Contract Luna

Elara’s POV

Profound shock still aggressively rippled in my wounded heart as I stood hidden entirely in the deep, cold shadows of the courtyard, watching Kaelen and his elite entourage completely dismiss Conrad and leave the square. The heavy, rhythmic thud of their boots faded into the night, leaving me trembling in the darkness. Why in the Goddess's name would Alpha Kaelen, universally known as the world’s strongest Alpha and a notorious, unrepentant playboy, forcefully and publicly demand for me? My mind raced frantically, trying to make sense of the utter chaos. We had only ever officially met once at my college graduation years ago, where I distinctly remembered him watching me from afar. He hadn't just looked at me; he had stared with a dark, burning intensity, watching me like I was his prime, delectable prey.

Pushing that highly distracting, heated thought aside, I forcefully grounded myself in reality. I deeply knew I urgently needed to confront my cheating husband, but I absolutely refused to face him looking like a pathetic, broken victim. The dirty hospital rags clinging to my battered frame were a humiliating reminder of what I had just survived, and I wouldn't give Conrad or his mistress the satisfaction of seeing me so destroyed. Moving quietly to avoid the roaming guards, I snuck through the estate's rear servants' entrance and hurriedly navigated the familiar stone corridors until I found my fiercely loyal maid, Marlowe.

She turned around, immediately dropping the linens in her hands. Gasping in absolute horror at my bruised state, her hands flew to cover her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. There was no time for explanations. She quickly drew a warm bath, gently helping me wash away the dirt, dried blood, and the lingering stench of the forest. Once I was clean, she hurried to my closet and pulled out a breathtaking, clinging silver backless dress. The luxurious silk slid over my skin, highlighting every curve of my body and dipping dangerously low in the back. Marlowe elegantly styled my damp hair, pinning fresh, fragrant white lilies into the golden strands. The natural floral scent floated around me, heavy and sweet. Looking intensely into the full-length mirror, a painful realization violently washed over me: I had foolishly sacrificed my true, radiant, and fierce self for a one-sided marriage that had ultimately failed me. I used to be confident. I used to turn heads. I had buried that woman to be a compliant Luna, and look where it got me.

With my chin held high and my heart hardened into ice, I gracefully descended the grand staircase to the main banquet hall. The glittering crystal chandeliers cast a bright light over the lavishly dressed guests, but my eyes locked onto the small group at the top of the landing. I found Conrad, Lilith, and the stern Pyrewood Enclave elders engaged in a frantic, hushed discussion. Lilith was already sobbing into her delicate hands, putting on a sickening, Oscar-worthy performance as she pretended to fiercely worry about my sudden disappearance.

"I just hope she's safe," Lilith whimpered, her voice dripping with fake innocence, sickly hoping out loud that I would be happy for their rapidly upcoming engagement. "Do you think she'll be happy for us when she comes back, Conrad?"

"Conrad!" I called out, my voice ringing with cold, piercing authority over the quiet murmurs of the hall.

He violently spun around. Utter shock and undeniable, deep-seated lust warred aggressively in his dark eyes as his gaze hungrily raked over my stunning appearance. His jaw slacked, taking in the clinging silver fabric and the bare skin of my back, completely forgetting the crying woman clinging to his arm.

"Elara..." he breathed out, completely mesmerized. "Where have you been? You look amazing."

"You are marrying her?" I asked shakily, ignoring his twisted compliment, my voice dripping with icy accusation.

Lilith immediately stepped forward, her pale face twisting into a mask of pure panic. She quickly tried to play the innocent, concerned peacemaker, reaching a trembling hand out toward me. "Elara, don't blame Conrad. We were all so worried about you—"

My furious gaze snapped sharply to her, cutting her off instantly. "Worried? You hit me with a heavy truck! You’re a cold-blooded murderer!"

The surrounding elders gasped loudly in pure shock, their eyes darting between me and the weeping mistress. The music in the hall seemed to stop entirely. Without giving Lilith a second to defend her vile actions, I meticulously detailed how she had ruthlessly run me down, how she had callously ordered my broken body dumped deep in the freezing woods to be buried and forgotten. I forcefully demanded they immediately check the exterior surveillance footage outside my office building to prove every single word I said.

Conrad frowned deeply, gesturing sharply to a nearby guard. The panicked guard rushed out of the hall immediately. We stood in a suffocating, heavy silence for agonizing minutes until the guard returned, sweating and nervous. He swallowed hard before reporting that there was absolutely no record of any accident. The tapes were completely clean.

