Chapter 3: A Contract Marriage. - 1

ELIANA.

My grandmother used to tell me I was different since I was young. She'd sit me down when I felt so devastated and dispirited and tell me—"You're going to be okay" I'd like to think that she sounded a lot like my mother, she was the only thing I had that linked the both of us.

Grandma Abbey told me that I had her smile though, and the green in my mother's eyes. That she lived in me. I was five when I knew what the word abuse meant and on the cusp of turning eleven, my brother touched me for the first time. My whole life had been hell, how could Grandma say I was special—if this was special, I didn't want it.

She was the only one who didn't lay a finger on me but alas, I soon lost her. Everyone claimed that my grandma had lost her mind ever since the death of her daughter who was my mother. I didn't think she was crazy, so I knew it was just one of Sienna's ploys to get her out of the pack.

She had tirelessly tried with me, accusing me of rudeness and stealth and some of the most abhorrent things. She didn't get me out but Sienna was able to convince my father to lock my grandma away.

It was more painful that I didn't lose her to death but rather she was taken from me. Up until this very moment that I sat in that chair, her words were all that echoed in my ears—that I was special.

"What?" I lifted my eyes back to Alpha Eric, Denver's father who had presented to me a document that looked like a contract. It had been three weeks since my escape and for the most of it, I was welcomed in the Black Moon Pack. I rarely ever saw Denver himself but whenever he was close, it was more than enough to fill me with fear.

I knew I was indebted to him, he made sure I never forgot that but looking up, I didn't think I would have to pay back so soon, with myself. My body.

Denver hovered behind his father as I looked back and forth between them.

"You're going to marry my son." Alpha Eric's stoic voice was much louder than his son's. He was elderly with hair full of grey and an aura that could command an entire army. I didn't dare refute or say no, even though my heart leaped into the back of my throat.

My mind was racing but all I could do was bow my head in submission. If anyone had told me that the day would come when Malik Denver would be my husband, I would have laughed in their face. Never in a million years did I think this would ever happen. Maybe I was special...

There was a sparkle in his eyes as they met mine. This was what he meant when he told me I owed him. But looking at Denver's emotionless face, I wasn't even sure this was what he wanted.

Though he never said so himself, which was a lot worse. He'd not been so bad, maybe even caring for a little while but I know better than to fall for the playboy Alpha. His promiscuous tales were usually the gossip of the entire town and I'd picked up one too many things about him. There was such a time when I was so disgusted.

But now, the idea of being his bride didn't seem so bad. After all, I owed him my life since he saved me.

"It's merely a contractual union and after three weeks of closely monitoring you, I have deemed you perfect for him. You are nothing like your father and once you get fully healed, I'd arrange for the event" His father was well-spoken, although his voice was a tad bit frail.

All I saw was a chance to rid myself of the past and start a new life. It couldn't be worse than what I'd already been through, could it?

Blood rushed into my cheeks as I nodded. I was getting better now, my skin wasn't so deathly pale and my eyes weren't as yellow. The bruises on my arms and legs were healing. This was a better life.

Denver shot me an icy glare but a smile crept to the corner of my lips as I nodded. "I'll marry him." I agreed.

A few days passed and I walked the aisle in a flowing white dress, my whole life seemed to be a fairytale, and none of it felt real.

Denver was in a shiny black suit with a lavender lapel and he took my hands in his, sliding a ring across my fourth finger. His grip was tight but I made nothing of it.

No one else knew it was a contract marriage, they all believed the Alpha had found the right woman to tame him. I was covered in a lot of makeup to hide my bruises and scars, I'm not even sure they knew where I came from. Sometimes, I thought about how it was as though this was the very reason Denver saved me that night.

He suddenly grasped my waist, drawing me out of my thoughts. My eyes fixated into his dark green ones and a dangerous aura swept through the air. Before I knew what was happening, Denver kissed me.

My heart fluttered so much that it almost escaped from my throat. I inhaled his breath and felt the warmth of his skin. Denver tasted like a bad decision, a very bad one.

When he pulled away, his lips fell to my ears. "Put on a show." He whispered and I sucked in air through my nostrils.

Denver held my hands and I plastered a grin across my face as we walked out of there. It didn't feel real but the shiny diamond ring across my finger was a reminder that it was. In three weeks, I'd gone from being a slave to my pack to a future Luna in another.