04. Planted Kiss

"Dad! Is this your way of controlling my life?"

"I am not controlling your life, Natasha."

"Then what? What do you call this? I thought we were still looking for someone who would invest in the company. But what is happening right now? You wanted me to marry someone whom I barely know?"

Alpha Redd put down his wine and faced me.

"You will know more about me after our marriage, Tasha. You will know how amazing I am as your future husband. Do you want to support orphaned children? You can continue doing that after our marriage. I can even build an orphanage for you. Or anything you want. Tell me.”

Glaring at him, I said, “You cannot buy me, Alpha Redd. You cannot buy my love and affection. I still hated you. In my eyes, you are nothing but an opportunist.”

“Six months.” The four of us looked in Dad’s direction. “Alpha Redd and I had talked about it. He only wants six months to be with you since the Elders wanted him to marry. Anyone would do, but he saw you once and wanted you to be his wife.”

The Elders refer to the previous leaders of the pack who had stepped down and were now guiding the current alpha of every pack.

“For six months, Dad? Damn. That’s a good proposal you have there, little sister. Accept it now before Alpha Redd changes his mind to wed you.”

I kicked Zion's face again under the table. “Shut up, brother. You do not know what youre talking about. If you would only stop talking nonsense now. I would deeply appreciate it.”

His eyes widened as if horrified. “That’s not how you should talk to me.”

“And that’s not how you should treat me,” I retorted.

In reply, he stuck his tongue at me as if he was a child.

One stern look from Dad made the two of us straighten.

“I will invest in your company for you to be back on your feet again, but in return, you have to marry me, fool the Elders that we are happily in love, and we can separate after six months if that’s what you wish, Tasha. However, I know it would be difficult for you to leave me since during that time, you will love me then.”

“Love you? Only a fool will love you, Alpha Redd. And even if we are mates, I will fight our connection,” I spat.

Too good to be true. There will always be a catch in it. However, that was a good proposition.

“That’s easy to say but difficult to do, Tasha. Don’t bite what you can’t chew.”

“Given that I will approve of that wedding, then what happens after six months? Is there a divorce?” I asked, wanting to make it clearer. That would be the longest time I could be with him. Nothing more.

There were only rare cases mated werewolves would opt for divorce. It was rare that I did not hear anything about that. Finding a mate was the best thing that would happen to a werewolf. But not to me. I love Ali more than my bond with Alpha Redd. He was an insensitive jerk.

“Will your Elders allow the divorce?”

Alpha Redd shrugged his shoulders. “We can try. We will show that we are no longer in a healthy relationship. You do not have to worry, Tasha. I will be the one who will act like a bastard. Your dignity would never be tainted. I vow it.”

"How much would you invest in the company?"

"Natasha. You will not enter a wedding ceremony if you do not allow it. Right, Dad?" Ezra asked. "We are not that greedy that we will offer our family to the wolves' den."

Alpha Redd chuckled, took a bite of his food, and chewed it.

"Of course, son. If Natasha will not allow it, we will not force her. I will find a way to save the business and this pack." Which would not be easy to do. The best solution would be accepting Alpha Redd's proposal and the more I thought about it, it was not that bad. Six months was not that long. I could handle it. I could pretend that I loved this bastard beside me.

"When will you invest, Alpha Redd?"

Alpha Redd smirked, triumphant. Victorious. "I can do it right now. I will ask my secretary to have a formal meeting with the alpha tomorrow."

"Natasha...do not accept the deal in haste—"

"I will do it," I said, cutting off Ezra's words. Facing Alpha Redd, I said, "Invest in our company and I could be your wife for six months. During those months, I will try not to kill you."

“You always humor me, Tasha,” Alpha said with merriment in his eyes. And it looked real enough. It seemed like he was indeed happy this evening even if I did not treat him right. "If that's the case, we can marry one week from now."

My eyes widened at his announcement. Too soon. I did not have to grieve after my rejection! "What? You say next month."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Why do we have to wait for that long when we can make it short? Besides, I got tired of hearing the elders telling me to look for my mate, Tasha. Because of them, I felt like my pack had become a prison in my mind." He shivered. “Recalling them made me shudder.”

Damn.

Left with no choice, I uttered, “If that’s what you wish as long as we will have a divorce after six months of our marriage, Alpha Redd.”

“Careful, Alpha Redd. I am certain my little sister will force you to stay more than six months because she would be head over heels in love with you,” Zion announced, smiling.

“Shut up. Your opinion does not matter.”

Daddy cleared his throat. “If that’s the case, everything is settled now.

I could not say that the rest of the evening went smoothly. Despite my agreement with the upcoming wedding next week, I could not stop myself from asking if I made the right decision or not in my life.

It was already nine o'clock when Alpha Redd bade his goodbye and Dad asked me to join Alpha Redd outside.

The fresh and cold air greeted me when we stepped outside. His driver was already waiting for him in his car.

''I am looking for our next meeting, Tasha.''

''I do not, Alpha Redd," I answered truthfully. “Agreeing to marry you doesn't mean I like you now, Alpha Redd. I still hated you for using our current situation to get what you want.''

He gave me a knowing smile and put the loose strand of my hair behind my ears.

"Do you think you are becoming romantic now, Alpha Redd?"

"No. I thought that would make your heart jump. Women usually love it when men do that."

"If it was done by the men they love, Alpha Redd. You have to attend workshops about romance."

"Redd. You can call me that. The elders would question why you are calling me that even if we are married."

"I will keep that in mind, Redd."

"Sounds better. I like how my name rolled on your tongue. It sounds sexy and erotic the way you say it."

We stopped in front of his car. "This is how far I can walk with you."

I hugged myself, the cold already sipping on my skin. To my surprise, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulder.

"Do you think this is some sort of romantic movie that I would accept everything you do? I still hated you, Redd. And nothing can make me change that."

"My little Natasha. Your sheltered life made you think that. I am purely thinking about your welfare. I don't want you to get sick, or the wedding might be postponed."

"Werewolves do not easily get sick."

"I want to pretend that we are humans. Turns out you do not want any cheesy moves. I thought it would have an effect on you since the ladies in those movies wanted it that much and they blushed while they were looking at their man."

"If it comes from you, there is nothing romantic about it."

He cocked an eyebrow. "You hate me that much?"

The jacket from him felt warm against my bare skin and I did not want him to see me enjoying it and loving the scent coming from it. Cedarwood. It was manly as my nostrils already memorized how he smelt like.

Too bad Alpha Redd arrived at the wrong time when I was still hurting from my rejection.

“You do not have to ask about it since the answer is seen in my eyes.”

He suddenly lifted my chin and moved my face sideways.

"I cannot stop thinking of the reason why Ali rejected me and if ever I found out that it's true, I will never forgive you, Redd. Mark my words."

Not hearing what I had said, he declared, “You have beautiful eyes, Tasha,” he said, and before I could react, he planted a kiss on my lips.