CONTRACT-BOUND DESIRE: A STRIPPER AND HER ALPHA

SAGEThis was my world. And it knew me by a different identity entirely. Nightshade. Marcus passed me the glass of gin, it had the colour of urine and… remarkably tasted even worse, but it was useful. "We have very important people present today, Shade. I need you to bring your A-game."I sighed and clipped the strap of my mask in place. "I always bring my A-game, Marcus. It's why I'm your star attraction."His eyes flicked over my cleavage for a quick second."I know, I know. But..." He leaned closer. "With the caliber of men we are hosting tonight? You have to sweep them off their feets, intrigue them with your costume, captivate them with your legs wrapped around that pole, and lastly… if they want a private dance—""No.""Shade...."I shook my head."No, Marcus." I couldn't even believe he was saying this, knowing fully well how the last "private dance" ended. With my heel through the arm of a pervert who had believed that he owned every dancer on the pole just because his

SAGE What was worse than an annoying customer?The Flu. And right now, I was facing both situations. I coughed up into my napkin, a thick gunky goo that smelled all wrong. "I want my coffee with extra milk."I looked up at the cranky shabby dressed woman holding a gun. "You'll have to pay for an extra scoop ma'am."She slammed her hand on the counter, making the tip jar rattle. "I've been coming to this dump for five years. You're telling me I have to pay extra for milk?"I suppressed another cough, my throat burning like I had swallowed glass. "It's cafe policy, ma'am. I don't make the rules.""Well, un-make them!"I sighed at the gun and gave her an extra scoop of milk. And with a buff, she left. I did not have the energy for this today.It's been two weeks since that night, and I still felt sore. It was somewhat uncomfortable moving around.Marcus had been thrilled and my debt had been cleared, just like he had promised.But I had been left with more questions than answers.

SAGEThe first thing I felt was a large hand moving slowly across my stomach.My eyelids snapped open to take in the environment. The chemical smell from whatever they had used to knock me out still clung to my nostrils.I tried to move and realized that I couldn't.Crystal?Crystal wasn't here. "Crystal?" My voice came out hoarse and dry. "Crystal!"The hand on my stomach stilled.I looked down, and there it was. A man's hand, pale against the dark fabric of my shirt, resting just below my ribs. Possessively."Get your hands off me." I tried to shuffle the chair backwards. The hand withdrew.I forced my vision to clear, it didn't look like I was in a basement or anything. Rather it looked like I was in some kind of a study. "Where am I? Where is Crystal? What do you want?"He rose from the ground and his figure came into eyesight. He was standing in front of me like some kind of twisted ghost from two weeks ago."You. What the hell is this? Why did you kidnap me?"His expression d

SAGE'S POV I signed the papers with a shaking hand and pushed them back across the table toward Cade. My stomach felt heavy and my head spun, but I forced my face to stay blank. ‘This wasn't going to end well’ the voice in my head echoed repeatedly but I ignored it. I was already pregnant, realistically what's the worst that could happen? "You can go now. A car would be waiting for you," Cade muttered, scanning my signature like I had forged it. Letting out a sigh, I took fast steps walking out of the overly large mansion. A guard opened the door and I stepped in, pushing my hair out of my face only to meet the hard gaze of Dante. "Why the hell are you here?" I asked, my patience wearing off faster than bad nail polish. "Start the car," he said to the driver not even sparing me a glance. The engine roared to life and I huffed a breath turning towards the window. I had signed the contract thinking of only one person; my Granny and the more I stayed with Dante the more

SAGE'S POVThe next morning I sat at the long dining table with Crystal beside me. The table was huge and covered with more food than I had ever seen for breakfast. There were plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, fresh fruits, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, toast, and bowls of different jams and spreads. It all looked perfect and smelled amazing, but it also felt overwhelming. I stared at everything and wondered who was supposed to eat all of this, not to mention that touching anything from his house only reminded me of how real it all was. Crystal, on the other hand, looked thrilled. Her purple hair was put in some odd braids and she was dressed like royalty. Her brown eyes were wide as she reached for a strawberry and popped it into her mouth. “This is insane,” she whispered, her lips giving away to a wide grin. “Look at all of this. Sagy, I feel like a fucking queen."Giving her a small smile, I poked a hash brown with my fork not wanting to ruin the atmosphere. Yes, I