsh, everyone knew the Luna of the pack didn't take excuses lightly. Most times, it didn't matter if you were right or wrong, so long as she didn't agree with you, it was simply an excuse. “How could you? Clearly, you were involved in other important things.”

Her gaze fell on Callum upon her last statement. It was late and the moonlight wasn't exactly an ideal source of light, but that did nothing to hide the anger and disgust nestling in her eyes. If looks could kill, then Callum's body would have been blown up by now.

“And you.” She turned to the man in front of me. “Did you not hear me?”

Callum said nothing, his gaze still trained on me. I had no idea which was worse; the murderous glare Damon's mother was throwing my way, or the fact that Callum had refused to take his gaze off my face.

“Callum!” She yelled again, obviously to catch his attention. “I'm talking to you and…”

“Ma'am.” he drawled, a lazy tone in his voice. Slowly, he whirred just to face her and I muttered a prayer of thanks to the goddess. “I honestly didn't see you there.”

“No one calls me that and you know it.” Damon's mother wasn't having it. “And don't try to play dumb with me. You know what I'm talking about.”

“We were simply talking ma'am.” Callum shrugged. “Are we not supposed to talk anymore?”

“In the dead of the night?” She shot back. “When everyone is asleep? What are you two discussing that can't be kept aside till in the morning?”

“I like to think she'll have a very busy schedule starting from tomorrow.” Callum stuffed his hand into his pocket and for a moment, I thought he was going to pull out another cigarette. “Seeing that she's now the Luna, she'll be very busy starting from tomorrow morning. Right, Aria?”

All eyes fell on me immediately and I pushed my gaze to the ground. Again, I didn't need to see her face to know she was furious. I hadn't seen the Luna in a while so I could only imagine what she was going through. First she had to walk in on her son's impromptu wedding and second, she had been overthrown, just like that.

If I were in her shoes, none of it would sit well with me either.

“Really?” She scoffed. “Is that what you think of yourself now? In case you don't know, I don't see your marriage to my son as anything….”

“Can someone explain to me what all the ruckus is all about?” My head jerked up immediately, just to see Damon stalking in. “What is going on here?”

A wave of emotions rushed through my mind at Damon's presence. A part of me was genuinely happy to see him. Over time, only Damon had successfully been able to calm him mother down whenever she was in a fit. Now that he was here, he could easily defuse the situation. On the other hand, I could already sense the tension crackling between Damon and Callum. I could bet my life that he hadn't seen Callum yet, otherwise, he wouldn't be so calm.

“Damon.” his mum dashed to her son's side immediately. “You came just in time. Just look.”

Damon's stoic expression became more visible as he stepped into the ring of light offered by the moon. Since the ceremony, he hadn't spoken to me, so I really wasn't sure what I was expecting.

“I caught her out here.” She pointed a finger at me, before moving it in Callum's direction. “With him, of all people.”

Silence settled amongst us immediately as both men took each other in. Callum looked nonchalant, like if he had a choice, he would nowhere near any of this drama. As for Damon, I couldn't exactly say the same.

“Aren't I allowed to some fresh air anymore?” Callum smirked. “Last time I checked, this wasn't your room.”

“Yes.” Damon let out. “ And I thought you had a house? What happened to it? Did your father finally realize how worthless you are and he kicked you out?”

“It's not that deep.” Callum chuckled, but it was far from humourous. “ Your ceremony finished late and your father asked me to stay in one of the guest rooms. Like I said, I only came to get some air. Aria, was the one who came on to me.”

“What?” My eyes widened as I chorused. What did he mean by that? Reverse was clearly the case, so how could he?

“Oh really?” My eyes darted to her side. If I was trying to be more accurate, my new mother in law’s side. “I just knew you would be in support of this. Damon, can you see what I told you earlier? While you were in bed, she had the guts to sneak out and….”

“She didn't sneak out.” Damon spoke out. He seemed to take me in for a couple of seconds before answering. “We were in the room together and she told me she was coming to get some fresh air and I told her to. I simply came to join her.”

“She was nowhere near your room when I walked in. “If there was anything I adored about Damon's mum, it was her persistence, even though she was being persistent in trying to paint me black. “So how did she…”

“She had already stepped out before you walked in.” I couldn't believe my ears. Wasn't Damon supposed to be mad at me, so why was he defending me? “I was supposed to go after her, but you came in.”

“Really?” Damon's mother wasn't the only shocked one. “I thought…”

“While this a very beautiful reunion.” Callum spoke up, cutting her short. For a moment, I'd actually forgotten he was still in our midst. “I think I'll be retiring to bed now.”

Callum's steps echoed in the night as he sidestepped Damon, just so he could walk through. He'd gone quite a distance when he turned.

“I almost forgot.” His voice was low, with a hint of something underneath. “Happy married life. I wish you both a happy union.”

And without waiting for so much as a response, he stalked off, his footsteps echoing in the night.

“Will you go to bed now, mum?” Damon sighed, visibly pleased that Callum was gone. “Everything is settled. Go to bed.”

“Our conversation isn't over.” I wasn't sure if her statement was more for me than Damon. But before I could dwell on it, Damon's hands wrapped around my wrist.

“Let's go.” He tugged at my arm and like a little child, I followed after him. “Good night, mom.”

I said nothing as I wordlessly followed Damon to where he was taking me to. I had no idea where, but I couldn't bring myself to ask. In just a matter of seconds, I froze as we arrived our destination. Damon opened the door to his room before gently ushering me inside. The moment he shut the door behind him, he pulled his hand from me.

“You should sleep here tonight.” He muttered as he slipped his shirt over his head. Instinctively, I spun, turning my back to him. The moment I did that, a memory cane to mind, causing my cheeks to heat up immediately.

Why was I hiding? I had basically seen him before, and by him, I meant all of him. Each and every part. He had even been inside me….

“Mum will definitely be on patrol and the last thing I want is for you to run into her.” The sound of clothes hitting the ground reached my ears and I blushed furiously. “So you can stay here. Take the other side of the bed and…”

“Damon?” I called out to him softly, cutting him off. With my back still turned to him, I continued. “Tonight is our wedding night, right?”

“Yeah?” I could sense the confusion in his voice. Even though I didn't have an idea of what I was hinting at, I continued anyway. “Is everything okay?”

“Most times, the couples usually have s*x on their wedding night.” I rushed the words out. “Are we?”

“It depends.” My blood ran cold and butterflies fluttered around in my belly. “What do you want to do?”

Shit. This was not what I was expecting.