The Alpha's Contract Bride

Chapter 20

Damon.

My gaze on Aria didn't falter, not even when her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She hadn't uttered a word yet, but I was well aware of the numerous questions that danced around in her eyes.

What were we going to do now? Were we going to get caught?

And the answer to all of those questions were; I had no idea. I had no idea what I was going to do, or what was going to happen next.

How had I even forgotten something so important? If I had remembered it earlier, then I would definitely found a way around it. Now, with the ball in just two days, what exactly was I going to do? Even a million years wasn't enough time to come up with a plan, and not just any plan; a full proof one.

Whatever I thought of had to wow everyone, and delete every trace of doubt in their hearts, especially mother. Even if every other person didn't care too much about the damned thing, there was no way she would relent.

“Damon.” Aria whispered, pulling me back to the present. “What are we going to do now?”

I had no idea. I didn't have so much as the faintest idea what we were going to do, and instead of coming up with a plan, I was busy ogling Aria.

Her blue eyes seemed to glitter under the chandelier hung high up on the ceiling. She was troubled, I could tell, but even that did nothing to dull her beauty one bit. Right now, she looked nothing less than a goddess in the form of a human and I couldn't be more glad that she was mine.

My wife.

Sometimes it still felt surreal that we were married. No matter the circumstances that surrounded our marriage, it didn't change how I felt about her.

Without thinking, I took another step towards her. A small hiss filled the room as she sucked in a mouthful of air. Her signature scent of lavender and cinnamon curled around her hair and body, before making its way into my nostrils. She smelled heavenly and I wanted nothing more than to devour her right this moment.

Something stirred in me and in a matter of time I'd recognized what it was. It was my wolf; Storm. Even he couldn't deny the attraction between us and right now, I wanted nothing more than to explore it.

“Aria.” I whispered. With a little tilt of my head, I pressed my lips close to her cheek, just good enough to nibble at her earlobe and send shivers down her spine . “Aria, I…”

“What are you doing?!” her palms flattened against my chest immediately, pushing me back. “What the hell do you think you're doing, Damon?!”

“What?” I chorused, just barely getting my footing on the ground. For a weak omega like mum always called her, she had a pretty strong grip. “Why did you push me?”

“What do you mean why?” She snapped, a small frown making its way to her lips. “What were you trying to do?”

“I was…” the rest of my words hung in my throat as she cut me off immediately.

“You were trying to kiss me!” She deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow as I waited for another reason of hers. There was no way she could have pushed me because of that, right? “How dare you?”

“How dare me?” I let out something that could pass as a scoff and a chuckle. “Really? So you can't let me kiss you, but I have every right to hold on to your waist and ram into you from behind.”

“Damon!.” Laughter bubbled at the base of my throat at her loud octave. “Can you just forget about it?”

“No.” I mouthed, low enough for just me to hear.

How could I? That night had made it to the list of the best things that had happened in my life and nothing was changing that.

“I already told you it was a mistake.” She murmured. “I would rather die than let it repeat itself.”

I froze at her words. Did she really mean that? Did she have any idea what she had just said at all? What effect was it going to have on me?

I stole one more glance at her. If the stoic expression she wore meant anything, I could easily deduce that she meant every single word that had just slid past her lips right now. Not only had she meant it, she'd wanted me to hear it too.

“What?” I let out again. I'd heard her quite clearly, but a tiny part of me couldn't help but want to confirm it. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me.” The defiance in her tone was condescending to say the least. Without thinking too much, I knew the cause of all of this and it made my blood boil.

Fucking Callum.

One would think that after getting married to Aria, he would finally leave us be, but I couldn't be more wrong. If anything, his presence seemed to linger around us more and more and I hated it.

I hated everything about that man and….

“.... did you hear me?” I stopped my rant mid way, just to tune back into Aria's conversation. “Don't ever try to kiss me again.”

“I wasn't.” I snapped and she flinched. “I was looking for a birthmark.”

“A birthmark?” Aria chorused. “Why?”

“Did you not hear what I'd just said?” a frown tugged on my lips immediately. “We're supposed to have a birthmark to show we're mates.”

“What if it's changed?” There was a hint of apprehension in her voice, and I wouldn't say I blamed her. “Perhaps, the customs have been rewritten since the last time it happened.”

“My mother and father did it.” I pursed my lips into a straight line. “And nothing has changed. It's been in our generation for years.”

“Where's your birthmark?” She asked. If I was being honest, there was no way I had seen that question coming. “ What's it like?”

“I have no idea.” I let out abruptly, too abruptly if you asked me. “I haven't checked.”

“What do you mean you haven't checked?” Aria raised an eyebrow. “Didn't you know you were going to be the alpha someday? Clearly you would have come across it some time…”

“No.” I cut her off immediately. A big reason why the birthmark issue skipped my mind was the story that surrounded it, and I wasn't in the mood for it. Not even in a million years.

“We have to check it out don't you think?” It was her turn to step closer now. “If I have an idea what your birthmark looks like, we would be able to come up with something.”

“Like what?” I practically growled. “What do you think you can come up with that will fool not just my parents but the entire pack?”

“Don't you dare use that tone on me.” The blue in her eyes didn't take too long to transform into blazing red orbs. “I'm trying to come up with a solution here and…”

“Well it's not helping so you can stop.” The shock that etched itself into her face wasn't one I would be forgetting anytime soon. “Stop with your useless ideas.”

“You claim my ideas are useless and yet you haven't brought anything else.” Aria's hands crossed over her bosom, a frown tugging at her lips. “You're pathetic.”

“No, I'm not.” I shook my head. “ You know what, I don't care.”

“What?”

“You heard me, I don't care.” I shrugged. “I don't care if everyone finds out we lied. What's the worst that could happen?”

“Your mum would find out that we lied.’” Aria shrieked, crossing off the first reason from her finger. “Your father too. The entire pack, and Callum…”

“Callum?” I cut her off immediately. “What does he have to do with this?”

“Everything!” It wasn't hard to notice the hint of desperation that laced her voice. “We're doing all of this because of Callum, and I can't let anything mess it up. Anything at all.”

“Really?” I couldn't believe my ears. How did she always manage to fit in that asshole into every issue we were discussing. “Out of all things to be bothered about, you're worried about him?”

“Yes.” She let out again. “What else could I be worried about?”

“My position, for one.” I spelt it out, like it wasn't obvious at the point. “Do you even care about that? My first act as the alpha would be to deceive my people. How do you think that would sound?”

“If I'm being honest with you.” She let out in a low octave. “I have no business with the outcomes of your actions.”

“What?” Time seemed to slow to a halt as I really took her words in. I felt the air in my lungs being knocked out of me immediately.

“Yes..” she nodded frantically. “That was the only reason I agreed to all of this in the first place. So that Callum can take me back. Why can't you just get that? it's like you enjoy me rubbing it in your face all the time.”

That was the problem. I didn't want to get it.

“Wow.” I mouthed. I made sure not to hide the disappointment in my tone and if the emotions flickering on and off Aria's face meant anything, it was the fact that she had caught on to it. “Just wow.”

“Damon, I…”

“Forget it.” I shut her down immediately. “You've made your point clear.”

“Damon.” She called. With just a glance at her, I made my way towards the door. “Where are you going?”

“To find help.” With an icy tendril in my voice, I told her what she needed to hear. “While you can worry about what Callum will say.”

And without so much as a last word, I headed out of my room, my mind reeling with a million and one thoughts.