The Marriage Contract

Ella's POV

The words were staring back at me but I refused to believe it. This had to be a mistake.

Ryker had just accepted that he was my mate in front of my stepmother and everyone.

He said he wanted to make me his Luna, yet he was giving me a contract... As hard as I thought about it, it made no sense at all.

But as I raised my eyes from the piece of paper in my hands, I met the real Ryker.

And then it dawned on me. He was a cruel man. This was probably just his way of punishing me and ruining my life for what we did.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes and I tried to reason with him. Maybe he would understand and let me go.

"But you have a lover. Why do you need me to go into a marriage contract with you?" I cried out.

Ryker adjusted his coat and looked straight into my eyes without a single drop of emotion, he said; "You are right. I do have a lover and her name is indeed Willow but she is in a coma now. So, I need someone to be Luna temporarily."

His explanation made no sense to me. If his lover was just sick. Why did he need me?

"Why can't you just wait for her to wake up?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

 "There is an opposition in my pack. They think I can't rule them since I haven't found a mate and I don't have an heir at age thirty... They want to elect a new Alpha who would give them an heir."

"In the eyes of the public, I will be their Alpha and you will be my Luna. We will give them the perfect display of love, just like I did in your stepmother's house but once we are indoors, we wouldn't have to pretend," he added and I couldn't believe my ears.

"I do not want —this?" I stuttered. "Find some other girl to be your contract, Luna. I don't want it."

There was no way I was going to accept being a contract Luna to my mate and endure the pain of watching him love someone else every day. I would not subject myself to such pain.

But Ryker's eyes darkened and he shifted closer to the edge of the seat. "You can leave..." He said and I felt hope sizzle inside of me. "But, you will have to pay back all the money I gave your stepmother."

I wanted to argue but I knew that I was not getting back that money. No matter how hard I cried, my stepmother would never return it.

My mind got filled with bitterness and I felt pushed to a corner. I had no choice left.

"What will I get from this contract?" I asked in resignation.

"You will be treated with the utmost respect as Luna and you will have access to everything you want. When my lover finally wakes up, I will give you a house and any amount of money you desire. I will also make sure that you get out of the entanglement with your stepmother and sister. They will never get to hurt you again," he said with so much enthusiasm.

If Ryker was truly going to give me all he said he would, then this was a good deal. If all went well, I would come out of this contract a better and stronger wolf in society. No one would dare harm me. I could live a peaceful life.  What more could I possibly want aside from that?

"I will do it," I said and then nodded, "I agree to this."

Ryker's cold face cracked into a small smile and he pulled out a brown envelope and handed it to me.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I promise to keep my end of the bargain and I hope that you keep yours," he said, "Sign it."

I tore the envelope open and my eyes scanned the rest of the documents. Everything was as he had explained. With a determined look in my eyes, I took the pen that was lying idle beside me and prepared myself to sign the contract that would seal my fate.

But just as the pen touched the paper, I saw the clause section and it brought a cloud of confusion to my face.

"If you step into the white house which is located in the center of the pack, the contract will be terminated and no money will be paid to you!"

I paused and looked into his face but he said nothing, so I continued reading.

"If you played the swing in the yard, the contract will be terminated and no money will be paid to you!"

Even a swing —what sort of rules were these? I wondered as my eyes dashed to the next one.

"If you eat any venison in the Alpha Mansion, the contract will be terminated and no money will be paid to you!"

At this point, I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself.

"What are these rules? And why?"

He shifted his head to the window and took a deep breath then said; "The first clause is because Willow is in the white house now, only several people are allowed to step in. So you can't go in there. It is off-limits."

My brows raised and I quickly shook my head. "And the swing?"

"It belongs to Willow. Under no circumstances must you touch it. She doesn't like others touching her things and for the venison,  Willow thinks of the deer as a cute animal, so she doesn't want people eating it..."

I could barely flap my mouth close as he went on with the explanation. The woman in question was in a coma. How did it matter if people did all of these things?

But I knew better than to question him. My eyes returned to the documents and then I saw the last one:

"If you are pregnant, the contract will be terminated and no money will be paid to you!"