My mind went entirely blank. A cold dread settled in my stomach. Lilith had completely erased the footage.

"Enough of these wild lies!" Conrad growled fiercely, his earlier lust instantly replaced by defensive anger. He aggressively stepped forward to shield his weeping mistress from my supposed insanity, glaring at me as if I were the monster.

Seizing the perfect, chaotic moment to secure her victory, Lilith let out a high-pitched, agonizing wail about her ruined innocence and pure intentions. "I can't take this humiliation! Only death can prove my innocence!" she screamed. Before anyone could grab her, she violently dashed herself sideways against a solid marble pillar. She collapsed to the polished floor as thick, red blood immediately began pouring from a nasty gash on her forehead.

"Lilith!" Conrad roared in sheer panic. He desperately caught her limp body, cradling her bleeding head against his chest. He turned his head to glare at me with unbridled fury, his eyes flashing with his Alpha wolf's rage. "Lilith wants to kill herself because of your accusations! Are you happy now? When did you become so completely heartless and cold?"

Thick, burning tears welled in my eyes as the sheer, suffocating injustice of it all crushed my chest. My voice cracked, but I forced the devastating truth out. "This evil woman tried to hit me with a vehicle... She brutally killed my unborn child!"

I expected him to freeze. I expected a flicker of grief for the pup we had created. Instead, Conrad's subsequent sneer completely broke whatever tiny, pathetic fraction remained of my mate-bond heart.

"You are absolutely crazy!" he spat viciously, his face twisted in absolute disgust. "If anything, I'm genuinely glad that our kid wasn't born! At least he wouldn't have a crazy, psychotic woman as his mother!"

The words struck me harder than the heavy truck ever could. Utterly numb and suffocating in a freezing ocean of cold disappointment, I turned on my silver heels to leave. I didn't care about the gasping elders or the staring guests. I completely ignored Conrad suddenly realizing he went too far, his voice cracking as he called out desperately for me to come back. I just needed to escape the toxic air of this cursed pack.

I pushed through the heavy wooden doors and stumbled out into the cool night air. I barely made it to the heavy iron gate before the agonizing physical toll of my hidden injuries and my completely broken heart finally caught up to me. My vision blurred wildly, and my shaky legs gave out completely, sending me plummeting toward the hard cobblestone.

Before I could hit the ground, a large, incredibly warm hand suddenly shot out from the shadows and firmly caught my bare arm. It was Alpha Kaelen.

He effortlessly pulled me upright, his towering frame shielding me from the cold wind. The golden light of the grand chandelier spilling from the estate windows painted his incredibly handsome, sharp profile in a mesmerizing hue. His glowing emerald eyes locked intensely onto mine, overwhelmingly dominant, protective, and deeply possessive. He didn't look at me with pity; he looked at me like I belonged to him.

"Luna Elara," he murmured softly.

His deep, vibrating voice sent a sudden, intensely intoxicating jolt of raw electricity straight through my entire body. It bypassed my broken heart and went straight to my core. There was a sharp, sudden, tingling heat pulsing deeply between my thighs, a heavy, wet ache that made my breath hitch violently in my throat. Panicked by the overwhelming, undeniable physical reaction my body had to this dangerous Alpha, I quickly, breathlessly withdrew my hand from his fiery grip, my heart pounding erratically against my ribs.

"Elara! Stop!" Conrad's furious, jealous protests echoed loudly from the estate doors behind me, but I completely ignored my shouting husband.

"Can I have a private word with you before you leave?" Kaelen asked, his request surprisingly polite despite the terrifying power radiating off him in thick waves.

I hesitantly agreed, desperate to get away from Conrad's incoming rage. Without another word, Kaelen gently placed a large, commanding hand on the small of my bare back. The heat of his palm burned through my skin as he led me away from the chaotic party and straight to his luxurious executive suite in the private guest wing. The heavy oak doors clicked shut behind us, completely sealing us in and blocking out the rest of the world.

His dark, alluring masculine scent—a heady mix of cedar, spice, and raw alpha dominance—heavily clouded my fragile senses, making my head spin dizzily. I nervously took a seat across from him at the small table, silently pressing my legs together to combat the lingering heat pulsing low in my belly.

His incredibly intense, possessive gaze never once left mine as he sat down across from me. He didn't offer empty condolences or ask about my injuries. Instead, he slowly, deliberately slid a thick legal document across the polished mahogany table until it rested right in front of me.

"This is a binding contract," he said, his voice low, commanding, and utterly serious in the quiet room. "I want you to be my Luna for a year after you officially divorce Conrad."