Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 15 I Want To Announce The Marriage
“No. Maeve and I are in agreement on this. There’s nothing for me at home. For whatever reason, the relationship between my father and I have broken down and I do not get along well with my stepfamily. My stepmother and her daughter are very much alike.” “What about your mother?”
Ann gripped her hands tightly on her seat belt and scowled. She tried her best to hide the hostility from her voice, but some irritation still seeped out.
“She’s dead. I’m not ready to talk about it with you yet if you don’t mind Alpha.”
Adam glanced sideways at her and nodded again, slowly. “And your friend at the cafe?” He questioned casually. “Oh, that’s Lexi. I’ve known her since school. She’s not affiliated with any packs.”
“A rogue? Lone wolf?” Adam questioned curiously. “No,” Ann answered simply.
She didn’t want to go into too much detail because she knew the reputation that Daemon hybrids had. The Pack’s hated them because of their ancient ties with sorcery and witchcraft. Although the contracts that used to be forged were long since broken, the bad feeling towards the race was still prevalent.
Ann would prefer for Lexi to be understood for the person she was, not influenced by an outdated grudge. Adam sighed lightly and shifted in his seat.
“I’m only asking so I know what to expect Ann. For this to work, we’re going to have to put on a united front. I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s going on.” He said calmly.
“Right. Sorry. I didn’t know he was going to turn up at the cafe though, and I certainly didn’t expect that you would be the person collecting me.” Ann answered a little sulkily.
Adam chuckled.
“It’s okay. I doubt very much that he’s going to bother you again for at least a little while. You did reject him though, right?”
“My side of the bond is broken. He’s refused to accept the rejection though, so he still shares a link with me.” Ann grimaced.
Adam was silent for a long time before they turned into a side road.
“I didn’t think that having you collected by my pack members would help either of us if word got out, so I came instead thinking that I would be able to explain it away as a friendship. However…” He paused, pulling into the side of the road and bringing the car to a stop.
“I don’t think for a minute that the original plan will work for long. There are too many people that know what I’m doing and when I’m going to do it, long before I’ve even made my mind up.” He sighed as I tilted his head back in his car seat.
Ann greedily drank in the sight of his chiseled jawline and his thickly muscled neck. This man was truly a work of art and she was unable to stop Maeve’s thoughts that fuelled her uncharacteristic desire towards this man.
“Look, I know we were going to keep this marriage under wraps for the time being but I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want anyone to have anything on us that they can potentially use to gain an advantage. I won’t move forward with this unless you’re absolutely comfortable though.” He said, holding Ann’s gaze seriously.
“What exactly are you wanting to do?” Ann asked almost breathlessly, her mind running away with possibilities as Maeve added her own, sordid ideas into the mix.
“I want to announce the marriage, but keep the contracted part hidden. I had originally intended for you to have separate rooms from my own but I want to ensure that this marriage at least appears believable to any outsiders.”
“O… okay.” Ann stammered hesitantly.
“That means sharing a bed with me too…” He said slowly, keeping hold of her gaze.
“Fine. But we get separate duvets… and I want a queen size duvet to myself.” Ann demanded quickly.
Adam leaned back a little and looked her over appraisingly.
“You really have no objections?” He asked dubiously.
“Look, I’m contracted to marry you, right? I’ll be by your side as your Luna for at least the next 5 years and quite honestly, the more people believe it, the less likely they are to cause problems for me. I will warn you though Alpha, you agreed for me to be Luna of this pack, which means I have an equal say in how things are done.”
Adam frowned slightly.
“Traditionally, Alpha’s and their Luna’s have separate responsibilities… ”
“They do. If that’s the way you want to run things then so be it. I will warn you though, if I don’t have a say in how you do things, then you can leave any arrangements that I make alone too.”
Adam looked momentarily taken aback at her boldness but he could see her reasoning. Ann was most definitely not like any woman he had encountered before. His persona didn’t seem to phase her, nor did his reputation. He quickly recovered his composure and allowed a faint smile to play at the corners of his mouth.
“Very well, princess. I will accept this as a condition.” He said with a smirk as he leaned forward to turn the key in the ignition again.
Ann huffed and scowled at him fiercely.
“I might be a princess by birth, but don’t expect me to sit by quietly and do as I’m told, Alpha.”
Adam chuckled.
“I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I thought you would, princess.” He grinned as he hit the accelerator and sped off down the dirt road, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.