The Alpha's Contract Bride

Chapter 8

Damon.

Insane. She was insane and totally out of her mind. If I was being frank, those two words were no where doing justice to what I thought of her. Just how? How could she even think like that?

I pressed my eyes shut and the first thing I saw where her blazing red eyes. I always thought her blue eyes were beautiful, because it always had this cool shade whenever I was around her. But last night, I'd seen something different. Someone entirely different.

I had an inkling that announcing her as my Luna without telling her first might cause a little friction, but I never expected her to go full out on me. And all because of what? Or more accurately, all because of who? Callum.

No matter how hard I tried, he always got under my skin. And worst of all, he did it even without knowing. Now, Aria had joined his clique and the only reason she was against me announcing it, was because of f*****g Callum.

Who did she think she was? I'm the alpha's son and he's a common beta! He was no match for me and could never be, and yet she had the guts to confront me, simply because my announcement made him mad?

Fuck.

I headed to the nearest counter and grabbed a drink. Without warning or at least checking out the label, I popped it open and filled the glass in front of me. I fumed as the liquid disappeared down my throat in just a gulp, so I did the next reasonable thing: I poured myself another.

“Hey!” Lucien's voice resonated around the empty hall. In no time, he was in front of me, his hand wrapped around my glass. “That's enough.”

“Let go.” For someone who didn't work out as much as I did, he had an iron grip. “Let go of my glass.”

“No way, Damon.” Lucien wasn't budging. “You've had enough to drink in the space of last night and this morning. Since when did you suddenly become an alcoholic?”

“Lucien.”

“Damon.” Lucien mimicked my exact same tone. “That authoritative s**t you do won't work with me. Now let go of the glass.”

I resisted the urge to curse as I reluctantly let go of the glass. I muttered under my breath as Lucien pulled the drink and glass beside him, a good distance away from me.

“What are you doing here?” I mused. “The party's over.”

“And yet you're still around.” Lucien shot back. “If you'd told me earlier about your drinking problem, I would have already found a solution by now.”

“I don't have a drinking problem.” I hissed. “Just a human problem.”

“You're not married yet and you're already having couple issues.” Lucien chortled with a snicker. “This is why I'm still single.”

“I wasn't talking about Aria.” A sigh slid past my lips. “I mean, she's not entirely free but….Wait, you were listening in?”

“Uhhhh.” Lucien drawled, a guilty look on his face. “What do you mean by listening?”

“You're pathetic.” I hissed. “Haven't you heard of privacy?”

“We're best friends.” Lucien shrugged with a smile. “That word doesn't exist between us.”

“Yes, it does and….”

“....maybe.” Lucien cut me off immediately. “But that does nothing to help with the problem at hand. What's wrong?”

“f*****g Callum.” His name tasted like bile on my lips and it made me wonder how she always called out to him so lovingly.

“Do I sense some kind of love triangle here?” I shot my best friend a glare and he cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, I was only joking. She didn't want you announcing it?”

“No, because it made Callum mad.” I scrunched up my face in pure mockery as I tried my possible best to mimic Aria's tone from earlier. “You shouldn't have done that without Callum's permission….”

“My permission for what?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear. I clenched my fists by my sides as the sound of Callum's footsteps coming closer reached my ears. Even when he'd gotten close, I still didn't open my fists. “I didn't realize I was being discussed.”

“I assure you, it's not important.” Lucien spoke up, and if I was being honest, it was probably for the best, because I had no idea what I was going to say to him that wouldn't result in a fight. “Useless actually, if you ask me.”

“Then why discuss it?” Callum tone was harsh, his tone insinuating something I wasn't going to think about. Yet. “Unless, it's not as useless as you take it to be.”

“We were just doing discussing the events of last night.” Lucien was quick to intervene, again. “The party was a success if you ask me ….”

“With a surprise I didn't see coming at all.” Despite Lucien's efforts to control the conversation, Callum always came back to me, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I suppose congratulations are in order, right Damon?”

“I guess so.” I smiled smugly. “The announcement was my best part of the night if you ask me.”

“Of course.” I watched as Callum mirrored my smirk. “I totally understand the thrill of being with someone new. Did the spark already die down in your previous relationship?”

“Watch it.” I snapped, sooner than I'd expected. “Watch your tongue, Callum.”

“Did I hit a sore chord?” Yes he did, but was I going to let it show? We'd just have to find out. “You have to believe me, it wasn't my intention.”

“Perhaps.” I nodded once, twice as I took him in. He still had his clothes from last night but somewhere along the line he'd probably dropped the suit jacket. “But I do believe it's better than shattering a woman's heart, for no just reason.”

“That's an accusation, if I've ever heard anything like that.” Callum's chuckle rumbled deep in his chest. “I did no such thing.”

“You rejected Aria.” The words were already out of my mouth before I'd realized my blunder. He wasn't supposed to know I was aware. “Or something like that, that's why she didn't bring you to the party as her plus one, or you either.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about, but I can bet you Aria isn't heartbroken.” He grinned. “If anything, I would say she was rather enthralled with my company last night.”

“What do you mean…..”

“She just couldn't stop laughing.” Rage nipped at my skin as he drowned on. “And even her body yearned for my company too. Every word I let out was capable of eliciting at least goosebumps on her skin and…..”

“I think that's more than enough.” Lucien stepped in. “Would anyone care for a drink?”

“I'll pass thank you.” I let out through gritted teeth, my eyes still trained on Callum. “I think I've already had one too much for today.”

“Exactly.” Callum chimed. “We wouldn't want the crown alpha dying or developing a drinking problem later in the future now, would we?”

“Not at all.” My jaw ticked. “If you'll excuse me, I have to go see my father. Do have a nice day.”

And those were my parting words to Callum as I stalked in the opposite direction.